Typing this short post from the passenger seat of my car, staring out over the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara. My next"to-do" tonight is called "Nite Moves." It consists of a 1 kilometer swim, and then straight to a 5K run.
From here, I see too many sailboats to count, and dozens of people getting ready to go. And, of course, there's that little question in the back of my mind: "Jason, why do you do this?" Immediately, I've got some answers:
1. It's hard.
2. It's big.
3. It costs $20 bucks.
4. It's here.
5. Oh, and of course...(See below)
1. Do you do things that are difficult? Do you say yes to things that challenge you? I'm going to jump into 60 degree water, and swim 1,000 meters. The wind is choopy, the water is deep, and about 100 or more people want to go faster than me.
I like to practice on the small things...so that when it's time to perform on the big one I'm ready; I'm comfortable; I'm prepared. What can you do this week that is hard?
2. This is big. I drove here from Ojai (30-ish miles) and there are a lot of people. The event takes over the beach, and the hill we climb at mile 1-2 is HUGE!
Do you "chew" on things bigger than what you normally do? Sure, I could have swam in the pool in Ojai, and run through the valley...but this is big!
3. Pay...and I play. How about you?
4. Tonight is the last one of these this summer. I heard about it on Sunday, after racing the Santa Barbara triathlon. I said to my friends, "I'm going to that." Been thinking about it ever since!
5. And, of course, I love this stuff. Ever since I weighed in at 172 (in 1999) and realized SOMEthing was going to have to change (I'm only 5'4"!) I've been into this multisport lifestyle.
Ok, I see people getting their wetsuits on...gotta (go swim and) run!