So grateful for this Ironman journey

So grateful.

Grateful for this life.

Grateful for this journey.

Grateful for all the ups and downs.

We don’t thank ourselves enough.

Reflect on how far we've come.

Remember how good we have it.

Sure we have issues.

Everyone does.

But don’t forget how good life is.

Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, why don’t we focus on what we do?

Wrote this piece a few weeks back and will add it here as a reminder.

‘How much we take for granted.

A loving family.

Friends who care about you.

The ability to order any food you want from your phone.

Being able to drive.

Being able to walk.

Feeling your lungs when you’re sprinting.

Food in your fridge.

Hot water in your tap.

Your dog licking you.

A comfy bed.

Silence at night.

Watching your favourite sports live.

Seeing your favourite artists in person.

Dancing with random people next to you.

A healthy mind.

A healthy body.

The ability to download and read any book you want.

Having high-speed internet.

Access to the world’s knowledge at your fingertips.

Clean water.

Access to medicines.

Being able to email anyone in the world.

The ability to learn.

Neuroplasticity.

Entertainment that inspires us.

Experiences with those you love.

Great food.

Clear lungs.

An unclogged nose.

No physical pain.

No mental pain.

Not being depressed.

The present moment.

The ability to travel around the world.

Experiencing new cultures.

Enjoying something for the first time.

Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Not being in the hospital.

Not being bed-bound.

Not being on several meds.

Not being an addict.

Not having a genetic condition.

Being able to listen.

Being able to see.

Being able to speak.

Being able to communicate.

People who care about you.

People who love you.

Meeting an awesome stranger for the first time.

Having a great conversation.

Having your mind blown.

Magic.

Making progress.

How much we take for granted.’

We take so much for granted.

Believe the world is entitled to us.

It’s not.

Just being alive makes you lucky.

Over a trillion to one that the right sperm from your dad met the right egg from your mom at the right time.

We forget this.

Being grateful for what we have.

I do a lot.

Reminded myself today in my 2nd hour of my ride after an hour swim in the morning.

I chose this.

I wanted this.

Even though I’m sore and tired, let’s go.

I’m glad I’m doing this.

Yes, this journey will be tough.

That’s the point.

But no matter what happens, take it one moment at a time.

Have to remember how grateful I am to be on this journey.

So grateful.

This week in training (second rest week) - (Follow me on Strava here):

Swimming - 6.5k - 1 x 2500m, 2 x 2000m. Bit more swimming this week. Improved my time a little more, back at 2:02/100m and know there’s still more to improve. Next week is a big one, including my first 3k swim.

Biking - 64.7 km - Lighter bike workouts this week. Speed still solid but can’t wait to get outside. Better nutrition especially on the long ride.

Running - 20.6 km - lighter run week. No indoor track this week but still good on the treadmill. Up to 5 mph solidly in zone 2.

Notes from Week 8 of training:

• Second rest week. Lighter workouts which were great, but still pushed hard, especially in the pool.
• Food was better this week. Had my check-in with my nutritionist. Having a bit too much fluid during the rides so scaling that back. Otherwise nutrition seems to be on track. Was told to eat more, which has been a bit of a struggle recently, but slowly getting better. Few more cheat meals this week (Afro’s pizza is just too good haha) but otherwise good.
• Saw the improvements in the pool. Up to 2:02/100m over 2k which was solid. Know once I’m outdoor and in my wetsuit there’s still room to improve. Catch and release been better, stretching more, and more glide off the wall.
• Bike was decent this week. No major updates.
• Good run week. Nothing too crazy and slowly building up to the marathon in 2 months.
• Finished few more episodes of Prison Break, and Full Swing (decent). More movies this week including Men in Hope (hilarious throwback raunchy comedy), 10 things I hate about you (good teen movie), She’s out of my league (funny time pass), Her (so interesting) and Arrival (awesome, especially the twist). Severance this week was EPIC! One of the best episodes of television I’ve seen in a while. Cinematography was unreal. You should watch the show just for this episode, it’s that good. Better White Lotus ep this week.
• Feeling good at the end of this week. Big build month to come, even this week with some pretty tough days. All good, one day at a time. Onto March!

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