My Blog

Have you ever run so hard, you feel like your soul is boiling in your stomache and your so thirsty when you breathe..you feel like your drinking the air? Well that sums up training in hawaii. Training day in and day out -in hot , hot days, teaches alot about yourself, and about a thing called endurance. Everyday while training the run, swim, bike and life...I learn more and more about degrees of humbleness. Training is no more about a "race." Its about those moments, when all your dreams seem so far away, and so dim, that you realize you have inspired someone else to start dreaming big. I had one of those moments latley.

I have had more life challenges as my big race day looms- as an artist I have become more and more busy to survive in hawaii.  So this one day with my hectic schedule, working three jobs and fitting motherhood in and training), my son and I tried to go get a swim in, at the pool to avoid jelly fish week at the beach. We did our usual thing, I swam hardcore in my lane, my son played in the water..and did a few leisure laps. After our short little swim, we went off to the change rooms...A little while later I came out of the change room to meet up with my kid. Looking around I see a bunch of kids getting ready for there swim practice. I look around for my son, I looked outside the pool, to look for him near a tree. ..as he usually would play around in his imaginative way to wait for me. Nope he wasn't there. So I just gazed around the pool...And sure enough I forced my bad eyes to focus....and I see an image of my son. He has grown so much the last year, day to day I barely recognize him! Yes he was standing next to the swim coach. I am thinking...what is he doing...now...lol.

As he walked closer to me, a little smile started to break on his face. "What's up Matt? Everything okay?" I asked. (I'm thinking he lost his goggles or something.)

"I just decided to try out for the swim team" he said matter of factly. "Really.... What made you decide that?" I asked nervously. (I didn't want to seem to over excited.) "Well,.." he said, "I see you training so hard, sacrificing so much, your working so much to get to your race....shouldn't I be be doing something too? Its about time I started trying too!"

Stunned and amazed, I just thought wow, he seems real serious. I never pushed him too much to be a competitive athlete. I wanted him to join a sport he wanted. He did a few fun triathlons, played on a soccer team, but I didn't want to be a complete tri geek parent and force my kid into the sport. So I had him in swim camps every year, and just come with me to the pool when I trained . He learned to just enjoy the healthy atmosphere and have fun. He joined a swim group one summer while on vacation, but spent most of the time in the shallow end playing with lizards and pipe cleaners...lol.  I didn't want to push the issue...but I know he has the talent and ability to be a great swimmer.

So a week has past and he has been going to all daily swim practices. Swimming an hour and 15 minutes each day. He jokes that the coach said he doesn't have to worry about wasting money on flippers or paddles for Matt...as he noticed the size of his hands and feet. Matty is growing out of a size 12 shoe, and he is 13~!

So my goal this month, is to survive life and training,  and make it to my half ironman healthy and to be in one piece, mind , body and spirit. Happy training, and remember to pass on what you have learned about the value of sport to everyone around you.

A big Mahalo from Hawaii!!

Kimberfly