Triathlon Training Provides Reflection

Triathlon: an athletic competition in which the contestants compete in three different events.

I am training for a triathlon. I know, it's hard to believe. My name and "athlete" have never been used in the same sentence. But I have been focused on this for about six weeks now, and I have begun to realize I have always been in a kind of triathlon training.
Life is a triathlon. It honestly is. We spend our whole lives in three competing events - our careers, our families and ourselves.
While I train, I do a lot of thinking.
Perfecting my craw stroke and breathing, I think about my career, one for which I never set out to do. Along the way, through trial and error, consistency and practice, I've learned.
My stroke isn't perfect, or even pretty, but - slow and steady - it gets me where I need to go.
I have had moments of panic (will I drown?), moments of calm (underwater silence), moments of dread (how many more laps to go?), moments of joy (beat my record today), and, through it all I've improved, each and every day.
On my bike, I pump and pump in an effort to keep a consistent pace, and I think about my family. the hills and valleys are reminiscent of raising two boys and being married for 27 years.
Some hills are steeper than others. Sometimes you need to get off your bike and push. Sometimes you think you won't crest the top, but you do, and the wind always blows blissfully in your face as you smile and sail down the other side.
How easily we forget the pain of the climb, until the next one appears on the horizon.
Being a successful wife and mother is like riding a bike. Sometimes you fall off, but the best medicine is to get right back on.
And then I run. It's the most painful part of all.
As I run, I think about me. I am not an athlete, have never allowed myself to believe I could be. But my time on this earth is spent running - not always for the right reasons and rarely for me.
Running to be the best I can be in my career. Running to be the best wife, the best mom, the best friend, the best daughter. The best.
We all do a lot of running in our lives - sometimes in circles. My training is helping me be more attentive and focused on running for the right reasons.
I am a few short months shy of 50 years old. I am blessed that I am still employed when some of the finest people I know are looking for work. My family is healthy and happy.
What's left?
Training to be the best me I can be. Finding the balance that brings me success in career, family and self. Satisfaction only a well-trained athlete can bring to the challenge.
Wish me luck as I compete in the triathlon on September 20th.