Out of My League

I was thirty when I ran my first 5K. One day I decided there is no reason I shouldn't be able to run 3 miles.  So, I did the Couch to 5K program (kind of), signed up for a race (Shamrock Shuffle) and I did it.  Last year, at age 34, I ran an 8K for the first time. I have given birth to three children in the last six years, so my "running regimen" as I will loosely call it, has been somewhat lax. I am slow and certainly not trying to win anything.  When my children ask me, "Mommy, did you win?" I proudly say, "No, Mommy finished." However, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment when I finish a 3 mile run, and as a running friend once said to me, "A 12 minute mile is the same distance as an 8 minute mile."

Last fall, I saw there was a triathlon training series at a nearby gym.  The flyer said it was meant for beginners all the way up to seasoned tri-athletes.  There were 5 events, one a month through the winter months.  It was a 10 minute swim, a 20 minute bike and a 10 minute run.  While the swimming part made me a little nervous, I signed up.  Why not? It's worth a shot, and I figured I could just do the breast stroke during the swimming part since I wasn't confident with my front crawl. I thought it would be a good practice run to see if I was up for a REAL triathlon.

During my first of these triathlon events it became VERY clear to me I was out of my league.  These people were TRIATHLETES. They participated in these events to train for the events that they were actually trying to WIN.  Regardless of what the flyer said, I did not see any other "beginners" in my heat.  Maybe I just signed up for a heat where there just so happened to be mostly "advanced" triathletes. :-)  Later that week, when I checked the results and saw I was third from the bottom, I was reminded that this training series probably wasn't meant for me. That's okay, I thought, it doesn't matter.  It's a good workout and I will see it through.

Yesterday, I saw it through and finished the last of the series (I did miss one due to the WSRA reading convention; good excuse, I think). Each time I walked into that gym and completed the 10 minute swim doing my breaststroke, I was reminded I was out of my comfort zone and way out of my league.  I kept going back, though, because isn't that part of what life is all about? Trying something new and stepping outside of our comfort zone? Don't we ask our students to do that? Shouldn't I be modeling this for my children? Coming in last, and yes, I did come in last, happens...and it's okay.

I'm so glad I did that triathlon series.  For the little girl in me who was always picked last for anything athletic and for the woman in me who isn't afraid to come in last, I'm glad. And you know what, I learned I probably could complete a triathlon. I just might do it using the breaststroke.