It's About the Journey Not the Destination

Well Amber and I are back from Jasper for over a week now and unfortunately the weather here is still cold as ever. We're both really tired of winter and feel like we've done our time in the cold, even Harley is looking a little depressed staring out the window at a snow covered street. I know it won't take long for things to change but I'm getting a little anxious to do some outdoor running and cycling. We had a great weekend with the GP crew, Saturday I joined the group for an icy 17km run. I could tell I was still trying to get over something because when Robert picked it up in the last two kms I couldn't stay with him. I normally look forward to the last push to the finish but I've been trying to fight off a cold for two weeks now and I can tell that I don't have the same speed I normally do.

That seems to be one of the reasons I've been a delinquent swimmer. I just can't get my butt to the pool when I wake up with swollen glands and my energy is non-existent. I'm through making excuses for the rest of this week though, I need to hit the pool at least three times before I have to get on the road again next week. I'll get there Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Looking at past years' results of some of the races I have planned I need to improve my swimming and biking if I hope to do well. It's very, very hard to win a short-course race when you lose a lot of time in the swim. However my goal is to do my best and have a lot of fun this year, the results will take care of themselves.

Racing still adds so much to my life and I really enjoy the training, something Amber and I have a shared passion for. Amber is not overly concerned about racing this year, which is just fine, she just wants to have fun and keep in shape. I'm going to follow her lead and just enjoy being an athlete and not focus on the results. If you start thinking you need to win every race you enter you are bound to be disappointed and that is not the type of athlete I want to be. I want to make other GP triathletes stronger by training hard and racing hard with them and celebrate the success of everyone. We all have different goals and plans for our lives and I think sometimes we can let ourselves become overly concerned with the "results" and not see that the "journey" is what is really important. I have had so much fun this year training in a group environment (it's my first year doing that consistently) and when I go to a race this year it's just a culmination of the strength everyone has given me. Thanks to all GP triathletes I hope we all have a fantastic season and encourage each other to push ourselves to reach goals we never thought were possible.