I have a theory that life is supposed to be about balance. Managing to be successful in professional life and indulging in one’s passions (in my case long distance racing) all while maintaining a foundation of family, friends and significant others.
I’ve been competing in races for some time now…starting with Olympic distance triathlons and building my way up to marathons and Ironman distance triathlons. In the process, I’ve been exposed to a whole bunch of crazy people who have managed to reassure me that six hour training rides are a perfectly normal way to spend Saturday mornings. I suspect that RAAM will escalate my perception of what can be considered reasonable to a new level of madness. My brother and I have managed to convince our wonderful crew that driving across the country at 15 mph is an excellent way to spend 9 days. As a 2-Person team, we even get to tell ourselves that the real lunatics are the athletes who are attempting the race solo.
Somewhere down the line I’ll have to ask myself if I’ve lost that life balance (and perhaps my mind) along the way. I just hope that our loved ones are patient enough to put up with us until then. In the meantime, I’m having too much fun with this demented sense of what is normal.
