James Cook once wrote, "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." Are we defined by our limitations or by our accomplishments? Or by both? When I first started training for triathlons I couldn't swim any farther than I could hold my breath.
My self-imposed limitation was that I went my whole life without being able to swim and never really thought I could ever learn to swim. But with a lot of hard work and pushing a lot of self-doubt to the back of my mind, I can now swim. Actually I can swim pretty far now and regularly swim more than a mile in the ocean - usually on Sunday mornings.
So, on April 6th, 2008, I complete my first "real" triathlon - The Lavaman. It's an Olympic distance tri, meaning it is 1500 meter (about a mile) swim, 40K (25 miles) bike and 10K (6.2 miles) run. I've done several of the Peaman and Team Mango events over the past six months, but this was my first paid tri. My swim was fantastic. Oh, maybe not for anyone else, but I swam nearly a mile with hundreds of other maniacs in just over 30 minutes. I got hit, kicked, clobbered and I had a blast. When I saw my time as I staggered out of A Bay I was pumped. My goal was 40 minutes and I made it in just over 30. My bike was the fastest I have maintained for that distance (considering 6 months ago I was struggling to maintain 14 mph for 15 miles) I averaged over 20 mph for 25 miles.
Well OK, my run sucked, but it was under an hour and with a torn ACL I'll take it. My knee stayed in and I didn't walk any of the course.
"Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." Are we defined by our limitations or by our accomplishments? Or by both? I don't know. But I do know, I'm not defined by my own limitations anymore. Take care.
2 comments:
Randy! What a GREAT blog, thanks so much for writing now I can keep in touch with you guys!
I love this post, so personal... YOU have come a LONG way & have a lot more you can do. I am happy for you.
HOnu next up... we have to ride together sometime! Enjoy Hawaii for me, I am already homesick!
Keep at it, you can do a lot better than you think. It's all a matter of using time well and sensible training. The Peamans and Mangos will give you the racing environment you need, enabling you to rub shoulders (at least at the swim start) with the best, and without having to spend much money on the sport (for all those fancy registration processes and hotel meal add-ons). The Captain Cook Challenge is a great venue.
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