Eating it up...

It's amazing how 72 hours can seem like a lifetime ago. I feel so much better today.

I think the secret is identifying there is a problem and then trying to figure out how to solve it.

When I woke up this morning I also had an epiphany, "What do I WANT to do with my future?" as opposed to "What am I going to do?".

Last night I was thinking of my dad, he was in a similar situation when we started our business together in 1990. He had left a company that he ran for over 20 years and now found himself in unfamiliar territory.

Shortly after we started, I remember walking into his office and seeing this "shell shocked" look on his face and he was staring into space. It was the first and only time I've seen that, I didn't understand it. Now, twenty years later, I find myself in a similar situation and I understand it. He was "disoriented and probably a little scared or worried".

I had a great day of training, over 5 hours. It felt like old times. It was like I hadn't missed a beat. The entire time on the bike I listened to podcasts. Most were about Internet marketing, but one hour was about sales.

It's been so long since I've listened to anything that has to do with sales. Listening to it reminded me of when I was in my twenty's and early thirties.

Back then I listened to all sorts of motivation tapes from people like "Zig Ziglar and Tony Robbins" and I read all the classic motivational books, which included Napoleon Hill's "Think and grow rich", Dale Carnegie "How to win friends and influence people" and Norman Vincent Peale's "the power of positive thinking".

It's funny, even after 20 plus years, the sales training rhetoric is still the same. Nothings changed, even the terms and phrases are the same. It's all regurgitation. If I was starting out in my career, I'd find it all enlightening, as if it's all newly developed information. Little do the new-bees know how long this material has been around.

With all that said, it's still great stuff. You can't listen to a sales motivational podcast without getting pumped. Everything is "positive and optimistic". They went through basic things like goal setting and time management, which is very apropos for my current situation. I really enjoyed hearing it all again. It's all good stuff.

About an hour into the ride, it started raining. My first thought was, "are you happy Simon?" My plan was to be a fair weather rider and Simon was giving me a bad time for being a PUSSY and not riding in the rain. I was thinking, "who's NOT the PUSSY now!!!".

Those thoughts came to me as I took a picture of today's training food. Before the ride, I picked up two McDonald's hamburgers and put them in the back of my cycling jersey. I must say, they are a great riding food. They were easy to chew and swallow. That's the test, "can I chew and swallow without water?" I think it the ketchup and grease must help with the "slide-age factor".

When I got back, I felt great mentally and emotionally. It was like I did a 180 degree turn from Monday. I was taking off my shoes at the back landing and consciously noticed the difference. I felt like I was back on track. Hopefully the feeling lasts.

I had a post dinner nap and was off to the Y to finish yesterday's swim and do weights. I could tell my arms are starting to atrophy. I forgot my watch and had to use the timer on the wall. I think I was swimming around 1:38 - 1:45 per hundred meters. I was only going to do 2400 meters, but sucked it up and did my regular 3000.

Right out of the pool, I rushed to get my weight training done, I only had 45 minutes before closing.

The overcoming feeling I had at the Y was that I was back in a good zone. I was thinking and realized that this training lifestyle can't have an endpoint. It's not even worth evaluating "if you should do it", it's a"just do it and don't think about it"

I still had another Dairy Queen Blizzard on the way to the pool. I still need my comfort food, but I did order a small. I'm weening myself.

I've decided I want to buy a Kegerator and I need about $500 from donations. It's going to be a fine addition to the House of Payne Beer Run and Payne-a-Polooza, not to mention I'll probably keep it beside me at the dinner table every night. But I need your help.

Or donate to the TPPF and get your personal invitation to Payne-a-Polooza. The event date will be posted this week.

Tomorrow is a forced rest day. I'm up at 4 am to go to Raleigh, North Carolina to kick off the integration with the big account I just sold. Unfortunately I won't be back until 11 pm. I'm glad I had a good training day today, I won't feel guilty tomorrow.

Mod Bike - 3:27:56 / 103.20 km / 29.78 kph / 116 avg hr.

Tempo Swim - 1:05 / 3000 meters

Weights - 45 minutes