"What is that thing you do, try - a - thalon?"
Living, working and training in Ojai reminds me how fortunate I am.
Just this morning, three of us triathletes rode along Highway 33 from the "valley floor" up to the sign at Rose Valley. If you haven't been up there recently, I highly recommend it. Along the way, I mentioned at least three times how fortunate I felt. The hills, the sky, the canyons, the air...oh m'gosh!
So, up to the title of this post...Yes, there are a few triathletes here in Ojai. You'll see us around town, during the week, weekends, early mornings and even into the evenings. We train throughout the year, some of us up to hundreds of hours!, for races that last 50 minutes to 18 hours plus. Now, a bit of explanation about what the sport is.
The events we race in consist of three main events:
We swim...
We bike...
We run...
Now, some things to know that make this a much bigger deal than "just" swimming, biking and running.
1. Nutrition: For most races, we start watching our nutrition up to two days in advance. It's more than just "carb-loading" (you've probably heard about this...). We look at our water/electrolyte intake, we look at the combos of sugars and proteins, we even look at the energy drinks/bars we might consume in the hours before we start.
2. We have to set up a "transition area." This is where we leave all of our gear through the race, to be ready for when we need it at each transition. So, while we swim, we have left behind: our bike, helmet, bike shoes, nutrition (bars, gels, liquid, etc), running hat, sunglasses, running shoes, etc... The goal is to set that place up so that when the start happens down at the beach (or lake shoreline) we don't have to think... We just get to participate.
3. Local triathlete (and general contractor) Quanah Ridenour (QTR Construction) taught me years ago: "Racing triathlon is about you and the clock...with a bunch of people along the way." This concept stays with me throughout each race. I have to continually come back to what is "my race," and focus on what I can do.
4. Finally, each event offers an opportunity to really get to the guts of the "self." At the end of the race (and it doesn't matter if it's a local sprint triathlon like the one in Santa Barbara, or a full Ironman race like the one you've probably heard of in Hawaii) we ALL talk. We talk about how it went...
What we did that worked...
What we did that didn't work...
What we could have done...
What we would do differently next time...
Those four questions, by the way, are the reasons that triathlon mirrors my life. I love asking those questions at the end of a day, at the end of a meeting, at the end of a presentation.
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Comments (1)
Very nicely written and inspiring!
The philosopher in me asks, "How would this work as end-of-life questions?"
What I did that worked...
What I did that didn't work...
What I could have done...
What I would do differently next lifetime...
(if there is one)
Comment #1 Posted by: Suza | November 12, 2009 07:02 AM