Upon returning home from the 2016 Triathlon National Championships in Omaha Nebraska, where EVEPC Triathlon Team Captain – Allison Alley Cat Gadaleta finished a respectable 14th place among the top females in the country in her first national championship event, I kept thinking about that word.. Championships or Champion.
I personally have experienced many championship events over the years. Some as a participant, many as a spectator, and now, as a coach, to support my athletes in their bids. A championship is not just any regular race or event. It’s the primary goal or objective for a competitor, the most important event to an athlete or team. It seemed only fitting, that as I write this, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the biggest championships that exist in sport, are in full swing and provide an appropriate backdrop for this journal entry.
How does one become a champion? Is it only a matter of winning? What does it really mean to enter, prepare for, qualify, compete, or win a championship event? We’ve seen that word used in history, heroic athletic achievements, autobiographies, speeches from famous coaches, in sports documentaries. In high profile sports advertising campaigns, they all try to write that golden tagline, that perfectly inspired cliche. “We create champions!” or “Our product is the product of champions” or “The stuff of champions!” In the real world, there is only one Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, or Lindsey Vonn, multi-championship winners, but what does it mean for us mere mortals? What does it mean to a cat 5 road racer or an amateur age group triathlete? As I walked around the race grounds this past weekend, I was thinking, how many of these racers have made this their goal? Are they really ready? What does this race really mean to them? What is their expectation for their result?
I understand now, for Alley Cat and myself, that all the hard work, sacrifice, expense, and preparation, that went into this event for us, goes back to the moment she decided to compete in this championship event. This was a critical moment, a moment of belief in herself, and in EVEPC. At the time, it seemed a perfectly reasonable proposition. We said, “right..ok..cool, lets do it!” We started with a 10 month training plan, scheduled some key races as preparation, then just got on with it. It all started back in the winter of last year, with a message I received from Alley Cat, “Hey, which race should I do for national’s, Olympic or Sprint?” At the time, we didn’t recognize the significance of that question or moment. It didn’t seem unrealistic, for her or myself. From the beginning I believed in her talent and potential and she trusted and believed I could help her get there. Now in retrospect, I realize the significance of that question from last winter. Allison, at that moment, decided, envisioned, and believed in herself and me, so much so, that she would commit to preparing for a championship race. At the same time, I also, committed to our work together, to my process, to help her achieve that goal.
The word champion, its definition and origin, comes from the Latin – Campio – which means Fighter. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished this year, and everything leading up to this past weekend is now a bit of a blur. What is crystal clear, however, is what I have found to be true, for Allison, myself, EVEPC, and all of my pilots this year..
We all have become fighters over the course of this year. Fighting for speed. Fighting for those precious seconds or minutes in a split time. Fighting for a higher placed finish. Fighting to not get dropped on a group ride or in a race. Fighting to stay healthy and without injury for 10months. Fighting to afford, financially, the cost of expensive equipment, racing, and traveling to events. Fighting to create, develop, and stay the course of a maverick concept and approach to coaching. Fighting to get enough sleep. Fighting to find a balance between our personal and athletic lives. Fighting to remain motivated when the less-than-perfect weather here on the east coast just won’t give us a break. Fighting to find enough training hours while having a full-time day job. Fighting with technology to provide feedback and give us marginal gains. Fighting with emotional and mental fatigue after a long season. Fighting to find a silver lining in the amount of suffering that is required to be a competitive athlete. Fighting to not get caught up in the pursuit of winning to the point that we lose sight of the joy of competition. Fighting to feel good about ourselves, our performance, even if we didn’t achieve the result we had hoped.
Most importantly, we are fighting for our goals, our dreams, our vision of ourself on that podium or crossing that finish line and, for me now, to see my athletes achieve their goals with my help. Perhaps to someone like Michael Phelps each new championship has subtle differences from his last, he has the privilege and has earned the right to compare his performances and rank them in his career. The old saying goes “the destination is not the important thing, it’s the journey” I propose a different view, however. To me, EVEPC, Allison, my little gang of talented pilots, I believe, the most important thing is that very significant moment when you decide to take that journey! To me, that is the exact moment you become a Fighter, a Champion..!
