A few things have changed over the last week.

I had a random/not too surprising injury pop up in my lower shin (what I believe is Anterior Tibial Tendonitis) that has thrown me into a head and heart spinning whirlwind of, “Should I race? Or, should I not race Ironman California?”

As I am sure you are aware of by now, endurance challenges are my oxygen. Therefore, having this painful and annoying wrench thrown in so close to the race feels like the Darth Vader death grip; i.e., not great. However, I am a diehard Optimist with a dash of OCD, so I have been doing everything possible (minimizing movement) over the last week or so to calm this tendon down in order for it to be ready to race on Sunday.

But it might not be ready.

I am not sure.

Moreover, I realize the race may not be what I want it to be, then again, maybe it will be exactly that.

I don’t slug through hours, weeks, and months of pushing my limits in training because it’s easy, or because it feels good, I do it because it is hard, and it is how I feel alive.

None of us know what tomorrow will bring. I felt invincible on October 9th, and hobbled on October 10th, but maybe being forced to stop was what I needed to figure out why I want, or why I need to start.

To be continued….

The song and video choice this week is one of my favorite tunes, and captures nearly everything I have been feeling this last week, Foster The People’s, “Doing It For The Money.”