Winds of Change

Coming Clean There are several changes to the Pinkgurugal blog, including this confession: I dropped out of Ironman Austria. So I edited my profile, deleted the IM Austria countdown, among other things. Actually the decision was made months ago, prior to my travels. Though I failed to change it on my blog. My reasons for laying off on my Ironman training obsessions of 2007 are quite simple and complex: I am prioritizing my personal life. Meaning, I now have a flowering life outside of triathlons and when I want to take a day off, I do it. And I did that for many days during my time in Vietnam, since I was staying with my very Vietnamese family, whom I did not want to offend by leaving them to "work out". Not culturally correct. Not to mention, I let go of that obsession with little or no guilt. So does that mean I won't race in triathlons? Nope. Signed up for one next month already. And still plan on riding and running (though that nagging knee pain for the marathon continues to elude me). Just not an ironman. A good friend once told me ironman training destroys families and relationships. Now he was kidding, but there is a grain of truth in it. And that's the last thing I want to do at this point. Maybe my life has changed. Maybe my priorities are different. A year ago this time, I just finished my first half ironman and started my 2007 ironman training season. This year, I skipped that race, and tonight, had nine friends over for dinner. And I was just as happy, if not more. Cheers and happy training! "If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold onto." Lao Tze