Spence Smith

Ahhh…in the midst of family, work, travel, friends and training for triathlons-life at times can seem just a hair out of balance or slightly crazy. I’d like to think of it as slightly crazy. But whatever you call it, there is always a need for true balance in life and to make sure the things we do in life are for the right reasons.

Living a healthy life is very important to me, but it’s not just about physical health. It’s mental, spiritual and social. It’s a very holistic approach but when it’s all working right, the balanced life is sweet. But know this… I’m not always living a balanced life… why? Because life sometimes is Slight Crazy.(see first paragraph)

One of the guys I swim with is Richard Baker. Richard is an encourager, motivator and triathlon coach under the name of TriSwami. What you will read below is an article he wrote that has balance written all over it. This can really be applied to life in general…not just the physical side of being fit or healthy. I read it in an email update from our swim coach Ashley Whitney and it’s such a great reminder for me. I’m hoping you will be able to learn from it as well.

Being Fit vs. Being Healthy:
Recognizing when you have crossed the line.
Richard Baker, aka Triswami

Today was the last of 7 Tri’s I did this summer. In the middle Tennessee area, the season has come to a quick close. There are several more Tri’s around the country through out the year, but they are mostly in the warmer climates.

This past season has been a lot of fun for me. I appreciate all of the emails, texts, facebook messages and phone calls from all of you who have been tracking my progress over the past year and even more with this past summer. Your encouragement means the world to me and helps me to keep going. And keep going I will.

Next on the agenda is prepping for a marathon in November. Shortly there after I will officially start training for the Louisville Ironman with a coach. I have little goals I want to meet along the way as well with these events so again…I’m looking forward to the process.

As for today’s race…I’m not going to sugar coat this one. It was tough. Why? Well it seems that Ike’s weather fingers made it our way today with wind gust of 35 to 40 mph…so…just try to image what that looks like on a lake. The water was so rough that the bouy markers used to tell us where we are and where to turn for the mile swim where breaking away and floating off. Not to mention people where getting pulled from the water because the water was too rough to swim in. They had let about 25% of the racers start swimming before they called off the swim portion. Once those swimmers came back on shore and the race official got plan b figure out, we were off for a new start. Jump on your bikes, then do the run. ok…so at this point it seems good because we are down to just the two sports…remember the choppy waters from the wind? Well the wind didn’t stop there. There were times when i was on my bike and I thought i was literally going to fall off my bike from the wind knocking me over. I was leaning into the wind while going 25mph so i could stay on my bike…it was frustrating.

Once the bike was done the run started off great until my knee started giving me fits which slowed me way way down…

In the end…i’m so glad I did it and I’m thankful that I could have the summer I’ve had.

It’s been a great summer…now onto the rest of the show…

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This past weekend I did two major things. I signed up for my first marathon and my first Ironman. For those of you just joining the conversation, an Ironman is a brand of triathlon events where the distances are extremely long. 2.4 mile swim, 112 bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run.

My ultimate triathlon goal is to do Ironman Louisville a year from now. I signed up for Ironman Louisville today and I’m already starting to plan out the next year! Marathon in November, Half Ironman in May, a few tri’s during the summer and end with Ironman Louisville for next season. Makes sense right? No you say? Sounds crazy? Believe me…it is.

This past Sunday was one of the greatest experiences of a day I have had in a long time. I went with a few of
my tri friends in this picture to Louisville to cheer on a couple of other friends as they swam, biked and ran in their first Ironman. We met up with a few other tri friends which was way more fun than I expected, seeing as we planted ourselves at two tables outside a restaurant that overlooked the finish line. We sat their from 4pm till about 10:30pm. And yes…we tipped our server very well for putting up with us.

I know what it is to train for triathlons and the amount of work that goes into it and if you are some one who can appreciate this amount of effort then you know watching this event is way more than waving a few people on as they race by on a bike or run by with a look of pain on their faces.

As we started out the day checking out the the transition area and watching cyclists arrive back from their 112 mile ride I was immediately in awe and overwhelmed emotionally. First because the concentration on their faces were saying a lot to me and two…this is going to be me one year from now.

When we finished watching the transition from bike to run, we walked over to the finish line which is no where near the transition area for this race. It was nestled right in the middle a block of restaurants off 4th avenue called Fourth Live. It was a perfect place for a finish because it was like running into an outdoor food court with all these people cheering all day and night. As a spectator, you can sit outside while you eat, drink and be merry all while athletes are finishing 140.6  miles of day long endurance.

What I took away from it was this.

First, I’m really excited knowing I’m going to train for this and do it. Second, I’m so glad to be doing this
with friends. Third, I’m glad it’s close enough for friends a family to come watch…and last…this year of training is going to be tough and exciting. After watching this event I was overwhelmed with the how big this really is. I’m thankful to be at a place in my life to even try it.

It’s going to be tough. It’s going to hurt. But it’s going to be fun. For those of you wanting to watch something like this, the start time is around 7am and lasts until midnight. Thus the finish line picture at night. Just to give you an idea of what one would experience in a day as a triathlete…in order to get a good starting place in the swim, you should be in the swim line by 5:15am and for someone like me, no matter when I start, it’s going to be night time by the time i finish. So plan to be there for a while!

I’m excited to know I’m doing this before I turn 40.

No. I’m not looking for new job. I love the one I have thanks:)

Yesterday morning I competed in another triathlon. This time it required a hotel stay which was one block from the starting line and transition area where we rack our bikes and stage our gear for the event. I roomed with a group of friends which was a pretty funny endeavor I won’t get into yet. But 4 sleeping to a room with 4 bikes in the room is kind of funny to see.

We woke up at 5am Sunday morning and were out the door by 5:45am. Pushing our bikes out of the hotel lobby with our backpacks on and swim gear on, we set out for the short walk down the block. When we got outside it was still dark. There were triathletes coming from all directions into the darken transition area. Something strange was happening when we got into the transition area. Because the sun wasn’t up, there was this silence every where. Hardly any talking was taking place at all. Stillness and quiet. One of the girls I was with said something I had never thought of. She said…You know, if I were a company looking for a great employee or someone with focus, I would come to a triathlon. You won’t find a more dedicated, disciplined, focused group of people who are detailed about everything and willing to work hard for something they believe in. As I looked over the quite crowd with the sun making it’s first yawn into the morning, I saw what she was seeing. There was a stillness before a storm of pushing your body to the limit.

I think she had a point. You can’t do this sport without being focused and willing to go the distance to achieve your goals. It’s a sport that requires the ability to be thinking about 3 different sports and the detail for each while trying to smoothly transition from one to the other without freaking your body out.

I think all to often we look at some people’s ability and think…they can’t do this or that or they don’t seem capable of performing a certain task. Some of these thoughts come from sizing a person up by appearance or how they carry themselves. Reality says some of this line of thinking is true and not far off base. But they way I see it, there are plenty of people in these triathlons that are a good 50lbs to 100lbs overweight. By the look of them, you would never have guessed they were actively training or participating in triathlons…but guess what. They are doing it and they are doing it well because they finish well.

Strength, dedication, focus and the will to conquer. It’s part of the make up of a triathlete. Shouldn’t it be apart of the make up for a good employee? How about for yourself as an employee? Or yourself as a boss, or a spouse…boyfriend or girlfriend?

With my job, I’ve been gearing up for making some things fresh and new again. I know I can credit this energy to what I see and learn from my training and the people I meet along the way who are triathletes.

I would encourage you..if you are looking for something to bring more focus in your life, it doesn’t have to be triathlons. Find something you can be dedicated to that brings you confidence, strength, focus and the will to go further into conquering something you have never conquered before.