I am constantly amazed at how the Universe sends signals in the most random places that can influence or empower us if we are listening. Life and running/triathlon are so intertwined with each other that there are plenty of life lessons to be learned from running/triathlon and vice-versa.

Last week, I attended a triathlon transition clinic by Dan Arnett of Endurance Concepts, an Atlanta based coaching group. While it had the basics of transition (the what, the why and the how), this clinic emphasized being able to cut transition time. Slow poke, who would never podium at anything (unless I was the only person in the race!), me was hugely skeptical of the need to shave seconds. But what he really meant was – At no stage is the race to “relax”. Keep moving forward. Smoothly. Stay focussed on the task at hand and don’t let up. Any progress is still progress when you are making that attempt to move forward.

I keep joking that I can only last 1 month of school start and then life starts to overwhelm me. No joke though, because I am starting to feel hedged in with zero time to stop and smell roses. So much that I stopped and blankly looked on while a week passed me by. Yes, I still got in my workouts, I still got my kids (and their lunches to school), I still worked. But there was no zing in it.

The clinic made me realize that I needed to keep moving. I might not be able to stop to smell roses, but I could still smell them running! Just as a race doesn’t stop/slow down because you are in transition, life doesn’t slow down just because you are overwhelmed. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to cut back on things. What do you then do? Focus, keep calm and keep moving forward!

How has running/triathlon influenced your everyday life?
What about the other way around – has real life shown you wisdom and strength that you draw upon in your race?