I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately–mostly on how things have changed since the decision to do my first Ironman. It’s been a rocky road, but ultimately it was exactly what I needed to loosen the rocks inside so I could discover what’s truly important.
I was digging through the archives of Crushing Iron and found this (which was one of my first posts) and it’s interesting to note how I felt at the time vs. where I am now. It’s a reminder to be patient in life because (though I could “see” the future) I genuinely feel like I’m only now starting to understand what is possible. Ironman training can be a pain in the ass, but it’s a long, slow grind that can have a major impact on many areas of our lives.
Ironman Wisconsin: Registration Day (first posted in 2012)
Let me tell you, if Ironman Wisconsin is anything as stressful as “registration” for Ironman Wisconsin, I am in deep shit.
Registration opened the day after the race at noon and I was reading stories around the web that said it could sell out in as fast as 15 minutes. There were five of us signing up and I was a wreck thinking that I might be the only one to not get in. It didn’t help that my boss called an 11:00 am meeting out of the blue.
Like most bosses, he is a big fan of hearing himself talk and this strategy session had me glued on the clock. I thought I was good, but he opened a can of worms at 11:47. It wasn’t much of a stretch to act like I was sick and run out of that office at noon, because I was getting queasy.
His can of worms was flying right over my head, and at 11:59 I stood up and declared the meeting over. He looked at me like I was crazy (I probably was) and asked where I was going. I said I had something to do and I was confident the rest of them were more than qualified to finish the meeting.
It was a bold move and I’m sure there was probably enough subordination to get fired, or at least a red flag in my file, but I didn’t care. I would have quit at that moment and, as it turns out, still might.*
It’s not just the Ironman that has me thinking about walking from the corporate world, it’s what the quest stands for. Getting to the point where I actually believe I can do a full Ironman is a major change in my thought patterns. I am turning into a different person, and that person is me.
* I finally left corporate America about a year later.
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