May 31

  I was very tempted today to write about the heat and humidity, despite the fact that I was pedaling away my last miles for my triathlon.  It was really hot in the gym, with hardly any air circulation (it's the one reason I sometimes wish I worked out elsewhere).  My thoughts while I biked were mostly about how nice it's going to feel tonight when the thunderstorms chase 20 degrees and a bucketful of humidity away. 

 

  As I made my way home, I began minimizing my accomplishment.  What's the big deal of taking a month to complete a triathlon?  We all know that people do it in a day.  Frankly my accomplishment seems a little ridiculous.  A month to complete 2.4 miles of swimming, 26.2 miles of walking, and 112 miles of biking?  My worst critic tells me that that's pathetic, and that I'm pathetic for even mentioning it.

 

  Once again, I find myself having to fight that mental voice and to stop comparing myself to others.  There are undoubtedly a great many people who can finish a triathlon in a day; and there are undoubtedly also a great many more who couldn't complete it, even in a month.  I'm no worse, no better than anyone else.

 

  I have to celebrate the fact that I made the decision to sign up for the triathlon, and then I worked to complete it.  I completed my favorite portion, the swimming, despite the water-attracting hole in my ear drum; I completed the running portion using the elliptical as an alternative, finding a new machine to love, which doesn't hurt my knee; and I completed my least favorite portion, the bike, through sheer obstinacy. 

 

  I set a goal, I worked toward it, and I achieved it.

 

  It gives me hope.

 

~Karin

 

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.  It's about learning to dance in the rain.