We See It Differently

If you know an athlete you know they look at the world a little differently.  If you know a triathlete you know they see the world in an even more SPECIAL way!!!

I first noticed I was different when I started looking at distances and thinking I could swim it, I could bike that, I could run there.  This starts small with thoughts like, "Well, the store is only 2 miles away.  We could run there."  This turns into we could run to downtown, 13 miles away.  Biking is much the same, we started talking about how we could bike to other towns.  Then when driving home at mile 100 we both laugh, threatening if the other person dropped us off there with our bike we could make it home.  Or if the car breaks down.  And yes, we often have our bikes with us at these distances away from home since we were more than likely coming back from a race.  The last part that starts to be measured in "I cans" is the swim.  Suddenly we find ourselves driving over bridges saying, "How far was that?  I can swim it."  We often travel over the bridge which we swim yearly (either 5K, 10K or the shoreline for the 25K), leading to many conversations on swim distances.  

Not everyone agrees on weather.

This bridge also brings about the factor that we had both run, biked, and swam this particular bridge!  It holds a lot of memories for us together.  It is the only local spot where we can say this has happened; this three mile span is an important part of our mind change as it is the first place we noticed our comparison of vehicle distance to personal power distance. 
An important note at this point is to point out triathletes also measure distances in conversations with others this way.  We are thinking in the back of our heads,"oh I could run to their house in an hour, or biking to the party would be easy but it will be dark later and that could be dangerous."

Beyond how we look at distances there are other things we look at in different ways.  

There is always wind.

The weather is one of them.  We call out wind directions and speeds, adding in if it would be a head wind or a cross wind or a tail wind. Please note we make these references when no one even talked about going biking, just a simple weather conversation.  Water conditions are also noted as swimable or not swimable or as "we have swam in worse".  And then there is rain; rain is tricky since there are three sports.  Rain could be good for a run, not important for a swim or a cause for replanning of a bike ride.  Triathletes also seem to change the names of seasons- Off Season (winter), also known as the planning season; and Triathlon Season (all the rest of the year which you can race).  The opening and closing of triathlon season varies by athlete but it seems once training can start outside the season is open.  We will test the weather (and the weatherman) with freezing bike rides or runs in monsoons.   

Gear for every season.

Before 5am (on a rest day) I knew it was 44 degrees out with light winds.  My mind already processed that the water would be cold and a light chop, the bike would need cold weather gear, but the run would be perfect.  

I guess I write this article for 2 reasons, one to say to other athletes, "You are normal, we all do this."  But more so I write it for those who have to talk to us.  I want you to have a little insight and understanding that we don't mean to make these possibly irritating comments, it is just how our brains process things.  So when we say we could run to grandma's house because the weather is overcast, with a cross wind, and low humidity, plus it is only 10 miles away, it doesn't mean for you to pull over and drop us on the side of the road-- we just know we COULD!!!  


I am are continuing to raise money for the Navy Seal Foundation.  For more information please read this: Supporting the Navy Seal Foundation- Frogman Swim 

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