TRIATHLON

Why Train for a Triathlon??

I got back from Costa Rica at the end of December. Nothing was falling into place and I wanted to run away from everything. I needed to do something for myself, something that would force me to pay attention to me, something that would make me take care of myself, something that would give me time, time to reflect, time to be with myself, away from the world.

I signed up to do my first half IronMan. You might think this is an odd choice. Maybe not relaxing, maybe not nurturing, maybe extreme. But for me, it sounded perfect. Days of training, long hours of running, weekends spent on a bike in nature, and the isolation of being under the water in a pool… consumed!

Ahhh the meditation that would take place…all under the label of training!!! It was a license to be alone, un burdened by the world. A license to be free (why I feel I need this license is another story).

So the training began. Late nights in the pool. Me and the water. Long road rides out of the city. Runs that cleared my mind into eternal expansiveness.  Some days it was easy, some days hard. I have battled my mind and body but most of all feel a deeper strength. A deeper calm within me.

 I am now 6 weeks away from the race, and therefore will be tapering in 3 weeks. It’s almost over, and I feel like I have just begun. I have learned skills that I could have never imagined. For whatever purposes it serves here are my top ten:

1. I learned to believe in myself

2. I learned to say no to limited beliefs

3. I was forced to honor my body’s needs in every moment

4. I gained strength to move through walls of the mind

5. I discovered the beauty of being truly selfish

6. I found out that the journey to the race, which starts the day you sign up, is what is to be cherished.

7. That the moments of struggle are just as enjoyable as the moments of bliss.

8. That it is possible to feel truly high without drugs!

9. That my body sometimes just wants to rest, and I have to let it

10. I’m not perfect, which is great!!!