I am a starving artist athlete.  Okay maybe starving is a bit of an exaggeration.  Truth be told, I have a good job; one that pays all the bills and allows my wife to stay at home with our two young kids.  Providing for them is my top priority; with what is left, my choice is to feed the dream.  The reality is however, there is not much left; which means some things get neglected. 

A local running store brings in a podiatrist twice a month and you can see her for free.  Last winter I decided to see her about some discomfort I was having.  Leaving straight from work, I arrived in my dress shoes.  After walking into the store, she asked me to remove my shoes and then said, “did your dog get a hold of these?”  My answer, “No I just choose to spend money on running shoes instead.”  I had completely worn through the padding in the heel and the rubber soles had holes in them.  I just could not bring myself to spend money on work shoes when I needed running shoes.  Don’t worry, I kept them polished and made sure I looked presentable at work.  I have since purchased a new pair.

Driving down the interstate yesterday to get home I cranked my window down, that’s right no power windows, and stuck my arm out.  Waving my extended arm slightly, I did my best to indicate my need to merge left through busy traffic.  Hoping the cars behind me understood this archaic gesture, I inched into the next lane.  My car, a 99 Volkswagen Jetta with 125,000 miles, has no turn signals.  I love my car because it represents a little bit of financial freedom.  It has been paid off for about 3 and a half years and with each passing month I think about what a luxury it is to be freed of a payment.  Sacrificing a little ego and not having a flashy car is a small price to pay in order to afford entry fees, new shoes, a gym membership… the pursuit of a dream.  The fact of the matter is, I get from point A to point B just like that guy in the SUV paying $500 a month.  Why does he do that?  I am not sure.  Perhaps his dream was to have a huge car payment, if so, I see a lot of success stories on the road every single day.

To pursue any dream there must be a great deal of sacrifice.  For mine, it is more than hard training, eating right, and staying motivated.  Although I am not sure sacrifice is the correct word to use.  When it is truly a dream, a passion, it is not difficult to give those things up.  If you were driving beside me yesterday on the interstate you saw a smile on my face as I gestured my need to turn.  That smile was one of pride that I am chasing a dream, and not the Joneses.