Top Approximately 10 Stuff I Have Learned So Far

.....so I have been doing this for about two years now but only one year of dedicated training with Jeff.  What are the Top 10 lessons learned?  I started doing this because I didn't feel good.  I felt out of shape and the beginnings of general slugging around.  My arthritis was killing me and adding to my general apathy towards doing anything physical.

1. My arthritic condition is a thousand times better when I exercise.  I probably do not need to do as much as I am doing but my general joint health is vastly improved by doing this.  My joints do not stay in a constant swelled condition and keep me in a constant pain state.  I manage pain pretty well because I have lived with it every day for so long.  I was able to hide externally how bad I felt every day but it was really brutal looking back.  Something had to change.  At this point, it would be foolish to not stay active going forward.  Best decision I have ever made given the medical circumstances laid at my doorstep.
2. The strength I have gained in my legs and upper body is night and day.  I feel better.  My rheumatologist was shocked at how good my joints were the last time I saw her.
3. When I get my blood pressure checked, it is down to what I consider normal for me where it wasn't before.  I am healthier as a whole and feel better.
4. I lost about 40 pounds.  I guarantee not lugging that extra weight around is a good thing.
5. This helps solve my need for competition.  I thrive on that.  I need to have something to do that measures what I do against someone else.  My only regret is the competitions do not happen as frequently as I would like.  There is nothing like a race.  If you do one and you don't enjoy it, you are a completely different animal than me.  I was last in my age group at my first race.  It made me want to come back and whip every single person in my age group.  That is how I think and that is how I'm wired.  It drives me to put the work in to be the best at what I do.  I realize this is a double edged sword as a personality quirk and has to be tempered at times but I can't stop being me and make no apologies for it.  I see all of the touchy feely quotes about if you have done the best you can, your a winner.  While certainly true, my reality deep down is to call BS on that.  There are people who win and people who don't.  I want be one of the people that win.  Probably not politically correct but we have too much of that going on today.
6. Seeing results.  As you move along and get faster, it is really addicting.  I want to push past the next barrier.  The barriers get more and more difficult to break down as you reach the max your body has to offer.  Who knows where that begins or ends but it's worth it to find out?
7. I hear people say why would anyone want to run that far or do that.  I don't know.  Maybe because it's the next logical progression to see what your capable of.  The Ironman motto is something like "Making the Impossible, Possible" or something like that.  There is an adrenalin rush that comes with something you have never done.  An uneasiness that permeates your entire being when you embark on something where the end result is in doubt.  When I do a Sprint Tri today, I have no fear of finishing but I do have fear of not improving.  Completely different from registering for a distance I have never done like a full Ironman.  The committment to a new distance is exciting and terrifying at the same time.  The feeling is awesome, especially when you finish.
8. Training is a love/hate relationship.  In order to get faster, training hard is a must.  Some days are filled with not wanting to get up or do anything.  Other days are great and you can't wait to go.  Especially if you have a new piece of gear your trying out or something like that.  I really like it when Jeff gives me a plan with something that seems very unattainable and I'm able to do it.  That is a very good feeling and makes me feel good inside.  It's also a solitary thing for me.  Most of the time I don't have a group of people to train with.  It's just me and that requires a whole different mind set and discipline.  Creating that mind set and discipline will carry over to other aspects of your life.
9. The help you get and give along the way is very cool.  I run into some people who are a-holes but that exists in every walk of life.  90%+ are very helpful, if you just ask.  I met Jeff limping in from a long ride and started picking his brain and asking questions.  That's how I found a coach.  There is a feeling of everyone is in this together.  If you are not involved in endurance sports, you won't get it.  As I have become marginally competitive, I have people who may ask me about how I go about doing things.  I'm no expert but I will do anything to help someone out.  Most of the time that means referring them to someone else since I'm new to all of this but I have learned some tricks of the trade along the way.  The people who have gone out of their way to help me are too numerous to count.  I run with Ultra guys and they have perspectives that completely change how I have done things in some respects.  I would encourage training with a variety of people doing different types of endurance sports.  If all you do is train with triathletes, you may be missing out on something that would help a particular discipline in the sport or maybe even enter into a race you may have never of done otherwise.  Variety is good.
10. My coach Jeff.  Best thing I have ever done for my training.  I really didn't know how to train for the first year.  Yea, you can print some plan off a website but that won't work for the most part when developing speed and endurance.  If you really don't care about how fast you are and just want to finish races, I'm sure that type of regiment will work fine.  However, I care about how fast I am and want to squeeze what I can out of what I have.  You need someone to bounce ideas off of and can tailor what you do to your strengths and weaknesses.  You also need someone who can work with you on hydration and nutrition principles.  Everyone needs someone like that.  Even the guy I have has a guy he works with.  I think it's a must and is one of the most important lessons I have learned to date.