Walking the Walk

It is one thing to say you’re going to do a triathlon. It is purely another to follow

through, do the training, and show up at the starting line. I have already noted

that when I first set my triathlon goal I over-reached a bit. Rather than starting off

slow with a goal of one race I plowed ahead with a full season of races.

Thankfully I did at least give myself plenty of time to get ready and sought out

resources to help me along as I started training.

When I first began this process I knew that I would have to spend a lot of time

with my swimming. I felt relatively comfortable with the bike and the run but the

swim gave me the most concern. I decided to research adult swimming

programs and discovered a master’s program in my community. I heard through

friends that some of the master’s swim sessions could feel a bit intimidating.

Some of these sessions featured a make up of seasoned athletes, professional

triathletes, and former Olympians. For an average and uncoordinated Joe such

as myself this could have been a major deal breaker. Rather than let this be a

stumbling block I decided to talk to one of the coaches of the program before I

attended a session. He was very up-front with me and allayed my concerns. He

noted that yes, there were some excellent swimmers that attended some of these

sessions and he also noted that there was a group of very average swimmers at

the sessions as well. It was all about finding one’s comfort level and then

working towards overall improvement. It was tough at first, but eventually I

began to be able to go longer distances and it improved my overall stamina in the

water. It also introduced me to a new group of people in my community.

A couple of weeks after I had begun the master’s swim program I discovered a

multi-sport group in my community. Much like my first exploration of the master’s

program, I was very worried about what I would find and how I would fit in to such

a group. Maybe it helped that the first meeting was held at a brewery. What I

found was a group of like-minded individuals. Yes, there were some who had

done Ironman’s. Others, like myself, were training for or contemplating their first

race. Some were people I had met in the master’s swim program. We joked

about not being able to recognize one another when we were wearing our street

clothes. As with the master’s program I discovered it was about finding my

comfort level and then working towards overall improvement. We were in

different places but we were all heading in the same direction towards overall

better health and fitness. As with the master’s program it also introduced me to a

new group of people in my community.

In both my master’s swim and my multi-sport club experience I experienced

some initial uneasiness. For someone such as myself – new to the field who

lacked experience, this was pretty normal. I discovered that it was ok to be

nervous and have self-doubts. What I truly realized though was that I couldn’t

allow these concerns to prevent me from working toward my goal. I began to

understand that this was about my journey toward improvement. As with

anything, there would be challenges. I realized that unless I was an Ashton

Eaton or a Usain Bolt, more than likely there was always going to be someone

better than me and that applied to everyone else. Rather than worry about the

fact that Heather Jackson or Luke McKenzie was two lanes over from me in the pool I

began to focus on my own improvement. I realized that by taking the first step in

my training process I was doing more than a vast majority of the general

populace. Most importantly, I discovered that by taking those initial baby steps

and getting started that I was no longer just talking the talk, but that I was also

truly walking the walk towards attaining my goal.