there is no excuse for not having a dream

Throughout the winter Curt said he was standing down this season. He maintained his fitness (10 hrs a week of s/b/r) but he scolded me for not listening to him.

"I mean it this year!" he warned to my laughs. "You'd better take me seriously!" He does this every year, yet this was the year I thought he might.... just might be for real. He announced he was not going to nationals and would likely not do Ironman Arizona.

Bullshit I would tell him. Triathlon is in his blood. It's in my blood. In this sport sometimes we struggle with that. I

n my opinion there is no excuse for not having a dream. There is no excuse for not having a passion. If it weren't triathlon it'd be golf, or keg stands. What's wrong with having a dream and a goal and things you are passionate about?

Triathlon won't cure Cancer, or bring on world peace. It's a community I love being a part of. I've been a triathlete since 1996 and I have cycled through more valleys than peaks since I began coaching 5 years ago. Win or lose I am a triathlete. It's in my blood. It's what I am passionate about. I

love to swim bike and run, and there is no need to quantify it. EVER.

Outsiders may have their opinion that I am over the top, too serious, maybe even some think I am over. To them getting up at 4am is not taking care of myself. They neglect to realize that I go to bed by 8:30pm. I get up so damn early so I don't leave my son in the evening to go for a ride. Instead we play catch in the backyard. Triathlon is important enough to me that I get my ass out of bed, and I commit to what I begin.

It makes me no hero.

It does not make me special.

Outside of triathlon world I don't enjoy talking about it. So many times at work I am asked bout it, and I quickly change the subject. It is part of who I am yet it does not define me.It is important to me and it needn't be equally as important to you. It will never affect you.... the degree of seriousness in which I take my sport. If it does, if it bothers you that I am serious....... what's really going on is that there is nothing in your life that you are equally as passionate about. And I don't mean you as in all of you my friends..... I mean in the world outside of triathlon world.

What makes your heart race?

What makes you smile?

Other than your family, your career.

What else ignites that fire deep within you?

Lets you step out of that comfort zone...... reach a little higher...... What is it within you that keeps you coming back when you fail more times than you succeed?

What makes me keep coming back? Knowing that my potential still hides inside of me, waiting to be unlocked. Knowing that every now and then, like at Ironman Florida 07 or Musselman 04, and many in between....... the stars will align and I will have that great race where I feel like I can actually fly.

That race where I come down to the raw skills that I learned before I was 7 years old. Swimming like I invented it. Biking like I was racing Joey Quinn down Fox Meadow Lane. Running like I was being chased to "Safe" in a game of tag.

I was not surprised last week when Curt took it all back. Sent me a race schedule. Signed up for Nationals. Announced that Ironman Arizona was GAME ON. Not only am I passionate about what I can achieve in this sport, I am passionate about what Curt has and continues to achieve in this sport. A 9:55 Ironman at age 51. Nailing Nationals year after year after year. I've been fortunate enough to be able to watch him in World Championships and National Level races.

Triathlon is in his blood. It's in my blood. There's nothing wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with being passionate about something that you love. There's nothing wrong about dedicating yourself to that passion. Yes, there's over the top. In triathlon and drinking wine there is over the top.

But life is a balance. Life is an integration. And I invite you to find out what makes your heart rate soar into zone 3 with such excitement and passion and commitment as standing at the starting line of a race can.

Now go dream it!