Starting over

It is difficult to believe that my last entry was Sept. 2, 2014!! Time truly keeps on slipping into the future! The past three months have seen setbacks and failures. I am reminded of my fledgling attempts to learn how to bike, ski, and rollerskate. Each fall more painful than the last. There is a cultural wisdom proverb that says: "You fall down seven times, you stand up eight." So, this entry is me, standing back up after falling down and staying down for over three months.

I was reading this morning the Greek myth of Theseus, Ariadne, the Labyrinth, and the Minotaur. Theseus' journey home was through the Labyrinth at the dark center was the Minotaur waiting to devour him. Theseus conqured the Minotaur but, needed a way out of the darkness into the light. He had a life line that Ariadne gave him which he unwound as he got deeper and deeper into the maze. Theseus followed the tow line through the dark Labyrinth until he broke through to the light on the other side.

I was asked today why am I preparing to engage in Half Iron-Man training? After my last showing in the Chicago Half Marathon and International distance triathlon I have no logical reason to sign up for a Half Iron Marathon, yet here I am signing up after having such a poor performance my last two races..

The motivation (drive) and inspiration (draw) to train and race comes and goes like the waves of choppy water. I am coming to realize the importance of embracing and befriending the ebb and flow into the Labyrinth and the way out.

My goal is to be present to my pain while training, and to learn from my multiple dimensions. There is a poem that resonates within my soul:

The test of Man is the fight that he makes. The grit he daily shows, the way he stands upon his feet and takes life's numerous bumps and blows. A coward can smile when there's naught to fear and nothing his progress bars. But, it takes a man to stand and cheer while the other  fellow stars. It isn't the victory after all but, the fight a brother makes. A man when driven against the wall, still stands erect with his head held high, bleeding bruised, and pale is the man who will win and fate deified because he isn't afraid to fail.

The Journey Begins Anew