Disappointed & Discouraged

I rejoined TNT for a lot of reasons, but one of the main ones was that I was hoping to meet some new people and make some new friends.  I met so many wonderful people during my prior involvement that I assumed the same would occur this time around.  Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

I have been extremely disappointed that we aren't running in honor of a single individual like when I participated in the past.  I found it very motivating to connect to an honored hero and to train in honor and support of that person and their fight.  During both of my prior seasons, my honored heroes were young boys.  In each instance I got to know them and their families, and I still keep in touch with both of the boys' mothers from time to time.  Not having a new honored hero for this season has really changed the experience for me.

It seems like most of the team events have taken place while I am at work, and I haven't been able to meet any of the other individuals on the team.  Admittedly, I could attend the weekly training runs on Saturday mornings, but they start at 5:00 AM, often at a place that is almost an hour drive for me, and to say that I am not a morning person is a bit of an understatement.  I just can't quite bring myself to get up at 3:30 AM every week to attend.  I know if I tried, I'd end up miserable and quit - not because of the training but because of the early mornings.

I suppose I should have known that the training runs would be early to beat the heat, but I guess I just didn't think about how early they were going to be scheduled.  I didn't think it would matter, though, because when I was a member of TNT previously I didn't train with the team. The training runs conflicted with my work schedule and I wasn't able to make any of them. Yet, I still managed to participate and feel like a part of the team in the past because I was able to attend all of the other team events.  It was at those events that I got to know some of my teammates and eventually met a great training partner.

I have to admit that I am feel pretty disappointed and discouraged by the whole experience so far.  It definitely isn't turing out anything like my last experience with TNT, and certainly not like what I was hoping for this time around, either.