EVERY NEW DREAM IS DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU QUIT

In the beginning, every new challenge, dream or goal you embark upon is designed to make you quit!  It's just a law of human nature and there's no way around it. Your mind will test your heart over and over again, just to see how badly you want that dream.  Your mind will tell your heart to quit at least a million times over. 

Do everything you can to hold steadfast and keep patience. Surround yourself with others that are embarking upon the same dream as you.  Remember, "if it was easy everyone will do it".  Progress takes time before it reveals itself.  Your not going to see change over the course of day, week, month or sometimes even a year.  How badly does your heart want this?   

A small lesson in progress:
Today as I biked, I reflected back to a day in April when I decided it was time for me to start bicycle training again.  My first big mistake was that I had completely stopped training in October when the weather turned cold.  I should have continued training on a stationary bike, at the very least. I have since made a vow to myself that I will not make that same mistake again this winter.

But I remember that day in April because it was cold and windy. I don't know why I chose that particular day to get back on my bike, but the furthest I could ride was 5 miles.  I was annoyed and disheartened that I would have to start over again to regain everything I had lost over the winter. 

How badly does your heart want this?  I was already dedicating myself 5 days a week to swimming, plus maintaining my running, and now I would be dedicating at least 3 days a week to bicycling.  And I'm not even looking to turn pro, I just want to survive.  And I'll tell you a little secret...I was not particularly fond of bicycling either.  

But time will pass so you might as well do something useful with it.  I didn't see much (if any) progress early on.  But somewhere along the journey, I noticed that I was able to push myself a little bit further and I was moving a little bit faster.  I was able to endure the hard bicycle seat for a longer period of time. How badly does your heart want this?

I got better at shifting gears and making myself more aerodynamic. My ability to climb hills also saw improvement and I started telling myself "don't you dare quit" on difficult uphill climbs.  I became less fearful of cars passing me on the road, and this was a biggie for me!  And dare I say it but eventually I embraced bicycle riding in general and started looking forward to it.  How badly does your heart want this?

Today was a good day for reflecting because I was able to see just how far I had come.   I knew there would be a day when I would think "you've come a long way baby", and today was one of those days. I discovered my heart really wanted this.

I'm already planning my race season for next year and as it stands now, next year should be pretty cool.

January 2015 starts with me running the Louisiana Marathon.  In March, Tom and I will run the New York City Half Marathon.  I've always wanted to run through the streets of Times Square.  Tom and I also qualify for the NYC Marathon next November (2015). The NYC Marathon is just a few days after our 25th wedding anniversary, so we decided to celebrate our big milestone by running together.  In April, we're running the Rutgers Unite Half Marathon and in June we'll run the Brooklyn Half Marathon as well.

I plan on signing up for Ironman Princeton which will take place in September 2015.  I also want to do the NYC Triathlon as a team with my brother and Tom.  If your a New Yorker (or former New Yorker) the NYC triathlon is a must-do-dream-come-true race...at least for me it is! I'd like to consider Musselman Triathlon (another 70.3 distance race) in Lake Geneva, NY.  If for some reason Ironman Princeton doesn't work out for me, I have my sights already set on IM Timberman in New Hampshire.  Jersey Girl and Iron Girl are on my list as well.

So between running and triathlons I have a very busy, but very exciting 2015 ahead of me.  I'm ready for the challenge and I am really looking forward to it. And as always, I look forward to sharing the journey with you too! It should be fun.