The Road Less Traveled

Tapering week means time for "important" projects, like building

a bat house for the backyard with mini Mr. T. 

Mr. T. had a great week of training after a lackluster set of workouts thanks to being superdad and husband. The week consisted of a handful of excellent, shorter bike workouts and a big bike ride outside, a couple of stellar runs in beautiful weather, and a couple of visits to the lake to tackle kicking drills in the open water. He's still resting the shoulder, believing that doing so will mean a successful swim in Coeur D'Alene in 12 days.

Tapering also means blowing off steam with unstructured workouts
like watergun wars indoors (and appropriate defense gear). 

I'm uber confident our Irondad will do great, and he'll find himself with some new hardware around his neck a week from Sunday. Deep down inside, when he peels back the concerns, he knows this too. He wouldn't be human if he didn't have any doubts. So for now, he's been trusting his training and doing what he should these final days of a 24-week plan.

Several years ago I heard a song that has long since become one of my favorites. Relient K sings the song "Who I am Hates Who I've Been." A recent conversation with a friend reminded me of why I love this song. It reminds me of our identities and why we do what we do.

We Troxells, like all Ironmen, tend to think our identities changed the day we crossed a finish line in September and heard Mike Reilly declare us to be Ironmen.

When I visited with our Ironman friend a few weeks ago, I mentioned how much fun I had on the day of our Ironman in Chattanooga. In particular, I told him, I had a selfish day of no responsibilities but that swim, bike, and run. I had a day all alone focusing on the activity that I loved. When I mentioned the word selfish, our friend reminded me something: that without this activity, without triathlon, we'd be different people. In particular, he said, "I like who I am with it than who I was with out it."

It was a thought I hadn't pondered for a long time.

Five years ago life as we knew it changed forever when Mr. T.
decided to go for a run. And he never stopped. 

We started our triathlon lifestyle together four years ago. Jason lost 50 pounds in the first six months of working out (can I just say that I really hate how easily he can drop weight), and I simply got stronger. When I think really hard, I can remember the days before we worked out, when I couldn't convince Jason to go for a walk together. We spent a lot of time . . . sitting. We had a two-year-old and an infant then, and I think about now and how we're these "older" parents with little kids. I'm pretty sure that triathlon training has made us better parents--physically stronger and just more active overall.

Three years later Mr. T. completed his second 70.3
with some great support. 

And that's what leads me to this great song. The part of the lyrics say:

So sorry for the person I became. 
So sorry that it took so long for me to change. 
I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again
'cause who I am hates who I've been. 
Who I am hates who I've been. 

I have a difficult time imagining life without triathlon, without training or exercise. I have a difficult time remembering life before children but more importantly, what life with children and without fitness would look like. We've indeed been blessed by the One who's given us the ability to move. And remember who we've been helps us remember who we want to be.

We live on a gravel road that the average city dweller may call primitive and ill travelled. We know different. We see cars, trucks, and tractors drive on it daily. Furthermore, we see our own footprints on it as well, reminding us regularly that we have this choice to travel beyond our front deck and on a road less traveled. The benefits are definitely worth the cost.

Only 12 more days until IMCDA!