May 2007 Archives

There was simply no chance of success for my plans for Thursday night. It is easy to look back on things and see now, but the bizarre and unlikely series of events that changed the outcome of my day could not have been predicted. "Best laid plans of mice and men"? Well, we all know that once in a while that really doesn't mean much.

There's something about a tale of triumph over stacked adversity that always wins my attention. More to the point, when that same success story is of a person with a positive attitude, I'm captivated. Considering my interest in athletics, it is no surprise that some of my sporting "heroes" have this kind of story to tell.

Such is the case with Anne Garton, a truly inspiring Australian Triathlete who is fighting a battle against mental illness. I had heard her name come up on occasion in the media in the past and I became interested in trying to follow her progress, but there has always been surprisingly little said about her. Even now the internet hasn't managed to keep up with her, and Google tells us little beyond the recent and teriffic news that she will be representing Australia in the world championships in Hamburg later this year.

Had I not been driving a friend to the airport at the end of his spur of the moment vacation, I would probably have been asleep rather than sitting in traffic. Had I not been experiencing car troubles that caused a short that drained my battery recently, the settings in my car stereo would not have been wiped. Nor would I be listening to the radio (which I almost never do while driving), and certainly not on a radio station I haven't listened to in a number of years. I never would have heard the fund raising event that the radio station was assisting Anne with that morning, and I wouldn't have learned about the seminar planned for that very night.

While the topic of the mental health seminar was of interest to me, my recent return to triathlon training (setback due to illness) coupled with the fact that Anne was going to be speaking barely TEN MINUTES from my house more than piqued my curiosity and limited my night's options to precisely one. The opportunity to meet and talk with her afterwards came as a pleasant surprise, and was in fact a first for me - my first time face to face with one of my sporting heroes*.

"Triathlon is my chocolate.", says Anne, "... once you have your first taste, you crave more".

And I can relate to that when it comes to exercise (although I'm guilty of indulging in the other type from time to time). Exercise - something I was never encouraged to become involved in when I was growing up - the training, the journey toward the next athletic event... you can never stop at just a nibble.

"It's not about the medals... not because I have won races, but because triathlon gave me my first taste of 'the other side'." Anne goes on to explain that 'the other side' is "the happiness and pure pleasure I feel when I ride my bike beside the ocean watching the sun rise. It is the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction after finishing a tough run - feelings I never had before."

Work at your goals, strive for success, but remember to enjoy the journey.

Anne Garton is a winner. Not through lucky genetics - and not just in sports - it's in her character. She has excelled all thoughout her life, long before taking up triathlon.

In response to being referred to as a sporting hero, Anne states, "I'm not. I'm exactly the same as you, and you have it in you too."

Letting the hero comment slide, Anne is right about the rest. She seems very down-to-earth, and despite her struggles and successes she is very much like you and I. And, like Anne, we can all be winners once cease to play victim, or stop seeing things as "too hard", and begin to feed our passions.

* While I have never personally met The Amazing Hip, I have reason to believe that my friend Jeff is in truth his alter-ego, so Anne may technically not be the first of my heroes to be graced with my presence.

Frustrations abound. Unlike the fox in "The Fox and the Grape", however, I know the bounty to be sweet. If I persist, there will be nothing bitter in the results, only delicious success.

I aborted my cycling session this morning because a pre-existing injury raised its ugly head* and made it unwise to continue. Almost anything else I probably would have ignored and pushed through to the end of the planned training distance, but there are some things us guys are a little sensitive to, and perhaps at times over-protective of.

Yes, that's right of course, I'm referring to my boy bits. If that is likely to risk offense to you or make you squirm in your seat, perhaps it's time to flick over to another page.

Still here? Morbid curiosity at its finest, no doubt! Don't be concerned, as I'm not going to be delving into any detail. Sorry to disappoint those who felt the need to know all the nitty-gritty.

Anyway, I'm told I could have this injury corrected with surgery, but since it is basically harmless and doesn't affect the performance of said equipment, the surgery is considered elective and will not be covered by any medical assistance plans. That's money I don't have, and since it hasn't been a problem before, I've just ignored it. Until today.

The fine adjustments are important, especially when constricted by bike pants (compression shorts) and resting solidly on a bike seat. It hasn't affected my cycling in the past, but today there was nothing I could do. Hopefully it was a once off stroke of bad luck and not a more permanent development that will need to be addressed. I guess I'll find out in the coming days if I continue to have troubles on the bike.

The last thing I want (or can afford financially) is to undergo surgery that will make me unable to train for a few weeks (running, cycling, and swimming would all be impossible for a time). Hopefully that won't be necessary. If it is, then I guess it would be better now rather than later.

* no pun intended

The one thing I'll say about my recent difficulties is that I'm still breathing. Regardless of the obstacles, the setbacks, mistakes I've made, and the feeling that perhaps I'm starting again from scratch, when it's all said and done I'm still here and everything still works.

It is a little disheartening, the knowledge that just a few months ago I felt ready to ramp up to regular half-marathon training distances, and now due to unexpected twists I'm back to struggling to drag myself around the block. It has been a long fall in just a couple of short months.

Some might say that I have a choice that I now need to face. I could call it a day and hang up my towel, knowing that at least I tried. I ran the half marathon in Vegas, which is something I am very happy to have achieved. Maybe that is all I was meant to do. Or, I could choose to start over - to fight through the pain of having to train at distances shorter than what I was doing a year ago, and put in an effort to give it another shot and risk facing further disappointment.

Some might say that. Many, in fact. On the surface it might even seem fairly obvious.

But really, there is no choice. If you go to the doctor with a chest infection, does he suggest that you just stop breathing? Does a dog refuse to scratch just because he knows that the fleas will still be there? I exercise. I train because it's what I want, who I want to be. To borrow and paraphrase an analogy I recently learned from Australian triathlete Anne Garton; exercise is my chocolate, and I cannot stop at just one piece. Heck, I'm not planning to stop at just one block.

So, as I attempt to make a new start, it is a struggle. It hurts. The distances and times are so pathetic I wonder if I should even bother logging them in these early days. I'm not well, but I'm going to get well. And I'm going to get fit again doing it.

What my body doesn't seem to understand right now is that I'm a triathlete. I may suck at it, and I may now have a long way to go before my next race, but the road ahead is one I'm going to enjoy travelling.