Moving Forward

I remember my first marathon like it was just yesterday, but time has a way of silently slipping away. It was 11 years ago that I made the decision to run a race I had never faced before. My training helped me, but honestly, even though I was "prepared" nothing I could have done would have taken away the anxiety and fear I had when the starting gun sounded. The sounds were different, the place was different, and I was doing something I had never done before. All I really knew to do was to keep moving forward. The question entered my mind, "Could I do this?"

Over the next 26.2 miles I experience exuberance, elation, doubt, rejection, defeat, reflection, and accomplishment. It is interesting that even though I face a different race now the feelings are similar. I have done the training, but the day is upon me where I must step to the starting line. Now it all feels different. I am as prepared as I can be, but experience tells me that there will only be slight comfort in that...and the only thing I can do is move forward.

Tomorrow I load a trailer hitched behind a vehicle and I drive away to a new place...leaving the only thing I have known over the past 5 years behind me. Have I prepared? Yes. Have I mentally rehearsed? Yes. Will it be any easier? No. Like a marathon, even with the best training there will be moments of pain that the runner will face, and the only thing they can do to prevent failure is to accept the pain and move forward.

As I drive away from my home and my children I will face this uncertainty again in my life. It is a new starting line with a significant finish line. There will be pain, there will be doubt, and there will be considerable reflection. As the miles pass by in a race there is time to think...did I do all I could to prepare? What could I have done differently? What did I do right? What did I do wrong? As you move forward there are shadows of darkness of which you must pass. You wish you could run back or avoid them, but you know you must move forward.

I will do this just like I have done with so many marathons. I will take one step after another, face what I must, endure what I can, and hope I have enough to make it to the finish. Right now in this moment, that is all I know...

Friends in New Places

My trip to beautiful Colorado has been everything I hoped for and more. I have managed scenic 25 plus mile bike rides every day since arriving...evening being able to ride from the park at which we are staying all the way to Denver. Along the way I have made new friends in new places.

Take Joe here for instance. I walked into the a local bike shop near Littleton, CO and struck up a conversation with Joe like we were old buddies reminiscing over times past. We talked about bikes, memories of racing, the wonders of riding across the Western plains with a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, and good places to eat.

As I left the shop and hopped on my bike for the return trip to the park I thought about how important it is to remember friends and make new friends every chance you get. Some will argue that our life path is predetermined and no matter what we do we only encounter that which is in our path.

Maybe so...but I think we are more like the water that flows through the Rocky Mountain rivers. Our path has been set. Our water stays within the boundaries of the banks, but we can move freely within those banks and by doing so we cross paths with those who can make our day a bit brighter, life a bit better, or help us see something a bit clearer which might have been a little foggy at first.

The next time you are traveling down your own river and you get a chance to call an old friend or make a new one, don't hesitate...don't put it off to think that you will do it later. If you are presented with the moment, make the most of it. Because I can tell you that my life is richer because of Joe. One look at our pic provides solid evidence that if only for a moment our connection was a high point in our lives...and the memories of that moment will be with Joe and I forever. Plus you never know when the water of our rivers will cross paths again.