In 2017, after losing more than 100 pounds, I decided I wanted to start running.

And if you knew me before 2017, you know my typical response to anyone who said they were running was, “I’ll run if someone is chasing me.”

Who would have ever thought I would go on to complete seven half-marathons and three 200-plus-mile relay races? One of which was through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Certainly not me.

When I got into running and participating in races, I started feeling like I needed a new challenge. So, in May 2019, I began incorporating swimming into my routine.

My thought was to sign up for a triathlon.

Now, there are several different types of triathlons, including Super Sprint, Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman, and Ironman distances.

To give you some perspective, a shorter Super Sprint might include a 330–440-yard swim, a 6.2-mile bike ride, and a 1.5-mile run. At the other end of the spectrum, a full Ironman includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run.

Considering I had been running for about two years at that point, I wanted to challenge myself and do something more than a Super Sprint.

However, there was no way in heck I was doing an Ironman.

So, I settled on a Sprint.

By the end of the summer, I felt like I was ready for the running and biking portions, which were approximately 3.1 miles and 12 miles, respectively.

The swimming?

Not so much.

And with fall approaching, temperatures dropping, and my neighborhood pool getting ready to close for the season, I decided to wait until spring 2020.

Don’t even need to mention how that turned out, huh?

Who would have known we would soon be in the throes of a worldwide pandemic?

That was about the time I started taking up rucking. It was something I could add to my outdoor F3 workouts and another way to connect with my F3 brothers outside of our regular workouts.

And, of course, it was outdoors.

The thought of doing a triathlon continued floating around in my head over the years, but I never gave it much more than a fleeting thought.

Until recently.

A good buddy of mine, David Williams, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

David has a story similar to mine. He lost a significant amount of weight and started working out.

But David takes things to another level.

Marathons. Bike races. Triathlons.

He’s a beast.

What has fascinated me about watching David navigate his Parkinson’s diagnosis is the role exercise has played in helping him manage some of the outward symptoms.

Exercise is actually an important part of Parkinson’s management and can help improve symptoms involving movement, balance, and mobility.

But what has impressed me even more is David’s response.

Rather than allowing his diagnosis to define what he can no longer do, he has become even more determined to keep doing the things he loves.

And on top of that, he’s using his athletic pursuits to raise money to fight Parkinson’s.

More than $40,000 to date.

How amazing is that?

Now, let me bring this back to my own journey.

When I started Tying It Together Consulting and set up my home office, I was particularly proud of one purchase.

A standing desk.

And for the first few months, I used it ALL the time.

I was so proud of myself.

Unfortunately, I think I may have overdone it and over the past several months, my left knee has been bothering me. And so, I decided to back off on the running.

I still needed something that would give me a good cardiovascular workout but be a little easier on my joints.

So, in early June, I searched through the house for my swimming goggles, my favorite swim shorts, and my pool towel and headed to our neighborhood pool.

And as I thought about David’s story, I was reminded of that triathlon goal from 2019.

If David could face a Parkinson’s diagnosis with that kind of determination, surely I wasn’t going to let a little knee pain stop me from finding another way to stay active and continue improving myself.

So, I started swimming again.

And the more I swam, the more that old triathlon goal started coming back to life.

I was getting closer and closer to feeling comfortable with the 750-meter Sprint distance.

But there was a problem.

The closer I got to being ready, the fewer race options I was finding.

Sound familiar?

I found one race in the Greensboro area, but it wasn’t a traditional Sprint. The biking and running distances were what I expected, but the swim was 1,200 meters.

Nope.

I’m definitely not ready for that.

Then I started thinking about 2019 again.

Was I about to repeat the same mistake?

Was I going to get comfortable with swimming, let the neighborhood pool close for the winter, and then find myself starting all over again in the spring?

Fortunately, I remembered something.

About six miles down the road from me is an indoor pool operated by Raleigh Parks.

As a matter of fact, it’s just down the street from where I lived in high school.

So, as soon as our neighborhood pool closed for the season, I got up like I do every Thursday morning and headed over to Millbrook Exchange Park.

I paid all of $45 for 15 visits, which should get me two to three months of swimming at one or two days a week.

And they open at 5:30 a.m.

That’s actually 30 minutes earlier than my neighborhood pool opens.

Perfect.

And now, seven years after I first thought about doing a triathlon, I have a date on the calendar.

May 2, 2027.

The White Lake Sprint Triathlon.

Will I be ready?

I certainly intend to be.

Will there be more obstacles along the way?

I’m sure of it.

But here’s what David’s story, my own fitness journey, and seven years of putting this goal on the back burner have reminded me.

Life is going to throw obstacles in our way.

Sometimes they’re relatively small, like a nagging knee that forces us to change our workout routine.

Sometimes they’re life-altering, like a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

And while we don’t always get to choose the obstacles we face, we do get to make choices about how we respond, even when the circumstances are difficult and the options aren’t what we hoped for.

Sometimes that means changing direction.

Sometimes it means finding another way.

And sometimes it means revisiting a goal you thought had passed you by.

I may not be able to run the way I did in 2017.

And I’m certainly not the same person who started training for a triathlon in 2019.

But that doesn’t mean I’m done challenging myself.

Far from it.

Life is going to throw punches.

You can throw in the towel, or you can find a way to keep fighting.

As for me?

I choose to get in the ring and start swinging.