Last night I went to the monthly beginners meeting at the Tri Club of San Diego. Ok, so I’m not a beginner triathlete but I am a beginner San Diegan, so I thought it may be useful to find out more about the club. What I found surprised me and got me thinking.The talk aimed to address all the big questions beginners had. I already knew the different race distances, I was familiar with what to wear and I even knew the difference between a road and a tri bike. In fact I learned nothing new about the mechanics of triathlon. Then why did I come away from the meeting REALLY wanting to take up triathlon???? I even feel a little disappointed that I am experienced in this sport because seeing all the newbies around me gaining confidence and enthusiasm with every word was so infectious. It reminded me what it was like to start triathlon, or any other new activity that I have taken up over my life. You start out with loads of doubts. You ask yourself: Will I be able to complete the distance? ….. Will I fall off my bike? …. Will my bum look big in lycra? …. And then you realize that the answer to all those questions is “probably”, but more importantly you don’t care because you want to try it anyway. And it is at that point that you turn into a triathlete (or soccer player, or surfer, or golf player, or musician, or anything else) without having attended a single race or even dusted off your old running shoes.
In this business I feel far too much time is spent aimed at those rare people who consist only of lungs and legs. Don’t get me wrong, as a therapist, trainer and coach I love the ego boost of rattling off the elite athletes I have worked with as much as the next girl, but the people I actually identify with most are the normal people that have doubts about their ability (usually unfounded) and are intimidated by all those that go flying by on really expensive bikes. It is those people, and I include myself in that list, who get such a sense of achievement from completing a tough new workout, managing to slip their feet into their bike shoes whilst on the move without falling off (most of the time) and realizing that the big scary monster of a new activity has turned into something you can’t wait to get back to. We will never win races, we will probably not finish in the top half, we won’t get sponsorship deals or be featured on the front pages of a magazine for our amazing athletic ability. But that doesn’t matter because we are having way more fun than those for whom the sport is a job.
A few years ago I was working as massage support at the Loch Ness Marathon in Scotland. We provided 20min massages to any finisher who wanted it, starting with the people who took less than 2 1/2 hours all the way through to those taking over 7 hours. As a therapist you have the unique opportunity of getting people’s stories immediately after the race, when they are still covered with sweat and mud, and when they have not yet recovered from the emotions thrown up by the event. What you would expect is that the mood of the athletes would deteriorate as the day went on. After all, it stands to reason that the woman who took 7 hours would not be as happy as the guy who came 3rd. Let me tell you, that is completely wrong. The guy who came third was in a foul mood because he was 30s slower than last year and “only” came third. The lady who took 7 hours had just completed her first ever marathon, something she couldn’t even have imagined doing some years ago. It took her several years to get herself ready to tackle it physically and emotionally. During that time she made some amazing friends, raised money for charities close to her heart, improved her health and fitness a great deal and was enjoying life more than ever. She was buzzing so much it was difficult to persuade her to get off the massage table after her 20 minutes were up, not because she wanted more massage, but because she hadn’t shared her whole story with me yet. If you ask me which one of those two people I want to be, without a doubt I’ll go for the back of the pack runner who loves every step she takes.
Here’s to setting new challenges, overcoming fears, realizing what an amazing person you are inside, and yes, here’s to taking up triathlon … again.
Corina
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