Endurance Athlete

    I know it is only March 1st, and I have a solid 6 months left to prepare Brain, Body, and Spirit for my first honest-to-the-gods, true endurance race. I know it is enough time, but it feels like not enough. I want to leap into two-a-day workouts, long runs, century rides, open water swims every weekend, bricks, and blocks of killer workouts that leave me bedraggled and tired for days. But I won't. I know this would hurt me far more than it would help. It would set me back, not propel me forward. Again, I remind myself to Make Haste Slowly.
    I find myself on the edge of trembling terror at what I am facing. Terror spicing the excitement, enthusiasm, eagerness. I know why race horses twitch, shiver, and buck heading to the gates. It is not misbehavior, it is anticipation. Anticipation that has built to the point that it needs a pressure release valve to vent off just a bit of the steam before the whole thing explodes. I get waves of eager anticipation that make me quiver, make Brain gibber, Body twitch, and Spirit soar. And I am still 6 months out from the Main Event. I have to exert control, just as a jockey keeps his ride on a firm rein to prevent harmful explosions, so must I keep myself calm with a modicum of common sense. It isn't easy.
    The path to endurance athlete is far different than any physical endeavor I have ever presented to myself. It is a long, slow process. I have to be in the mindset that I am in it for the long haul. There is no last minute, 30 day regimen that will prepare me for what I am undertaking. I am good at seeing the big picture, and have been known to show enormous patience when needed. Patience is not one of my virtues, I won't deny it. But I know how to use it when I need it. "Endurance Athlete" has a helluva a ring to it, doesn't it? I have always considered myself athletic, and at various times referred to myself as "an athlete," but this is taking it into a whole, new arena. I am excited. Excited, terrified, nervous, enthused, overwhelmed, eager, thrilled, and all aquiver. This will be quite the journey.