I think I've finally decided what I'm going to do. I'm going for Ironman Arizona next year with Iron Team, Once I get it out of the way then I can decide if I'll do it again a year or two later or if I'm going to stick with half iron / 70.3 distances as my preferred endurance races.
Two of my best friends in California are getting married! I think it shouldn't have caught me by surprise as much as it did... but damn, that picture of Keeley wearing the ring was astonishing and not just because the ring looked awesome on her hand but also because it's one more couple of friends who are hitching up. It used to bother me a lot more than it does now.
It just means getting travel arrangements for California (and getting a few pairs of running shoes in the process) and spend good time with friends I didn't realize how much I missed until today.
I thought I was 100% committed to IronTeam but after weekends like the last I'm down to about 90% certainty or even less.
I also thought that moving out of California would be the great adventure and the best way to challenge myself. It was and it has been but not in the way that I expected it ... I've looked at the support structures and the people I had in California and how much I miss them now that I have to work on discipline and willpower alone.
It's kinda hard to believe that it's only been in Georgia only for a month. It's been intense and satisfying... I've also learned a lot about myself, what I want and what I'm willing to do to achieve it.
It's not the heat, it's the humidity
The heat is not what bothers me about the weather in Georgia. It's the f*****g heat that kills me. I really have to figure how to carry more fluids and WTO be more consistent in drinking.
TNT still rocks!
It's been a crazy training month to say the least. On 8/21 I did the bike course for Augusta. Let me tell you that pit was an awesome session of torture but that I enjoyed it tremendously
As I posted elsewhere I'm still trying to figure out if I'm doing iron team or not. I'm leaning towards going forward with it but there are still a ton of unanswered questions.
Augusta is the day after my birthday... *sigh* my 36th birthday... And then the beer and the party is Sunday and Monday! That rocks!
I'm good at what i do 🙂
It always takes me a while to accept the fact that I'm good at what I do. I've been validated twice today (8/27) and it feels damn good to have hit the ground running and not trip while doing so.
The kind of professional validation doesn't happen very often so you should treasure the instances when it does happen and you should appreciate the people who offer unsolicited feedback.
Professionally I think I'm finally at the point where I can run with things and be happy with the results.
Keep drinking coffee, stare me down across the table
While I look outside
So many things I’d say if only I were able
But I just keep quiet and count the cars that pass by
You’ve got opinions, man
We’re all entitled to ‘em, but I never asked
So let me thank you for your time, and try not to waste anymore of mine
And get out of here fast
I hate to break it to you babe, but I’m not drowning
There’s no one here to save
Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
You sound so innocent, all full of good intent
Swear you know best
But you expect me to jump up on board with you
And ride off into your delusional sunset
I’m not the one who’s lost with no direction
But you’ll never see You’re so busy making maps with my name on them in all caps
You got the talking down, just not the listening
And who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
All my life I’ve tried to make everybody happy
While I just hurt and hide
Waiting for someone to tell me it’s my turn to decide
Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?
Let me hold your crown, babe.
Life has a way of settling into a routine, which can be good or can be a royal pain in the ass. I've been in Carrollton, GA since July 25th and working since the 1st of August. Working, Training, Living (or more aptly, trying to survive) but all things are turning around.
Remember how I used to gripe about not doing enough work with faculty? Now i have more work than I'll ever want dealing with instructional ideas and faculty members. I am busy as all hell but I haven't been happier in a long time. The more I stay here t he more I realize that I can't depend on anyone but myself and that the challenge is far from over.
I shoved my worry out of my head. It wasn´t going to help anything. The only one I could count on to ride to my rescue was me. If the Wardens managed to do it anyway, it would be a nice surprise, but I had to get myself moving before the problem started looking to big. It was the same principle as cleaning a really messy room. You don´t think about everything you have to do. You focus on one thing and get it done, then move on to the next.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination".
Vineman Full Iron Distance race is tomorrow… and it sucks that I’m gonna miss it. On the other hand, though, it’s such a strong motivator and encourager to do more, to do different things and to continue challenging myself wherever and whenever I can.
This new stage in life is about challenges: professional challenges in a new state with new people and new discoveries waiting for me. The worst that I can do is to hide from these challenges and not face them head on.
You can quit, and they won't care, but you will always know!
I have used these words from Eric Robinson’s blog before as a reminder that life is too short not to live it to its fullest and to enjoy every moment as if it was your last… They still resonate with me and they still call me to new, different things.
Live. And Live Well.
BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.
On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.
If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.
Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.
If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash then crash well.
Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.
If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own.
If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And Grieve well.
At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.
I am learning to appreciate the things I am obtaining as a result of accepting these challenges. I am slowly learning (again) that good things happen to those who are patient and that sometimes the rewards are even better than the perceived rewards of staying where you are.
Feel The Silence Goo Goo Dolls
You lie awake at night With blue eyes that never cry All you remember now Is what you feel
The truth remains In midnight conversations I asked for this moment But you turned away
Sad like a lonely child Broken the day you're born I held the light to you But I was so vain
And you remain A promise unfulfilled I ask you for more But you push me away
And if we feel the silence Holding this all inside us Everything means more now than Words could explain And if we feel the silence *Leaving this all behind us* Looking for something more to say
I don't know where I'm going Only know where I been But you move through my soul like a hurricane wind We've been so lost for so long I don't know how to get back again
And we're drowning in the water That flows under this bridge When you're fighting the current You forget how to live And I wanted to reach you but I don't know where to begin
And you remain A promise unfulfilled until today
And if we feel the silence Holding this all inside us Everything means more now than Words could explain And if we feel the silence Leaving this all behind us When it's gone what will you say
How do we hold on How do we hold on How do we hold on How do we hold on How do we hold on
You lie awake at night With blue eyes that never cry
I think I've finally decided what I'm going to do. I'm going for Ironman Arizona next year with Iron Team, Once I get it out of the way then I can decide if I'll do it again a year or two later or if I'm going to stick with half iron / 70.3 distances as my preferred endurance races.
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