Changes

"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not. "- James Gordon

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." - Allen Cohen

The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become. - Charles DuBois

Cut the "im" out of impossible, leading that dynamic word standing out free and clear-possible. -Norman Vincent Peale

I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. - Aldous Huxley

It is really hard to put into words what is going through my mind lately, but the wheels are definitely turning. And it can mostly be attributed to a couple of changes that are going on around me.

First and foremost, the transition from marathon runner to ironman triathlete. Now that the San Diego marathon is in behind me (and what a great time it was), I get to focus my training on IRONMAN. Talk about shifting gears (that was a bike joke, so laugh).

So here is the problem. I totally understand MARATHON. MARATHON and I are good friends. I like MARATHON. MARATHON likes me. We get along. I am not the fastest runner. Nor do I have the best running form. MARATHON is comfortable. I understand MARATHON training. MARATHON is embedded in my daily routine.

But now, instead of my normal 6 mile run on a Tuesday afternoon. It is a 30 mile bike ride followed immediately by a 3 mile run (completed successfully in just under 15o minutes, by the way)

And this is just one day. There are going to be days where getting my training may seem impossible. And will take hours.

I am feeling a little overwhelmed.

But to be successful in this endeavor will require commitment, dedication, willpower and sacrifice.

Kind of like the other change in my life.

Because it just so happens that sort of met a girl in San Diego.

Amazingly enough, she lives in KC.

And we have seen each other twice since getting back from San Diego last Thursday.

Even more amazing, we are going to see each other again. Not that it can be considered a relationship, yet. But it appears to be headed that way (assuming I don't screw something up - always a possibility)

While I can't predict the outcome of IRONMAN and won't even venture to guess the future of this relationship, I do know that the possible combination of these two new endeavors in addition to everything I am hoping to accomplish this summer will make for an exciting summer.

I am committed.

I am dedicated.

I have the willpower.

I will make the sacrifice.

But most of all, even though I am a little overwhelmed right now, I am totally looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.