“Exhilarating” is the only word that can describe the feeling I had while attending the Skinnyman Triathlon early Saturday morning. I took the 20-minute rainy drive to Skaneateles (pronounced Skinny-Atlas) mainly because of my overwhelming curiosity. For some reason, people who have completed triathlons have been coming into my life this past year and I notice myself often thinking about what it would be like to prepare and compete in one.
As I stood under my umbrella watching 600 people moving in the 57 degree water, I imagined myself out in their midst. Even typing this right now, I feel the exhilaration (there’s that word again!). Swimming may be my weakest of the three events, but I imagined myself wearing one of those M&M-colored swim caps and swimming the half-mile trek. I envisioned myself so zoned into the competition that my wet suit-covered body was moving swiftly with the finesse of Michael Phelps.
So, was this all a dream? Or is it the beginning of my creation?
Since this is an annual Labor Day weekend event, I’m assuming that next year’s Skinnyman Triathlon will take place on Saturday, September 5th, which happens to be my 50th birthday! How cool would that be to compete in my very first triathlon on my 50th birthday? There’s that “exhilarating” feeling again!
Do I think it’ll be easy? Absolutely not!
Training for the event will take me WAY out of my comfort zone. It’s going to yank me out of my basement workouts and send me biking and running outdoors... not to mention swimming in those cold indoor swimming pools during the Central New York winter!
It’ll be a challenge.
There may be days when I want to give up. Maybe.
To help myself along the way, I’m going to use a tool I use with my weight loss clients. Whenever I have an excuse not to go out and train, I’m going to write it down on paper. Then I’m going out to train anyway.
After all, those excuses are just thoughts.
They’re only true if I believe them.
If I do believe them, I don’t train and I don’t reach my goal.
If I don’t believe them, I do train, and I move closer and closer to finishing that triathlon.
One thing I know for sure is that if I THINK I can finish the triathlon, then I WILL finish the triathlon.
This is the mindset that’s going to get me to that finish line.
Next year at this time, I’ll let you know what my times were.
In the meantime, I’ve got training to do!
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