Even faster than I thought!

For those who may not be familiar with some of my philanthropic interests, I have spent the last few years doing athletic events that support a good cause. It started all the way back in 2000 when I did my first AIDS Ride (that one was from Minneapolis to Chicago and I did 2 subsequent years after that - SF to LA and NY to Boston, but I digress). I like pushing myself a little bit to be healthier while at the same time help others who may not be able to do the same for themselves due to illness. I am on track to do at least 12 events this year (I try to keep the discipline of once per month so that I am always in the right condition to do the event and don't have to bail out because I haven't trained enough).

Today I did the Dina LaVigna Breath of Life Triathlon in Ventura. This is a great event that has evolved in the last 10 years to be a fantastic tribute to a local woman who suffered from a disease called Primary Immunodeficiency. The event was put together back in 1999 by her brother and a friend - and they were the only 2 who competed at the time, raising about $15k for the fund. This year I was one of 1000 triathletes participating and the expectation is that we will set a new fundraising record ($200k or more)- it is pretty exciting to be a part of this tribute to Dina.

Now back to the event, and let's be clear about what it means when I state that I am doing a triathlon - it is not an Olympic distance and certainly not a long course - it is called a sprint triathlon and usually is made up of a 1/2 mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride and a 5k (3.1 mile) run. Nothing too crazy, all very doable and usually in under 2 hours for this speed-demon. The last time I talked to my friend SaraJ after an event and she asked me how it went, I gave her my standard answer, "It was uneventful which is a very good thing, but I was a little bit slower than I would have liked." SaraJ gave me a nice little lecture about embracing the accomplishment and not putting some sort of time limit on myself; the feat of finishing is certainly to be celebrated...no matter how long it takes.

I took SaraJ's lecture to heart and stopped creating a time threshold for myself, but rather just set out to do the best I can in each section. This has apparently been a very liberating thing for my performance, as I have actually had great times in the last two events that I have done, eclipsing what would have been a 'standard' time for completion. When I crossed the finish line today at 1 hour and 39 minutes, not only was I surprised but so was David who said (in his very cute and supportive way), "Wow, you were even faster than I thought!"

Who knew that it could be so easy by simply letting go of the expectations and limits? I bet that if I thought about that for a while, it could certainly be a parable for life as well :)