The Gang

This morning we had our fourth Ironman Team meeting, and perhaps our biggest one yet. What I can't get over, is how many incredible people we have on this team. Once a room full of strangers a few years ago has become a room full of friends and family. Some old family members and some new inductees. All with the same vision, all working towards the same goal.

In many way we are all working towards the same goal. Not necessarily the Ironman finish, but the lifestyle. Being healthy, feeling good, becoming fit. The faster, the finish line, the win.... that all comes much later.

A few of us converged on the canal at 6:30 am for a 90 minute run. We looped back to pick up the rest of the group at 7am, and it was awesome. Our group is bigger than the Oven Door Lite group that we cross paths with as they head the other way. People are asking me "Why IS this group you are running with Mary?". My answer is quite simple. I tell them "I am running with the best people in the world."

Aside from conversation I am seeing incredible progress. I am seeing strength come forward. Not just physical strength, but mental strength. I am watching people grow and in reality it has very little to do with me. While I write and organize the programs, these athletes are the ones who are completing the miles. They are the ones who are putting in the work.

As I came home this morning I felt so amazingly blessed to be able to do what I love. To help people reach their athletic dreams. It might seem frivolous on the surface, but it is so much further beyond a simple athletic dream. While it is just that on the surface, deep below we are all creating a better future for all of us. We are being healthy, we are pushing limits. We are believing in ourselves. And that is easy to find on the playing field. One day however they will take that belief in themselves to the board room, to the operating table, to another place. And they will know how to tap into it, they will know how to move beyond self doubt, and they will know how to take the chance.

In turn their children will learn the exact same lesson. Setting goals, failing, getting up, trying, succeeding....... it is a lesson that is priceless.

:-) Mary Eggers