Perseverance

 ITU Championnat du Monde, Longue Distance, Nice, Alpes Maritime, France June 26 1994

Perseverance

It was when I was sitting at my sewing table this morning, putting in tacking stitches and removing pins from the garment that I am currently working on, that the thought came into my poor little addled mind, that it such a pity that we are not always so meticulous in all area’s of life. It would be of great benefit to us, if we all took as much care with everything we attempt to do or work on or create.

ITU World Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships Edmonton, Canada 2014

The idea certainly goes along those lines for training schedules and self maintenance. You can’t run before you can walk. These days I am very much a plodder and have long given up on thinking about speed; now I am concentrating in taking care of my muscles and skeletal structure and making sure to avoid injury at all costs, the bane of the athlete’s life. Injuries are so infuriating and take forever to overcome, especially when you are young and persist in the more than silly habit of continually testing the damaged area; that is the best way to keep that sore area sore.

Training in  Edmonton, Canada for Worlds 2014

On the same theme, the latest of Steve’s little jobs to be looked at during this time is that he is repairing the frame of the soak away plate in the garage and parking area at the back of the eight mock Georgian cottages where we life. The face of this soak away is right in front of our garage and the brickwork that should hold the metal cover has been slowly disintegrating for many years. Steve has started to little by little over the last week, to first take out the damaged pieces and rebuild then so that the cover support is safe gain. He has taken great pains to do it carefully but it needs to be done a tiny area at a time.

Key Biscayne, Olympic Distance Triathlon Miami Florida 2005

 The sea is warmer now and so it is possible to use this time to work on bringing the swim training back up to somewhere near the pre race form that it stood at before lock down. Again just getting in a thrashing like a mad thing is not that good in the long term, I am not wild about too many drills myself and certainly not one the use toys (pull buoys and kick boards etc. thought they do serve to prevent boredom with the young or beginners. Some nice warm up pace swimming, concentrating on your form might be a help though. Nice steady long swims making sure, in a rotation of those aspects coaches have mentioned to you most from pool side every club session. Looking at your hand entry and stretch out in front, checking that your push back is working by adding a tiny thumb touch to the thigh. We all have our faults and we probably know exactly what they are. It is something that we can now think about. We are not on holiday. Idle swimming and splashing whilst thinking how nice the clouds look, is for those who are on holiday. Never stop thinking about your stroke.

Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida Awards

Attend to every aspect of your triathlon world.  Mind you; I am a great one to say that since Steve found some left over favoured race fuel (jelly babies) in my little bike bag on the cross bar of my best bike. Even the sea gulls gave up on trying to eat those, after he had added them to the bird table.

Back to the needlework and how important it is not to take short cuts in anything you do. The pinning together and the tacking stitches are as vital as the care taken in the preparation, the study of the pattern instructions, selection of thread, long before you get the finishing off and completion.

Rome was not built in a day. Any finished job, no matter what it is, will be a bitter disappointment or most satisfactory, depending entirely upon how much care you gave to its execution. So it is with triathlon. Start as you mean to go on. Make sure you are proud of every effort along the way. Never give up looking for more from yourself.

Who rattled her cage? I did that all by myself.

 Spiral staircase

In the depths of my mind there has long been

a huge never ending spiral stair case.

Fighting my way up to a healthy scene

getting harder to hold on to my place.

Starting to roll like an escalator

relentlessly moving against the tide.

Feeling the need for a respirator

to all the warning signs I have complied.

Thus far I persevere in climbing high

never turning into the downwards flow.

Struggling to locate inner strength thereby

it’s dangerous to let life’s pace go slow.

Whatever hazards life holds I must face

truth at the end of the spiral staircase.