We all know someone that is much younger than they seem, or conversely, much older than their attitude would suggest. A few years ago I set a goal to complete my first marathon before I turned 40, we had our first child when I was 21 and when talking with a fellow co-worker, he said he wanted to stop working when he turned 50. We seem to put so much emphasis on our age and use it as a benchmark to measure things or events by. Why is that? Age shouldn't be our primary means of measurment. When someone asks me if I have kids ( a very typical and innocent question at your standard dinner party) and I answer yes, the very next question is, "what are their ages?". Without exception the reaction is one of surprise. I'm too young to have kids that age, did you start when you were 14 and so on. Yet, I can't imagine having done it any other way. Seems normal to me.
I met a 76 year old woman at an Olympic distance triathlon who told me she always wins her age group. She was more than a little peeved she didn't have more competition! Now THAT'S the right attitude!
This week I will turn 44 and it's hard to believe that I have arrived here so quickly, yet when I think about it, what does it really matter? Age is truly just an attitude and I don't believe we were designed to retire or stop doing anything based on age. Rather, we should ask ourselves "are we contributing and living out our purpose in life?"
As long as we believe we are, we are in the right place. If not, what in the world are we waiting for? One thing's for sure, we get one round at this thing and we better make it a good one!
With little more than 200 days to race day, I'm feeling stronger each week. Most of my work has been focused on building aerobic capacity. Lots of swimming, tempo runs and bike sessions that exceed a couple of hours and I have been able to stay injury free.
My work schedule has been very busy in February, loaded with travel. Running and cycling has not been a problem, that's usually easy to solve. Swimming is a bit tougher to solve for. Not many hotels have an Olympic size lap pool and finding a club close by can be difficult. This week I received a training aid that I'm going to try. It's designed to allow me to swim in a small pool like you would find at a hotel. Check it out.
I'll see how it works. At any rate, it will allow me to get my swim in!So I turn 44 this week, I'm training for an Ironman while managing to be a part of my family and have a full time career. Oh yeah, and having an absolute blast at that!
Have a great week!
4 comments:
Wow, Dan, you keep amazing me. After David's death, when I told my son that the body is not as important as the soul, he asked me, "why don't we all just die then?" I was caught off guard. But then someone said that God has us here for a reason, and he gives us a body to take care of, nurture, use and not missuse for His service. I believe you are doing just that, taking care of your body, to the extent that few of us do. I look up to you as an inspiration to get my act together and start taking care of myself. Age is in your mind, that is true. But you can only be the age you want (and that is usually younger) if your body feels younger too. I am proud of you. And I am glad you haven't gotten injured!
Your fans are looking for an update. Any new gadgets you want to showcase? How about a picture of you actually using the blue contraption?
Really impressed with what you are doing, Dan, all kidding aside.
Dan- ET sent me the link to this blog as I had trouble Googling it a few weeks back. I think I read the whole thing last night – very cool. I just started another tri book. The author suggests two very important actions to help ensure you finish and achieve your goals. 1. Register for the event. 2. Tell all of your friends, family, and coworkers. Your blog has taken this to a whole new level to help ensure your commitment, grow your support network, and inspire others.
What other events are you registered for this season besides the WI IM? Big Foot, Harbor Lights, Racine, Pleasant Prairie? Pleasant Prairie is a fast, well managed race just across the WI boarder 2 weeks before you Ironman.
Paul Beaupre
Dan__
First things first, young man__ Happy Birthday! Second, impressive & inspring. You prove here the million reasons for why one can't... are delusions! Keep up the great work & continue to set the bar high for all of your friends.
Drew
PS__ You may have a second career as a writer! (Tiki Barber???)
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