My mind is exploding with ideas and things that I want to communicate. I don't know where to start. My last post was in May and let's face it, it was depressing :) It's now October and there have been a lot of changes in my life over the past 5 months.
However, I must fight the urge to make this the catch all entry because this is "The Flicted Friend" and I want this space to remain more or less my space to reflect and learn and share poignant life lessons learned. So for now, here's a bit of what I've learned over the past 5 months and I'm calling it "Triathlon Times."
In May, I decided to train and participate in an Olympic distance a triathlon. Many of you are now asking yourself (and me) WHY? Well, for a lot of reasons, some of which I am still figuring out but mostly it's about healing after a great loss and gaining
I chose to do this great thing with Team in Training, a fund raising and training program for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. TNT offers athletes a four-month comprehensive training program under the guidance of qualified coaches and in return, each athlete raises funds used in the fight against blood cancers. Blood cancer is what took my friend Roger Miller from this life and an endurance sport (rock climbing) is what took my friend Shelley. They died in the same week of November 2005 and in celebration of their lives, I chose to do something that I never thought I could to honor their great lives and to find some peace and solace from the loss.
Participating in a triathlon is a celebration of human spirit, physical ability and mental endurance. For me, it was also celebration of life!
We begun the process in early May. A training schedule was outlined and the weeks began to fly by. Daily training was necessary. If I wasn't running, I was biking or swimming and some days I was doing all three. So many times, I wanted to quit but after a few months, I had raised quite a bit of money towards the cause and not only did I need to finish for me, now I had an incredible support group of donors and friends that were cheering me on.
And then, like lightning, the summer was over and I was on a plane to Orlando, FL to compete in the Walt Disney World Triathlon. It was amazing and a moment that will most likely get better as I get older and all of my memories fade from good to better :) In all my life, I have to say that was my peak of fitness. I wasn't the fastest in the race but I was the fastest that I had ever been. I finished the one-mile swim when I thought I would surely drown. I rode the 25 miles on my bike with ease and enjoyment. I finished the 6 mile run upright, sprinting and could have gone at least another mile :)
My heart was so full in that moment, I don't know if I will ever be able to put words to it.
In moments of my own personal despair, Roger Miller had counseled me, "Anywhere worth going is always uphill." He was right.
Now, I know that without a doubt, along with a few other key points. I humbly submit these things that I learned in my journey and hope that they somehow make sense and reflect in some small way what I've begun to understand about my own purpose and the importance of embracing that purpose.
- Forest Gump was wrong. Life is not like a box of chocolates, life is like a triathlon, you never know if you are going to survive.
- A meaningful purpose pushes you beyond your perceived personal limits. When it's not about you, you can do so much more.
- Chaffing is going to happen, do what you can to prevent it but in the end, you will need to just accept it.
- Drowning is not an option. Neither is crashing or quitting.
- When you crawl out of the water, you still have to bike and when you get off your bike, you still have to run.
- There are always people in front and behind you in the progression of things. They aren't your competition, you are. Your place in the progression isn't as important as your progression.
- Even if you are last, at least you finished.
- Milestones are only markers, not finish lines.
- Sometimes water stations are really far apart, unbearably far apart!
- Transitions are hard. You want to stop but you know you have to keep going.
- Fans are the best invention ever. No matter how tired you are, encouragement along the way always helps.
- There is nothing like the finish line. It's worth it, every time. This point is the one that I hope you will take with you for now and always. I might be naive and silly about lots of things but I know about finish lines and trust me, it's worth it. If you haven't already, find a finish line and do whatever it takes to cross it. You will be amazed what it does for your heart and soul. 
