Four things I learned at triathlon camp
A swim-bike-run vacation in Nashville
Last week, I took a short vacation to do triathlon. I packed my equipment and drove over ten hours to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in the Crushing Iron Triathlon Camp. During the three day adventure, I swam nearly 5,000 yards, ran 20 miles, and biked over 90. That may not sound like a vacation to most folks, but to me, it was the perfect escape; a great opportunity to push pause on the stresses of work and single fatherhood. I challenged my mental and physical self alongside some of the best people I have met. And it was a lot of fun.
Now that I’ve had a chance to recover a bit post-camp, I wrote down some things I learned.
Nashville is a great place to play at triathlon. Nashville is known as Music City and, apparently, a popular bachelorette party destination; it’s also a triathlete’s dream. Our camp schedule had us training in and around Nashville at some of the very best places I have had the opportunity to swim, bike, and run. We practiced our open water swimming skills out at Anderson Road Beach (pictured above). The lake there is calm and clear. Swimmers have a large area to roam free of boats. Percy Warner Park has some of the most challenging terrain to run with lots of shade from the sun. And the Natchez Trace: if there is a more perfectly paved highway for cycling, extending hundreds of miles virtually car-free, I haven’t found it.
Training with friends is a beautiful thing. There’s certainly something to shared suffering that brings a group of people together. In that respect, the group of folks with whom I spent triathlon camp was exemplary. Most of us met in person for the first time at the start of camp having known each other only through our Facebook group—not much more than the past year since online community for Crushing Iron was born. We shared a lot of laughs. Lasting friendships developed. For that we are blessed given we love a sport where most of the hard work happens on our own when no one is watching.
Three mediocre poops does not equal one glorious dump. Triathletes need to be conscious of three things at all times while training or racing: their current level of effort, food intake, and the nearest acceptable place to relieve themselves. Several consecutive days of heavy sports drinks and Honey Stinger consumption left me running for the john with frequency. Taming my digestive system is still a work-in-progress.
The obstacle is the way. I have learned a thing or two about resilience in the past two years. Enough to know that we all have the potential to become more resilient. A big part of becoming more resilient is letting go of things we can’t control. Another: willingness to face one’s fears. For me, that used to be doing anything like this at all. Before I started triathlon, I never would have dreamed of attending a camp like this (too hard). I would have laughed at the idea of a 60-mile bike ride or an 11-mile run. These things now don’t scare me the same way. That said, this weekend, I was still scared. Not because I didn’t think I could do it, but I was afraid of going as fast and as hard as I thought I should now that I’ve been improving. Exploring limits is always scary. Sometimes, I let it get the better of me.
On Friday, our coach had us riding hard intervals for over an hour and a half at “The Lab”. It’s an old abandoned airport open for recreation. Flat. Windy. No shade. Hot as hell. You can practically feel the heat baking off the surface below:
Near the end, my coach rolled up and said, “Go run”. I had to run 4 miles, three times around that airport track, and catch all my teammates who had started before me without getting caught by those behind me.
I got off my bike and knew my legs were tired. I was hot. I thought, “I can’t do it”. I thought about quitting rather than face the pain. I was scared. But I started moving anyway. Then I recognized the opportunity before me. To overcome an obstacle. To do something great. To become more resilient. And my attitude changed.
Then I ran like hell.
It was the best feeling in the world, proving to myself I was capable of more than I thought. It’s a lesson I need to keep learning—I went through the same thing the very next day—but I’ll remember for a long time how I handled myself.
Out there on the blacktop. In Nashville, Tennessee. Surrounded by friends.
I’ll be racing Ironman Chattanooga on September 30, 2018. Follow me on my triathlon journey here.
