Great (but realistic) Expectations

I find myself having conversations with other athletes every day that go something like this:

“I’ve been training really hard and I’m making good progress but I don’t understand why I’m still not as good as Fred. I train much harder than him!”

It is at this point that I somehow tactfully need to bring up the point that the athlete in question may not be as genetically talented as Fred and that they can never hope to be as good. For some reason we have no problem accepting that some people are more intelligent than others, some are good at working with numbers, others are really great artists. But when it comes to someone being physically superior it is viewed as discriminatory.

Having to accept that you are not going to improve indefinitely with more training can be a hard pill to swallow. We realize that we will never be able to ride a bike as well as Lance Armstrong or run as fast as Paula Radcliffe, but when it comes to comparing ourselves to those that line up next to us at the local race for some reason we don’t accept that some people can fall out of bed and run faster than you without even trying.

I have been there too. I had my rude awakening last year when trying to qualify for the British Age Group Triathlon team. I had been doing Triathlon a few years and was steadily improving. I even managed to climb onto the podium at some small local races. Then I showed up at the first qualifying event and it was a different story. Not only did I get so soundly beaten that the winner had probably already showered and gone home by the time I crossed the finish line, but I also saw the bodies of the girls I was racing against. There was no way I could hope to be as good as them, my bones were not even of the right shape to manage that.

It was a bitter pill to swallow at first and I was considering throwing in the towel then and there. But I persevered, started to race for me and taking delight in improving my own performance (and hoping the really fast girls didn’t show up!). I made it onto the team eventually and went to the World Championships. There I was pleasantly surprised that all the countries attending had brought along my kind of athletes, as well as the genetically gifted ones that were battling it out at the front.

Of course it can be difficult not to judge the worth of an athlete by the time they posted in the last race. After all, that’s what races are for, right? To be able to judge the achievement you need to consider the genetic gift of that person, how much they have given to the training, what else they have going on in life (for example, it is harder to get lots of quality training in if you have several young kids than if you don’t) and what they want to get out of the race. And it is also important for the athlete to set realistic goals to allow them to enjoy training and racing more. For example, I would love to be able to run a 3 hour marathon one day, but I can confidently say that is never going to happen. So if I choose to run a marathon I would set a different more achievable goal and then be extremely proud when I get there.

It is not just race performance this applies to, but many things in life like body shape. If you spend all day around super-skinny beanpole running machines it is natural to think that you are too fat, too short or any manner of other things. But if your body shape is different then you need to apply different standards to yourself. For example, compare yourself against how you were a year ago or two years ago. If you were noticeably fitter/thinner/more energetic then you know you can make improvements.

I guess the message is to not put yourself down for not living up to the high standards of those around you, but also don’t hold others to your standards. That way we can all train and race together and all get great achievements and fun from it. And I will wait before I attempt a marathon.

Corina

The Joy of New Beginnings

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