2 months and counting

I've just returned to my office from what has become the standard lunch date for me: a trip to the gym for a scheduled training and five quick minutes of eating 1,000+ calories and drinking as much water as possible before getting back to work. This day was particularly special in that I noticed two things almost simultaneously. The first, my race schedule which has been taped to my wall since December:

The second, today's date:

If you take out the full week I will taper for IMTX70.3 and the week-and-a-half I will taper for IMTX140.6, that leaves less than six weeks until target race day. It's hard to describe the feeling of knowing the road that lies ahead. Sheer panic, excitement, regret, fatigue (and more fatigue). My immediate thought is to forget about the emotions because its too late to back out and its much too late to begin training harder. Still, there is an un-brainwashed part of my mind that is terrified and wants to quit, however the process-driven piece of gray matter takes over and quiets it down. The headlines don't help: "cardiac arrhythmia claims triathlete." One more reminder that we have a choice in what we focus our attention and worries on....it's very simple: either positive or negative. I will fight to continue to be positive no matter how much easier it is to be negative.

I have learned so much about myself throughout this journey. The physical improvements are great and play an important role in the training, but the emotional, spiritual and mental improvements are the best thing to come out of this process. You train yourself to never give up. To replace fear with confidence. To set and meet goals. To work harder than you thought ever possible. To set an example for people who feel like you felt before this journey. With prayer and trusting the process, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. It's not just a phrase to make people feel good about themselves, it's real.

To put the money where the mouth is, here are some tangibles from my experience:

• 2011 marathon time: 4:32
• 2013 marathon time: 3:56
• 2011 average bike race speed (20+ miles): 16.47mph
• 2013 average bike race speed (20+ miles): 20.18mph
• 2011 swim (800m time trial): 2:44/100m
• 2013 swim (800m time trial): 1:39/100m

I wish there were a way to calculate a growth rate on confidence, work ethic and positivity...these would be astronomical for me.

I'll end this post with a quote I saw the other day that could not be more fitting for my situation, and I hope it is inspirational for you as well:

"You just can't beat the person who never gives up." - Babe Ruth