Tri Storytelling

Wendy said:

There's a storytelling guild in my department, and I was thinking
about how to talk about doing a triathlon in a way that would be
interesting to people who were not part of the sport. For example,
a race report that talked about course details, how many people
were drafting on the bike, etc., would probably lose the audience.
So would getting too didactic about the rules, though it might be
worth making the point that a tri is not a free-for-all (or at
least shouldn't be). Any ideas? Ruth Kazez has written some
wonderful posts, and I've thought about introducing her.

Wendy

One suggestion that works for me on the cookout & cocktail-party
circuit...

Triathlon is remote, even aloof, for most people in my circles anyway.
What seems to hold their interest is when I broaden the story; make it
bigger than myself.

Examples:

* My spouse handled meal prep.
* My son made signs and did yardwork.
* My daughter made tee-shirts.
* My boss worked with my vacation scheduling.
* The volunteers were great...

In fact, I get bored repeating *my* story.

However, a really driven, hard-core triathlete may be so focused that
they don't necessarily notice the stories that occur from the curb.
Depending on your personality, this may or may not work for you and
your delivery style.

I think this helps explain why Ironman coverage tends to have little to
do with the race.

rsquared

Wendy said:

There's a storytelling guild in my department, and I was thinking
about how to talk about doing a triathlon in a way that would be
interesting to people who were not part of the sport. For example,
a race report that talked about course details, how many people
were drafting on the bike, etc., would probably lose the audience.
So would getting too didactic about the rules, though it might be
worth making the point that a tri is not a free-for-all (or at
least shouldn't be). Any ideas? Ruth Kazez has written some
wonderful posts, and I've thought about introducing her.

Wendy

One suggestion that works for me on the cookout & cocktail-party
circuit...

Triathlon is remote, even aloof, for most people in my circles anyway.
What seems to hold their interest is when I broaden the story; make it
bigger than myself.

Examples:

* My spouse handled meal prep.
* My son made signs and did yardwork.
* My daughter made tee-shirts.
* My boss worked with my vacation scheduling.
* The volunteers were great...

In fact, I get bored repeating *my* story.

However, a really driven, hard-core triathlete may be so focused that
they don't necessarily notice the stories that occur from the curb.
Depending on your personality, this may or may not work for you and
your delivery style.

I think this helps explain why Ironman coverage tends to have little to
do with the race.

rsquared

rsquared said:

Triathlon is remote, even aloof, for most people in my circles anyway.
What seems to hold their interest is when I broaden the story; make it
bigger than myself.

......

Quoted message said:

In fact, I get bored repeating *my* story.

However, a really driven, hard-core triathlete may be so focused that
they don't necessarily notice the stories that occur from the curb.
Depending on your personality, this may or may not work for you and
your delivery style.

Thanks, rsquared!

It didn't seem like just talking about my own experiences would be that
interesting, and I'm definitely not "hard-core" - a consistent BOP'er,
actually. I'd been thinking about talking about different people who've
participated in tris - why not volunteers and RDs too?

Wendy

rsquared said:

Triathlon is remote, even aloof, for most people in my circles anyway.
What seems to hold their interest is when I broaden the story; make it
bigger than myself.

......

Quoted message said:

In fact, I get bored repeating *my* story.

However, a really driven, hard-core triathlete may be so focused that
they don't necessarily notice the stories that occur from the curb.
Depending on your personality, this may or may not work for you and
your delivery style.

Thanks, rsquared!

It didn't seem like just talking about my own experiences would be that
interesting, and I'm definitely not "hard-core" - a consistent BOP'er,
actually. I'd been thinking about talking about different people who've
participated in tris - why not volunteers and RDs too?

Wendy

Wendy <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

rsquared said:

Triathlon is remote, even aloof, for most people in my circles
anyway. What seems to hold their interest is when I broaden the
story; make it bigger than myself.

.....

Quoted message said:

In fact, I get bored repeating *my* story.

