My first triathlon is finished. I expected a transformation, but I would not call my experience transformative. That is too strong a sentiment. “Erosive” is a better verb. The word is uncommon like this experience has been. The word infers change, which this experience has done. “Erosion” is slow and persistent which describes the nature of triathlons and the effect of training for one. As a sculptor takes his material and wears away everything except the form of his imagination, so does the physical work and technical lessons beget someone new from someone familiar.
What surprised me was how subtle and important the minutia. A cadence change of 5 repetitions over a minute is hard to discern but it makes a difference over 5 miles. You never recognize in a swimming pool how debilitating cold, dark water can be until your face-in, 200 yards from shore, alone. It redefines how hard you can run when your coach prescribes a timed track workout. All tidbits of the triathlon experience.
It is my belief, that significance comes by exploration more than endings. Experience is the treasure. Being on the podium is a fine decoration, but living the triathlete’s motivations, submitting to the discipline, and commanding your willpower is the victory. My experience redefined my edges, it was in a word, Erosive.
Thank you, Lorie Tucker, for the perspective, for the corrections, for the exercise recipes, and for the surveillance.
