When an Iron Man is looming (1 ½ months and counting) and the training weekends are getting longer and longer, a lot of side effects (moodiness, exhaustion, an inability to talk or think about anything non-triathlon….hence this post) can converge to lead a person down some odd thought wormholes and reflections.
On the fourth hour of a seven hour bike ride,
or the 3,000 yard of a 4,000 yard swim,
or the third podcast episode of a stupid long run,
you can find your thoughts wandering.
For instance, on the bike ride last weekend, I spent a lot of time over-analyzing 3 of my (currently…for the next 1 ½ months) most important relationships: swimming, biking and running.
Swimming: My Childhood Friend
All triathlons start with swimming. Swimming probably goes first because it’s the most potentially dangerous:
running + exhausted = walk
biking + exhausted = slow down
swimming + exhausted = sink (and maybe die)
but, for me, Swimming is the perfect way to start a tri challenge because it's been with me the longest and feels the most like home: quiet, familiar, natural
(I mean, yes, you do occasionally get kicked in the face…or swum over…or held underwater, but…)
My relationship with Swimming started at age 6 or 7 on my hometown summer team (the Attica Wet Ramblers) and continued through my senior year of high school. Sure, Swimming and I had little quibbles every now and then (I definitely wanted to end the friendship from time to time), and the competition anxieties led to the occasional (or not so occasional) tears, but the sport taught me a lot: how to compete, how to be on a team, how to dig in deep and power through a tough practice. It also left me with loads of memories and amazing friendships (and an Attica High School freestyle relay pool record that still stands – Go Ramblers!)
But then I went to college, and Swimming and I lost touch. It was too much work to walk across the campus (a Minnesota campus can get REALLY cold in January) to the pool - then you had the wet hair, and that chlorine smell.
So, 5 years ago when a friend convinced me to sign up for a triathlon, I was pretty nervous about reuniting with the sport I had abandoned for 13 years. Would it be weird? Would I even remember how? Could I still do a flip turn?
But, you know what? It was all still there. 50 yards in and it was like no time had passed – it was as if Swimming and I were back in the Attica High School Natatorium in 1997. The memories, the stories, the endless pull and kick drills, everything came flooding back.
Running: My Life Partner
Running is the last discipline of a triathlon, and (not to pick favorites, but…) it’s totally, completely, 100% my favorite.
Running came into my life the summer before I started college. I was slowly and painfully putting the pieces back together after an eating disorder had made a mess of my physical and mental self, and I was about to leave everything and everybody that I knew and loved for the scariest place ever - a small liberal arts school in Minnesota.
I still remember the hot summer day in 1997 when I inexplicably walked up to the track in my town and started running laps – something I had never thought to do before. We had an instant connection and I started going every day. No matter what problems or fears or stress I was facing, everything fell away with Running. I took that feeling with me to college, and Running has been with me faithfully ever since (20 years). Through all of life’s steps, mis-steps, and changes, I can count on the fact that I will feel better and my mind will be calmer after a quick run.
Cycling: The Pain in the Ass Coworker
You get along so well with everyone else in the office (everyone else likes you and you like them), and then there is that one person who just….
In the middle of the IronMan, sandwiched between my childhood friend and my life partner is: Cycling (112 *!@#*ing miles of Cycling).
I think (think?) I met Cycling briefly as a tyke. I’m pretty sure I had a little pink bike growing up, but we lived on a country road and our driveway was gravel, so I may have ridden it once…maybe twice?
I’m actually pretty sure it just hung out in the garage for 15 years, which is maybe why Cycling seemed to dislike me so much.
When I signed up for my first triathlon, and came to the realization that I would have to participate in all 3 disciplines, I had to buy a road bike and basically re-learn how to ride like a grown-up. The introduction was rocky and our relationship was a struggle from day one. There was a fair amount of tipping over, more wiping out than I care to remember, a lot of tears, a broken rib, and so much frustration.
I was new and uncertain (and, yes, ok, uncoordinated)and cycling had ZERO compassion.
While I can now stay upright on a bike, Cycling and I still struggle to communicate (it’s like we speak different languages). On long rides, I have been known to ask, “Swimming and Running like me….why don’t you?”
In theory, we have the same goal – to go fast – but we just seem to get in each other's way on every turn.
Over the years, our relationship has gotten better, but Cycling and I will never be friends. We will never grab a Gatorade together after work or hang out when my training schedule doesn't say we have to (biking “for fun”? Nope). I can say though (reluctantly) that Cycling has taught me a lot about myself and I am better because of our relationship.
1 ½ months means that I will be spending this weekend with all three of my relationships. Tomorrow, Cycling and I will be spending around 7 hours tolerating each other (in the rain…typical), but then on Sunday I get to spend 20 glorious miles with Running and an hour reflecting lovingly with Swimming.
