At that point I had a decision to make. Was I going to continue my current lifestyle, or was I going to accept the challenge and get in shape? I chose to get in shape. Carpe Diem. Seize the day.
That was in April 2012. By July of 2012 I had competed in my first triathlon of the year. By August, my second and by September my third triathlon was done. Finally, in October of 2012 I rode in a charity ride, the 60 mile Krempels King of the Road Challenge. That ride is organized by Ted King to raise money for rehabilitation of people with head injury.
By that point, I had dropped 22 pounds, my blood pressure had reached the normal range from being borderline high, and my symptoms of daily reflux that I was having were completely gone. I had felt so good about my training that for the first time in my life I applied for a cycling license and began racing cyclocross.
But more importantly for me, at the Krempels ride, I was able to ride with Ted King the whole 60 miles and actually found it fairly easy. During that ride, I told Ted about how getting dropped had motivated me to change my life for the better. He told a similar story about how he got dropped from an Exeter Cycles Wednesday night ride when he was younger. He also got motivated from this experience. "Sometimes it takes getting dropped to give you motivation" he said. How true.
We all get dropped in one way or another during our life. In fact we probably get dropped more times than we like to admit. What is really important though is how we chose to react to getting dropped. And we always have the same two choices. Are we going to Carpe Diem? Or, are we going to lie on the couch and forget about it. Motivation or not?
Lately, I have been trying to recognize those decision points in my life where I have choices. It seems that the best choice is always to seize the day. Life doesn't last forever. Why choose complacency?
My Dad was my junior high principal. On the wall of my junior high hallway, he placed a big wooden sign that everyone saw on their way to class. It said "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it --Henry David Thoreau.”
Dad and Henry were right, and so was Ted. You will get dropped, and you will have a choice. Carpe Diem.
