3 Trigs in 1 week - Time to Retire? :/

Did you see that?  3 trigs in one week!  Real ones too, requiring maps, and runs and dirty shoes.  Pretty impressive I reckon, but it creates a whole 'nother dilemma.

You might think it's reasonable to get fewer trigs during the dark, cold winter.  But actually, right now I feel sick when I remember humid, sweaty, Wednesday night runs through the heat of summer.  I think I actually prefer running in winter - at least a muddy track keeps you busy trying not to fall over!

The actual reason why I don't run in winter, is that I find myself consumed with hockey.  I love hockey.  I've played since I was 13.  It's my sport.  I like the skill, the fitness, the aggressiveness, the team mates.  I'm playing Intercity hockey, which is the top club teams from Tauranga travelling to play other teams in nearby cities.  It takes a commitment of a whole Tuesday night at training (I live nearly half an hour from the turf); and most of my Saturday in travelling, warming up, playing, hosting/being hosted.  And I love it.

But, that's about 3 hours on a Tuesday night, and 4-9 hours on a Saturday, depending on whether we have a home or away game.  This year, I'm the oldest in my team by 10 YEARS.  I'm two DECADES older than some of my team mates.  NANA!  While I think my fitness holds up ok to this level of hockey, my skills and speed are starting to let me down.  My fitness actually tends to decline during the hockey season.  My age becomes an asset in being able to make decisions and play a steady game amongst all the teenage chipmunks on P.  But................ I think I've peaked.  Probably a decade ago realistically.

Think of how much other stuff I could do.  Running.  Mountain Biking.  A marathon?  Tarawera Ultra Marathon?  Improve my photography?  Spend more time with my kids.  Trigs.  Peaks?  Trails.  Multi-days?  Volunteer work?  Events!!  I could do so much exciting stuff.

So, with a slightly heavy heart..... I now have a few months to ponder.  I think it might be time for this hockey old gal to retire.