No I'm not idle but this is new to me. I'm currently not in employment at the moment. This is by choice and that there's no suitable jobs at the moment that would accommodate all my time off that I need for competitions. The problem is that I live with my Dad. He is incredibly frustrated that my day consist of getting out of bed, heading for a spin, eating lunch, then head to the gym and chill/sleep for the rest of the day. Rest days where I do nothing nearly send him over the edge. The fact I am now a paid athlete, earned my sports grant through miles and miles of cycling dedication while working 40 hour weeks plus 20 hours of college (not to mention the amount of shit I got into at work and college over this cycling), does not register with him.
He's not a sporty man. Well if you consider getting tickets for the Hogan Stand for Ireland VS France in the 6 nations sporty, well then this is the wrong blog for to be reading. So there he was at the Rugby match with his incredibly successful, multimillionaire brother and his 3rd year medicine student daughter who coincides her studies with a part-time job in the local nursing home, talking about families. His other daughter who happens to be the same age as me has her own place, engineering degree and super high profile job. Plus a spar tire (sorry had to throw that in... bitter bitter). His son also got himself a fantastic accountants job in some yuppie Dublin office block and they ask my Dad what is Joanna doing. "Eh, erm, sitting around the house all day, cycling, not working". Ok yes I feel ashamed now for my Dad. I explain to him that my sports grant has been bumped up, even dope-control were around the house last night, that this is what us athletes do. Recovery and training is key to success and this year I am writing this now. I am getting myself a World Championships medal this year. I am not being idle, bringing shame on my family anymore. This "idleness" is for a reason.
I guess I do sit back and wonder what's it all for. I could be settled now. I'm 26, 27 later this year. Am I really living in cuckoo land? All my mates are moving on. They've moved out of home (I tried that once and came back with my tail between my legs 3 months later), got steady boyfriends and great careers. I was out for a good friends birthday recently and met a few of her friends. They asked what is it I did; Full time athlete I reply. "Oh I've never seen or heard of you before...". Typical reply and later I find out they don't even know who Sean Kelly is.
Maybe it's a social thing. P.E. class as far as I can remember in school consisted of a pissed off teacher, completely frustrated with the lack of participation from girls who refused to tie up their hair up, remove make-up, cut nails and tie their runners shoe laces (the fashion at the time was to have them lose with the tongues sticking out). If you turned up looking eager, with laces fully tied up, you were a loser with no one to blame but yourselves for the horrid full-on verbal abuse from the "popular" girls. The boys from the local school who were also coolers by bonking off class, would come stand pitch side and watch us run about. A red, sweaty face was not seen attractive... and probably still isn't. The worn out, almost suicidal teacher would try to shoo these hormonal, opposite sex, spoty-yokes away to embarrassment of failure and our pathetic twice a week, 30 minute P.E. class would then be over. That is the Irish girls guide to sport. I have no doubt this mind set still protrudes its way right into our 20's and beyond. That's why when I look around at young woman today in Ireland they are either over-weight or horridly thin, taking a leaf out of Nicole Ritchies reciepe book; 3 asparagus sticks a day.
What happened to respecting the ambitious sporty girl? Where have the fine built and fit and healthy woman gone? Where did it all go wrong? In my gym I see the female January joiners squeezing in there session after work. Ok it's better then nothing. I personally dislike the gym. It's an over-priced non-necessity. Why am I a member? I can't also keep a 50kg bars here in the house along with all my bikes to squat. Dad is up the walls already as it is, plus it get's me out of the house! Anyway I see these girls barely breaking sweat on the treadmills. I look out the window of the gym and see possibly the worlds most beautiful and a huge tourist attraction; the Dublin and Wicklow mountains. Also beside this gym is beautiful and large public parks. These girls afraid to venture into the outside in case they may be caught red faced and sweaty or looking like they're physically struggling by some man, prefer the comfort and control of red-faced-less work-out on a treadmill. They can then go back in the morning to their successful office jobs, boast about their hard gym work out the night before and how they have no earned enough dosh to buy that ridiculously priced Gucci handbag, but "omigwaad, I'm still fat! I think I'll skip lunch today". It's all about the image, you know!
Ok my point? Respect my decision to pursue this opportunity I have been given. Ireland cop-on and get healthy. Do this by getting out there, meeting people, not in the pub, in some sports club/event. Eat well. Cook well. Live well. Love your shapes and sizes and know what is your healthy shape and size. Your ambition to save up for the next-new-expensive thing is equal to my ambition to sit here in the house after a 5 hour spin and recover. Also just because it's a long blog post does not mean I'm idle!!!!
