There is no other sport where one athlete can be in total seclusion and yet have the largest "family" any one can dream of. This it the dichotomy of Triathlon, it's training and racing. When I first started this journey swimming was my biggest fear. I would spend many solitude hours in the pool working on my form. When your actually swimming you can't see much around you. Total solitude right? Nope, there are life guards watching you, and other athletes ready to help out; all you have to do is ask. One thing about us "a" type personalities is we aren't afraid to give an opinion. The aquatics director will help you with form and so will swimming clubs. Swimming is no longer a "fear" I have in triathlon. It takes a village.
There are many day's when you are training for an Ironman when no one is willing to get up at Zero God thirty to train with you on a random Monday in March in the rain. This is where you battle yourself, your sanity, your reasons for training, your goals, your everything. Yeah, some damn random day in March this will happen. The next long training run though you will have three people willing to sacrifice their Saturday or Sunday morning to make sure that you keep chugging along. These friends are most likely just as crazy as you are. Their dedication has an overwhelming effect on your training. It takes a village
In March we are now breaking our bikes out of the trainer which has got to be the most boring form of training along with the treadmill. They are the necessary evils of the sport. So on some random day in March you will be doing a 60 mile bike ride and didn't expect their to be so many hills. This reminds me of a training I had last year when training for a 70.3. I was on a 50 mile training ride and at around mile 19 I was starting to get a bit tired. I had pretty much climbed the entire ride from Leicester to Princeton and had 6 miles before I was to turn around. When I say six miles I mean, my goal was to get to the top of Mount Wachusett. Right after the center of Town in Princeton I was really giving myself a 'gut check' when a random bicyclist coming the other way (down the hill) said; "good job, good job, keep going". Those six words gave me the lift I needed to complete my first 50 mile ride. Imagine that, six words of encouragement, I didn't even know this woman, but all I could think of the rest of the ride were those six simple words. It takes a village.
April and May are going to come around and you will now being doing 3 to 4 century rides followed by long run days. Although you will be pedaling your bike with your own power many athletes, volunteers and friends will be there to cheer you on. On the organized rides there will be volunteers handing out water and bananas amongst other items. A bike mechanic will give you a tune up for 10 dollars when it should have cost 60. While out on the ride you will inevitably get a flat tire and some other rider who was going to get a PR (personal record) just sacrificed that so that you can get back up and riding. It takes a village.
Many of us triathletes take up a cause and raise money for it. You will see the generosity in people you really didn't know existed. People you have never met will donate to your cause because they have been personally affected by your charity. Other's will donate, companies will donate. In my fund raising for a 70.3 I asked a bike shop for a "bike fitting". I told them why this cause was important to me and without hesitation I was scheduled for a donated bike fitting. The donation had a net worth of 300-500 dollars. This bike fitting helped me finish my 70.3 and we raised around 3k for a great cause. It takes a village.
Now, we are in mid June and a final tune up before the IMLP. A tune up at this point is a 70.3. You are pleasantly surprised about how many other athletes are using this race as their tune up as well. Again, volunteers, coaches, spectators, mechanics, all help you finish this race. Hopefully you trained hard and it gives you confidence for the Ironman you are about to embark on. It takes a village.
It is finally July. You have just spent the better part of a year training for this one race. You are in full taper mode. After enjoying those 3 taper weeks race day is upon us and for the next umpteen hours you will be swimming, bicycling and running this course. Your family is excited because after this race they will get their Dad/Mom/Son/Daughter/Friend etc.. back. Your family has put up with your training. For me, my wife has made sure that my nutrition is ready to go after training. She takes care of a lot of the non-race stuff and she keeps the house in order amongst a million other things. Your family has given up another weekend so they can catch a glimpse of you as you swim, bike and run past them. The volunteers will make sure you have enough to drink and eat to get you through this journey. The volunteers are always amazing. They also gave up their day to help you (and every other athlete) have a chance at finishing. After hours and hours of putting your body through torture you will see that finisher chute. There will be crowd's of people cheering for you. These people never even met you and they are giving you high 5's. The winners finished hours before you and these people are hanging out hoping to catch a glimpse of their loved one. You are picking up the pace as much as you can to make the finish "look good". As you cross that line you here Mike Reilly say those 6 sweet words "first name, last name, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN". You know you couldn't have made it without the countless people who have helped you along the way. It took a village.
Until next time, keep training!
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