It Is That Time of Year!

Training for Ironman Texas has begun!

It is kind of like an event in itself; you know you're on holiday; you know you haven't had that fine-tuned mission - but you know its coming soon! And now it's here. You wake up in anticipation; you have a plan; you have a goal and the ball starts rolling once that calendar turns to the first day of the new training cycle.

Finally.

Its a love/hate relationship. You LOVE what it does for you; you love how it makes you feel - tired, hungry, spent, but improving with every day. You DREAD what you have to do, but LOVE it all in the same breath - getting up early, going to bed early, having to say no to social fun, juggling husband/kids/cooking/sleeping/playing/training. People think you are crazy - but you are, aren't you? Crazy for the journey, the scheduling, the planning, the pursuit of a stronger (mentally, physically and spiritually) YOU!

The first IM I trained for I felt it was more "my deal". It kind of left me with more of a guilt feeling - how long will I be leaving the kids for? Who will entertain them, play with them, study with them while I am out training? No one? Oh, no! More guilt! Is Steve frustrated with me while I'm out training? Is he upset because he's not with me? Should I be somewhere else?.....etc, etc, etc. The mind games drove me crazy.

But this time its different. Its Team Present. We're in it together. Steve and I shared something really special at IM St George -it was a mutual experience of accomplishment. And it was fun. After that race it seems that tri's have become more "our" lifestyle; I feel Steve has a bigger understanding of what the training and events mean to me. They're not so I can go out and compete with someone to see who is better. There's always someone better. That's not the point. Its that sense of becoming more of the person that God has intended for me to be; stronger, more spiritual, touching more lives, pushing bigger boundaries - stepping into the "what if's" of life and gracing the unknowns of potential. We all have it. We just don't know what it is until we start working for it....and God willing, never reach it because "potential" is like a big surreal carrot - it just keeps right out of our grasp and continually makes us work for more. If we so choose.

And this year, I've chosen again. We have chosen. Especially after the bike accident, choosing to continue to move forward, to use my life in bigger and better ways, and becoming a better person while doing it. Not "better" based on other people, but just based on me - for an audience of two - God and Steve.

So my alarm has gone off. The calendar is set. And training - of mind, body and SPIRIT - has begun.

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