Wellness Friends:
It’s me again for another brief hello.
Last week I had the privilege of traveling with my husband to New York for the annual NYC triathlon. Over 4,000 athletes competed in this amazing event.
Members of Neil’s team willingly jumped into the Hudson River to swim 1500 meters, eagerly leapt onto a bicycle to crank out 25 miles, and felt blessed to run 6.5 miles in and around Central Park. Conditions were the warmest of the week with websites reporting a “real feel” index of 95 degrees from the humidity.
One of the members of Neil’s team has just recovered (in March of this year) from a bilateral mastectomy. She crossed the finish line with a personal best time averaging 6:13 miles/hour. She was 3rd of all relay runners, 1st of all women relay runners. She was 5th of all women in ALL divisions including the professionals (roughly 1,200 women). She was only out paced by 4 professionals and beat 6 pros. Of the entire 4,000+ field with 22 pros she came in 35th beating 4 male pros. That’s not to take anything away from Neil and my son, but both will admit they had a ringer in the home stretch!
The first words I heard her speak after she crossed the finish line brought tears to my eyes, “I’m in awe of what I’ve done.”
She wasn’t alone in her emotions. What struck me most about the weekend was the overwhelming optimism of athletes and spectators alike. There were blind athletes with guides steadily working through every mile. There was a beautiful young woman in her late twenties sitting in her wheel chair grinning ear to ear at her accomplishment. She finished the entire course (swim, bike and run) with only one leg.
There are moments in life when all of us get stuck by our challenges. Moments we search for a light at the end of the tunnel only to see an oncoming train. In those all too familiar moments I encourage you to get up and get out. See the world with new eyes. Find reflections of courage and hope in others to inspire you to seek them for yourself. Change your perspective and allow yourself to Imagine the possibilities you can create one step at a time.
From that inner place of awe hard choices get easier. I promise.
For more inspiration, check out this link.
Follow a passion with your next step.
