Balance

Training stuff first.... Woke up this morning and my pulse was down under 30 beats a minute.... That's VERY LOW and a good indication that I'm pretty tired (from training) right now. This is a good thing though and it feels good to be back in this place again. It’s very satisfying to know that you’re doing the training, your bodies working hard but you can keep going. I knew this would happen about now as I’m on week 5 of a 6 week training block. This would normally be the easy week in my 5 week cycle, but with London Tri just over a week away, not being a massive priority I decided to stretch myself a bit. Partly to see how I race carrying fatigue and partly because I'm targeting the national champs in September as my next goal, so London is more about testing stuff out.

Not least of which will my swimming. It continues to feel better and better by the week. The work I’m doing with Alex is really helping & for the first time ever I’m optimistic about my performance in an Elite race swim. There will be some of the fastest swimmers in the world at this race for sure, but if I can see the magic 20.xx on the clock when I come out the water I’ll be overjoyed. That's been a massive target of mine for a long time.

Apart from that, training continues to go well. My nasty run session with my coach on Tuesday had to be altered slightly in order to finish it and keep the quality. with the tiredness in my body, it was no real surprise, but I backed it up with my favourite long hilly ride of about 90 miles in a time I was pleased with. This is the kind of stuff that tells me the "zip" I said was missing, is now coming back. I actually feel strong again. With 7 weeks until the nationals, this fills me with great excitement.

So to the main subject....

The other day I wrote (but didn't post) a blog about balance. Not physical, but life(style) and the choices we make that effect it. On the way to work this morning I read something that reminded me of so many things, its impossible to put them down in one post... Probably in less than 10 ;-) I’ve been mulling over the ins and outs of my training and racing, recent failures and general unbalance that I’d allowed in my life & its impacts. But the letter in a Tri magazine I read this morning brought home to me what is ACTUALLY important....

"I have lost so much in the last year. However within our memories are also all the reasons we have for not doing things: I am too old, too fat, too out of shape. I don't have the time. What if I suck? What if I'm too slow?

One thing I do know is I have the time I have today. It is all I will remember and I'm going to remember it by doing something I cannot ever forget, whether it is getting married, running a marathon, doing my first triathlon or going to school. I have forgotten all the reasons not to do it"

Made me realise what balance truly is. It’s not making sure you plan everything better, accommodate everyone & their needs more, or satisfy you own needs more. Though undeniably those things can help make up "balance".... But I think true balance comes from knowing down inside that what you are doing, today, right now matters.... It counts; it will make a positive difference to you, your world or someone else in it.

Carl Lewis (great American sprinter) once said that "it’s not quite true to say 'you CAN be anything you want to be' but rather 'you WILL be what you want to be." By this he meant that the decisions we make reflect what it is that we truly want and therefore define if we are balanced or not. We might say we want to do something, but if we don't make the choices to move us towards that then actually, deep down its not what we REALLY want.

This simple concept has really challenged me in the last week or so. What do I want and do my choices result in actions that move me towards that. There have been some pretty tough questions to answer and maybe some answers I didn't like..... But then I have the power... To make new choices that can change this.... It’s ALWAYS my choice!

Some of these choices might not make sense to others right now, or even for years or more but if they move me toward the goals that I believe are important then they have to be made. I'm pretty sure that the more I try to ensure that my choices fall in line with this, the more balance will come back into the equation.

My final thought on it all and my new tag line when making choices "it’s not about being efficient, it’s about being effective"