IM Lake Tahoe & 7 Questions

It's old news....Ironman Lake Tahoe was canceled due to poor air quality thanks to the King fire. It was the right decision, but obviously could have been communicated at a better time and with a contingency plan that involved some type of reimbursement option. But hey....at least all the athletes got a one day ski pass to Squaw....slow clap?

When the announcement was made, I was fully zipped up in my wetsuit, cap on, walking down to the water. As the announcer was speaking, I thought he would simply announce a shortened course, but that wasn't the case. When I heard the word "canceled", my eyes welled up with tears and I just. stood. there. feeling. so. lost. At a loss for words, for answers to all the unknowns in my head about that course and my preparation, and for a plan. What in the heck do we do now? Do we have an epic training day? We're already lubed up and fueled, why not? No. Terrible idea. Just walking around near Tahoe feels like you're hot boxing. Should we just get burritos? Yea, sure. What about beer? I guess, sure. Do we just go get our run gear and bikes, pack up and just drive home? Yep. And that was it....

My good buddy Chris wasn't able to complete his first Ironman. My fiance wasn't able to dominate his age group after 3 years straight of missing Ironmans due to tough family health situations. And I wasn't able to see what I was made of. But, we were the lucky ones! We didn't have to travel by air to get there, we didn't bring our entire family along, we didn't have to pay for the house we crashed in and we were right back to training and work on Monday. I truly cannot imagine how other athletes are attempting to cope with a race that never was. That struggle is ongoing and is by no means "old news".

When you're supposed to race an Ironman and then you don't, you begin to question A LOT of things. Such as, what's the point of all this anyway? Why do we care so much? What's the end game? What's the meaning of life after all? Yes I was having an existential struggle - my father and rhetoric professors would be proud. Then I stumbled across these 7 Questions about purpose. The author, Mark Manson reminded me that when you're feeling introspective, don't just search for difficult answers to obvious, broad sweeping questions (i.e. the ones above). Remember to ask tough, targeted questions....which might lead to more intuitive answers. Lucky for me, I was able to answer each question rather easily within the context of my current professional transition and focus on triathlon training (although I did struggle with #4 and half of #7). While each question needs context, here is the full list:

1. WHAT IS TRUE ABOUT YOU TODAY THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR 8-YEAR-OLD SELF CRY?
2. WHAT MAKES YOU FORGET TO EAT AND POOP?
3. HOW CAN YOU BETTER EMBARRASS YOURSELF?
4. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD?
5. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF SHIT SANDWICH AND DOES IT COME WITH AN OLIVE?
6. GUN TO YOUR HEAD, IF YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE HOUSE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
7. IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO DIE ONE YEAR FROM TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND HOW WOULD YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?

Departing shot of the smoke rolling into the swim start in Tahoe....

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