Training mileage gives a person a significant amount of time to think. I mean, when you are staring at the bottom of the pool and watching the tile go by, and trying to breathe, what else is there to do but think. Or when you are out running for hours on end and your legs are burning you try and think of anything, other than how much your legs are starting to hurt. And let us not even get to the hours on the trainer pedaling to nowhere. I mention this to point out that this journey is not just about me……! This is about my “tribe”!!! I’ve often heard the analogy that it takes a “tribe” to raise a child. Well I propose that it takes a tribe to train for, and compete in a sporting endeavor such as this.
My “tribe” consists of a ton of people. First and foremost……..my family! Without their unending love and support I would never get close to completing this journey. Secondly, my coaches and training partners/friends. I have been truly blessed to meet some incredibly talented people along the way that are always eager to share their knowledge and help me in any way they can. I have received some wonderful coaching and learned some painful but valuable lessons along the way.
I realize now that when I cross that finish line it will not just be me crossing the line in an incredible accomplishment, it will be my “tribe” that crosses the finish line. Great -- I just added more pressure to myself to represent each of them is an honor and a responsibility. Such as in life……our actions do represent the individual, however, they represent the “tribe" that helped raise you, too.
“It's not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity.” --- Francis Bacon, Sr.
