So, I’m 41 Now

Birthdays are weird. At least when you’re getting older and they’re yours.

I love celebrating other peoples birthdays; my kids, my wife, my friends etc. But mine? Meh, just another day at this point.

Last year, my 40th, I made an exception, given the gravity of the occasion, and spent the day in Chicago with my buddies eating foods and taking bad pictures. But the years leading up to 40, just another day.

Today, more of the same. I woke up, a wizened fool of 41 years, and it just felt like Thursday. I was tired because I have kids, and I’m exercising 5-6 days a week, and I had woke up at 3:30 super gassy and had to poop real bad (yeah, the filter goes when you get old, sorry-not sorry). But that’s just every day at this point.

This isn’t to say I don’t appreciate my birthdays, I absolutely do. I don’t fear them like some do, I embrace them. I feel better in my 40s than I did in my 30’s. And I’m definitely a better man than I was in my 20’s. But again, today just feels like Thursday. I put my kids on the bus and went to work.

While I haven’t made plans to celebrate anything this year, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Mortality, legacy, all that existential crap that seems to come around to dudes who start to feel old and whatnot. Mostly I’ve been dwelling on the last 5 years though.

I spent 2011-2015 super focused on fitness and nutrition, dropping over 150 lbs, running a 25k, riding a century, etc. Then, in 2015, life happened again, new kid, new job, a bevy of other life changes/excuses. Next think I knew i’d gained about 60 lbs back and lost a large chunk of fitness. I’ve had a great last three years but this was definitely the part I was least proud of.

So, in May I recommitted myself to diet and fitness. I’ve focused on healthy eating and whole foods and slowly acclimating my body to the rigors of doing things other than sitting and eating. I’ve lost about 25 pounds since then and I’m finally starting to feel like my old (5 years ago old) self. As the pounds came off and the miles increased that weird part of my brain that talks me in to doing stupid stuff reappeared. He said, “Dwight! You need a goal!” And I was like “Yeah, me, I really do. I work best when there’s a goal at the end.”

So, I figured, I’ve been wanting to do another triathlon since I did Tri del Sol in 2012. And I set myself a goal to be ready by July 2019. I upped my bike miles and I started running (veeeerrryy slowly) again. I made plans to start swimming once the High School pool re-opened and I was on my way.

But then that little asshole in the back of my mind piped up again. “Really dude? One race? That’s your big goal?”

Dammit me. Why do I always do this to myself? I should quit while I’m ahead,right?

Yeah, no. That’s not what I do.

So the motors kept whirring and I started to remember how great it was during the year I was a Road Warrior. Blogging about my journey, raising money for worthy causes. Training for things that are inherently awful and stupid because I’m an idiot and enjoy ridiculous challenges for some reason. And more pieces fell in to place.

So here’s the deal. What started as a goal of 1 triathlon next summer has turned in to a summer of them. 1 a month, starting the weekend my kids get out of school and ending the weekend of my 42nd birthday. I’m sure I’ll do the Irish Jig and River Bank Run in some capacity. But next year is about triathlons.

June 1, 2019 – Greenville Triathlon

July 13, 2019 Tri del Sol

August 18, 2019 – Ludington Lighthouse Triathlon

September 7, 2019 – Reeds Lake Olympic Triathlon

There. I wrote it down. That’s what they say to do with your goals right? Anyway. I’ll be blogging about training and stuff here. Maybe some other stuff too. And after the first of the year I’ll probably put together some sort of fundraiser to go with it, see if I can do some good with all this too. For now though, you can contribute to my Facebook Fundraiser Birthday Event thingy . I’m raising funds for Child’s Play, a charity that provides games for kids in children’s hospitals around the country. The guys at Penny Arcade started this charity many moons ago and they do some great work, making life a little more bearable for kids dealing with some nasty stuff.

Well there it is. If you’ve read this far, well I’m sorry. Not really, you should know better. But thank you anyway. You can check my training data through the link below if you are so inclined.

Come back often, I’m sure it will be all roses and rainbows. That’s how training goes right?

Training – Week 1

Swim: 624 yards (624 yard total)

Bike: 8 miles (8 miles total)

Run : 2 miles (2 miles total)