After writing my last piece on dealing with injuries it made me think about our triathlon identity and how for many, being a triathlete is what defines them as a person. This is fine when things are going well but when they aren’t then there can be some challenges.
There is a boy who runs against Louis (we will call him Johnny) who is known at his school as “Johnny the runner.” His identity at school is “as the person who is the fastest and best runner.” This provides him with his self-worth and some street cred. However, recently other kids have matured a bit quicker and suddenly he is no longer the fastest and as a result he is struggling with his identity and confidence.
The same can happen to us when we are injured and can no longer participate in the sport we love. Suddenly we lose a part of our identity, and we have a massive hole in our life.
The reality is the life span of a person who competes in triathlons is 3-5 years. For Lakers who are involved in club training this probably moves out to 5-7 but even at a club as big as ours it is hard to find anyone (Kev aside) who is still actively competing beyond 7 years. So, triathlon is just a small but potentially very significant part of our life, but it doesn’t define who we are. For me we should be focusing on the reason why we participate. For me this is what defines us as a person and how we should be known, not simply being someone who does triathlons.
I personally don’t believe in labels or stereotypes as we are all different. Yes, you may share some similar traits to others who do triathlons, but the reality is you create your own identify, triathlon is simply a vehicle that allows these traits/values to shine bright. For some, triathlon provides a vehicle for competition, pushing the limits, being the best and getting as fit as possible, while for others it is about the gadgets, having fun, mixing with likeminded people, general fitness and getting out of their comfort zone. So apart from being someone who swim, rides and runs in some form of multisport event, you can’t really define what a triathlete is, as everyone is so different.
So, if you really want to make the most of your triathlon experience, the starting point is to always understand your Why? Why do you want to get up every morning to train, why do you want to spend $1000’s of dollars on the latest equipment or to travel across the globe to race? How does triathlon help you achieve what is important for you? When you are clear on this it will help steer you on your journey.
Then we let “triathlon” work its magic. Triathlon allows us to achieve things in life that we can’t get through other avenues. I always say it is the sport for the mid-life crisis as there really isn’t any other activity that can offer so much. I would have been far happier if croquet had scratched my “why itch” all those years ago but unfortunately it doesn’t come close.
Over time our “whys” can change, as we immerse ourselves into the sport and start to mix with others. Sometimes their “Whys” can rub off on ours, and other times as our beliefs about our ability grow it can change our “Whys” to more performance-based reasons.
Eventually, after you have been participating for many years, we find we have ticked all the triathlon boxes and triathlon becomes a little redundant as a vehicle and we start to drift away from competing. Many like Andrew Short continue because it is a part of who he is and what he does, which is awesome, but this is typically not the norm. The positive is that by this stage it typically means new friendships have been formed, you as a person will most likely have changed and how you see the world will be totally different. This is when you become a person who used to participate in triathlons to be something more.
Hopefully when this happens there will be new avenues for you to explore and new vehicles to access whatever else has become important in your world. So, if ever you are starting to question your involvement my answer is to always go back to your original why. This should help steer your decisions and help you to decide if triathlon is still the best vehicle for you. This is especially the case when you are coming back from injury. Never lose sight of the big picture and why you joined the triathlon family. And just like fingerprints no two triathletes are the same. So don’t stress about thinking you need to fit a basic stereotype as the more you dig the more you realise there is no one mould. Just let your own identity for participating shine bright and see where it takes you.