Perception is a Reality?

A while back my good friend Janice took a quick glance at an IM shirt I was wearing that said "DETERMINATION" (where the M is the IM M dot logo) and said "Deter Nation".  I quickly fired back, "No, it says DETERMINATION" to which she repeated herself "Deter Nation".  You'd think after 17 years of being friends I would have known from the moment she said it the first time that she was simply giving me a hard time, but no, I had to take the defensive and correct her.  Correcting janice is like trying to baptize a cat ......

But this got me to thinking, how do others perceive me and my quest to the finish line?  Are we looked upon as some sort of narcissism trait where we put ourselves through a training regimen that would make the majority of the world's population run and cry, or are we viewed differently?  I typically get the "Are you nuts" response or look from most who inquire about the IM, but that is just the ones who are currious (or brave) enough to ask why I am doing this.  I can only imagine what the others are thinking.

So why do I have this determination and where did it come from?  Well, that's not an easy answer to be honest with you.  For starters, I was never "that guy".  Wasn't talented enough to carry a tune well or a ball quickly.  I'd love to have been a first baseman in the MLB, but you have to be able to throw, catch, and hit a little better than I can.  I'm not going to say that I am not a "team player", but I do prefer to do things alone or at least with a small group of like minded folks that see things the way I do, and that is few and far apart.  So the whole team sport concept was wasted on me early on. 

But in Triathlon, I have to swim alone, bike on my own, and crawl, I mean run with my feet.  In fact, the rule book says that I am disqualified if someone from the outside helps me - eureka, this is the sport for me!  I don't have to worry about others on a team depending on me, relying on my line drive skills (of which I have none), or being worried that a cooler of gatorade would be dumped over my head after the winning play.  In fact, all who know me will tell you that I would mess up a game winning play on purpose just to avoid the dumping of the sticky kool aid on me.  Yuck.

As far as determination, in Iron Man, I have learned that everything is possible.  I've seen too many amputees, cancer patients, and their survivors out there proving something to themselves and the rest of the world that anything can be done.  Its also that way that I am going to be able to teach Kyle some day about a developing story, about this common guy with minimal sporting skills who took on not one, not two, but three disciplines, in a freaking row and made it to the finish line.  About a guy that decided to make a difference in his weight, health, and attitude so that he could watch a smaller guy grow up.  About a guy who wants to continue making his wife proud.  We'll have to see how the last page of the book pans out.

Getting in a swim workout in the Atlantic Ocean in Ocho Rios, Jamaica last week on vacation.  Thats what I call Deter Nation!