The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.
~Mohammed Ali

Apparently after studying bumblebees to learn how they fly, NASA scientests concluded that, actually, bumblebees cannot fly. However, this doesn’t stop the bumblebee from flying. The bumblebee thinks it can fly despite any evidence to the contrary. Nothing else ever crosses its mind. Then there’s the racehorse. They never second guess their preparation. When it comes time to train, they do it without adding a few extra junk miles for “insurance.” They don’t stress over their performance. Whether they succeed or not, life goes on. Train like a horse and think like a bee
~Adapted From Joel Friel, The Triathletes Training Bible

 

I just completed my second triathlon last weekend.  There are dozens of quotes on success but I thought these ones by Ali and Friel emphasize three critical ingredients: preparation, consistency, and attitude.  Last year, I felt like the racehorse and bumblebee, and for the most part, my preparation went smoothly.

This year getting ready for the triathlon was much different, I had an injury to my leg last year which has been slow to heal.  So I had to do about 2 and a half months of physiotherapy before running a single step.  Once I was ready to train I had to continue the physio as well, and this would eat away at my days and made balancing my work life and personal life more difficult. A typical day with physio and a workout could eat up about 3 hours of my time.  So I stressed a lot about whether I should even be doing another triathlon; about the time lost if I re-injured my leg; work deadlines; time lost with my girlfriend and time lost with friends. Despite my doubts and the temptation to quit, I put in my time and preparation, though I must admit in terms of attitude, I’ve been much less racehorse and bee when I compare this year to last year.

That said, I managed pretty well to balance things out.  I did my best to make sure my training was done while my girlfriend was at work, and she was very accommodating during the times when I had to disappear into the gym or the pool.   Regarding my friends, I made an effort to grab the occasional coffee, watch the occasional movie, and generally keep in touch.

As much as I’d like to take a complete break and rest up this week now that the triathlon is done, life keeps moving. I’m presenting at two conferences in the next three weeks, so I have to get my presentations ready and make arrangements for class coverage. I also need to keep up my physio, and make sure I maintain some activity so I can avoid falling back into old habits.  So I’m still on the bike, in the gym, and in the pool. However, I’m just maintaining what I have earned over these past few months so the training is comparatively brief and much less intense for now.  Life is busy but good.