Kick The Bucket
I hear it all the time – “ I just want to finish”. Some say it when contemplating their first Ironman, marathon or even 5k or sprint triathlon. These courageous souls decided at some point the take on a challenge that was out of their box of comfort and yet stipulations are put on this adventure. Funny thing about Bucket Lists, they are born out of the idea that we have to get things done before we “kick the bucket”, however the next thought is “I don’t want to die doing this”. Wouldn’t that be the very idea of a “bucket list”? Why not explore the limits of what one can do.
When I was swimming this morning, I got to thinking about how far I have come since starting on this journey. I also remembered the times in the beginning when I would get a workout that was out of my comfort zone and I would sometimes have the defeating idea that it wasn’t like I was going to be the next Dara Torres so I would hold back out of fear of how bad it might hurt. Maybe I won’t be racing Dara anytime soon, but I will never know what it feels like if I don’t plan to be at the top of my game. Success does not discriminate. We all start where we are and chose where we are going from there. I may not be the next Chrissie Wellington, but I won’t ever discover what I can do if I don’t play like it.
Who decides what is “good enough”? If I just train to be good enough, I will miss what all I can experience in striving to be great. Often times we can think that we aren’t good enough to play on that field or with those athletes. I have thought it - “I am not good enough to swim with Masters” or to ride with that group or to do that workout. Funny thing is that as long as I entertained that thought, I wouldn’t be “good enough”. It is only when I decided to get outside my thoughts of what I “was”, would I get out of my own way to see who I would become. I am much more interested in who I will be and what is in store for that individual than who I was or even who I am right now. For me, every length, hill or lap is an opportunity to experience and challenge limiting thoughts and ideas of what is really “good enough”. In the sport of endurance we use the word of “limiter” in terms of skill. What is my biggest “limiter”? The idea that “good enough” is just that. I prefer to know what great feels like until it becomes good enough and then great moves up the road just enough to keep things interesting. So I will stay on the road of Great until I kick the bucket!


“There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over.” Dr. Martin Luther King