I
used to feel like people who had a history in at least one of the sports of
triathlon were at an advantage over those of us who did not. Someone who was once a distance runner
or a swimmer should have an edge over those who weren’t (meaning me). My sports history? Volleyball was my focus for 6 years
until I graduated high school. I
was in track in high school as well, and while I tried almost every event, I
never found anything that I was really any good at. That is until I went on to college and pole vaulted, which
was my focus for the next 5 years as I competed at the DII collegiate
level. I graduated college and
still had a competitive side of me that needed its fix.
 |
| Too bad this doesn't apply to triathlons... |
Thus
I entered the world of triathlon.
I could swim. I could
bike. I could run. None of it was really fast or anything,
but I could do it, so why not? The
summer after I graduated from college (2010), I began getting ready for my
first triathlon. I did a few lake
swims to get ready for that portion.
Now, let me explain my history with swimming. I took swim lessons when I was young, but swimming for me
basically consisted of the side stroke.
I could side stroke all day long, and that’s what I did for my first
year of triathlons. And I could do
pretty well with it too, compared to other non-swimmers anyway...
Then
there was the bike. Well, everyone
has got to start somewhere. I
started with a one-speed, pedal-backwards-to-brake kind of bike, with the big
ol’ tires and seat. I should also
say that I got the bike when I was about 10, but I at least no longer had a
bell, basket, or klinkers on it. I
figured if I did a few 12-14 mile rides with that thing, then I would be set
for the 16 miles I needed to cover in the race. Fortunately I was able to borrow a road bike for the race
itself. Not supposed to try
anything new for a race? I think
it was ok in this case.
Now
the run. Back in high school, my
sophomore year I ran the mile at meets.
That does not mean I was ever good at it by any means. But that was my extent of my
competitive distance running experience.
Occasionally I would do a 2-3 mile run I guess, but that’s just nothing
impressive when the pace was probably 10 minutes/mile. I started running that summer, and it
was fun to see how quickly my times could drop. Look at me, I can run 2 miles at a sub 8 pace!
Everything was exciting. My point is, that I did not have a
standard to hold myself to.
Those with a cross country background, or whatever it may be, have a previous
standard of what they should be able to do. When you have nothing for a background, you just keep
getting better and better! Sure, I
was getting beat by those with more triathlon experience, or those with a
running background, or well, a lot of people anyway. But I was able to beat myself every time, and that was
exciting enough for me in order to get hooked. When you have a low standard (or none at all) for yourself, it is a lot easier to surpass the
expectations you hold. You are not
chasing down previous standards and finding yourself falling short. It’s hard to be disappointed when you
come from nothing at all. It also
means that I had a lot more work to do in order to make up for all of the time
that others had put into becoming fast swimmers or runners. That’s alright, I can handle a
little hard work. So don't be intimidated by a triathlon just because you don't have a background of distance running or swimming. After all, maybe you have the advantage!
No comments:
Post a Comment