Dotting the “I’s” and Crossing the “T’s”

I love that the sport of triathlon holds up a mirror to who I am and have become as a human.  I remember being in college (not that long ago) and as an English major with a minor in “having a good time”, I got pretty good at finding some short cuts.  I am not proud to report that a friend once commented that I actually got my degree in Cliff Notes. At the time “good enough” was just that – good enough.  In fact, I got really good at “good enough” in most areas of my life.  The problem with that is “good enough” was all I got.  Deep down inside of me, I knew that there was much more to me and to life than “good enough”. I have to give credit to running to making me realize that there is a vast difference between “good enough” and acceptable.  That place in me that would not accept minimal standards and would not be satisfied with just finishing. It cried out that there are bigger standards to set my sights on.  The journey to crossing my “I’s” and dotting my “T’s” started then. As I got into the sport of triathlon and more specifically Ironman the desire to be more than “good enough” came through in my training.  See somewhere I realized that a marathon isn’t 26 miles but it is 26.2. Now 26 might be “good enough” but it is often in that .2 that the game can change and that is where the fun is.  Ironman is 112 miles on the bike. 100 might be significant but I won’t be an Ironman at 100 miles. Those last 2 miles are very important.  When I decided to invest in a coach, I realized that my coach was investing in me and my dreams or goals.  When the plan called for a 4 hour ride or an extra set after Masters, it wasn’t a Suggestion but a requirement.  Of course, if I still subscribed to the “good enough” plan, then maybe I would skip that last 30 minutes of the ride or that last set.  “Good Enough” doesn’t get to Boston or Kona.  Funny thing is that I am certain that most successful people don’t subscribe to “good enough”. Can you imagine Donald Trump or Oprah saying “that’s good enough” to anything?  I am pretty sure that the movers and shakers in the world are certain that all the “I’s” are dotted and “t’s” are crossed for what ever the plan is for that day.  Today I have decided that I am worth more than “good enough” and I am better than that.  My coaches deserve more than that. So sometimes that means passing the house at the end of a run when I want to stop but still have 5 minutes left or doing another loop on the bike.  I have learned that sometimes that is where the miracle might happen.  That is where my brain learns to pass the finish line to go out for that extra loop so that Mike Reilly can declare me an Ironman.  I am thankful that I have that benchmark in my life to know that I have moved on from the old belief system of my youth.  That is where I can pat myself on the back for not giving up on Me.  I have decided that I am worth much more than “good enough”, my coaches deserve more than “good enough” from me and hopefully my kids learn that they too are worth more than "good enough" after all I have an example to set.