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Sail Away

One of my greatest friend always reminds me that the past is the past. I'm so glad she has taught me that, especially since I have recently been going crazy thinking about my physical aptitude from the past. For instance, I had the endurance to run a marathon! That was a six hour feat that was super intense and rewarding. And then there was the half iron man which was an 8 plus hour adventure through the woods of Wisconsin. I NEVER felt so accomplished...

So, why is it that today I can't do those things? If I continue to focus on that fact, I would likely never be able to move forward. It would be like an emotional attachment to what I used to be, and guess what? That is my past!!!

This doesn't mean that I can't do it again in the future, as a matter of fact, I will... Here's the thing, it will be totally different because I'm different. I refuse to attach myself to one moment in time and expect it to be the same. I'm not going to attach myself to that because what worked back then most likely won't work today, and what didn't work back then, might work today.

I was listening to Styx yesterday, well, because I can, and some words struck me from 'Come Sail Away', and it reminded me that I started this post a couple months ago and never finished it. Here I am finishing it because of these lyrics:

I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead of me.

These lyrics are especially powerful to me because there is only one way to be free, and that is to focus on what today is, rather than what yesterday was. Today I rode a very solid 15 miles, at a great pace. You know what? That is a huge accomplishment. If I focused on the 100 miles in one day last year, that 15 miles might not be so impactful.

So, today I'm going to be proud of who I am, what I've done, and recognize that I have the ability to dive into some crazy training when I'm ready. I'm going to take what I learned from the past, and recognize that today is not yesterday so my abilities are different. It gives me the power to understand that next time it won't be the same because it is like a brand new relationship, and the players aren't the same...

And so now I'll 'SAIL AWAY' and enjoy the ride!!!


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