I ended the last post like I did intentionally in hopes of creating some kind of urgency to keep reading... (of course, since I have kept this blog private, no one may ever read it)... I try to convey through this blog the journey I have gone through over the last year, but sometimes, it's just impossible... I just can't... Words don't do experience any justice.... any at all...
So as I sit here and write post #3 for the day (and hopefully the last), I can't help but get nostalgic about what I've accomplished over the last year or so... From victories to defeats, the experiences I've had (and in turn tried to communicate to you via this blog) have forever shaped me, for better or worse...
I've had some time over the last three weeks to think about what I've learned over the past year, be it the hard, or easy way... hell, most of what I've learned is from doing things the hard way... but I learned... Oh my did I learn...
So, in an attempt to be inspirational to anyone reading this blog, I've put together a list of things that I've learned over the last year... I'll probably add to it as I think of more stuff, but here's the first draft:
What I've learned from Triathlon: A year in perspective
1. The human body can do anything... When properly trained, fueled, and rested, the human body is literally capable of just about anything... I haven't pushed myself to the point where my body fights back and goes into survival mode, but I feel like I've been close on numerous occasions... Or maybe that's what I was telling myself to make myself feel like a badass...
A year ago, I was struggling to complete 5k's... a year later, 5k's are nothing and distance wise, a warm up for long runs... I've learned more and more that the body truly is a temple, but that for the longest time, I treated mine like an amusement park... But not a fancy amusement park... More like a run down one, where nothing works, the workers are parolees, and there's that faint stench of urine that permeates the air inside the park.... Truth be told, I was horrible to myself and my body for so many year, that I often think I'll have to spend the rest of my life making up for it... I guess that's the good thing about triathlon-it's something I can do forever (or until my body fights back)
2. Your coach is always right... that's why he's your coach... Sometimes, it's better to just shut up and take your beating than to argue... Besides, if I knew more than my coach, why do I need one at all?
Kendrick isn't just my triathlon coach, he's become a good friend and is one of those people who I couldn't imagine not having in my corner... He's been good for me--he knows way more about the sport than I ever will, pushes me when I need it, and most importantly, doesn't put up with my bullshit when I try to dish it out... He's taught me more than I ever thought I'd learn about this sport and at times, I credit him with keeping me in the sport itself (although he doesn't know that)... I guess everyone has thoughts of hanging it up from time to time, and sometimes mine got so convincing that I considered calling it a day... But, as soon as I'd have those thoughts, Kendrick would pop into my head and I'd start thinking about how I don't want to disappoint him, that he really has invested time and energy into me, my health and well being, and more importantly, our friendship.... As far as I'm concerned, he's my coach until he says otherwise...
3. Listen to your body... I had to learn this the hard way, especially this summer... As I trained, I lost more weight, and I kinda got caught up in the "I gotta go hard" mentality, even on recovery weeks... This inevitably lead to me being more tired, which lead to me being more moody, which lead to me hating what I was doing.... There have been numerous times where I'd drive all the way to the pool, get into the parking lot, and have to convince myself to get out of the car... Or I'd have to talk myself into getting on the bike when I didn't really want to... and so on and so on....
What finally happened is that I broke... I broke down and decided that if I don't want to swim on a certain day, then I'm just not going to swim.... No sense in forcing it... if I do that, it becomes work, a.k.a., NOT FUN! There have been a few occasions where I drive to the pool, and as I'm turning into the parking lot, I say, "I don't wanna do this"... and I turn around and go right back home.... More than a few times, I've gotten only a couple of miles from my house while on the bike and get the dreaded "I don't wanna be here anymore" and I turn around and go home...
The fact is, is that despite the fact that I absolutely love triathlon, I'm not willing to risk my happiness (or well being for that matter) in pursuing it... I got into the sport for the challenge; I stay in the sport for the happiness it brings... It took me quite a while to learn to listen to my body, but now, I feel like I have a pretty good bead on how it's reacting to whatever I'm putting it through.... Which is part of the challenge of the sport: going further than you thought you could...
4. There will always be someone faster than you... point blank... I could have also entitled this gem, "There will always be someone training longer and harder than you", or, "there will always be someone who wants it more than you".... yaddda yadda yadda... The point is, is that yes, there will ALWAYS be someone faster than you... If there isn't, then you might as well head to Kona to get your ass handed to you by the pros...
Even though there will always be someone faster than me, it doesn't stop me from, well, dreaming... It doesn't stop me from pushing towards a podium finish at every race... I want, more than anything, to podiuim a race in 2011 and God willing, it'll happen... This marks a pretty weird departure for me, since I started the sport being a "just finish" kinda guy, to now, being a full blown addict "I wanna go fast and win" kinda guy... I don't think there's anything wrong with being competitive, but as of now, it isn't defining me... which I'm thankful for...
So, yeah, there will always be people who are faster than you, but that's why triathlon is fun... Seeing just how fast you can go is part of the pleasure I get from racing and training... Similarly, being able to share in my friends' accomplishments from being fast brings me great pleasure as well... It encourages me to keep pushing towards that podium...
