We are here and then we go... Why this title for a blog? Sounds depressing right? Not really. I took this title from a recently recorded Pearl Jam song entitled Pendulum. It is how I view life: an ebb and flow of achievements and, sometimes, low points - we all have them. But we must believe that when the pendulum swings one way it will eventually swing back. We are here on this world for a short time before we go, this space is where I want to leave my mark.
Here are a few lines from Pendulum as I feel they relate to me (ah the beauty of music we all interpret it differently).
"Understand what we don't know
This might pass, this might last, this may grow"
I love this, I need to come to the realization that there is a lot I do not understand. Confession: I'm a big know it all and fake my way through it if I do not. I am hoping that by using this blog and working hard every day that this realization will not pass, it will last and it will grow.
Now... taking a song and making it relate to my Triathlon experience.
"Can't know what's high
Til you been down so low"
Welcome to triathlon, or more specifically Ironman. I competed in and completed the Lake Placid Ironman in 2012. I had suffered an unusual setback in my training about 2 months out from the race. I came down with a horrible month long vertigo. This shot a hole through my training and any goals for time or paces at the race. During the race on that July day I was determined to finish, time be damned. I kept telling myself, one month ago you couldn't ride your bike, swim, run, hell even walk without help and almost throwing up from nausea. Crossing that line, what a flood of emotions. What a high after a low. The pendulum had swung back.
"Easy come easy go
Easy left me a long time ago"
Above the middle of the pack age grouper. Yup, that is me. Not in the bottom, not at the top, yet not really the middle group of competitors. I took a year off from "serious" training after the 2012 Ironman. You know, to get life in line, do the things with the family I had not been doing due to the training hours and the vertigo... and enjoyed every minute of it. I love my family. An awesome, beautiful wife and two awesome kids. But the road has been easy, I can do minimal training and still go out there and compete and just go along and be mediocre. Time for all that to change. Easy has left my vocabulary and it is now time to get serious about training. I only want to do Ironman maybe two more times tops. This year in 2014 it will be time to crush it. There will be no easy minimal way of training, time for all hard work, all the time.
THE JOURNEY HERE ON THE INTERNET
I hope you will enjoy coming on this journey with me to Ironman Lake Placid 2014. There will be highs and lows, the pendulum will throw to and fro. Sometimes I will post about training, sometimes about random family life, sometimes about the world, and sometimes about fluffy cats. Well, actually I can guarantee that I won't be posting about one of those things. Let's see how this thing swings...
