Marky's Wisdom

I'm writing separately to attempt helping with any stress or nervousness anybody may be feeling right now. A large part of triathlon is mental - overcoming the fear of the unknown, the fear of potentially crowded open water swimming, the fear of pain or discomfort or failure. There is no failure here, regardless of your race result because the road to Boise is infinitely more important than Boise itself. By dedicating yourselves to training and these sports you have entered a place where very few Americans will ever go. There is something very special about taking good care of yourself, eating well, getting outside, training with friends - that's what this race is really about. During my first race I was struck by the huge positive vibe and obvious great health of everybody participating. People will pass you and cheer for you or you will pass people and they'll say good job. This may be billed as a race, but it's not a competiti on. The people who will win this race will probably finish more than an hour before most of us do. We are certainly not competing against people who have dedicated their lives to their training. Also, you may think you are locked in a competitive battle with somebody who actually started 20 minutes before or 20 minutes after you. This event is about you challenging yourself. While standing in the reservoir before the race starts I like to think back on where my training took me - 25 Short, Hiking up Glory or skinning up Edelweiss, skate skiing the Park or Gros Ventre road, biking around this valley or Yellowstone, trail running Ditch, Game, Cache Creeks ... I like to think of training as a safety mechanism to make sure I get out and enjoy myself as much as possible. We've all done a great deal of swimming and biking and running. These are not complicated activities like working, studying, planning weddings, m oving or dealing with anything else life throws at you. This is supposed to be and is going to be fun. The soreness will fade and fond memories will endure. Plus, we get to dress like superheroes. Good luck to everybody in advance and travel safe. Mark