Why I Got Into Endurance Sports

I had an interesting thought today--not sure if it was during my run or during my swim or some other time. The thought was why did I get into the endurance sports in the first place, or rather HOW I got into them, and where I am now.

I started running in 1998, mostly just as a joke to see if I could, and then I entered my first 5K in the fall of that year. Because of this, I found out who other runners were where I worked, and found a sense of community in that. I thought this might be a good vehicle to make new friends, so I signed up with Team in Training for my first marathon in 1999, did a second one with that group, and then became a mentor for triathletes (what did I know then I was just starting out, too) in 2000. Then a man in Kona told me I would do an Ironman triathlon someday (this was in 1999), and so I started down that path.

Next, I joined a Masters swim team, also thinking this would be a good way to meet new people (maybe even men!), and things just exploded from there.

Now I find myself in a place where I don't really care if I make more friends, I think I can just do that and it will just happen, without placing other constraints or trying to be part of these groups and show how great I am or whatever it is I think I'm doing. Frankly, I think I train and race better when I do it by myself (well, race, anyway), and while it was a good ride when I was improving my skills at first, now it is not something I need.

I take triathlon pretty seriously, and have learned a ton about it and myself in the process, so I don't think I need to cling to the whole group thing any longer. Although there are certain people I would like to train with, I need to leave others behind now, and just make my OWN plans and do my OWN races and if others serendipitously get pulled into my echelon, fine. But if I don't want them there, I will tell them!

Isn't this an interesting about face? I partly got into a sport to make more connections, and now I need to let go of those connections so I can enjoy the sport. Reminds me of an Escher drawing--Liberation!!!