Unfinished Business
Is there something going on in your life that you consider “unfinished” business? Something that you want to do but just haven’t tried, or something that you started but haven’t been able to complete? I’m sure we all have something like that, whether it’s a far-fetched dream or something really within our reach. Way in the back of my mind I have some unfinished business, and I’m starting to think more & more about it. Yesterday (June 29th) was one step I took closer to “finishing” it off.
July will mark the 8-year anniversary of my bike crash, the one up in Dahlonega where the motorcycle hit me as I descended down a mountain. Many of you know I had several broken bones & missed several months of practice. It took almost 2 years to get back on a bike and I have been quite sporadic in my cycling since then. Most of the reason is because I became a mother in that time period and cycling just takes up a lot of time away from my little guy. I also haven’t had any significant desire to get back on the bike, though have tackled a few triathlons the past few years, basically accomplished on minimal bike training.
On Sunday I competed in the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon, which consisted of a 26-mile bike ride, sandwiched in between a 0.9 mile river swim and then a 10k run. To me biking is sort of annoying, I really only like it when the course is flat, the weather perfect, and I’m in good shape. Well yesterday was not like that, as there is nothing flat about Chattanooga (nor is the weather perfect in June in the South). But I finished the race, which was my longest distance triathlon I have competed in a few years. I felt strong on the swim & run and was relatively pleased with my race, based on my age (ah, getting older!) and the shape I am in right now.
When I had that bike crash in 2006, I was training for a half-ironman distance triathlon, which is more than twice the distance of the race I did on Sunday, as it consists of a 56-mile bike ride. Because of the crash, I was not able to participate in that race and deep inside me that is my “unfinished” business. I want to see if I can finish that distance race. Okay yes, I have done four of those races and was training for #5 when I crashed. But I still want to finish race #5. I need to figure out how I can train for it, if I can find the time, if I can make the time, and if I really want to. The triathlon in Chattanooga gave me a little bit more confidence that I can do this.
Now it’s time to figure out if that unfinished business is important to actually “finish”. Stay tuned over the next year or so and I’ll let you know what I decide. So what is your unfinished business? Is it something you can (and should) accomplish? If so, don’t give up. Don’t make excuses. You only live once, do what you can to get it done.