However, a really driven, hard-core triathlete may be so focused that
they don't necessarily notice the stories that occur from the curb.
Depending on your personality, this may or may not work for you and
your delivery style.

Thanks, rsquared!

It didn't seem like just talking about my own experiences would be
that interesting, and I'm definitely not "hard-core" - a consistent
BOP'er, actually. I'd been thinking about talking about different
people who've participated in tris - why not volunteers and RDs too?

Wendy

You might also try to answer the question most asked by the general
non-workout crowd: "Why?"

What makes someone want to combine three "difficult" events into one?
Why do us BoPers train so hard for races we have no chance of winning?
What makes someone who started doing sprints and said "I'll never do an
IronMan, that's just crazy!" decide that in fact it's a great idea? Why
do many of the best athletes wash up after the race and head back down
to the finish line to cheer on the BoP crowd?

Tom

Tom Henderson said:

You might also try to answer the question most asked by the general
non-workout crowd: "Why?"

What makes someone want to combine three "difficult" events into one?
Why do us BoPers train so hard for races we have no chance of winning?
What makes someone who started doing sprints and said "I'll never do an
IronMan, that's just crazy!" decide that in fact it's a great idea? Why
do many of the best athletes wash up after the race and head back down
to the finish line to cheer on the BoP crowd?

Thanks, Tom! I was hoping to find a way to convey what the experience
is like, and why people choose to do it. Despite occasional horror
stories, it seems like tri folks generally show great sportsmanship -
it would probably help to make that point.

Wendy,

I am a member of a University Tri club, and our coach encourages us to
write race/event reviews for him to post on his website
(trisportcoaching.com). Generally the focus isn't really on the
workings of the race, but on the events leading up to and following it,
with a few memorable moments from the race itself mixed in. The people
reading it, family, friends and supporters are often more ineteresed in
our overall experience from the event more so than what happened minute
by minute durring the race. It's a lot more fun to read about, and
write about, the fun stuff and camaraderie experienced not just between
teammates, but between athletes and competitors there at the race. The
small parts written about the actual race for me anyway are things like
hurling myself down a big hill in full aero just hanging on for dear
life. I only remember the fun parts, that's probably why I still do
this silly sport. The time spent traveling and hanging out before and
after the race itself dominate the time actually spent racing, and that
is what is most enjoyable to read about. That and the help you get
from all the other athletes before durring and after the race, most
people see tri as an individual sport, but everyone out there gives you
strength and encouragement. If you haven't raced you don't know that,
and even some people who have don't realize it. The small highs almost
always outnumber the lows, and nothing feels quite like crossing the
finishline with your fellow competitors cheering you on.

Wendy said:

There's a storytelling guild in my department, and I was thinking
about how to talk about doing a triathlon in a way that would be
interesting to people who were not part of the sport. For example,
a race report that talked about course details, how many people
were drafting on the bike, etc., would probably lose the audience.
So would getting too didactic about the rules, though it might be
worth making the point that a tri is not a free-for-all (or at
least shouldn't be). Any ideas? Ruth Kazez has written some
wonderful posts, and I've thought about introducing her.

Wendy

I'm really flattered!!!!
Here's a post that got picked up long ago and I found on a UMich site.
I first posted it here.

If you have yet to do a triathlon, let me assure all newbies, that
sooner rather than later, you will be standing at water's edge asking
yourself "why?" You might turn to your fellow competitor, repeat the
question, and likely receive the non-answer "yeah, why?" Nowhere is
this question asked more emphatically than at the beach at Kona in
Hawaii.

Although there may be as many small reasons as there are triathletes, it
seems to me likely we can find one big answer common to us all.
Triathlon is not a unique sport. It is one of several that are based
on survival, unlike war games which usually involve a ball and
territory, or aesthetic sports judged subjectively for the grace of
their exhibition of strength, or others symbolizing different facets of
living. With any survival sport, the romantic quotient rises with the
distance covered, the obstacles surmounted, nature's rough edges
combatted. Going it alone adds immeasurably to the feat, which is why
we object so vehemently to commercial pressures to make this a team
sport. They would gouge the heart out of triathlon, a Darwinian
contest for the individual.

