February 2012

I was instructed on spin bike basics, the music cranked up, we stretched, we pedaled and by the time the class was over, I thought I was going to die! I was dripping with sweat and my water bottle was long depleted yet, I was energized. Sitting, standing, climbing, tension on then off the wheel, heart rate up, heart rate down (sort of) was the routine.

The instructor would call out, “Mind, body, bike!” and “Pain is weakness leaving the body!” The clarity and brevity in his words, seasoned with encouragement and challenge, allowed the focus of the class to be on one’s own personal development. He would say, “This is your workout.”

I came back to the next spin class and then the next. Amazingly, my knees had no pain and my legs felt like they were stronger. I’m loving spin class!

One day the class was working hard and the instructor tells a motivational story of how he completed the Ironman in Hawaii. What? It’s been 22 years since I thought of that race, but for the remainder of the class it was all I thought about. The Ironman.

I go home. It’s March. I have a crazy idea. If I can swim, then bike, I’ll just walk the rest of the way.

Some dreams never die they are just delayed.

Give your children and grandchildren a window into one of your adventures. They want a piece of your life. They want to know what you were thinking and how you are shaped. They want to know the wins and the losses. And usually, the times you crashed and everything went wrong are the stories and the lessons that are most remembered.

Your legacy matters. Tell your stories.

(This is Part 3 of attempting an endurance triathlon.)