Call it the post-race slump.  Call it the scary holiday rush that’s upon me.  Call it laziness, fear, and general self-destruction.  But for the past two weeks, I’ve been the Head Conductor on the Hot Mess Train.

And boy, is my Caboose paying for it.

I’ve had people guest posting for my blog, because I haven’t had anything nice to say except:  mmmmmmm, food.

And last night, I bought this scully at the the gas station. With chips.  And beer.  Okay, fine. And a Reese’s Cup.  What in the…

Hot Mess. Me. My Ironman Miami jacket, a skull scully, and a shirt from Halloween that reads:  “I do tricks for treats.”

Choo choo!  What’s on my train? What do we have here, Bob?

Oh, lemme see!  Missed workouts! Bad eating! Terrible habits! Sleep deprivation!

Yes, it’s been bad. But there were some really good, clean eating and workouts somewhere in there too.  Yesterday was not so great. But today is good. Tomorrow will be good. Saturday I’m taking my bike out for the first time since Augusta, so I’m looking forward to getting back in the saddle. Andy has been cold and lonely in the garage by himself.

I have learned that being a Hot Mess is part of who I am, so I am learning to adjust… to pick up, move on, and work on bettering myself today.  Not dwelling on the mistakes, but looking towards the future.

[Oh, and here’s the Sock Monkey hat I bought on Monday.  What is happening here??]

I told Sweet Red that I can’t get away with bad behavior when I blog.  She said, “It’s because you tell on YOURSELF.”   True. I’m a tattle tail.  Actually, my art teacher in high school fashioned me a tail and made me wear it… Now, I don’t tell on others. I just tattle on myself.

I’m telling on myself. So there. Now, with the bleak realization that this Ironman ain’t going to train for itself.  Train. Choo Choo!!!  I’m hopping on a new train.

Luckily, I’m still down 6 pounds (but that means that my Hot Mess Train has added 6 back)…ugh.  However, the Expert and I are getting our acts together. In time for the holidays. If we can survive the holidays with good eating, then we can do anything.

219 days until Ironman Coeur d’Alene. 7 months, 7 days.  Lucky 7s.

Again. This Ironman is too big, too important to be floundering.  No more flounders (tilapia, maybe….)

Watch out. The Ironman Train. Chugga chugga choo.  Time to put on my Chubby Engine That Could hat… and get cracking.

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19 Responses

  1. You seriously crack me up! You are a REAL person, with a job, hubs and beautiful children, and you still manage to train.And by the way, that skull skully is awesome.

  2. Good to know that I am not on the only one on the Hot Mess Express. The difference is that you have a plan to get out of it. Right now I am not even making a plan because i am such a hot mess I am convinced it will be a fail. ….maybe if i start rewarding myself with cute and quirky hats… 🙂

  3. I love that you aren’t perfect, but Real! Real life is messy and sooo far from anything resembling perfection. If I lived closer to you I would totally swoop in and steal that monkey hat 🙂

  4. Hot mess here too, post race slump, countdown to ironman looming….all of the above. I like your honesty. It’s important to show the challenges and the rewards.

  5. okay, no more messin around! Get off that train at the next station and get on the IRONMAN TRAIN!!!!

  6. I havent read your blog in a while and I forgot how funny it really was! You cracked me up and made my afternoon with a much needed laugh…thanks!

  7. After telling you to get over yourself last week, I too am struggling after my Disney half this weekend. I have not put on any weight but I am struggling to get back on my plan. I did get back to my running, Tuesday and yesterday and for me that is a huge improvement from my 1st half 7 weeks ago. I think it is part of the cycle of training life, we train hard and push our body and then we feel a gap once it is done and all the bad stuff we pushed to one side comes back. Time to push back and show how tough we are. It’s time the hot mess train leaves the station and we catch a better train…all aboard! BTW I rocked my half!

  8. This is my favorite line, possibly ever.

    “I have learned that being a Hot Mess is part of who I am, so I am learning to adjust…”

    Adjust I will too!

  9. Meredith, the thing with Ironman is that its simply too much to wrap your head around. too much! So much that you freak out and start eating chocolate, not knowing where to begin. Just do what I do. Follow your plan. Take things week by week. Trust that if you follow the plan, you WILL be ready. I will definitely high five you at the starting line at CDA. Its going to be a blast.

  10. Oh, thank you for this post. You know what? I have missed my weekly track workouts for the last three – that’s right, count them – THREE weeks in a row. Tuesday, for no reason at all, I bought a bag of Reese’s trees, which I didn’t even really want, and proceeded to eat half. Of the bag. HALF!!! And you know what I did today? I finished it. Oh, the shame. It’s almost the holidays, I’m not at my weight loss goal yet, and then I go and self-sabotage with skipped workouts and Reese’s? What am I thinking? What am doing? Who am I??

    We’ll get there, though – acknowledging the problem is the first step right? And as long as we keep taking that step, we’re still in the game. Thanks a million for your honesty, and for sharing your slips so we can share ours too.

  11. I’m also on the Hot Mess Express and can’t seem to get off (there’s good snacks and beer in the food car). Please, will someone push me off the train and on to the wagon?

  12. Damn, I gotta get that tshirt…..Miss my 70.3 obsessive training mentality……fudge and egg nog knocking on the door…..wish you were my neighbor.

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