It's a Fight: Iron Team vs. Marathon Team

It's only the end of the first month and I'm already noticing some differences between Marathon and Triathlon - besides the obvious two extra sports. At work we were prepping for the new summer season and discussing the differences between the sports and it came up that Marathons are the beginning point for new endurance athletes (yah, I chuckled inside too at the thought that a Marathon is what a beginner chooses to tackle - until I remembered that I'd done just that just a few years ago).

The Marathon team is a very social and supportive environment - you break into pace groups and at the big day you will probably run with your pace group. You get to know them over the course of the season and may even continue running with them after your event.

Triathlons, on the other hand, are more of an independent sport. The team practices together, and sure, we are getting to know each other as we keep passing each other in the pool or on the route - and a whole handful of us already knew each other coming in - but come race day, there is a good chance we'll all spread out and never see a teammate except at transition or at the end cheering each other in.

At first, I did a mini mental melt-down thinking, how am I going to get through this without my girls (and a few boys)?! Then I realized that being on the Iron Team means, I can't be a whiny wimp! Irongirls won't sit and whine that they can't do this without their friends - they'll find a way!

Then I remembered the strength that having a marathon under my belt carried. I felt like a superhero brandishing my bib if the occasion needed it. "You can't talk to me that way - I ran a marathon!" "I can't stop running after a mile, suck it up - I just did 26.2!" "I endured hours for the marathon, I can tolerate a 1-hour client meeting."

Now, since I joined Iron Team, there is a certain level I personally am trying to live up to (or certain boundaries I'm trying to push) to prove that underneath my exterior is an irongirl waiting to get out - that I'm not an accidental endurance athlete. So far, the results are positive. This week I actually missed working out - I got irritable and grouchy from not working out - ask my kids! When I got out for a run, I started out planning to do 3-4 miles, and 10:1 intervals (10 min running, 1 minute walk). I kept telling myself at every landmark: "Do I want to turn back, or keep going? An Irongirl will not stop here, she'll keep going!" I'm liking the fighting spirit that is emerging here! I also ran faster, with longer intervals - I only walked 4 minutes in a 80 minute run. OK, I can't take all the credit for that - I had to get back to my car before I got a ticket.

Then, because my mind won't just stop there, I remembered a saying that I read during my last Team In Training event: Not all heroes wear capes! Only 1% of the world's population will ever complete an endurance event. Only a fraction of those people will do it while raising money to fight blood cancers for Team In Training. To be surrounded by these heroes on the team is inspiring and humbling! Finding a cure is a really good reason to Fight On (Go Trojans!) and keep on swimming, biking, and running - One mile at a time!

That's not to say that I don't still fight with myself for the first 30 minutes of every run - although tonight, the battle didn't last as long. That's not to say I don't still fight with myself about whether or not to even go for a run when it's f-f-f-freezing windy cold outside (for us weather-wimp Californians). But it's a battle that I'm winning more often and easily.

It doesn't matter how we get there or what sport we choose. We're making the lives of others better, we're making our lives better through the physical and mental growth, and the people around us. I look forward to the path and the exercise! We're all on the same team! Go Team!

P.S. In an even bigger battle this past week: Our Iron team has a large number of Bruins and Trojans on the team! Now that the game is over, I can finally talk to my Bruin mentor - even though he may not want to talk to me due to the final score!