I will be celebrating my 20th year of triathlons at Heart Of the Lakes on July 16th.

My dad and I in 1997 at my first Triathlon. Wow, 15 was an awkward year.

It’s a good time to remember how much I love swimming and running and biking. The world of triathlon has done so much for my life.  It’s become a cornerstone of my career.  It has been a source of friendship and a reminder of gratitude.

The last hug before boat loading.

Annalesa hugs, and back rubs, and expert race number application.

The clients…

even tattoos (and buttons, and brackets, and socks…)

Woot! First in our category AND of ALL the relays!

My personal journey as a swimmer, runner, biker, and triathlete has taught me so much about myself.  It has been a source of strength and humility.  Over and over again I got to prove to myself that I can do something hard.  Athletic training is such a great way to interject some type two fun into daily life.

Justin Oaksford Mordor design

Will snapped this of me coming home after the Polar Dash. Don’t I look happy?

But right now, while I’ll be doing the Heart of the Lake Tri, I am not training to race.  There are so many reasons.

• I’m trying other athletic activities.  It’s beneficial both as a person and as a professional.
• I’m pursuing career goals.  It’s taking all my energy to keep my eye on this ball.  For far too long I figured the pieces would eventually all fall in to place.  Nope.
• I’m putting my money elsewhere.  Triathlons are expensive. It’s so much more than the race entry.  It’s the gear you wear out, the bike, increased nutrition demands, coaching, club fees, body work, travel, time off from work, it just goes on and on.

But even if I had the time and money, the biggest reason is…

• I’m not hungry for it.

To achieve big goals requires tons of dedication and passion and discipline.

When I’m hungry for it I’ve got plenty of ideas lined up.

• I’d love to get competitive at Olympic distance triathlons.  Maybe go to age group nationals?  I’d want to hire a bike coach so I could start to see my potential.  I’d want to finally get a real tri bike so my 1970’s Italian steel can be put to pasture. What I really want is the feeling of racing aggressively.
• I’d love to reawaken my love for running and feel fast again.  Maybe a finally join the marathon club?  Maybe do trail races?  What pace “fast” is matters less than feeling fast.  I’d want to reconnect with the elemental rhythm of running that feels like a thread through the history of humanity and nature.  Running fast used to transport me to timelessness.
• I’d love to revisit Ironman Tri.  Perhaps I’ll get another chance to hit my “A” goal of a sub 12 hour Ironman.  Or at least a chance to get a PR.  I loved the long arc of the day, whether training or racing.  There’s no rushing, only steady sustainable effort.  Like being in the wilderness, complexities are stripped away and it’s only me traveling forward.

That’s enough stuff to feed at least 3 years, perhaps even 5 years of triathlon hunger.

But I’m waiting for the right time and more money.  Even if I had the time and money, I’d still want to wait until I was itching to start.

It will be so much more fun if I’ve waited.  The discipline and the sacrifices to do all the preparation will feel more like a treat than a chore.

I want to be hungry for the training and the racing.  I’ll wait until I’m starving for it.