Something to Prove

A friend of mine got angry at me when I told him I was training for an Ironman.

"Why would you do that? What are you trying to prove?"

Why does it have to be proving anything? I understand that many triathletes suffer from major extremist habits, but I think this addiction personality quirk can be moderated by looking over a training

plan and adjusting life accordingly. I mean, pushing one's boundaries is excellent- provided you already have them set. I don't expect everyone to sign up for intensely physically straining activities, but I'd like to think that everyone relates to that human desire to push/grow beyond day to day activities. It's fundamentally about people realizing how they work, defining personal goals AND boundaries that fit their path, then finding ways to grow and change that ultimately make them happy.

Besides, it wasn't as if I rushed into this:

1. I have time to train.
2. I'm young.
3. I'm already in decent running shape.
4. I'm training the "right" way: with a group of people, two coaches, and a mission.

So ultimately, why not? What are the big cons? Having both the will and the way in hand helps to put everything into perspective.


The workouts:

Saturday:

I wasn't able to ride with the team (no bike yet) so I ran with one of my teammates, Gus, for about 5.5m with hills. Not too bad considering the 9m I ran on Friday! I like the challenge of running hills instead of just plateaued concrete.


Sunday:

Took today off! I was going to go to a Bikram class down in Costa Mesa, but I ended up getting sidetracked by helping my mom with holiday cooking at my parents' place.

Picture taken from here portraying Gregory Reade's sculpture entitled "Pushing the Limits."