To Half or Full

To be or not to be...that is the question.....


I feel very fortunate to live in a small community where everyone knows their neighbor and for the most part are very encouraging. This is especially true when you are talking about a group of like minded individuals who have the same goals in mind. 


Four years ago our little community re-opened their renovated swimming pool. Working at the park district, I was able to see it all happen first hand. The pool opened in the summer of 2008 and with the re-opening brought the return of the Tremont Triathlon, a sprint triathlon made for beginner triathletes. I'll never forget watching those triathletes as they challenged themselves and how disappointed I was with myself that I didn't participate. I let things like a sinus infection and my job distract me from training enough to feel mentally prepared to participate in the triathlon. 


There's nothing more motivating than the feeling of disappointment. I spent the winter preparing for my first triathlon the next year, the 2009 Tremont Triathlon. Ever since then, I've been hooked. 


Of course, I still have my moments of doubt, such as when I planned my 2011 races. But then don't read that post too closely because I didn't even do a half Ironman distance race last year. Why not? Again, I let my job distract me. Working 50 hours a week through the summer did not allow enough time to train, let alone compete in any additional triathlons. 


Well, now it's time to plan for 2012. I told a few people that I was planning on doing the Muncie 70.3 (since I wouldn't have the dead weight of a J-O-B to distract me) and

All of the sudden I'm getting challenged to step up and do a full Ironman. My local triathlon club, T3, has 10 people already signed up to do Ironman Louisville on August 26th. The 11th person registered is my niece, Awesome Cheryl  - the biggest factor in all of this.  Cheryl sent me several messages throughout the day, challenging me, motivating me and finally inspiring me. What do you do when you receive a Facebook update like this from the one person who knows how to pull at you from the deepest spot in your soul? 

I know you are competitive, I know you are passionate about fitness and inspiring people to be fit and I know you love t-shirts!!! And by the way...I totally know that you could do this if you decided that was what you wanted to do. I would love to take on the ultimate challenge of an Ironman with the person who inspired me to do my first triathlon almost 4 years ago.

This message was the final message for the day...the zinger, the hook, line & sinker!


So today the question is 

OR