Meet Olivia Lord – mom, Ironman triathlete, USAT Certified Triathlon Coach, business owner and organic enthusiast. Her life revolves around good health and the belief that in order to get the best out of your body you have to put the best in. (“Eating organic isn’t just good nutrition – it’s good training!” Olivia says.)
We’re always excited to meet real, inspiring individuals living an organic lifestyle and we thought what better person to share some of her expertise on triathlons, training, and living a balanced, organic life than Olivia? In between coaching, competing in triathlons all over the country, and chasing her two children (8-year-old Henry and 5-year-old Poppy) and chickens around her house in Maine, she’ll stop by to chat with us.
Hey there fellow yogurt lovers!
In thinking about how to introduce myself to you I figured that the best way to tell you who I am and what I do would be to describe a day in my life – so here it is – a day in the life of Olivia Lord:
4:45 a.m. – Alarm goes off (arm reacts without consent – SNOOZE)
4:50 a.m. – Mental battle begins… “get up, get moving, get strong!” vs. “stay in bed…..give up that triathlon insanity, I hear bowling is nice…”
5:00 a.m. – UP and going, grabbing either swimsuit, bike gear or sneakers and off for between 1 and 2 hours of swimming, biking or running. About 10 minutes in, my mind wakes up and I start to appreciate that I didn’t give in to the lazy fairy; this is my time. Uninterrupted thoughts – time to process my day, think about my races, mull over what my athletes are up to, plan out the weeks’ school lunches – you know, solve the world’s problems!
7:00 a.m. – COFFEE! And then in quick succession – breakfast for four, nut free school lunches made and packed, backpacks cleared and re-packed, dog fed, chickens let out, compost emptied, homework checked, library books found, kids dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed (sometimes), load the car, school drop off and then…breathe!
7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. – Get to work! Between my coaching clients, the Triathlon Club I run, the multisport section of the local bike shop that I manage, and all the social media and marketing that go along with those – plus the day’s second workout – which could be a 100+ mile bike ride or a simple swim, my days fly by! If I’m really lucky I squeeze a quick lunch with my husband (busy himself as a committed athlete and small business owner), or try and attack the weeds in the veggie garden.
4:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. – After school snacks, homework, reading, prepping dinner, feeding the family, cleaning the kids, jammies, stories, bedtime!
8:01- 9:03 p.m. – Aaaaaaah, quiet…Ideally this is the time to relax, plan out the next day and have meaningful conversation with my husband, uh, yeah! In reality, as other moms know – when small heads hit pillows it’s time to catch up on everything else.
So that’s me –my life is full and can be crazy at times and I wouldn’t change it for anything! Like the energizer bunny I try to just keep on going, but a couple of double A’s don’t do it for me! I fuel my body for life and training and racing with fresh, local, real food. The extra time it takes me to make blueberry muffins for the kids lunches, or oatmeal cookies for after school is well worth it when I compare it to the extra time it adds to my life in energy and longevity! Don’t get me wrong, I am no Martha Stewart! I freeze everything to save time and sometimes there’s so little food in our pantry it’s a good thing we have a garden or we’d be really hungry!! But when I stop to think about the things I want to achieve in my life, for my family and myself it becomes very clear that the path best taken is the more nutritious one!
I am so excited to be part of the Buzz Blog team, I look forward to sharing my love of triathlon and hopefully, to helping others find time and methods to add fun, healthy activities into busy lives.
Please let me know what you would like to hear about too – I welcome your questions!
Happy Training!
Olivia
I agree with the post and my comment is: Coaching is a pretty new and diverse profession – different to psychology, counselling or therapy. A coach’s work just isn’t to go through old ground, be past-orientated or to force-feed information, but to work with clients to assist them find the remedies themselves.
I need a nap just reading about Olivia’s day! Very impressive and good inspiration!