It is soppingly sentimental to say there are no losers among the
finishers of a triathlon, like saying we are all winners in the game of
life. Barf, because it's not true. Yet there must be a sentence that
can be constructed -less gooey - but saying just that: There are no
losers across the finish line. In a game of survival, the trophy goes
to the fittest, but all who finish are deemed fit; that's the prize.

The effort to prove oneself so extraordinarily able is heroic (if there
is such a thing as heroic with only oneself as beneficiary). In a race
of the magnitude of Hawaii Ironman, it is a grand gesture. How often
in our daily lives have we the opportunity to make a grand gesture, to
be a hero to ourselves, to survive as superbly fit and able men and
women? On a smaller scale, this can be said at the starting line of
all triathlons.

Ruth Kazez

Hi Ruth,

I was hoping you'd be lurking and respond.

I lost my copy of that post and it is one of the best musings on the
"why" question that I've ever seen. I'll be posting it over on the GFT
forum soon.

How's the garden?

Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"

Mike Tennent said:

Hi Ruth,

I was hoping you'd be lurking and respond.

I lost my copy of that post and it is one of the best musings on the
"why" question that I've ever seen. I'll be posting it over on the GFT
forum soon.

How's the garden?

Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"

thanks for asking. My Can't Stop-itis, so characteristic of
triathletes, applies to everything else. I now have three ponds in my
tiny yard and 4 tanks indoors housing turtles, toads, saltwater fish,
Cichlids, and anything else that dares cross my path.

I was hoping to do Edmonton, at least the short tri, but both my knees
are trashed. However, I'm training as if my future depended on it. My
enjoyment of races was always subdued, but I really rilly love to train.

And the trains, I mean electric ones? And Florida Ironman? Yes this year?

Ruth Kazez

rtk said:

And the trains, I mean electric ones? And Florida Ironman? Yes this year?

Ruth Kazez

I'll be doing the Great Floridian (IM Distance) for the 6th time, 9th
IM.

And the train business is really taking off. Looks like it'll work
into the retirement thing I want it to.

Keep on trainin'.

Mike T.
IronPenguin Electronics
www.ironpeng.com/ipe
Special Effects lighting,
Crossing guards

Wendy said:

There's a storytelling guild in my department, and I was thinking
about how to talk about doing a triathlon in a way that would be
interesting to people who were not part of the sport. For example,
a race report that talked about course details, how many people
were drafting on the bike, etc., would probably lose the audience.
So would getting too didactic about the rules, though it might be
worth making the point that a tri is not a free-for-all (or at
least shouldn't be). Any ideas? Ruth Kazez has written some
wonderful posts, and I've thought about introducing her.

Wendy

Wendy,

You might be interested in the following. It's origins are from
another posting by Ruth Kazez in which we were discussing the TV
coverage of IM Hawaii and how it couldn't capture the emotions, but if
they did, those of a last hour finisher would be interesting.

I use this each year on the GHFT forum to sort of slap the faces of
the IronVirgins, to give them a littel encouragement, albeit somewhat
scary.

Begin:

This is going to be a scary post for some folks – those of you like me
who know we are going to finish at the back.

Given the doubts of many IronVirgins right about now, I post something
like this each year. Why? Because it helps to know you aren’t alone in
your fears.

Those of us who are not physically blessed face fears that our faster,
more gifted brethren don’t – the real, numbing, fear of not even
finishing. For us, it's not just a matter of 'wanting" it and then
going out and training enough. It's a matter of not really knowing if
pushing yourself 100% through a year of training and the race will be
enough - if you'll even make the cut-offs and the final finish.