The tri in triathlon means three, and while I might not like everyone in the equation, it takes all three to make me a triathlete.
On the fourth hour of a seven hour bike ride,
or the 3,000 yard of a 4,000 yard swim,
or the third podcast episode of a stupid long run,
you can find your thoughts wandering.
For instance, on the bike ride last weekend, I spent a lot of time over-analyzing 3 of my (currently…for the next 1 ½ months) most important relationships: swimming, biking and running.
Swimming: My Childhood Friend
All triathlons start with swimming. Swimming probably goes first because it’s the most potentially dangerous:
running + exhausted = walk
biking + exhausted = slow down
swimming + exhausted = sink (and maybe die)
but, for me, Swimming is the perfect way to start a tri challenge because it's been with me the longest and feels the most like home: quiet, familiar, natural
(I mean, yes, you do occasionally get kicked in the face…or swum over…or held underwater, but…)
My relationship with Swimming started at age 6 or 7 on my hometown summer team (the Attica Wet Ramblers) and continued through my senior year of high school. Sure, Swimming and I had little quibbles every now and then (I definitely wanted to end the friendship from time to time), and the competition anxieties led to the occasional (or not so occasional) tears, but the sport taught me a lot: how to compete, how to be on a team, how to dig in deep and power through a tough practice. It also left me with loads of memories and amazing friendships (and an Attica High School freestyle relay pool record that still stands – Go Ramblers!)
But then I went to college, and Swimming and I lost touch. It was too much work to walk across the campus (a Minnesota campus can get REALLY cold in January) to the pool - then you had the wet hair, and that chlorine smell.
So, 5 years ago when a friend convinced me to sign up for a triathlon, I was pretty nervous about reuniting with the sport I had abandoned for 13 years. Would it be weird? Would I even remember how? Could I still do a flip turn?
But, you know what? It was all still there. 50 yards in and it was like no time had passed – it was as if Swimming and I were back in the Attica High School Natatorium in 1997. The memories, the stories, the endless pull and kick drills, everything came flooding back.
Running: My Life Partner
Running is the last discipline of a triathlon, and (not to pick favorites, but…) it’s totally, completely, 100% my favorite.
Running came into my life the summer before I started college. I was slowly and painfully putting the pieces back together after an eating disorder had made a mess of my physical and mental self, and I was about to leave everything and everybody that I knew and loved for the scariest place ever - a small liberal arts school in Minnesota.
I still remember the hot summer day in 1997 when I inexplicably walked up to the track in my town and started running laps – something I had never thought to do before. We had an instant connection and I started going every day. No matter what problems or fears or stress I was facing, everything fell away with Running. I took that feeling with me to college, and Running has been with me faithfully ever since (20 years). Through all of life’s steps, mis-steps, and changes, I can count on the fact that I will feel better and my mind will be calmer after a quick run.
Cycling: The Pain in the Ass Coworker
You get along so well with everyone else in the office (everyone else likes you and you like them), and then there is that one person who just….
In the middle of the IronMan, sandwiched between my childhood friend and my life partner is: Cycling (112 *!@#*ing miles of Cycling).
I think (think?) I met Cycling briefly as a tyke. I’m pretty sure I had a little pink bike growing up, but we lived on a country road and our driveway was gravel, so I may have ridden it once…maybe twice?
I’m actually pretty sure it just hung out in the garage for 15 years, which is maybe why Cycling seemed to dislike me so much.
When I signed up for my first triathlon, and came to the realization that I would have to participate in all 3 disciplines, I had to buy a road bike and basically re-learn how to ride like a grown-up. The introduction was rocky and our relationship was a struggle from day one. There was a fair amount of tipping over, more wiping out than I care to remember, a lot of tears, a broken rib, and so much frustration.
I was new and uncertain (and, yes, ok, uncoordinated)and cycling had ZERO compassion.
While I can now stay upright on a bike, Cycling and I still struggle to communicate (it’s like we speak different languages). On long rides, I have been known to ask, “Swimming and Running like me….why don’t you?”
In theory, we have the same goal – to go fast – but we just seem to get in each other's way on every turn.
Over the years, our relationship has gotten better, but Cycling and I will never be friends. We will never grab a Gatorade together after work or hang out when my training schedule doesn't say we have to (biking “for fun”? Nope). I can say though (reluctantly) that Cycling has taught me a lot about myself and I am better because of our relationship.
1 ½ months means that I will be spending this weekend with all three of my relationships. Tomorrow, Cycling and I will be spending around 7 hours tolerating each other (in the rain…typical), but then on Sunday I get to spend 20 glorious miles with Running and an hour reflecting lovingly with Swimming.
The tri in triathlon means three, and while I might not like everyone in the equation, it takes all three to make me a triathlete.
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