Saturday, March 05, 2011

Every ounce

I stood in the ocean, the choppy cold water up to my waist. About one hundred eager swimmers surrounded me, ready for the free-for-all that was about to unfold. Fifteen seconds, the man announced on the megaphone. I closed my eyes and completely relaxed my entire body. Everything around me disappeared. I was in absolute peace. Then the horn sounded, and I exploded. I unleashed a 56 minute fury that my body had been practicing for months. But as my muscles burned and fought, my mind was at total ease.


Five players. That's all we had. The kids knew there would be no chance to take a breather-it was all on them. They didn't complain, they didn't show fear. They sprinted up and down the court, not once stopping to suck air. With four minutes to go, down by seven, my small forward drove the lane, pump faked, and got kicked in the face by a jumping defender. A timeout was called and we gathered together. His eye was already swollen and tears were running down his face. You okay? I asked. He just nodded his head. He went back out there and hit his free throws and finished the game.
Before my triathlon, I had to tell myself that the training I had put in would pay off down the stretch. I told the same thing to my kids before the last game. They came up just short, but they didn't leave anything out on that court. When I crossed the finish line this morning, both my mind and my body told me that I had given every ounce I had to give.
After 25 years, I finally get it- you can't leave anything out there. I've had too many races where I've held back and crossed the finish line with too much still left in the tank. I've ended too many school days knowing that I could've given more of myself to the kids. The preparation you put in is a huge first step, but if you don't give it your all down the stretch, a lot of it goes to waste.

This season, I asked my kids to go full throttle for an entire season, never once slowing down. They put the pedal to the medal and never let up. I actually learned a lot from watching them. Now it's my turn.