20,000 Miles

My freshman year at the state XC meet

Last week while entering my daily workouts into my training log, I decided it would be cool to add up all the miles I have swam, biked, and run since I started triathlons. After quite a bit of digging through the last two and a half years of training (yes I was procrastinating from doing my homework), I realized that if I completed the next days workouts I would pass 20,000 miles of training. It was at that moment I came to realize something. What has happened in those miles is something far greater than the pursuit of a sport. Those miles have taught me more about who I am than probably any other thing in my life. Here are some of the lessons I have learned from the sport of Triathlon.

• Chase your dreams- Life is about finding something you are passionate about (whatever it may be) and chasing it. Obtaining things will never make you happy. Set dreams, be passionate about them, and give everything you got to chase them. A life that is driven by dreams has more value than any material object you will ever own.
• Who cares what other people say-There will always be someone telling you that your goals/dreams are a little crazy, and it can't be done. Don't second guess yourself. If you truly believe in yourself, belief will change your world. If you fail and everyone sees it, who cares. Get yourself back up and give it another shot. I have learned more from when things go wrong, than when things execute according to plan.
• Excuses get you nowhere- Regardless of weather you have a legitimate excuse or not, if you really want to reach your dreams you have to find a way. I love reading about the personal lives of professional athletes from any sport. Something I have come to realize is it is not their ability to compete on a high level that makes them great. It is their ability to overcome everything life throws at them, that makes them rise above the rest. Rule #76 no excuses play like a champion.
• I have amazing Parents-I have realized how amazing my parents really are over the last two years. In high school I walked away from a sport that potentially could have payed my way through college. When I quit because I hated the sport, my parents did not try and convince me to keep doing it. They let me pursue whatever passions I had at that time, and never forced me to do a sport I didn't want to. They have supported me more than I could ever ask for, and for that I am very grateful.
• Today is all that matters-The only thing that is going to get you closer to your goals it what you do today! Yesterday has already left, and tomorrow still ceases to exist. You can sit and plan all you want, but planning is not executing. You can only control this current moment, so don't waste it on things that don't matter. Make it productive. Every second you sit is another opportunity passed.
• Appreciate what you have-I have honestly grown up with the best life a kid could ask for. I have so many things that I take for granted, and so many opportunities I have passed by. I have learned that I need to appreciate all of these things and not take them for granted.
• There is no place like a country road-When you are young you want to be where things are happening. Loud music, lots of people, and big cities. Out in the middle of nowhere on a country road is not one of these places. I never understood why people live way out in the middle of nowhere with no one else around. But after spending countless hours peddling my bike with not a single person or building in sight, I have found these moments to treasure. I have come to love these moments of solitude. There is great value in simplicity.