I went to a team meeting last night for a local bike/athletic shop. What a great group of folks. The chicks were all so in shape, so bodacious that even I had to look. And HATE them. Damn, girls. And the guys were all incredibly friendly. And every single person there – with the exception of myself and a couple of other newbies – really knew their stuff. I have no doubt it would be beyond beneficial for me to hook up with these folks. Plus, the uniforms are really cool and super intimidating. Intimidating. That’s the word of the night, really. Because, no matter how friendly and how approachable this group was, no matter how out of their way they went to make me feel welcome, they were Intimidating. As. Hell. And the thought of training with these folks strikes terror into my heart greater than booking down a debris strewn trail on Red Molly with a semi on my tail. They scare me. Not because they were mean people. But because, through experience and training and hard knocks, they are more than I am right now. At least within the setting of triathlon.
So I’m torn. Do I jump on in the water with the big fish ( Or the Big Sharks, as this team is aptly named) and hope it makes me swim faster, or do I stay in my cocoon a bit longer, making myself stronger and more ready and then join next year with more confidence? The truth is, I know joining will push me, but I’m not sure I need pushing. I’m pretty good at pushing myself. My challenge right now is training at the pace I need to train to get stronger gradually and not burn out. My challenge is racing my own race every day and not comparing myself to others. And I’m pretty sure that joining the team would make that tougher. Of course, I could just be talking myself out of this because I’m afraid. One of my favorite quotes: Do something everyday that scares you – Eleanor Roosevelt. So, what do I do? The Journey Alone or The Journey Supported (and Challenged).
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2 comments:
I have gone through this for a few years now. I believe like you do--that I need to step out of my comfort zone to improve. But everytime I do, I get put back in my place by the Intimidating people I attempt to train with. So a bunch of us formed a B group of bikers, those who can't keep up with the A (Ironman) group, but who will also wait for the slower ones. Maybe that will work better for you?
i don't belong to a team, a local team, and I'm going to change that.
expand your network of tri friends... at a minimum, there's safety in numbers on rides and runs!
thanks for reading my blog.
take care, b.
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