Simple and easy reading after a day's outing in the sun and rain - like I mentioned before, the weather had really been totally unpredictable. I am almost done with the book. My greatest takeaway is this: no matter how secure your current job is, it may be one for life. Contributions may have been much, but once your time is up, you will have to get ready to go. This is the reality of corporate life. Michael Gill spent 25 years slogging for the company and gave up watching his kids grow up. As a parent, I feel his pain. I watched my kids grow up. And I enjoyed it very much - although sometimes I wish they would grow up faster and be out of the house - more often I enjoyed interacting with them and appreciate how they naively see the world to be. It was also through his down and out moments that he learnt to appreciate the little things in life. Even a simple "thank you" to the cleaners would make a difference to their lives. How often have we forgotten that these so called "lowly" jobs are held by human beings like ourselves? We are no different from them really.
I want to live my life to the fullest, knowing that I have made the best out of it. I have done an ironman - and more to come, of course; I have trekked 4500m up a mountain and admire the glory of God's creation along the way - touristy route, no doubt but the gasping for air was real for a newbie like me; I have bungyed 70m (I think, and at that point in time, I thought I was diving off the top of Everest); I have seen the beauty of Yosemite and the Grand Canyon - both really took my breath away, the sheer grandeur of them. I have more to do and hope to do them in my lifetime. These are what enriches me and keeps me happy. Now, this is experiential learning and living. Life's experiences, not something that you can check out from the books.
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I did my bike trainer session in the morning because it was pouring. It didnt stop till lunch time. But I did not manage to complete the session because I had to bring my family out for lunch as well as to run some errands. Grudgingly definitely, but had to remind myself that this is part and parcel of working family ironman.
In any case, I did my swim in evening. Wife had been on leave for the past 3 days. This really freed up my time to do the sessions. I could leave my kids to play in the public pool with my wife looking after while I lapped up 200m of warm up and 3km of ironman pace swim. It was a great session I must say, consistently clocking 1:55 on average per 100m. This is about 15s faster than last year while training for WA 2009. I guess it was great! Totally unexpected because I thought I would have been trounced from yesterday's 165km bike ride. So all is well so far. I think I have missed just the Monday squad swimming session and my running interval training.
Like my Coach always says, life goes on; we do what we can. Somehow I think I must have rubbed off this attitude and translated it to the way I lead my life now. Which might just have explained why I have become more forgiving.
Yes, for all things that happen, life goes on; we do what we can.
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