5. Appreciate what you have... I find myself always wishing I had more... A better bike, a cooler helmet, fancy race wheels... all the gadgets.... And someday, I will have all of those things... But the fact is, is that I was blessed with my bike (see posts from a year ago for the bike story), and have been blessed to participate in this sport without going into serious debt (or really, any debt at all)... I enjoy what I do, but as Kendrick reminds me, "It's all about the engine"... So no matter what bike you have, what gadgets you have, or what wheelset you're riding, it all boils down to you... heart and fitness.... and sometimes just heart (in my opinion)
6. You're going to have bad races... get used to it, everyone does... I foolishly thought I'd never have a bad race... Until I had a bad race (see the Sunfish race report)... I came off the Mercedes half marathon in February, and the Rebelman sprint in March thinking I had this endurance sports thing just about licked... wrong... It took a really (REALLY) bad race for me to realize that putting pressure on yourself to grind it only does one thing: makes you perform poorly... Sunfish chewed me up and spit me out, and looking back, I'm glad it did... I'm glad also, that it did so early in the season... I learned my lesson early; I ate my humble pie and reserved to train and race at my level... no sense in constantly defeating yourself race after race because you're not setting course records....
7. Do what you hate... WTF? Do what you hate? What do you mean? Well, this... (and I take this from the David Coggins post from way back in the spring)... Basically, whatever you hate about triathlon, do it... and do it more than anything else... If you hate swimming, get your ass to the pool... If you hate riding, get your ass on the bike... If you hate running, like I do, start pounding the pavement, 'cause it's the ONLY way you're going to improve...
I hate running... I make no secret of this... I hate it... it's not easy, it makes me hurt, and I'd much rather be doing something else with my time... But my gosh, look how far I've come in a year (and even further in two years).... a year ago, I was pacing around 12 mins per mile... two years ago, during my first 5k, I clocked a 44+min race... sad... but I just kept running... and running and running and running... and I got better....
That's one reason I took on the Mercedes Half Marathon... I had to basically confront this running thing and figure out a way to beat it at its own game... I'm not a strong runner, I'm not a fast runner... But when I'm properly trained, I'll run forever.... Maybe I'm some retard and can't tell when the pain is too much to bear; maybe I'm just dumb enough to not know when to call it a day... regardless, I've come to, well, enjoy running... Of course, I use this term lightly... I enjoy running when it's going well--when I'm firing on all pistons, when the endorphins are flowing, or when I'm hitting paces that I never thought I would... I hate running all other times... But, i keep doing it, because I know it's the only way I'll get better...
8. The Lord is an amazing training partner... simply put, God rides shotgun with me... I talk to the Lord all the time on long rides, and long runs... I don't use an iPod anymore, mainly because you can't use them in races... but really, as I've come to change my lifestyle, long rides and runs are the times I look forward to, because I can have some downtime with the Man upstairs... it's amazing what He can reveal to you when you open up your heart... And, it's amazing what He can do through you when you let him...
9. BE PATIENT... this has been the absolute hardest thing for me to learn... I'm not normally a patient person, especially if it's for something I want... I want to be faster and clearly deserve to be faster (laughs) so I should be faster this instant.... I should be thinner, and deserve to be thinner, so why do I need to wait? Man, if triathlon has taught me one thing, it's that patience is the name of the game!
It is encouraging though, to have people (namely Kendrick and Chad) tell me that I am where they were a year ago, or two years ago, and that my times are going to keep dropping as I get into better shape and learn more about training and racing... it's tough though, because I'm impatient at best... I want to be able to keep up with those guys so bad, but usually get dropped (on the few rides we've done)... and I don't even kid myself into thinking I can keep up on runs, so I don't even try... But, looking back to a year ago, I wasn't anywhere close to where I am now, so it encourages me to keep pushing, because of where I might be in a year, or two, or three, from now....
Finally,
10. Don't EVER let anyone tell you you can't do something... for the longest time, I had shyed away from anything athletic, because I didn't think bigger guys were "supposed" to do that kind of stuff... I mean, really, how many fat people do you see out there running marathons or racing triathlons? Actually, a lot... which surprised me...
When I first started training, yeah, I was a bit self conscious about what people were going to think of me in all the tight clothing and swim jammers... I had convinced myself to be ok with the fact that I was a big guy trying to do something I had never done before... and if people had a problem with it, they had two options: a) join me in training and racing, or b) shut their mouths...
I'm still a big guy, and will always be a big guy... I've dropped about 60 pounds since getting into triathlon, and know that there's much more on the way.... And I've done it the healthy way--through diet and exercise (ok, mainly exercise, I still suck at the whole eating thing!)... What I've come to really appreciate about triathlon is that anybody can do it... ANYBODY... and that's what keeps me coming back, day after day, for my beatings during training, or sufferfests in racing... Anybody can do this sport...
I'm living proof of that...
I'll end this with a personal quote that I've come up with over the past year... the more I try to practice it, the more fun I find myself having with the sport...
"The finish line that the first place person crosses is the same finish line that I cross."
Triathlon has changed my life....
Here's to many more years of training, racing, and fulfillment...
Thanks for reading...
No comments:
Post a Comment