When was the last time you gave something everything you had? With nothing left in your reserve of energy? It has been a long time since I have been at that point but I remember the feeling clearly. The extreme exertion calling on every part of my body and mind. No training or preparation rehearses the pinnacle moment when you have used everything left in the tank, just enough to get you across the finish line.
This past Sunday we cheered my son Jack on in his first half-ironman. It is 70.3 miles to be exact. For the past six months he has been swimming, biking and running. His work days were preceded by 5:00 am lap swimming at the Y. Many evenings and weekends he was hitting the pavement on foot or on wheels. A lot of his training hours were squeezed in between busy work trips. He is no stranger to discipline and physical fitness, as a former college football player. Perhaps what was foreign about all of this triathlon training was the emphasis on endurance. The essential component of endurance event training is time. Workout duration and frequency lengthens as the event nears, and only tapers right before the race. It is a long haul and requires a commitment to go the distance (literally).
If I sound familiar with this, it is because I am! I can proudly say that eighteen years ago I did an olympic distance triathlon. There is no other way to put it other than, “It was the hardest thing I have ever done.” Even though I spent over five months training with triathlon coaches and teammates in a “fail-proof” program called Team in Training, it still was incredibly difficult. The swimming was my favorite. I loved being in the water, as it brought me back to all of my days on swim team as a kid. I was a natural and felt relaxed turning my strokes into more of an endurance form of freestyle. Sure I had to learn some new things like sight breathing for open water swims and conserving energy with softer kicking. But compared to biking and running, swimming was a breeze. Biking was tricky with the mechanics of gear shifting and the safety on the road. Running was awful in the beginning, and just became a little less so as my body conditioning improved. On my race day (roughly 35 miles), I was excited, prepared and ready to go. The swim went well, as did the bike. The 6 miles at the end of the triathlon almost did me in. It was the two loop course that messed with my mind. I remember being so tired and sore as I passed by the crowd at the finish line, heading out for my second loop. I gave every ounce I had to finish the race. This moment of triumph flooded me with emotion. I cried and was unable to get words out as my family rushed up to me to congratulate me. I do not need to look at a photograph to remember, I can picture it all and feel what I felt. The moment is one of raw surrender and relief. “I did it,” and “That was so freakin hard.”
On Sunday, I watched my 26 year old son push himself further than he had expected. The gravity of the moment clearly expressed on his face and in his voice. I know that feeling. There are not many fitness related things that my son and I can share firsthand knowledge of. Other than strategy on a tennis court where we have played singles (splitting wins), or ping pong in the basement, our sports do not overlap. This made it extra special for me to see him train in these new areas. He recorded one of his swims on his iPhone and sent it to us for tips on strokes. He and his dad (a multiple-Ironman finisher) exchanged workout schedules and trained together on several occasions. It is pretty amazing to share something like this with your son or daughter (or husband). A little over ten years ago, my husband completed his first Ironman triathlon (140.6 miles). We were all there to support him as he crossed the finish line in the dark of the night with eyes gleaming with tears.
I am in awe of all of the triathlon athletes and their supporters. Each one of the events that I have attended, including the one I participated in in Austin, Texas, have blown me away in positive energy. Imagine crowds lined up along the streets cheering words of support, “You got this! You can do it! Almost there!” It is hard to explain. As the athlete running through those cheering crowds and volunteers handing you waters, you feel carried further than during the silent moments at the end of the run course turn-around. As one of the cheering folks at the barricades, there is this feeling of unity, that we are all on the same team. So much positivity. So many friends and family there to support the athletes. Music. Families with strollers. Dogs on leashes. Food trucks. Signs. Cow bells. It is inspiring to watch runners of different ages, ethnicities, and sizes cross the finish line. A man turning 73 was announced as he finished his 70.3. In the middle of the park, past the finish line, there were dozens of worn out, energy depleted, triathletes with Eagleman 70.3 finishers medals around their necks. For some, it was one of many endurance events, for others it was the first ever. The joy of completion was felt by all.
Here is also how I know how much positivity was palpable in Cambridge, Maryland, on Sunday: after the race ended we had to climb aboard yellow school buses to shuttle back to our cars in a distant parking lot. Not one person complained. Even as the racers had to bring their bikes and gear into the tight quarters of a hot cramped elementary school bus not intended for bike transport, these athletes and their supporters were still all smiles. I remember crankier rude people at Disneyworld on the monorail. This surprised me and inspired me. How can we take this positive energy, bottle it up and sprinkle it other places? Like grocery store check out lines and crowded understaffed restaurants. Perhaps the checkers and waiters just need a little smile and a “You got this!”
I am told that a similar crowd “positivity” phenomenon occurs at the Taylor Swift Eras concerts. Apparently, all the Swiftee fans share so much love for her music that they can put differences aside for an afternoon and evening, trade bracelets, dance in the stands in unison, and connect in ways many fans do not get lucky enough to. Rather than shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars for a Taylor Swift ticket, if I want to be surrounded by positive energy I need look no further than the nearest triathlon event on a given weekend. I can show up to volunteer like my other son did (assisting swimmers out of the swim) or simply bring a cow bell and my voice to cheer on the athletes.
“You Got This!”
“Keep it Going!”
“Shake it off!”
Congratulations Jack! To see what race day looks like see his TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8JJ3emk/ If that link doesn’t work check out jackswerve on Tiktok.
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