I Am Capable

After completing Beach to Battleship in 2012, I wrote Icing On The Cake. In that post I spoke a little about the fact that race day was wonderful but it was all of the training that went into that race that really mattered to me.

Two and a half years later and that is even more true. Of course I remember that feeling of coming out of the water, seeing my time, realizing I was over 20 minutes faster than I had expected and grinning from ear to ear. I remember coming out of T2 and shouting at my husband, “Best day ever!” And I remember sitting at the finish line being amazed as I watched others who looked younger and more fit than I cross after me. But what I really remember is all of the days leading up to that race.

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I remember the will it took to get out there for my long run on Sunday morning after spending 5 hours in the saddle and an hour on my feet the day before. I remember coming home from one of my rides with (sorry to be indelicate) runner’s trots and having my daughter force me out the door for my run anyway. Her response was, “What will you do if this happens on race day? Quit?” And I remember falling asleep while foam rolling and another time as I was stirring the soup I had prepared for dinner.

I remember these things fondly because I know that if I did that once I can do it again. If I pushed myself to those limits then, I can push myself to accomplish my list of goals now.

Running and triathlon contain so many life lessons. But I believe that the biggest lesson we learn by pushing ourselves in these endeavors is that we are capable. We are capable of so much more than most people believe. We can accomplish amazing feats by simply deciding to do them.

The Beach to Battleship Iron-distance triathlon will always be a memory I cherish. But more than that, it serves as a rung on the ladder of my upward moving life. If I can accomplish what I accomplished during that season and on that day, I can accomplish anything.