Make New Friends

"This is my life, it's not what it was before" - Staind

Life is good - great actually! The first week of exercise after a 3-week break is in the books!

You can tell it's December without even looking at the calendar. The social schedule goes thru the roof! Saturday night was a get-together with a whole new group of girls in my life. Moms, single ladies, wives, girlfriends and all cycling and/or triathlon enthusiasts (even if only by spousal association!)! It was a fantastic time - my throat was sore from the cackling that emerged throughout the evening.

I am most happy now - in training and life - because I've finally found my balance. I have a supportive, dedicated and loyal boyfriend. A stable, healthy and enthusiastic family. The greatest, biggest group of crazy, varied, lovely friends I could ask for and a healthy body (yes!).

Finding the balance between working hard, playing hard and training hard has been difficult for me (and I'm sure many others). I used to think I had to close myself off from others, but then I realized that I get that when I need it. There are plenty of times I have great company for training, but other times when I forsake the comfort of jokes or the motivation of a feisty training partner to train alone and build the beast within.

It helps to have things put in perspective. My girlfriend, Joanne, is a mother of 2. She is a wife and she works. She is also a pretty speedy marathoner, cyclist and now she's tackling swimming. She 'makes it work', as Tim Gunn would say! Seeing her success in her own personal goals made me realize just how selfish I used to be when it came to training and racing. Maybe it wasn't a conscious decision, but it was a decision nonetheless.

A decision to take the attitude that you can't do it all or that "something's gotta give". It's that same defeatist attitude that causes burnout in my opinion. I race happy, so why not stay happy in life AND training? What a concept, eh?

Coach Eric jokes about "do as I say, not as I do" and I suppose in a way, we're all guilty of that. I tell people all the time that they should stay social. That doesn't mean getting fall-down drunk every weekend, but your life should not suffer because you've decided to train for and Ironman or a marathon.

This past year, I feel like I've finally been able to rediscover my friendships, to build new ones and to shed that attitude that training comes above all. It is important, certainly, but so is having a glass of wine or beer, cackling with the girls and then returning home late at night to ride a WD-40 lubed sled with the dog, the boy and even more friends.

Yes, you can do it all. For 2010, you can bet I've got some extreme goals and you can also bet I'll achieve them while holding up my end of the other bargains in my life.