"Cranky"

So I haven't been getting much sleep as usual. Not because I'm having trouble falling asleep, but because my schedule is so full. I'm really not complaining though. I liked getting up this morning to get out on my bike!

I am feeling really philosophical during my training, and it's a lot of fun. Today while I was on my bike, a lot of interesting ideas came into my awareness.

At one point on my ride this morning I was so in the moment, then I flashed forward to the future all the way to September 13, 2009... the day of the race. I flashed right to crossing the finish line. Though I've never done a triathlon, and I have no clue of what the finish line will look like other than the images I make up in my head, it's more of the meaning of the finish line. There are so many days between now and then. I can't explain to you just how excited I am to enjoy every moment between right NOW and then. Each action I take, in each moment, is carrying me closer and closer to my goal. Each "step" is a chance to improve, is a chance to get faster, a chance to get stronger, a chance to grow... Each moment I get to ask myself, am I doing the best I can do? Am I making each pedal stroke count? Or am I cheating myself when I back off too much? Am I using the elements (the wind) to make me stronger? I was thinking how everyday is "race" day. And lucky for me I can see that so near the beginning of the training because each time I finish a workout, I get to check in with myself to see whether or not I have any regrets... Do I feel like I trained enough to improve, but not too much to injure myself. The body is my tool, a tool of the mind. And my mind is a tool (sometime a self-sabotaging one...) ;-) of my soul.

So the path we rode today is about 6 miles long one way. Then we rode back a few miles, went back to the end, then come back to the starting point. At one point there was a lady from our team that was a speedy today. :-) She was coming back while most of us were still heading out. I was thinking to myself how nice it would be to be where she was. But then I had to remind myself, as long as I'm doing my best, that is all I can do. And eventually I will get there one workout at a time, one moment at a time. And in the end, the only one I am in competition with is myself. I don't want to get to the end and say... is it over already? I want to get to the end knowing that I put it all out there on the course, and leave the race with no regrets.

Tri-Tri-Tri again...

So I'm really excited to be training for the triathlon in September. My shoulders on the other hand, are probably not so happy. They are a little bit sore, but I am going to get a deep tissue massage next week to try and work some of the tension out. I can't wait to get back in the pool, and start practicing. And I'm also excited for the biking days. The running however might take a little more motivation... we shall see. I don't really have much to write today, so I'll leave it at that for now.

~Be well~

I loves me some music!

Joshua Radin
"It's a Brand New Day"

Some kind of magic
Happens late at night
When the moon smiles down at me
And bathes me in its light

I fell asleep beneath you
In the tall blades of grass
When I woke the world was new
I never had to ask

It's a brand new day
The sun is shining
It's a brand new day
For the first time in such a long long time
I know I'll be ok

Most kind of stories
Save the best part for last
And most stories have a hero who finds
You make your past your past
Yeah you make your past your past

It's a brand new day
The sun is shining
It's a brand new day
For the first time in such a long long time
I know I'll be ok

This cycle never ends
You gotta fall in order to mend

It's a brand new day
It's a brand new day
For the first time in such a long long time
I know I'll be ok

Rise Together

It's a beautiful time to be alive.
And the long walk home is peopled--
We, are everywhere.
Yet the struggle to surrender is where we walk alone.
So the next time you fall
look
to either side where you lie
and take the hand
of your dear Sister or Brother
whose own face is muddied.
We can rise together,
even if we fall alone--
for it's a beautiful time to be alive
even
on this long walk home.
(Em Claire - 2007)

Relationship Excerpt

Do we love our loved one enough to say the three magic words? Not "I love you." They're, quite frankly, a bit over-used. But here are the three magic words of every relationship: As you wish.

When we're prepared to say that, then we have truly given people back to themselves. Until we're ready to say that, we have simply sought to use our relationship with another to bring to us what we imagine ourselves to need in order to be happy.

-Neale Donald Walsch on Relationships

Remember...

What one man can do, ANY man can do.

Today

The joy is found in the journey, not in the destination. Now if I could only apply that wisdom to my life, and not just repeat the words... but actually live it! How grand would life be?