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Why put yourself through hours of training, weeks of injuries, days of
extreme tiredness, great expense and strained relationships (the worst
injury of all)?
There are so many things working against you achieving your very selfish goals
of finishing that race, doing that time or beating your mate. Early mornings,
sneaky little lunch time swims and late night runs. We survive by juggling our
work, family, training and social life-what social life?
Our loved ones sacrifice their time and sleep to following us from race to race.
They want us to sleep in just once or drink more than 3 light beers or stay out
all night at a party. But instead, its off to bed for not enough sleep so we can
get up and go and do that six hour bike ride with or equally tired training
partners suffering from that same strained relationship muscle. After three
straight hours of headwind and rain to finish off, its off home to mow the lawn
and out to lunch with family and friends, smiling but all the body wants to do
is sleep.
After months of self doubt and pain race day finally comes, you wake from a
sleep that wasn’t worth having to find your stomach in knots. On the start line
you think to yourself what the hell am I doing here? You look all around you and
see finely tuned athletic bodies who look like they belong there. The gun goes
off and the day begins, wet suit is traded for bike than bike gives way to those
shoes that will ultimately carry you to the answer of that eternal question
so why do it?
I personally found the answer running down Lakes Way in Forster turning into the
finishing chute with 15,000 screaming on lookers all wishing they were you. The
sun hadn’t really gone down and I had for once in my life achieved a goal that I
had set one year earlier. That moment will remain burned into my memory for
ever, that feeling of crossing that line, of being upset because its all over
and stunned at what you have just actually done. Words can not describe the
sensation its just simply amazing, it feels so good it should surely be illegal.
Your sole mate watches on from day light til almost dark. Worrying that you
might kill yourself, trying to find that answer to that question, they cant
really understand ? can they. But they share in it somehow never the less. So
maybe it’s just about the feeling, the rush, the emotion, simply finishing. But
it’s a buzz that drugs and alcohol can’t duplicate.
Its worth it 10 fold, trust me . So if you think its your go, start the juggling
and self doubt today. Torture yourself for months on end so that you to can have
that little moment in time, and then you will know the
answer to that question.
A special thanks to
Darren Carpenter (Mackay Triathlon Club)
(This story was reproduced with Darren' s permission)
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