Mission Possible

Three things to make you think.

1. This week I stumbled across a blog called the "Blog of Impossible Things." The host is a triathlete who was inspired to quit his job and start the blog and his own business. I haven’t come near reading everything that he wrote, but here is my favorite post I stumbled on thus far. It’ll just take a minute.

The Complete List of Convincing, Unique, and Legitimate Excuses

2. Then I went to a party where I met some new friends that might be interested in our triathlon and talked to others who are on the fence. Seems they were all so worried about all those hills in Clermont. I spent some time trying to convince them not to worry because I think it comes down to this… The worst that happens is you get off your bike and walk it up the hill. Yep, the WORST that happens is you walk...

So a little 2:42 second video that solves this problem. Just Do It

3. And finally two longtime friends ran their first half marathon this weekend. Christine had never run more than 10 miles in her life and had only run that far once, last weekend. She texted me at the 10 mile mark stating, "From here it’s uncharted territory." And then she finished. Running.

Karen posted this on her facebook page one week ago: "Wiped out on wet tile at Pei Wei...wearing heels...really fell hard...graceful not! Knee is black and purple but swelling is way down. Have a splint on my ankle. Doesn't hurt as much as it did. Thanks for asking!" And then she finished. Running.

So for all of you still out there wondering, contemplating, worried, here are some deep, important, and terrifying questions for you to consider at this post: 40 Questions to Refocus your Mind.

In my 7 years of doing the Danskin Triathlon, I have been faster and slower, fatter and thinner, better prepared and worse, largely alone, surrounded by friends, injured, healthy, tired, sweaty, exhausted, frustrated, tearful and joyful. The race has been longer and shorter, hilly and flat, hot and cool, crazy crowded and blissfully open. But not once, not even one time, did I start a race without being at least a little afraid. Even now, after all these years I worry. That’s the nature of this thing. Yes they changed the course. There will be hills and an unfamiliar lake. At the start my heart will be racing, and I will be worried. And then it will start, and I will have a thousand other things to think about. And whether I am my fastest or not, whether I walk up those hills or run, at the end of that race I will have answers to a lot of those 40 questions.
I may have something I am proud of. Or I will have learned something about myself (I learn in every race). I will be sure, in that moment, that I can do a triathlon. I will have once again overcome my fears.

It’s up to you. There are 11 weeks. You still have time to make this happen, but this week is the last week I will ask. So decide for yourself once and for all. Will you make this Mission POSSIBLE?

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful. ~ Mark Victor Hansen

So it’s been six weeks since I wrote about goal setting, six weeks since I published my own goals. It’s been an interesting six weeks. Here’s a progress report:

Goal 1: Drop 20 pounds by race day.
I have dropped a few pounds, about 5…enough to know that I should just keep on going. It’s always a balancing act. Eat too little and I don’t train well. Eat too much and I lose nothing. So I keep on with this goal.

Goal 2: Rehab my back and slowly increase my running time. My back is fully recovered! Yay! But I hit a snag on this one. A couple weeks ago I somehow injured my left knee by hyper extending it. It is still very sore, and although I have had a few good runs, it’s mostly still torture. So I modify this goal to include rehabbing my knee and continuing to work on getting the run under control.

Goal 3: Slowly expand my training time per week and complete 1-2 races.
This is a new goal and the pace of rehab will determine my efforts here. I start swimming this week and thus far the riding has been great, so my race(s) may include an aqua bike if my knee is still sore and/or a 5K or super sprint triathlon if my knee heals. Either way I know the warm up races and extra training are necessary right now.


I check in with you now because we are one-third done and there are now 12 weeks remaining before the race. It’s really time to get serious about this idea if you are going to. You need to start practicing each event at least once and ideally twice per week. You need to be sure you are adding more time per week to your workouts. You need to focus on improving your cardio fitness and strength. Companions to this added training are extra hours of sleep and healthy eating. Too much play and too much crazy eating will eventually undermine even your best efforts.

In the end we all set goals and work to achieve them. Sometimes we are successful. Sometimes we need to revamp our goals to reflect changing priorities or changing reality. A setback is only failure if you let it be so. We all experience setbacks and make mistakes. It’s what you do next that says everything about you.

It’s time to take stock, reset your priorities, deal with your setbacks, and make some new measureable goals for the next six weeks.

