This is Why You Do Triathlons!
Triathlon is the fastest growing sport in cycling. The more triathlon events I attend, the more I see why. Today’s article is about Donna Chapman, a runner and a triathlete, as well as a wife and mom of 3 darling girls. So much of my writing revolves around the improvement of performance and today I want to write about performing in the real world. Everything is easy in life when things go well. When things start to hit the fan, however, we see a differentiation of success, failure, winning, losing and exhilaration or exasperation.
Donna brought her bicycle to San Antonio for a pre-race checkup and I used sealant in the tubes to help minimize the potential of a flat. I got to tease Donna a bit about her need to learn to adjust gears and lube the chain and after a few laughs she and her happy bike were headed back north to Austin. Everything was ready for Donna’s participation in the couples triathlon in Austin, where she and her husband Dave were planning on a podium finish.
I went to this triathlon to photograph my friends for an online album, as is becoming my trademark, and sure enough I captured Dave and Donna at the beginning of the bike leg, both moving along smartly. I had time after the competitors had started the bike leg to run back to the transition area to photograph people getting off their bikes. All the folks were dismounting pretty close to the dismount line and if anybody got too close, they were spotted by primo volunteers Leilani and Ron Perry. Nothing gets by them!
I snapped great pictures of people and was simply observing expressions, how some folks were gingerly walking barefoot on the pavement and others left their cycling shoes on and were looking like bike racers stopping for a drink, others running like crazy, and then here comes Donna, stern expression, running with her bike in from the road. The back tire was blown off the rim and she was holding her shoes, with the soles of her feet black from the road gunk that had built up.
Donna was not upset, but very focused. She hit the transition zone, ditched the bike and refocused her efforts on the run. I was snapping pictures the whole time so documented it in an online album. This was going to be a great story! I then ran to the finish line to see the folks finishing in the dusty heat.
By the time Donna finished, you never would have known that she had a big problem on the road. Here is what happened. Donna was passing people and due to the numbers of folks on a part of the road, she had to go over a massive pothole. The front wheel got over the hole ok, but the back one didn’t. It hit the hole so hard that the tire exploded and Donna was forced off the road into the ditch, still down in the aerobars! After getting back on the road, she found the bike unrideable and since it was just a mile to the transition she decided it was faster to hit the pavement and run barefooted with the bike than deal with a tube change, plus the tire may have been too badly damaged to be used.
The point of this is, activities such as this place us in situations that are out of our control. We have a big choice at the time, but little time to make it. Donna stayed cool, focused and made quick decisions that minimized her losses. The net is a performance gain but the real lesson is we get experience in dealing with failures that are quite real, but have little impact on things, other than bruised egos, feet and a slower time. Compare this with the consequences that can happen in life, and it is no wonder that people who are “in the game” use sports to train and improve all aspects of life.
I am always impressed with a person’s performance but am incredibly impressed when that person overcomes adversity with class, calmness and focus. The best part of my job is to be exposed on a daily basis to folks like you and Donna. Day in and day out you train, race, fail on the short term, recover, learn and ultimately improve things like strength and endurance, capacity for work and the ability to solve problems. Bravo Donna for a job well done and to all who go out and get beyond your comfort zone and expand your limits!
KGS Bikes is known as the world’s premiere bicycle boutique and fitting studio. Kevin Saunders, President, has over 25 years experience in bicycle fitting and high-end bicycles. KGS Bikes sells bicycles from Serotta, Parlee, Zinn, Co-Motion and Guru, in addition to fitting services. For more information visit the KGS Bikes blog, http://blog.kgsbikes.com and the KGS Bikes website, http://kgsbikes.com.