Sunday, October 21, 2012

Understanding Intention


Although my "training" doesn't officially begin until November 1, 2012 I am starting to have my initial baseline testing creep onto my schedule. I participated in the Holiday Hustle 5K this weekend for my first run test in a long, long time. Considering my heart rate was through the roof, I was pleased I kept a decent pace and didn't throw up on anyone at the finish. I think I am going to start a side column with my testing stats just for my own jollies as I progress through training - hopefully to reinforce the progress I will make!

I am finding my behaviors this week interesting - I am in a "nesting" mood. I have been attacking the house with a vengeance, power washing the outside and deep cleaning the inside as if to prepare it to stand alone for the next year when none of those things will get done. I also think I am trying to earn bonus points with my husband with hopes that my efforts will numb the reality of what is about to come.

I'm getting excited to take on this challenge and to live this journey to the fullest. In two weeks I will go to Florida to volunteer at the race, cheer on my friends who are participating in 2012, and take the plunge and register myself for IMFL 2013 the following morning.

I've been thinking a lot about the "principle of intention". Intention is the framework for the creation of reality. Before you can have a plan, you've got to have an intention, the thought of what you want to see happen or where you want to go, or what your ultimate goal is. It is important to have a clear understanding of your intention and what motivates it. The moment you create thought, you create potential action. By sharing that thought out loud, you are enlisting support and the aid of others, whether you mean to or not, by simply sharing it. When you write your intention down, you have the opportunity to clarify your thoughts. I didn't realize it at first, but the past few months have been a time for me to gather my thoughts, clarify my intention, and determine the motivation and reason for my intention. Once that process was finished I was ready to declare my intention, and sit with my Coach to make my plan. My decision to put it in writing via this blog was my way of putting my intention out into the universe and start the domino effect of energy that will ultimately turn it into a reality.

"Whether or not you realize it, your intentions set up an energy field around themselves. You strenghten that field by what you think and what you envision. You strengthen it by what you write and what you say and by enrolling people through collaborative processes. The more explicit you make your intentions and the more time and energy you give to implementing them, the more you realize the likelihood of seeing your intentions actually manifest in reality. Intention is not only a principle: it is a power, a force. When your intentions are aligned with the higher aspects of yourself, you set the conditions for the Universe to support you in bringing your intentions into physical reality."

I plan to embrace this journey and see it through to a successful completion. I am going to put a lot of my mental energy into creating a positive experience that builds confidence and self-esteem along the way to becoming an Ironman. That is my intention.


Saturday, October 13, 2012

A New Journey Begins....

It is funny to me how this blog started off in 2009 as a journal of the training and experiences that would lead me to my first 70.3 distance triathlon, and four years later it is about to change to a journal of the training and experiences that will lead me to my first, and likely only, full Ironman distance race.

I have questioned whether to journal this journey or leave it to play out in the memories of my aging mind, but I decided that as it likely will be a life changing experience however it turns out, it is worthwhile to record it as already my memory is foggy at best. Who knows? Maybe this will develop into the best-selling book I have always wanted to write. Or maybe it will just be another piece to the puzzle in discovering just who I am and what makes me tick. Or maybe it will just end up a training diary that someday my children may enjoy reading. However it turns out my experiences and feelings, fears, and weaknesses are going to be out there exposed to the public for better or for worse. This has been one of my biggest deliberations. To blog or not to blog.