Tag: finish

Don’t Compare Run Your Race

It Is Your LegacyLeave a comment

Comparison is dangerous.

Last weekend I went to a triathlon event with multiple races. I watched. Some took all day and others were less than an hour.

As participants finished a short race I noticed … tall, short, stout, skinny, young, old, moms and dads, some striving hard and others just surviving. A few had artificial limbs, most didn’t know anybody except for a friend or family member.

They just ran their race and they finished. Each one had their reason for running. If they had tried to copy someone else they would have been miserable and failed.

With over 500 participants I’m sure a few were disappointed in their outcome, but most have started telling the story of a completed race.

I can image the Monday morning stories of big waves and oppressive heat and the challenges they faced … but they lived to tell the story.

Leave a good legacy … run your race.

Dreams Crushed

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The next few posts tell the story of attempting and endurance triathlon.

In 1989 I watched the Ironman World Championship on television. I had never heard of the race. It was spell-bounding. Just watching the average man and woman competing in a race, fighting to just finish was compelling. Their stories of inspiration came in different sizes, ages and abilities. They were so dramatic that I was in tears cheering for them to make it to the finish line. And for those who just missed it, I ached. Winners – who cares, I want to see who finished the race. When they crossed the finish line, I feel like I crossed the line with them.

An Ironman is a triathlon that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile run (a marathon). 140.6 miles. The final cut off time is usually 17 hours later.

I was inspired! This was the beginning of my attempt to compete in an Ironman. I signed up for shorter sprint triathlons and had a plan to progress. And then as many of you have experienced, life gets in the way of our dreams.

Two painful knees stopped the running and then child number three and four came along and changed my priorities. The dream vanished ….crushed like cheerios in a minivan.

And then it was over ….

Tell the stories of dreams that are crushed. There is always more to the story. It’s your legacy.