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party. ~Ron White

Sleep, eat well, stretch, hydrate, train safely.
Safe journey. Wind at your back.  

The Story of My Recent Life

The story of my recent life.  I like that phrase. It makes more sense than “the story of my life,” because we get so many lives between birth and death. A life to be a child. A life to come of age. A life to wander, to settle, to fall in love, to parent, to test our promise, to realize our mortality- and in some lucky cases, to do something after that realization. ~Mitch Albom

I am approaching 47.  This weekend we lost Whitney Houston.  She was 48.  In the last few months it seems more and more of the people I knew in my youth have slipped the leash of this life and moved on to whatever is next.  Some, like Steve Jobs, will be remembered for their impact on the world. Others, like Whitney, will have their soaring vocals played back by someone, somewhere, for as long as there are humans.   But those I will carry with me for the rest of my days are the ones who held a place in my heart, who impacted my life and my family in real and personal ways.  Last month we lost my big cub’s preschool teacher to a stroke.  She loved my boy hard. A cancer survivor, she inspired me with her unyielding love of life and her unfailing love of all the children in her care.  Most every day you can still go to her facebook page and see that a friend is missing her. 

So now you’re thinking, why are you walking this dark path?  Recent events have me thinking about what each of us must do with our time together and how we will be remembered.  Those that know me well have heard me say, only half-jokingly, that I am deep into a mid-life crisis.  What started at 40 as the feeling of time slipping through my fingers like water is finally trickling to a halt almost 7 years later.  My last grab at youth has evolved into the realization, deep in my bones, that everything is going to be all right.  I don’t need to live a hundred miles an hour in order to be happy. I just have to find the happiness in every mile. 

So wherever you are in your recent life, coming of age, wandering, falling in love, parenting, testing your promise, or like me, coming to grips with mortality, I hope you will love this place you are in and find joy and contentment.  Because whether you know it or not, every cup of coffee or meal we share, every mile we ride, every lap we swim, and every terrible rendition of karaoke you get me sing stamps itself onto my heart.  You are my blessings and a small part of me is the time we spend together on this journey.  Your strength becomes mine.  With every mile you teach me and every person in your life what it means to be strong and determined.  This is the value of this crazy, beautiful, difficult triathlon journey.  Your children, your spouses, your parents, and your friends all see the amazing woman you are.  And it is this strength and your kindness that I see when I look at you.  For me, this is your legacy.

I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity of living in the moment, and spend every dull, amazing second with me. ~Heidi Julavits

Train safely, stretch, eat well, hydrate, sleep.

Safe journey.  Wind at your back.

Life is NOT a Spectator Sport

A friend stands on the sidelines of your life, proudly cheering you on as you win each of life`s battles, but a true friend is there in the fight with you. ~unknown

I’m writing this quick post in the wake of the most watched television event of the year, the Superbowl… Millions of people worldwide watching American football with a cold beverage in one hand and a platter of yum in the other.  We saw some fine athletes, humorous and not so humorous commercials, and a halftime extravaganza.  For three hours we all became spectators. 

Did you catch the emotion at the end of the game?  Win and lose there was plenty to go around.  Hugging, tears, joy, sorrow.  That’s what this whole thing was about, the chance to do something amazing, the chance to be awesome. 

And how about you? When the game ended, did you cry?  Of course not.  You know why?  You weren’t in it.  You didn’t have any “skin in the game.” You didn’t put your heart and your body on the line.  It was just entertainment. 

So as you read this now, I can only say, GAME OVER. 

I hope you had fun, but it’s time to climb off the couch and work off those wings.  I want you in this race with me.  You can cheer from the sidelines, but I’d much rather have you share the victory, the pain, the tears, the pride. You see no matter what happens, having you with me makes it so much better, so much richer, truly more beautiful.  I don’t want you watching me. I want you in the fight.  I want you putting your heart and your pride on the line.  I want you leaping into my arms when you finish. 

There’s a funny facebook post that has been going around. 

“You wake up in a prison cell next to me.  In four words, what do you say?”

In 97 days we’re going to do a triathlon and when you cross the finish line, what four words will you want to say to me? 

You’ll already know the four words I’m going to say to you.

We made it, TOGETHER!

Train safely, eat well, hydrate, stretch, sleep.

Safe journey.  Wind at your back.