My Triathlon Reflection

"Connection: the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship." Dr Brene' Brown

So it's been a couple days since the triathlon and I've already moved on to all the other drama in my life.  But I want to take a moment and reflect on what an amazing day it was for me and for the others in my TriBE.

And that's what I want to focus on--the TriBE.  This is a group of 26 women who did this together.  Everyone knew at least one other person starting out, but no one knew everyone except for Deb Costello, who became our unofficial "coach."  But we became a team.  I realized the power of a name and a logo in how it creates a sense of belonging.  We had pooled resources--the use of a pool, knowledge in clinics and group rides.  We had our own blog site with motivational postings.  And we had each other.

I trained pitifully little--I'm not going to sugar coat that.  And there were a lot of women I hadn't met through the training process.  But I was still part of the TriBE.  So when we all showed up on Saturday to check in with our shirts, there was an immediate sense of belonging, excitement, encouragement and acceptance.  I was pulling for these women in the strongest way and I knew they were pulling for me.  There was a sense of non-judgment, kinship and familiarity that you sometimes don't get with friends you've known for decades--and I couldn't even remember some of their names.  

This race was very different from when it was at Disney.  Some of the "magic" was gone from the unique venue.  But, despite that--or maybe because of it--I found more magic and support from the women themselves.  Definitely when we saw anyone from the TriBE on the course, I felt so much love, encouragement, and PRIDE for them that I could bust.  And I could truly feel that love coming back at me too.  The hugs and congratulations at the end of the course were genuine and warm.  And I got comments from the friends and family of the group how much they could feel that too--they were so excited for every single one of us.  

So then it didn't surprise me all that much that so many women came to my celebration Happy Hour the next day.  They didn't know me--but we all wanted to celebrate our race together--to recount our stories and to lift each other up.  But there was also introductions--now that we've shared this big journey together, who are you?  how do you fit in here?  you have how many kids?  It was a glorious night of relative strangers being close friends.  

I've been saving the quote at the top of this for awhile.  After all, that is what I'm seeking in my relationships.  I thought I would use it in the context of the most intimate and solo relationship.  I love the irony that I found it with a group of friends and strangers.

The race--it was okay. 

• The swim was 4 minutes shorter than I thought it would be and the water felt silky and delicious.
• The bike was easier than what I had imagined based on all the horror stories I'd heard.  Oh, the power of high expectations and amazing gear changing.  My time was slow and I was passed versus being the one to pass by a factor of 10:1, but I didn't care.
• The run was craptastic.  That's where the lack of training showed up--my body just didn't have it in me--but I still was faster than my 5K pace from 2 years ago.
• The highlight came when I came in from the bike ride and heard my four church friends (who I had gotten into this) at the finish line over the loud speaker.  Two crossed the finish line and the other two were speaking to the MC about it--I just left transition, ran over, gave hugs and ran back.  It was the best use of a couple extra minutes in transition ever!