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- The week that just keeps giving!
The week that just keeps giving!
(A week behind schedule, but this week is coming Friday)
THE WEEK THAT JUST KEEPS ON GIVING!
So let’s start with the positives, trust me this week it hasn’t exactly been full of them, to say the very least!
However, I did get my voice and energy back for the Spinathon and was totally blown away by everyone’s support. We raised nearly £400 and I was quite overwhelmed by the amount of cakes people baked for the cake sale and realised once again how blessed I am by an awesome support crew. I have a brilliant team around me and some close friends who gave up their Saturday just to be there for me!
I am not going to lie; I was absolutely exhausted at the end of it and I think that exhaustion has made this week even harder. Plus we had a busy Sunday too with Church and family over for lunch – not that I would change that. Family are so important and quality time with them is priceless.
So now let’s get down to the nitty gritty of the week, the pressures I have faced and difficult situations that have been thrown in my path. These began on Sunday when my parents in law had a car crash and until yesterday Sarah and I didn’t know if we were going to be a car down, as her mum is not very mobile and needs an SUV to get in and out of. The insurance company were not exactly helpful but thank fully they can manage and we don’t have to juggle one car, so one stress is eliminated.
The Triathlon World Championships are just over a week away and I have mainly been juggling work, race prep and race nerves each day. To add to this on Monday I woke up to a text from the company taking my bike, to inform me that they had been delayed and consequently all plans we had of getting the bike to them needed to change – not easy for 2 self-employed people, with full diaries and a 5 hour round trip to the bike drop off point!
This saga lasted for two days and involved my wife taking two trips to Luton, as after arriving there on Monday night we received a call to inform us that they had broken down and they were to return home. Despite telling us they would let us know what was happening that evening, we had a sleepless night as no call came. Tuesday morning there were two tired wifey’s, one who had a new group to launch for slimming world and the other with a full diary of clients.
My anxiety levels were through the roof and I was really struggling to keep myself together as well as functioning for work. After 6 calls all before 9:15 am between the bike transfer people, myself and my wife, it was time for trip two to Luton for my wife and diary juggle number 2 for her. To be honest the whole day I couldn’t shift the angst in the pit of my stomach and my eating was shot! I have never been so relieved to know a bike was on board a transit van and on its way to the World Championships. (Not that I 100% believed that until Weds when no message was received to say they had missed the ferry transporting them).
Wednesday brought a new set of stresses, with one of Sarah’s members really upsetting her, by wrongly criticising her for allowing her social team to take her slimming world group, when needed, if she is unable too. That was the straw that broke the camels back, I was at capacity and Charlie officially lost it! I was so done with the week! In that moment I took a deep breath and just decided to take it moment by moment, step by step and focus on my clients needs. Friday could not come quickly enough!
Thursday and Friday all rolled into one, as I tried to keep my focus and work, prepping for the biggest and last race of the season, as well as trying to make myself stay on plan with food. I have some awesome friends, who really gathered around us both and supported us where they could. In fact following the wise words of one friend, we finished work early on Thursday and took time to breathe, we also decided to not work the day that we flew, to ease off the pressure.
Sometimes we all need people who can step outside of the situation and help us see a way through the mess that we see in front of us. We all need space to breathe and to let our guard down. I am realising too that it is perfectly okay, to say enough is enough and acknowledge that we are all human and have a breaking point!
However, Friday ended the week on a high. As I shut the studio doors in the evening, I knew it was time to shift my focus from work and into RACE HEAD CHARLIE! The weekend was about prepping for the week ahead and getting packed ahead of the worlds. Yes, I still had Monday to work, but for now the weekend was about ditching the week and focusing forward!
I have learnt this week , that even when things don’t go to plan, I have a group of people that always have my back, a wife that will literally move everything to make sure everything is okay for me and that I have an inner strength to just keep on taking it one step at a time. It’s in the tough times that we grow and learn our capabilities and ability to adapt!
So whatever you face, know that – ‘YOU CAN DO IT, YOU ARE MORE THAN CAPABLE AND YOU ARE TOTALLY WORTH IT!’