The St. Croix Half Ironman Triathlon is five weeks away on the calendar but for me it might as well be today. With eyes open at 4:20 AM, and no chance of falling back to sleep, my mind took me to the Hotel on the Cay, St. Croix, and the start of the 1.2 mile swim. In my mind I could see last year’s full rainbow over the Christianstead harbor and hear the breeze blowing through the palm trees. My heart began to pound.
Good morning, Stress, my old friend.
Feet hitting the floor I was out the door in two minutes flat. The gym was a short 10 minute drive away. The stereo thumped funk and the convertible’s was top down. With streets clear of traffic and the normally busy sidewalks quiet I zipped past a thousand dark doorsteps pushing down on the gas pedal just a little harder.
“Time is running out!” my friend shouts above the wind.
“Uh hummm. I know. Get to work.” I fired back.
This is the stress I welcome. Unlike its evil twin named, err… Stress.
Let me explain or, better yet, let somebody in the brain, psycho, head-doc business explain. In her book, Stress That Motivates, Dru Scott, PhD writes:
“If a change or a demand confronts us and we deny it or do nothing, we have stress that damages. But when we respond to a change or a demand by accepting our current reality and by taking purposeful action, we have stress that motivates.”
DING! DING! DING! The bell is ringing. The good doctor Dru is on to something.
“Take the bull by the horns.”
“The best defense is a good offense.”
“Press the fight.”
It’s going to be a good day for me and my friend, Stress. Weight room, swim team practice, work, family, ask for donations to fight blood cancers, this, that, on, and on, and on. There’s a lot stuff trying to unseat me and keep me from preparing for St. Croix. But, it’s all good.
There will be no white flag above my door as I check my watch and wait for the starting gun to fire.
Stay tuned…
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