1996 Last place finish … I thought I was ready to compete in my first biathlon. After running 5K, I would jump on a bicycle and cycle 28.5K. Feeling anxious, I walked my bicycle to the transition area. Then I looked around at the other competitors’ bicycles -- $1,000+ road racers -- and at the bicycle I would be riding – my daughter’s $45 purple, glitter, Huffy mountain bike. “Holy crap!” I thought.
After digesting this hefty serving of “humble pie,” I thought of dropping out of the competition before it even began -- Maybe it would be “easier”, “less embarrassing”, and “safer” to sit on the sidelines, rather than standing at the start. Am I ready to challenge myself to the fullest extent of my personal limits? I have a body, running shoes, and a bicycle – but do I have the guts to even start, let alone, finish this thing? … I joined the other competitors at the start.
The run was good, I was running in a pack. But I was left in the dust during the cycling portion. Not another competitor in sight! I thought I was lost. I struggled to climb each hill and then catching my breath, coasted on the downhills … one hill at a time, over and over, again. A klick from the finish, the “clean-up car” came alongside me. “How are you doing?” the man asked me.
After digesting this hefty serving of “humble pie,” I thought of dropping out of the competition before it even began -- Maybe it would be “easier”, “less embarrassing”, and “safer” to sit on the sidelines, rather than standing at the start. Am I ready to challenge myself to the fullest extent of my personal limits? I have a body, running shoes, and a bicycle – but do I have the guts to even start, let alone, finish this thing? … I joined the other competitors at the start.
The run was good, I was running in a pack. But I was left in the dust during the cycling portion. Not another competitor in sight! I thought I was lost. I struggled to climb each hill and then catching my breath, coasted on the downhills … one hill at a time, over and over, again. A klick from the finish, the “clean-up car” came alongside me. “How are you doing?” the man asked me.
I answered, “The best I can.”
Two hours and thirty seconds -- from start to finish, -- from Chicken Little, “The sky is falling!” to Little Red Hen, “I will!” That two hours and thirty seconds was plenty of time to learn an important life lesson: Rather than worrying about what others will say or think, listen instead to that lone voice inside that says, “It's all up to me now!”
Two hours and thirty seconds -- from start to finish, -- from Chicken Little, “The sky is falling!” to Little Red Hen, “I will!” That two hours and thirty seconds was plenty of time to learn an important life lesson: Rather than worrying about what others will say or think, listen instead to that lone voice inside that says, “It's all up to me now!”
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
- John "The Penguin" Bingham
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