The True Goal

My wife signed up for the Chisago Lakes Half Ironman distance triathlon that was last weekend. This entails a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run. They sometimes call this a 70.3, which are all the distances added together.

After months of training and preparation to endure such an event, she was finally ready. Due to an accidental “cleaning” of her goggles with a towel that had some greasy residue, she had to spend the first tenth of a mile during her swim trying to find out a way to see. Finally taking them off entirely, she found a rhythm that would work for her and fell into stride.

And then, she was pulled from the race for not making efficient enough time. I was so very bummed.

When thinking about all the hard work she had put into this, it saddened and frustrated me that they pulled her so early. When I picked her up, her spirits were not defeated. She did not dwell on the disappointment, because she understood how negative this mindset can be.

Some of us are liable to get trapped in the disappointment, and believe that the end goal was what they were after all along; not meeting the end goal means everything was a waste. In reality, the true goal was to get yourself to train and prepare for something. That is where we find contentment in the inevitable times of set-backs and failure.