The Race.

I've been watching my life, and the lives of my loved ones lately. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that life is full of challenges. These challenges will shake you to your core. I always like to think the things I learn out on the road and in the water are applicable to life itself.  And I suppose they are.

Life is about endurance. At the beginning of most races I've decided to do, most often during the swim, I regret making the choice to don my kit and goggles that morning. But as I keep going along, I muddle through the misery to find things aren't that bad after all. I often think the beauty of endurance sports is finding our outer limits and pushing through them. That's true on a grander, macro-level scale. But a race is composed of tiny moments where we continue to push through pain, doubt, frustration. Those are what make the race.

Why do we delve deep into our nature, our spirit like this? Because that's how you make it through. Through to the moments where whatever you are doing feels good again. Regardless of the choice you make, you are seeking your limits and exploding through them, as long as you keep moving forward. You can't change a crappy swim, just like you have no control over the millions of bad things that happen in your life. Innumerable times, the things we have control over, we screw up anyway. We're humans, not God. We're designed to mess up everything.

So you messed up. You ran out too hard out of transition. You have to carry that with you for the rest of the race. That doesn't mean you can't keep going and finish strong. It's your race to worry about, to tinker with, to mess up, and to push through. No one else's. Sometimes we get flats, have wrecks, or get chafing... sometimes life deals us a hand that's challenging. I see people who kill it daily. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. In spite of their challenges.

Where am I going with this? We all have bad things happen. In real life, just like in races. Life is what you make of it. Take the bad, and turn it into good.