The Triathlon Community

Last night, my training partner and I ventured to the community pool as we do several times a week (I have previously written about these stressful experiences). This time we went much later and the outcome was well worth it. I not only swam the longest distance I've ever attempted, I did it with much less "pool anxiety" and no fight for a lane. Great evening of training!

But, I didn't want to write about the swim today; I wanted to share about the local triathlon community of which I am very proud to say I am now a part of. One of the things I've noticed about swimming in a public/community facility is the number of people and variety of people you encounter. I can tell you that there hasn't been a single swim session that we've gone to the pool where we weren't asked what we're training for and been given an opportunity to trade stories with other local triathletes. Last night was no exception. We had the opportunity to be swimlane neighbors with a middle-aged woman who has been doing triathlons for a few years now. She decided to challenge herself and has begun her personal journey to complete her first Ironman event in September in Florida. On the other side of us was a gentleman who has only completed one sprint triathlon. His goal this year is to complete the international distance triathlon in Hartsville towards the end of the season. The three of us stood around for a while laughing about the 70+ year old participants who've passed us before in running events. He laughed about being third to the last out of the water for the swim. Again, it didn't really matter. As we stood around swapping stories, I had a feeling within that made me smile internally.

I am continually amazed at what a welcoming, friendly community of athletes I have been given the privilege to surround myself with. Whether it's laughing about being slow in an event, sharing a horror story about a missed opportunity or just being able to carry on a conversation with someone about goals and hopes for the tri season, I truly feel that I have found another community that I am proud to be a part of. It's different from an exclusively cycling community but the underlying theme is the same...people training, people trying to improve themselves or their lives and people wishing to be a part of something special with other people who share the same interest. I am very proud to be a triathlete!