It's a struggle against your physical limitations, against your age,
against the limitation of training imposed by families and careers.
Against your own mind.

But you keep training, believing in yourself, refusing to accept
limits that will keep you from succeeding, pushing your doubts back
into a small corner of your mind and barricading them behind a
wall of bravado. But they sneak out, usually in the middle of a bad
run or a miserable bike, taunting you, mocking your efforts. "You? An
Ironman? Don't make me laugh."

But still you keep training, pressing, pushing those negative thoughts
down. And then the race arrives and the reality of your insanity
becomes obvious. No more excuses, no more bravado, do it or go home a
failure without even a finisher's T-shirt. You have no thoughts of
"finishing under 14" as an acceptable goal. You can't kid yourself,
you don't even know if you'll finish, period.

You realize that all those fantasies of how you'll feel at the finish
line, how you'll react, how you'll hold your arms aloft in victory,
are still just that - fantasies. And the race stands between you and
those fantasies. Will they be realized? Or will your dreams be crushed
and shattered by the reality of the marathon - your pathetic body
limping and shuffling across a now deserted and darkened "finish
line." As a loser.

Your whole race will be nagged by one thought – will I finish? How you
handle that can determine your success. There are special
considerations you will have to deal with.

Being a last hour finisher means going it alone on the bike on the
second loop. The small cheering crowd that pushed the rest up Sugar
Loaf isn't there any more. There aren't others to pace off, to hang
with, to draw energy from. You're back there by yourself, sometimes
with no other bikes in sight. Just you and the road, the heat, the
wind, and your doubts.

Being a last hour finisher can mean going it alone during the hardest,
darkest part of the run – the last loop around the lake. Oh, the first
loop was fine, when most of the faster folks were still out there. You
can almost pretend you’re one of them. The second loop isn’t even all
that bad. Despite the darkness, you can still see quite a few folks.

But on the third loop, reality sets in. Other sufferers are few and
far between. If you’re lucky, you might match up with someone doing
your pace. But chances are, you’re in for a long, dark, lonely lap.
It’s impossible to describe the fatigue you will feel. None of your
training can really prepare you for it. Because it’s dark and because
you’re alone, the fatigue is magnified. It can grow and grow until
it’s all you think about.

A certain numbness sets in. But the reality of not finishing always
snaps you back. Panic can slowly set in as your watch ticks inevitably
toward 12:00 and your run pace slows. Numbed by 15 hours of heat and
exertion, you can't even calculate your pace. How many miles? What was
the last mile marker? How much time to the cut-off?

And then there are the demons. The devils on the side of the road,
inviting you to stop and end the pain. There are two types - the first
ones mock you and tell you you're too tired, too old, too stupid to
know you can't do it. End the suffering, don't prolong the inevitable.
Quit now, out here in the dark, where nobody can see your shame.

The others are more beguiling. They’ll offer a hundred reasons why
quitting is OK. You’ve done your best. You tried. No-one could expect
any more. It was a noble effort. There’s always next year.

It sounds acceptable, but if you quit, you’ll find that those enticing
demons were only the first ones in disguise. They’ll turn on you and
mock you and taunt you. Don’t give in to their alluring call. You have
to ignore them and keep going.

But where do you find the guts to go on? Where do find the iron
determination needed to chase those demons away? To shut them up?

You find it in your heart. In your soul. In your inner reason for
doing this thing. You find it in your own bravado. You said you were
going to do it. How can you let your family and friends down? They’re
pulling for you. They’ve made sacrifices, too.

Trust in yourself.

Believe in yourself.

Use the inner strength that you’ve built through those long hours of
training.

It’s worth it. The feeling you get when crossing that finish line is
unlike anything else. For me it was just an incredible feeling of
utter, profound, satisfaction. It lives with you forever.

Some cry, some laugh. All are changed.

Mike Tennent
IronPenguin Electronics
www.ironpeng.com/ipe
Special Effects lighting,
Crossing guards