Juggle, juggle, juggle

Ok, somewhere in my delusional state I actually thought the summer schedule would be easier to juggle.... no school activities, just swim practice and training and trips to the beach or pool, right?

Yeah, about those deep-rooted delusions...

Let's examine a few facts.  IMKY is in August.  We are cruising rapidly into July.  IMKY has the ubiquitous "rolling hills."  Uh huh.  I just did the spinnervals "race" video of the IMKY bike course.   They might be "rollers" to a mountain goat or Colorado native (or me, back in my PA days), but to someone who has lived in Florida for 16 years, those are HILLS.  You say Toe-May-Toe, I say HILLS.

Back to the facts.  IMKY, has 112 miles of biking on the rills (hollers?).  IMKY is going to be hot as crap.  I am still too close to the death march that was the Fla 70.3 run in May to not have a healthy fear of/respect for what IMKY is going to feel like, absent a sudden, historic early fall.

So, based on those facts, I have some serious training requirements to fit in in the next few weeks.  (Deep breath.... going to my happy place for a moment to quell the rising panic...)

Piece of cake, right?

So, thanks to the minis' 933rd cruise of the year and swapping days to accommodate it, they returned to me "early" (meaning before the usual Sunday night).  So, this training week ended Wednesday at 7.   Let's take a look at the uncluttered summer schedule we have for the next ten days:

Today: swim practice 7-9 (assuming either kid is healthy enough to go, sigh), minis' hair cuts 1-2 and 2-3, a/c repair man 530-7 (which means 8-10, or, more likely, Friday)

Friday: swim practice either 7-9 or 4-6, otherwise fairly unencumbered with children related goo.

Saturday: swim practice 8-10, various family activities

Sunday: Adventure Race in Ocala.  Leave 8:30a, return after 5p

Monday: Swim practice in two different locations (EHS and JCDS) from 7-9a and 715-9a.  BiM volunteers at a camp at EHS from 9-12,  LM has soccer camp in Mandarin from 5-830.

Tuesday:  Swim practice in two different locations from 7-9a and 715-9a.  LM orthodontist appointment at 9:45.  BiM volunteers at a camp from 9-12,  LM has soccer camp in Mandarin from 5-830.  My parents arrive from PA somewhere in there.

Wednesday and Thursday: same as Monday.

Friday:  Swim practice for BiM 7-9a, BiM volunteers at a camp from 9-12 and has Drs appt at 11a,  LM swim meet at Bolles starting sometime around 11:30 and probably lasting until 3:30, LiM has soccer camp in Mandarin from 5-830.

Saturday: Swim meet at Bolles and (maybe) a 5k race that evening

Sunday:  Swim meet at Bolles, girls return to biof's at 7.

Now, it's tough enough to fit training of any length around normal kids' schedules.  Add to that visitors AND a week with a schedule-on-steroids, and I am really wondering how to fit things in without giving up 75% of my sleep.

"Well, Sara, that's easy to fix!" you might think -- leave the kids with the parents and go train.  "What a novel idea!" I would reply, except I have a real problem (call it a hang up, it won't offend me) with taking time away from family time to train.  Since I don't "have" the girls full-time, and especially since they will be gone at practices and camps so much this week, I am almost incapable of ditching them for what little time we have to go train.  So, yes, I create my own stress on this topic, and I know that... but my ego says I should be able to do it all and my conscience says I am a Mommy first and everything else second... so let the anxiety attacks roll in and crank up the early alarm clock...  :-)

Updated note:  no swim practice due to hackage, so my Thursday has looked like this:  up before 6 to make M's lunch (yes, I am one of THOSE wives) and clean up the kitchen, feed and walk the dogs (do arm strengthening exercises by preventing the Sheps from eating Hannibal's little yorkie with a death wish), eat, jump on the elliptical (after quipping to Matthew that LM usually wakes up five minutes after I start, so I don't know why I was rushing.... and sure enough, 4 minutes later down wandered a bleary eyed LM), jump off the elliptical 15 minutes later to check on the hacking, goo spewing BiM, who then declared "Mommy, my ear is super clogged and it hurts!".... causing me to flash back to having an ear drum burst from congestion.... hustle BiM downstairs and pump her full of decongestants and expectorants, after much gnashing of teeth and hack interrupted protestations.... fetch two glasses of chocolate milk.... jump back on elliptical... encourage LM to take the sheps out back and play... jump OFF the elliptical to prevent Sabre from going out the window after LM locked him out of the kitchen to get a head start into the yard... hug the hacking BiM...jump BACK on the elliptical..."mommy, are you almost finished, I'm hungry...."... back off the elliptical and into the kitchen (neither barefoot, nor pregnant thankfully) to make some breakfast (no, NOT muffins, cinnamon rolls, or donuts, as they've been eating for the past ten days elsewhere)...

and, so it goes.  The Motherhood version of interval training, right?