But when it gets busy again, which it will get over the holidays, I will long for another day like this.
Post Ironman reflection. 2013 was not my year for another 140.6 mile Ironman medal.
Will I try again?
Yes, but I need to take at least a year off.
2014 will only have a couple of 70.3 races in it.
So I have been doing some reflecting of where I am at and where I want to be. I have been attending quite a bit of seminars and submersing my mind in new knowledge. I have been searching for a new direction and programming my brain with fresh thoughts and ideas.
So of course, being the visual person that I am, I found an illustration to sum up exactly where I am at on a figurative map. Here is the cycle of life, courtesy of what I have learned from Dani Johnson.
First, I had to let my previous crop die. This precious harvest was my goal of completing an Ironman. I accomplished what I set out for in 2012 but I did not want that glory to end in 2013. I tried to make the crop live forever and by doing so I have felt empty and lost. The drive that once was pushing me was gone and I was trying to force life into something that was already dead. It took me almost the entire year to realize what I was doing.
I have finally accepted that my crop is dead.
I am now focused on selecting some new crops. I am looking to plant 3 of them, as a matter of fact, and I am at the point of preparing the earth for planting.
I am going to focus my crops on three main areas. Business. Wealth. Health.
Business. I am ready to be my own boss. Set my own hours and work from home. I do not want to depend on a corporation to put a cap on my salary. To do this, I need to focus my time on education on some business skills. I am giving this crop 7 years to be ready for harvest in other words, this is my longest term goal that will take the most time.
Wealth. I no longer want to be slave to Mastercard and Visa. I will learn how to manage what I have now So I may be entrusted with more. The crop will be ready for harvest in 2 years.
Health. So yes, I have learned to swim and conquered 2.4 miles. I did this 2 more times in each of the Ironmans I did not cross the finish line. I am officially out of my comfort zone with swimming. So what is the next thing I dislike doing?
Weight and/or Strength Training.
I also dislike cooking. One huge thing I learned in Ironman training is that you can workout out several hours a week....but weight does not fall off (as a woman at least) unless the diet changes too. So the question is, can I be in the same shape I was while training for an Ironman but with less time I invested doing cardio? Well, I will not know for sure unless I try and focus on my diet and building muscle.
I am going to be experimenting with several workout DVDs until I find something that calls to me and I want to get certified in. It seems crazy right now to become a P90X instructor but not impossible.
My health goal will be set in shorter increments. Every quarter I want a harvest and be prepared to plant again. Each quarter, I reevaluate where I am at and then up it another level. The body must be at its optimum level in order for the other 2 harvests (goals) to come to fruition.
