Run It Back
The other day, I met up with some of my tri buds to help welcome and break in some new athletes to the world of endurance sports, specifically triathlon. It was a good training run for them in putting together all three sports. Everyone got through the swim, figured out the bike and managed the run pretty well. It was fun to see folks figuring out – some for the first time, how to put on their wetsuits, flounder through the first transition and wonder why their legs felt weird as they started their run. It made me reflect back on my first triathlon and marathon races way back in the day, when I didn’t have much of a clue as to what was going on myself. The excitement of doing something you’ve never done before outweighs the fear of doing something you’ve never done before. That internal drive to want to improve in the next race often is what pulls folks to continue on with the sport. That was definitely me once I got my head on right and picked up the sport again years after I completed my first tri. Here are some things that I would do differently and others that I wouldn’t change at all if I could start all over again.
Do the things that scare you – It’s good to get out of your comfort zone and try something new regularly. It leads to new growth for you and expands your boundaries of what you think is possible for yourself. You’ll discover new things about you along the way, and maybe a new hobby or passion too. In my opinion, life is as much about figuring out who you are and who you are not. It’s all about experiencing new things in the time we have here. As we get older, it’s easy to get caught up in our own ways; in our routines, but that limits our potential growth and improvement which, for me, I want to keep expanding on throughout my life. Be an open book.
Push through the tough parts – I really enjoyed training for my first triathlon. I had a good training partner and we were figuring out the sport together. But after I finished that first event – Treasure Island Triathlon back in 2003, I didn’t stick with it. Training was fun and racing was even more fun, but both definitely had their challenges. I was swimming in the cold waters of San Francisco and wasn’t really good at it. Instead of pushing through and finding out how to be a better swimmer, I let that weak part of my game deter me from continuing on until years later despite being solid on the bike and run. Who knows? I might have been onto something a lot sooner had I not given up. Live and learn.
Train with a coach – Early on in my grown man, weekend warrior, wannabe, sub-elite athletic “career”, I wish I would’ve swallowed my pride and put my fear of sounding ignorant aside and sought out mentorship or coaching from someone that knew better than me. While it was fun and sometimes funny, learning and fumbling along the way, it would’ve definitely helped me to have a coach to carve a clearer path as to what I should be doing, help realize my potential and save myself from some aches and pains as I delved deeper into the sports. Definitely could’ve learned about the importance of anti chafing products sooner! Sometimes those foibles along the way make the experience less than desirable in wanting to do something again. You trust the experts when it comes to your taxes, buying a home and fixing your car. Fitness and health and the sports tied to it are no different.
The joy of not knowing – What we often times call “beginner’s luck”. There’s something to be said about people often excelling the first time they do something. It happens because there’s no over thinking the task at hand, there’s no concern about what’s to come because you have no expectations or experience as reference point to scare you or reel you in. You’re left out there unbridled, able to just go! Our bodies draw heavily on what our mind says what we can or can’t do. Our previous experiences are what our mind looks back on when accomplishing difficult, stressful situations, but if there’s no history, there’s nothing for us to psyche us out. The more seasoned you become, those moments of not knowing, not over thinking and not stressing over become hard to come by. Enjoy it while you can!!
As with anything in life that you do long enough, you’ll learn lots of hacks, tips and tricks along the way as you master your craft. It can get hard to see things with new eyes as you progress. For those of you that are seasoned vets in the game, it’s great to work with those new in the sports to be able to coach them and offer advice on how to do their best. If you pay close enough attention you might still learn a thing or two from the newbies because of their own perspective on things, or perhaps due to how the sports have evolved over the years. For those of you new to marathon, triathlon and such, soak up the moments as best you can for all of these first efforts. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and explore new limits. It’s a great growing process that will help you as you delve deeper into the sport and translate to things outside of sports and fitness. If you stick with the sport – and I truly hope you do, as you become more experienced, pay it forward by offering your take on what worked for you and share your rookie mistakes with the new cats so that they know they’re not alone as they figure out their own path in endurance sports life.
