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Reflections on the Fort Ritchie Triathlon


Yesterday I had fun participating in the Ft Ritchie Triathlon at the Sprint Distance.
 It is a local race that is extremely well organized with events in the duathlon, aquabike and triathlon at the Sprint and Olympic Distance.
 It was a beautiful day indeed.  Someone asked me awhile ago why do I sign up for triathlon when I am not a great swimmer or won't win the race.  I did not answer them, but have reflected on this quite a bit.

Here are my thoughts.

Everyday I live, I realize there are more and more days behind.   I constantly ask myself, how long or when? When are you going to give yourself permission to let go of fear of failure? How long are you going allow yourself to feel that you must be perfect? How long are you going to sit on the sidelines and watch others try new things?  When are you just going to allow yourself to be imperfect and just find the joy in learning new things? Yes, trying new things is both scary and humbling. It requires one to step out on faith. Sometimes learning new things requires unlearning old thoughts and habits to make room for the new all while finding joy in the process.

Am I a great swimmer.? No. This picture shows me in deep thought. So what was I thinking?  A few things.

1. Be not afraid. This is the title to a song that I learned as a child in Catholic school.  One of my favorite lines in the song is " If you pass through raging water in the sea, you shall not drown." I repeated that line several times.

2. You belong here.  I reminded myself that although I may have little experience in triathlon, I can participate like everyone else.

3. Count it all joy.  I decided before the event. I will celebrate along the way. I would celebrate getting out of the water, getting off the bike and the finish.

4. My last thought as I drove home was this. Are we afraid of challenges or are we afraid of ourselves? Are we afraid to find out that the strength we see in others, we too possess and just didn't know it.   Are we more afraid of success than failure?

So I say to the person who asked me why do I participate in an event that I may never win. My reply is actually I do win. I will learn something that you will never learn by passively watching life go by. I learn to find joy in the journey. I learn to participate fully in life. I learn how to use fear to propel me forward than hold me back. A little recommendation for anyone who would like to try something new, make friends with fear first then work on your plan every day.

~Continue to find joy in the journey

Coach Stacy

Here is an overview of the day.









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