What am I going to achieve today?

It is a really simple question, and yet I don't know if many of us ever ask it. Training weeks come and go, work weeks end in a Friday dash to the local pub, weekend's go unheralded...

I have these plans. They are big plans, and necessary in terms of thinking about the future and how what I do now is leading there.

But, what about today? This is a day of possibility. In fact, something will happen today, but will it be an achievement? Or just... something.

We are always "training" for something. And it's a long time to "wait" for the Ironman to arrive. So each day I am looking at whatever workout I have as one more accomplishment on the way to the Ironman. Our bike ride on Saturday, in the pouring rain, was a victory in and of itself. Yesterday I followed that up with some hard intervals on the highway. That was something new for me, as I've never really done hard intervals on the bike.

When training for anything, or studying, or "waiting" for something to arrive, it's important to take stock of the little things each day that one can accomplish and be happy about. All moments are key moments, and how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. I spend my days exercising. Six days a week. If it helps, define yourself AS a runner, or a marathoner, or an Ironman, even before you have a medal to prove it. Mike Reilly, the "voice of Ironman" for many North American Ironman races, always proclaims to each finisher "you are an Ironman" as they cross the line. But I think you're an Ironman the moment you make the decision to start training. Ironman is not 140.6 miles on one day... It's thousands of miles along the way in your daily routine. And each day you check off a few more miles on the way to the race.

And this makes the Ironman schedule, the daily "routine" more enjoyable each and every day, knowing that we can achieve something every single day that makes our dreams a reality. And, if I need more proof, or you need an example, I'll take two moments to convey two of my own dreams: to be an athlete and to be a writer... And each day I am achieving both. I'm living my dreams...