Going to the Well

Post 32
Weeks of training complete: 22 weeks, 2 days
Time remaining until Ironman: 9 weeks, 5 days

Miles swam: 92.117
Miles biked: 1,464.97
Mikes run: 371.18

Goal: $5,000
Total raised: $1,540

I often wonder: how many times can I go to the well?

How many times can I go to that place and share with all of you my exhaustion before you simply tire of hearing of it? Like the candidate who preaches nothing but gloom and doom, who points out nothing but what has gone wrong; like the news media that warns of $5 gas and impending doom, how many times can I spell it out before you stop listening, before it loses it's impact?

I don't want to keep going to the well so to speak. The well runs dry, and then the whole community suffers. What you need, what we need, is a positive force of change ... And yet, today, after it was all said and done, that feeling of exhaustion, that feeling that I need a vacation settled in, deep and heavy on my soul.

Maybe it's the news of the day, the stresses of work, the reality of being in the middle-to-late stages of a very exhausting journey; the end getting closer, but still, ahead, much, much work to be done.

There is always so much work to be done.

Work with the children, work with the home, work with relationships, work with work. I'm beginning to suspect our 30s and 40s and 50s are a time of incredible perserverance if we are to stay ahead of the game; if we are to keep our heads above water.

These challenges come in the seemingly simplest of tasks: breaking a child of her bottle habit, teaching a young boy the meaning of taking responsibility for our decisions and actions; helping an employee find the right path to success; comforting those in need of comfort and a shoulder; helping those who are deserving of our kindness and time.

And, yes, finding time for yourself for a simple moment of relaxation.

As the calendar ticks towards the end of the year, these issues always seem to compound. The changing of the seasons, and the holidays are always a time of complex emotion and time management issues. These things are approaching again. A 20-hour workout schedule certainly adds to the weight.

Everything is moving so fast - must keep my head above water, must remember to breathe, must remember to keep those arms moving and those legs kicking.

There are many miles left to go.

- Ed