Why I Reluctantly Became a Triathlon Convert
Think triathlon is an individualistic sport? Or that some people are just naturally ‘sporty’ and others aren’t? Here’s how health, teamwork, and smashing stereotypes got me addicted to triathlon (Part 2 in a series — read Part 1 here).
It’s already dark, here in Madrid’s central square. Softly glowing streetlamps blend to velvet navy-blue, illuminating three figures in the distance. I turn to Carlos’ mum with a confused jumble of emotion, excitement and relief. ‘They’re coming!’ Carlos, his brother and their teammate shuffle closer, valiantly refusing to relax their painful jog to a walk, despite the onslaught their bodies have endured. 3.8km swim, mountainous 180km bike, and a marathon culminating in a brutal uphill climb. A 14-hour exam in mind over matter. As they arrive at the finish, the three comrades link arms and raise them over their heads in a universal symbol of power: we have not been defeated! I’m wrapped in a deafening roar, but my mind is clear and filled with one thing only — awe. How have these super-humans trained their bodies to be able to withstand such a monumental challenge? Where did they find the mental resilience? And how can I find for myself that ultimate sense of community and teamwork, that enabled each of them to overcome their barriers, and push through together to the finish?
My triathlon journey started as a spectator. When I started dating Carlos, I dutifully attended races, supporting with cheers and cheap inflatable clapping sticks. I even trundled alongside him on his training runs on my clunky city bike, not quite made for coal-black evenings and unruly tree roots in the countryside. 7km seemed so far to me back then, and Carlos, some kind of super-human athlete-machine. He had this perfectly sculpted body, developed through years of childhood swimming and running, and I, while not horrendously out of shape, had been much more of a ‘musical’ type growing up than ‘sporty’ (more on this later).
Nevertheless, one drizzly morning, I found myself in a high-vis lurid green jacket volunteering at Parkrun, wondering whether I too might one day be able to join in. I had cheered on hoards of people much slower than Carlos, all clearly in pain but with enough grace to flash me a quick, contrived smile: thank you Marshal! I was intrigued. Why did all of these sufferers keep coming back, week after week? What was so special about running that made it worth sacrificing Saturday morning lie-ins?
I think there were three main things that attracted me to start running, and later triathlon.
1. Health
The first was that I knew objectively that exercise was ‘good for you’, and it was probably wise to start doing something physically active — at the very least, to counteract my addiction to Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference cookies during times of high stress. More than this though, these Parkrunners and triathletes seemed to exude a kind of holistic physical and mental strength — fit, toned bodies, relaxed post-exercise glow, and the same mental perseverance I’d so admired in Carlos and his teammates as they crossed the finish of one of the toughest long-distance triathlons around. I wanted this healthy glow for myself.
2. Smashing stereotypes
The second reason I started running was to satisfy an unfulfilled desire of mine to become a ‘sporty’ person. Growing up, I’d tried a multitude of different activities: gymnastics, ballet, tennis, netball, even briefly ice skating (admittedly after watching Disney film Ice Princess), but nothing really stuck. I wasn’t selected for school teams because I wasn’t really good enough to start with, and therefore missed the opportunity to learn how to actually train for something. It was a bit of a vicious cycle. In fact, the reason I stopped ballet after almost eight years was that it was making me too tired. Only now, over 15 years later, I realise this is essentially the whole point of exercise (duh). We have to overload the body — along with adequate recovery — in order to become fitter, stronger, faster.
I think it was perhaps the idea that you had to be ‘naturally good’ to do sport that held me back from really getting stuck into anything. Along the lines of this ‘fixed’ mindset, there are two types of people: ‘sporty’, and ‘non-sporty’. Some people have the biological foundations to be fit, strong, fast, while others just don’t. I understand why we make categorisations like this — it helps us to quickly interpret unfamiliar objects and people — but it can also be massively debilitating. Clinging to the idea that I was just ‘not a sporty person’ prevented me from actually training and becoming sporty.
Luckily, Parkrun changed my perspective. While volunteering I had seen that running really could be for everyone, regardless of shape or size or athletic background (there was a brilliant BBC documentary about this recently, featuring Dame Kelly Holmes — catch it here if you missed it!) And as I saw the same people coming back, week after week, I learnt that good results and fast times came not from some magic, genetic predisposition, but from hard work and perseverance. In contrast to my previous ‘fixed’ mindset, I began to adopt more of a ‘growth’ perspective (see Carol Dweck’s book for more about this, or there’s a great article here).
And so I made the decision to start running, and later triathlon, knowing I would be objectively ‘bad’ at it — at least to begin with. This was an interesting concept for my perfectionist-type mind to grapple with (more on this in a later post). But nevertheless, rather than measuring myself against a certain level or trying to get into some kind of team, I focused instead on simply improving my times, bit by bit. My first Parkrun, a 40-something-minute tug of war between jogging and walking, certainly provided an achievable benchmark to beat. But I grew to love the feeling of ‘breaking the mould’, smashing the stereotypes that I had about myself. And several years later, I’ve just about halved my Parkrun time, which I think puts me firmly in the ‘sporty’ camp. (When the first question my in-laws ask me when we Skype became ‘how’s sport?’ instead of ‘how’s work?’, I knew I’d made it).
3. Teamwork
The final reason I started sport was that I wanted to join the community that I had been enviously observing from the sidelines. It doesn’t really surprise me that most people (WARNING: based on a very unscientific poll of my Facebook friends) consider triathlon to be a largely individualistic sport. Fair enough — it can get pretty lonely if you do all your training and racing by yourself, and if you end up prioritising workouts over time with family and friends.
However, in my opinion, triathlon can be far from an individualistic activity. In fact, I’ve found the best results and maximum enjoyment come about when triathletes support each other, as in the example of Carlos’ ironman race with his teammates. Here are some of my top examples:
- Holding each other accountable to attend a coached swim session at some unearthly hour of the morning
- Encouraging each other to churn out one more weary lap of the athletics track
- Sharing a car to races that always seem to start in the middle of nowhere
- Taking turns to draft each other on the bike, to conserve energy
- Sharing motivational (/ trash talking) videos on the triathlon team’s Whatsapp chat the night before a race
- Indulging together in a well-deserved post-race beer and gigantic pizza / burger / Sunday roast
Aside from allowing me to hang out more with Carlos — and perhaps even impress him with my new-found athletic ability — taking up running and triathlon enabled me to experience this community spirit for myself.
And so I found myself one day at the start line of Parkrun rather than the sidelines, spurred on by the BBC’s couch to 5k podcast. I enjoyed the progression, seeing how I could run for longer without needing to walk, and how I felt less out of breath running at the same pace as time went on. I enjoyed building running into my weekly routine, using it as a de-stressing break from studying, and noticing how my appetite and sleep patterns improved. And I enjoyed the friendships I developed through finding running pals, and going with Carlos to races.
All sounds pretty great, right? I can tell I’ve convinced you — you’ve almost certainly already downloaded the Couch to 5k podcast on your phone, and right this very second you’re lacing up your trainers to head out for a run… but not so fast! It’s all very well to snap a pre-run Instagram selfie with pristine kit and a pain-free face and say ‘Let’s do this!’, but actually sticking with it is a very different matter. As I mentioned in last week’s post, my triathlon journey has involved overcoming numerous barriers, or ‘unfreedoms’, that have tried to stop me from enjoying the sport.
But we’ll talk about that next week — go head out for your run now.
Did I persuade you that teamwork can be important in triathlon? Have you ever tried to change any fixed ‘labels’ about your characteristics? Comment below!
