In the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho describes beginner's luck as, "... the principle of favorability... because there is a force that wants you to realize your destiny; it whets your appetite with a taste of success" (page 30).
So, what made me think of this quote. Well, I've been a part of the Team In Training spring/summer/let's just call it Wildflower season for 5 years now. Naturally, 5 years is a good chunk of time to reflect on an activity. In my first season, I felt my own sense of beginner's luck; certainly after finishing the Wildflower Olympic course my appetite was whet and primed for far more triathlon exploration. But something I've also been reflecting on more recently is a common theme across all 5 years, that each season has brought me a "blast from the past". I promise I'll get back to beginner's luck later...
My first season, 2009, was merely a reminder of my first TNT season, 2003 with the run team, not so far in the past. It gets a bit more interesting. The 2010 and 2011 seasons re-introduced me with Joe, first a Kimball resident and later a co-resident staff member at the Stanford Summer Session in 2002. The last time I had seen Joe I was tired and at the end of my rope for my passion working as an RA, yet in 2010 I was just beginning my passion for working as a training captain. Opposite ends of the spectrum. 2012 re-acquainted me with Justin, who was my softball manager when I started playing at Twin Creeks back in 2003. I went from him telling me how to play softball to me serving as a training adviser for him (of sorts, he was just fine by himself.) And finally this year was a true blast from the past, being on a team again with Whitney, a former high school Captial Crew teammate.
I remember some time last year finding Whitney's profile in my Facebook suggested friends section and thinking that we must have had a lot of mutual Capital Crew friends. I was instead surprised to find out that we had a lot of mutual TNT friends. I then found out she'd be serving as a training captain, and I thought, "Wow, now things are REALLY full circle." Crew was the first time I'd ever done any sort of endurance sport. And to this day I still think back to crew workouts as the most physically demanding activities I've ever done. And I'm incredibly thankful for the toughness they've given me. So it was really cool to reminisce with Whitney about our old crew days and draw inevitable comparisons to TNT workouts. I also happened to randomly remember way back in Crew days Whitney telling me she enjoyed her first season the most. That concept was lost on me the time, how could anyone not enjoy something the more proficient they were at it? But now it makes sense. As, wait for it, beginner's luck.
And, that's what keeps me coming back to TNT, I think. Re-living the beginner's luck that guides the first time triathletes to finish their first race. I see those pre-race jitters in them the night before the event at camp. I tell them that it's going to be hard, and something unplanned will inevitably happen, but the key things to remember are they're prepared, they're giving themselves to something greater by fundraising for cancer and racing, and they're NOT the only ones who will find it hard. Especially the last one, because I'm nervous and know I'll be suffering in my own race. But I'm also jealous of how they'll feel afterwards, that suddenly so many doors are open to them. Once I felt that rush.
Then the morning comes and they muster up enough bravery to jump in that water and mix it up with others in their wave. Before they know it, they've swam nearly a mile, or even over a mile and are back on land. Transition is a blur, and SOMETHING goes not as smoothly as hoped. But they survive and end up out on the bike, and they climb the first hill. They cruise back in to transition, pop their running shoes on, and man, they're almost done! And then, they feel the first true meaning of the word "brick" as their legs provide them with zero energy, at first, to start their run. But they struggle through while being cheered on by the TNT coaches. Then they prepare to descend Lynch hill for the last time, a great vista for us spectators. And I see in their face, at the top of the hill, the look of strength, grit, the look of "I am SUFFERING. But I'm also having fun, and I'm gonna finish this damn thing." It's powerful. It's human. They finish, greeted by and greeting their other TNT teammates and feel the rush. The relief of all their pre-race jitters. The, yes, glory, of getting a medal draped around their necks. Clock times, speed, blisters on their feet, sunburn, doesn't matter much. To paraphrase Coehlo, the universe had conspired to help them succeed because they decided to.
But finishing the first triathlon is just the beginning for these budding triathletes. It's a taste of success. What's next? Is there another dream?
“Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon” (page 139).
So, what made me think of this quote. Well, I've been a part of the Team In Training spring/summer/let's just call it Wildflower season for 5 years now. Naturally, 5 years is a good chunk of time to reflect on an activity. In my first season, I felt my own sense of beginner's luck; certainly after finishing the Wildflower Olympic course my appetite was whet and primed for far more triathlon exploration. But something I've also been reflecting on more recently is a common theme across all 5 years, that each season has brought me a "blast from the past". I promise I'll get back to beginner's luck later...
My first season, 2009, was merely a reminder of my first TNT season, 2003 with the run team, not so far in the past. It gets a bit more interesting. The 2010 and 2011 seasons re-introduced me with Joe, first a Kimball resident and later a co-resident staff member at the Stanford Summer Session in 2002. The last time I had seen Joe I was tired and at the end of my rope for my passion working as an RA, yet in 2010 I was just beginning my passion for working as a training captain. Opposite ends of the spectrum. 2012 re-acquainted me with Justin, who was my softball manager when I started playing at Twin Creeks back in 2003. I went from him telling me how to play softball to me serving as a training adviser for him (of sorts, he was just fine by himself.) And finally this year was a true blast from the past, being on a team again with Whitney, a former high school Captial Crew teammate.
I remember some time last year finding Whitney's profile in my Facebook suggested friends section and thinking that we must have had a lot of mutual Capital Crew friends. I was instead surprised to find out that we had a lot of mutual TNT friends. I then found out she'd be serving as a training captain, and I thought, "Wow, now things are REALLY full circle." Crew was the first time I'd ever done any sort of endurance sport. And to this day I still think back to crew workouts as the most physically demanding activities I've ever done. And I'm incredibly thankful for the toughness they've given me. So it was really cool to reminisce with Whitney about our old crew days and draw inevitable comparisons to TNT workouts. I also happened to randomly remember way back in Crew days Whitney telling me she enjoyed her first season the most. That concept was lost on me the time, how could anyone not enjoy something the more proficient they were at it? But now it makes sense. As, wait for it, beginner's luck.
And, that's what keeps me coming back to TNT, I think. Re-living the beginner's luck that guides the first time triathletes to finish their first race. I see those pre-race jitters in them the night before the event at camp. I tell them that it's going to be hard, and something unplanned will inevitably happen, but the key things to remember are they're prepared, they're giving themselves to something greater by fundraising for cancer and racing, and they're NOT the only ones who will find it hard. Especially the last one, because I'm nervous and know I'll be suffering in my own race. But I'm also jealous of how they'll feel afterwards, that suddenly so many doors are open to them. Once I felt that rush.
Then the morning comes and they muster up enough bravery to jump in that water and mix it up with others in their wave. Before they know it, they've swam nearly a mile, or even over a mile and are back on land. Transition is a blur, and SOMETHING goes not as smoothly as hoped. But they survive and end up out on the bike, and they climb the first hill. They cruise back in to transition, pop their running shoes on, and man, they're almost done! And then, they feel the first true meaning of the word "brick" as their legs provide them with zero energy, at first, to start their run. But they struggle through while being cheered on by the TNT coaches. Then they prepare to descend Lynch hill for the last time, a great vista for us spectators. And I see in their face, at the top of the hill, the look of strength, grit, the look of "I am SUFFERING. But I'm also having fun, and I'm gonna finish this damn thing." It's powerful. It's human. They finish, greeted by and greeting their other TNT teammates and feel the rush. The relief of all their pre-race jitters. The, yes, glory, of getting a medal draped around their necks. Clock times, speed, blisters on their feet, sunburn, doesn't matter much. To paraphrase Coehlo, the universe had conspired to help them succeed because they decided to.
But finishing the first triathlon is just the beginning for these budding triathletes. It's a taste of success. What's next? Is there another dream?
“Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon” (page 139).
