The Numbers Game -- 1766.20 + 538.56

Those numbers mean a lot to me.

I'm well on my way to 2500 miles biking for the year (my original goal for 2009 - this morning I reached 1766.20 total miles), and I'm making good progress toward my Pelotonia ride fund raising goal of $1500 ($538.56 in donations, so far) by August 29. As a matter of fact -- I'm picking up the pace, working my mileage so I meet the 2500 mile goal DURING the Pelotonia ride -- 4 months ahead of schedule. Achieving that goal during that very special ride will make it even more fantastic, don't you think?

Have any of you ever discovered a workout routine that seems perfectly suited to YOU? I've run, swam (no comments, Gina, or anyone else who has ever seen me in a pool!), and biked for some time now...but this year, with this bike, with this goal in mind...I feel unbreakable. And that's the key, isn't it? You have to find an exercise plan that incorporates something you enjoy, or you won't stick with it. Just as important as an imperishable will -- you have to love what it is you're doing.

To be successful, the first thing to do
is to fall in love with your work.

Biking this year, and working to raise awareness and funding for cancer research, is exactly that -- something I simply love doing. I'm in the best physical shape of my life, I'm focused on a goal that benefits others, and I'm meeting and working with people I might have never known otherwise, if not for this goal that popped into my head in the closing days of 2008. Within the last few days several individuals have told me their personal stories -- how cancer has impacted their lives. Opening up about that kind of information isn't easy, but, honestly...

No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.

Life is pretty awesome right now, and I know that this goal of mine has a lot to do with it. Negativity still abounds...but I blow right by it as if I'm racing down Everett Hill in the Cuyahoga Valley...a great downhill where we usually top out at about 45mph on a sunny summer bike ride...

I'll be there Saturday -- join me?