I returned from Austin five days ago.  Due to other responsibilities, I had yet to fully unpack physically or mentally.  This morning, I strolled out to the garage to complete a ritual done after each race dating back to when I started getting back in shape in 2010.  The process of placing the race credentials alongside the previous races.

The display amongst the garage storage shelves now represents a seven year journey to where I am today.   It visually chronicles a timeline from that fateful day when I ran a very poor mile run and decided to make some changes.  It represents a conscious decision to take advantage of the time I have to embrace unique life experiences while I still can and help others along the way through fundraising and hopefully some inspiration.

First, I added my 70.3 Ironman Austin race bib to the collection next to the Helfire Fat Tire bib.  I also took special notice of the San Dieguito Half-Marathon bib #436 which was the first big race I compleated along this road paved with goals to acheive goals.

Second, I hung the finisher medal with many others that preceded it.  Behind it were a few of my favorite race memories including what I considered one of my hardest fought accomplishments the Santa Barbara International Veterans Marathon.  This was truly the race that gave me the confidence that I could accomplish more.  It took a long time to work up to it, and it was hard for me to mentally get my head around running 26.2 miles over many, many hours.  Without that achievement, I’m sure I would have never embarked on attempting the 70.3 Ironman in Austin.

Third, I added another completion sticker to the sports van fittingly above Ragnar.  The Ragnar 200+ mile relay race shared the distance between six people and was one of the most fun race experiences I have ever had.  However, this sticker represents a third of those miles personally completed alone.

 

The ritual was once again complete.  The question is where to go from here?