Bye-bye October...

It's Halloween night. Steve and I just spent the evening with my brother James, his wife Heather, and my nephew Dylan, on his (Dylan's) first "real" Halloween, the first one when he went trick-or-treating. Family time is some of the most valuable hours I spend. And as a result, my planned run dropped on the priority list--all the way off the list, actually. It was much more important that I share this experience with my loved ones than it was to fulfill my training plan. This is one of the major benefits of this off-season: I can make choices like this without anything suffering. Instead, I thrive.

Being October 31st, I wanted to reflect on my post from October 1st. I wasn't sure how this month would turn out. A month ago, I was hopeful, and admittedly skeptical, that this October would be different. I pledged that I would shift my mindset, that I would think differently about this autumn than I have about previous autumns, that I would approach this time of rest and rejuvenation as exactly that. And you know what? It worked. I came across another quote just the other day that is very timely.

I don't have any more bad days. I have good days and great days. ~Lance Armstrong

Surviving (and thriving through) cancer most definitely changed Armstrong's outlook on life as well as how he lives it. I can change those things, too. What I like about his words is that he suggests that it's all about language, about what we call things. What we call things determines how we see them. It's a skill called framing. I teach it and practice it daily in my work. Funny how I don't always apply it to my life. But it's there for me, waiting for me to use it. And it is powerful. Is it a tough workout? Maybe. Or it's a workout that will make me stronger. Is it insufferable pain? Maybe. Or it's my body telling me to knock it off, a sign I've done enough, too much even. Is it an impossible climb? Maybe. Or it's a chance to prove something to myself.

So this year I re-framed what October meant to me. Rather than being my time to fall apart, I told myself it is my time to focus on other things, to nurture this amazing body that does so much, to honor all the things I am capable of by doing much less of it. 

This certainly was possible only with your help and support. The response to my October 1st post was overwhelming. On this site, in person, over email, and in spirit, I heard and felt you. Your comments, your commiseration, your optimism, your reflections, your stories--all are invaluable and I will carry them with me through the rest of this "between-season" (what I'm now calling the "off-season"), through Ironman training, on great days, and on bad--I mean good--days. (Thanks, Lance. This will be my new MO--looking at days as good or great, nothing else.)

I am excited for the rest of fall and for winter. Today also marks the last day of my structured training plan until Ironman training begins...as I mentioned in an earlier post, I will stay active in November by relying primarily on intuition and how I feel when I wake up each morning and when I leave work each afternoon. Nothing else will tell me I must get out and swim, bike, or run. Nothing else, that is, except you all. You don't know this, but you all are my "accountability coaches." Yes, I am accountable to myself first and foremost. At the same time, knowing that you are reading, caring, and responding, helps drive me to be and do nothing short of my best.

Thank you.

How are you all doing this fall? What are you happy about? What are you struggling with? Please use this space to share with us all.