Someone quoted a great description of my life at the moment. I have two teen boys who have schoolwork, interests, hobbies, after school activities and the daily grind of school to support. Each day, I end up spending the hours from 3 - 10 p.m. in the car, or supervising some type of work. Though I'm 58, I'm living the life of someone 10 to 15 years younger. I'm still getting down on the floor, wrestling with boys, or listening intently to a school social concern, rotating through tons of laundry, still never leaving the house without snacks, water and a clipboard and pencil to throw in the back seat as I support the guys going from activity to activity.
I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel blessed to still be in this "rush hour." I waited till I was in my forties to have kids, so we're in the thick of it now. I'll miss it when it ends. I hear the nostalgia in so many of my friends who had kids at "the normal time," and I know these moments are fleeting. The season I'm living in, as someone described it, is "rush hour" for a parent. I'd agree! And that makes it hard to find time to train as a masters athlete, especially when you choose an event like the pentathlon that has five to train for. We masters are so excited about our second chance at competition, if we find a moment to train, sometimes we push through injury in order to squeak in more practice time. I know I do. Earlier in the summer, I kept hurdling during a practice far beyond what was sensible. I had hurt my quads and stupidly thought the pain was normal. Nope. One was strained and one had a tear. Thus, I've spent a far bit of the summer licking my wounds and skipping meets. A trip out of the country, down time with family and telling myself this won't last forever have replaced rigorous practices. I have one more chance to compete this year and it's a big one. The USATF Masters National Championships in Spokane. I continue to heal, but am not quite competition-ready yet. Wish me luck.
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"Much of your success in life is determined by how well you handle discomfort..."
I'm not sure who came up with the above quote, but it's been my motivational mantra over the past few months. As usually, I spend the fall training and resting up for the indoor track season which usually kicks off with the USATF Masters Indoors National Championships, which in 2018 were held in Landover, Maryland. But, last November, within minutes of getting the schedule for the indoor nationals three-day meet, I got an email from church announcing that my 13-year old's confirmation service was the same weekend. Was I going to have to choose between defending my W55 high jump national championship title, and attending my youngest's confirmation service? You betcha. I was fairly certain the high jump would be scheduled at a time during the weekend that would conflict with me attending my youngest's confirmation. But, as mentioned before in this blog, I am a mom first, athlete second. There was no choice to make, really. So, as a three-time national champion in the W55 high jump, I decided it was time to present myself with a new challenge, a new ledge to jump off, a new "just out of my comfort zone," situation. I saw on the schedule for nationals that the pentathlon (60m hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put and 800m run) was on Friday. I could make that, I thought. The only problem was, I'm not a pentathlete. I set about training for the pentathlon two months before nationals. Much to my surprise, I was able to finish (even sucking wind in that 800m) and placed third in points, while being awarded silver because the second place finisher was from out of the country. The "pent" was a blast -- a day surrounded by inspiring female masters athletes who supported this newcomer to the event. I'm now officially hooked! Looking forward to the next one! And, the 2017 season is complete. Happy to have completed my third year as USATF W55 High Jump Champion; ranked #1 in North and South America, and hovering around #11 in the world. Bring on 2018!
As mentioned below, it was an exciting night for me competing at NYC's indoor track and field venue, The Armory. Here are more shots thanks to wonderful masters track & field photographer, Rob Jerome.
One cold night forty years ago, when I was 17, I boarded a bus with other Upstate NY track athletes bound for a meet in NYC. I didn’t know much about where we were going, but I could see everyone was excited to compete at the venue we were headed to called “The Armory” on 168th St., in New York City. The place was a busy scene compared to my high school meets. Kids and spectators crowded the indoor track area and I recall it smelled of sweat, old athletic wear and grease. There were athletes from all over and a sprinkling of college recruiters. But, what struck me most was we high jumped on a polished wood floor. Yes, a wood floor. I didn't wear spikes to jump in 1977, not many of us did back then. So, the fact it was a wood floor didn't change how I jumped at the time. I was just glad we weren't jumping into tires or mattresses -- we did that a lot in those days. It was an exciting night and felt like the "big leagues" for a girl from more rural upstate. As readers know, I stopped track and field when I graduated from high school in 1978. Since my 2014 return to this sport I love, I’ve always wanted to go back to The Armory. Long before I arrived that night in my 1970's track shorts, the Armory had a storied history filled with famous track faces and face-offs. Not only has the place had myriad iterations since I was there, (for a while it was even used as a homeless shelter) it’s now been beautifully renovated and is considered one of the USA’s premier indoor track venues. Last month, I went back! I competed at the December 2017 NYRR Indoor Sprint Night at The Armory. On a family visit to NYC, I dragged my husband and two sons up to 168th street using the 20-minute ride from midtown to regal them with stories about the last time I was there. As they took their seats in the balcony, I took in the atmosphere. Talented runners and jumpers from various states and countries were there. It was being broadcast live, complete with a guy in a booth above the stadium running commentary. I high jumped and long jumped. Yes, I was rusty as I haven’t hit a mat since August, but, I was there. I jumped. I competed. I went baaaack. The crowds were thinner than the last time, but, for me, it was just as exciting as it was in 1977. There weren’t any college recruiters this time, but in the corners of the building, at the edge of the modern renovated mondo track, I could see peaking out, a little bit of wood floor. 😊 For more about the history of The Armory, see this link: Someone told me (@kav0267) the only way to do hurdles at my age is to be fearless. "If you try it and you are afraid, forget the idea,” he said. Third day at it, first time actually over a hurdle, and I focused on being fearless. Working at it. #fearlessover50 #thinkingpentathlon #newevent #hurdler @usatfmasterstrack
Whoa, it's been a few months since I checked my ranking. As the year winds down, so do the 2017 rankings. This year is almost complete. Look at all those Europeans! I'm still first in the USA, and even this hemisphere, for the third year in a row. But, 2018 will be here before you know it, with a cast of hundreds of 55-59 year old women high jumping around the globe. I'm aging up in the W55-59 age group since I'll be 58 next year. I've got work to do if I want to grab a fourth year at the top. Let's go!
I love this article discussing the benefits of being a masters athlete. We definitely don't believe declining fitness is inevitable! LIFESPAN VS. HEALTHSPAN
It's my third year hanging in there ranked #1 in the USA, #1 in this hemisphere and top ten in the world for my age group in high jump. (Age groups in masters track are in five year increments, so W55 is all women high jumpers aged 55-59.) I'm fifty-seven now, and though I am aging up, I am determined to continue to hold this spot in my age group for as long as I can. Can I do it for 2018? The indoor season starts in February. The work starts now! |
AuthorJulia Curran-Villarreal is a three-time USA W55 national masters high jump champion. After a 35-year break from her favorite high school sport of track & field, Julia returned to competition in 2013 at the age of 53. Follow her journey on @juliajumping on Instagram and @juliacurran on Twitter. Archives
August 2019
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