Trying a Tri

I made a decision this week. I need a new challenge. After finishing another half marathon this May, the drive to do another one wasn't as strong as it once was. I still love to run, but I feel like I need a change. So after toying with it for the better part of a year, I've decided to try a triathlon!

I'm not nearly as confident about it as I wish I were. My swimming leaves much to be desired and I'm not the world's strongest biker either, but the idea of completing a triathlon has a lure that is particularly attractive.

Let me be perfectly clear, this attempt is NOT a full triathlon. I've actually come to learn that triathlon's come in a variety of distances starting at with a "try a tri" distance all the way to Ironman distance. The traditional triathlon is what is known as the olympic distance: (1.5 km swim, 40 km ride, 10 km run); there is a shorter version known as the "sprint" which is - (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run); there is also the "long course or half-ironman distance" - (1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run) and then the Full Ironman - (3.86 km swim, a 180.25 km bike and a marathon 42.2 km run).

I'll be attempting a sprint distance in August. My biggest concern is the swim. To do 750m in the ocean is very intimidating. My swimming will have to improve significantly in order for me to be able to do it, but with training, God-willing, I'll finish it.

Courage

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear" - Mark Twain
Do you know someone whom you would call courageous? Do yo have someone who inspires you to keep going when you feel like giving up? Someone who shows you what it means to be a courageous person? I have been blessed to meet many in my life. And I carry their courage with me daily and call upon it when needed.

I love the quote that started this article, because to me it is the truest definition of courage I have ever seen. Many of us mistakenly believe that courage means never being afraid of anything. When we think of "the brave" we think of a general leading an army into battle or a firefighter running into a burning building to save someone. Those people are certainly brave, but today I want to talk about a different kind of courage - the kind of courage that can be found on the pediatric ward of a hospital, in a minivan wtih a single mom and her four kids, or at the finish line of marathon five hours after it started.

It takes little courage to run a marathon when you're an elite runner who: a)Knows you'll finish and b) Who only has to run for 3hrs (okay that's still courageous but stay with me here). What is infinitely more admirable to me, are those average Joes out there who line up at the start line of their first marathon not sure if they could survive it. It takes something special inside you to limp your way to the finish line, in great pain, for 5 or 10km just because you refuse to give up! I don't think I'll ever forget watching Ron from NBC's Biggest Loser, crossing the finish line of a marathon THIRTEEN HOURS and SIXTEEN MINUTES after he started!

Go to a pediatric ward in a hospital though and you'll find what I think is probably the most remarkable example of courage I've ever seen. I've been blessed that almost every time I was admitted to a hospital, I was quite sure I would be coming out again. Often though, I'd meet people inside who didn't necessarily have that comfort. And yet, and here is what was truly remarkable, they weren't despondent, sad, or depressed. In fact, compared to the general population, they were quite happy! Now that, is courage. Knowing there's a good chance you won't be alive too long, and deciding to enjoy the ride anyway!

I think if you asked 100 people if they were courageous or not, 70-80 would probably say no and yet I think there are actually many more courageous people in the world than that. It just depends on what you consider to be courageous. Too many of us think, counter to Mark Twain's quote above, that to be courageous means to be without fear. Wrong. To have courage, to me anyway, is to be totally afraid, and do it anyway!

Think about it, does it take any great courage to jump off of a roadside curb? No. Does it take courage to jump off of a chair? For a few maybe, but not for most of us? Does it take courage to jump off a cliff or out of an airplane? Yes. (Some might say it takes a little insanity too, but that's another blog entry:)) So why is it that we label those who in the latter group more courageous than the others? Because we reason that they must be at least somewhat fearful of what they are about to do. Because we're fearful of doing it ourselves. So in fact, you could say that courage requires fear. No fear- no courage.

What's my point? I want you to consider today, what am I afraid of? What barriers, obstacles and limits are in my way because of my fear? What am I unwilling to try because I'm too afraid?
Now, ask yourself the more important question, "Should I do some of those things? What would the result be if I did?"

I'm not advocating reckless behaviour here. That's the reason for the follow up questions. Not everything that we are fearful of ought to be tested. We're afraid of driving our cars 200mph... there's a good reason for that. Fear is, after all, at it's route, a preservation skill. What I'm talking about are the irrational fears and worries that many of us carry around that impede our growth and limit our experience of life.

Today, try to challenge some of your fears. Think honestly about whether they are legitimate (ie: the fear of jumping off of a cliff) or they bear little weight (the fear of meeting someone new because of what they might think about you). If you discover then that either: a) You have nothing to be afraid of at all (often the case) or b)What you are afraid of isn't really that bad, then go ahead and do it anyway! Not only will become more courageous, but your life will open up and you'll be able to experience things that you otherwise wouldn't have.

Have a great weekend! Play safe!
Mark

Facing, and Beating Our Demons

We all have demons in our lives. Whether they come in very obvious forms like addiction, or more subtle versions, they are there. It matters not your background, upbringing, socioeconomic status, age, gender, or race. No one is except. What separates those who succeed in life and those for whom life is a constant struggle, is at least in part, how they handle those demons.

For too many of us, the way to handle the things that pose the biggest challenges, is to ignore them. We figure if we block them out, pretend they aren't there and distract ourselves with enough activity, we can evade them. Unfortunately, as I have learned more tan once, that tactic works for a while, but eventually, life knocks you down, strips away the distractions, and forces you to deal with the monsters in the closet.

For other people the demons are too strong to ignore, too big or pretend the aren't there and so they try to block them out or get numb enough that they don't have to deal with them anymore. This is where the nasty beast called addiction thrives.

Finally, for those for whom the demons are too strong, who don't have enough support, or aren't willing to avail themselves of that support, the journey ends by giving up. Sadly, suicide claims the lives of 4,000+ Canadians each year.

So what can we do to improve the situation and eliminate the demons? One thing. A simple thing, but it's also the most challenging and difficult thing to do; we have to do exactly what most of us don't want to do. We have to face the demons.

What I've come to learn in my limited, but powerful, experiences with my own inner demons is that the only way to beat them, overcome them and make them disappear, is to face them head on. Much like a child afraid of the "monster under the bed" we can take the power away from the things that frighten us and threaten to take away our well-being and peace of mind, by refusing to deny they are there. The monster under the bed is only powerful when it's allowed to run wild in our imaginations. Once we look under the bed and realize that there really isn't anything there, the monster goes away and our anxiety lowers. Our inner struggles work in much the same way.

So find someone to talk to, write in a journal, meet with your priest, minister or rabbi, and face your fears, addictions and anxieties head on. I don't promise an instant fix, or even that you'll never have another inner battle to fight in your life. What I can promise is that when you face your demons rather than running from them, you'll be on your way to peace of mind, and a confidence in the knowledge that, while you'll never be perfect, you are working at being the best person you can be.

Yours in Inspired Living,

Mark