Celebrating Small Victories

In the face of my overwhelming future options, it's really nice to claim tiny moments of success.

Yesterday I completed my second triathlon. This one I did for me. I didn't have my security blanket running every step of the way with me (although Jake was there in spirit - I wore his t-ball t-shirt from kindergarten). I wasn't in a lake, I wasn't on Mom's bike, I wasn't running in the forest preserve back home, I didn't have my iPod workout mix. Nothing about this race was familiar or comfortable, but I completed it anyway.

The race was scored by distance, not by time. And my personal goal was to log 6 miles in the 3 events. I finished with 7.68.

So it wasn't a marathon, and it wasn't Olympic distance, and I didn't win anything, but I didn't come in last place and I beat my personal goal. I did it for me this time, and there's a lot of power in that.

And maybe, just maybe, it was a little bit for the person who told me I didn't have a high energy level. I might have done it to prove to myself that I'm not who he thought I'd become. I might have done it to prove us both wrong. Maybe just a little.