Triathlon

Savannah Schuring, first year graduate student in Recreation Studies at Ohio University, shares one of her personal leisure experiences.

Prior to my racing experience, I thought of grueling runs in a hot and humid location, kicks in the face and sharks snacking on racer’s extremities, and brutal hills that baffled me on how the contestants would be able to make it up. With what little experience I have gained from triathlon racing, I can say I know better now; it’s still the grueling runs in hot and humid locations, I still get kicked in the face when I swim, and there are plenty of brutal hills that baffle me on how I will make it up. But, minus the nibbling sharks, it’s the connections, high five’s, and never-ending encouragement from my competitors that keep me coming back for more. This, coupled with the feeling of playing instead of working, is what has drawn and kept my interest in the triathlon experience, not the act of striving to win.

Too many athletes, both professional and recreational, have at some point felt the mental and physical tolls of the monotony in their training; there’s only so much you can do to change things up in one specific sport. This is where a triathlon can really be a game changer, literally and theoretically. Having the ability to be constantly creating and executing different workouts within various disciplines rounds me out in both mind and body.

As we grow older, most of us lose our innate ability to simply play. Think of the last time you went for a joy ride on a bike, or played in the water, or even smelled the fresh outside air while immersing yourself in a sea of green. Though I admit I have had quite a few bike rides that are what some may consider brutal, the joy always outweighs the pain. What if you rode your bike to meet your friends to get in some extra “you” time? Would you still consider that exercise or training, or would it just be a means of transportation? Think of how much more effective and creative you could be as an individual, and how much more you could contribute to not only society but also your own life as you start to look and feel better. Not once this season have I not looked forward to clipping into my bike pedals, whether it’s a short six mile jaunt or a four hour ride, and I still can hardly believe I have that same feeling for all three sports.

Imagine the last time you felt the sensation of the water around you, with no thoughts of deadlines or bills to pay but rather the feeling of pure joy with a calm mind. What if the feeling of the water rushing over your body and your technique were the only two things swimming around your head? It maybe difficult to even imagine, but the opportunity awaits as we rush around and navigate through our busy lives. When I started my training in the pool after at least five years of not swimming, I couldn’t believe the smile plastered across my face like an inviting billboard for those around me to join me. Though I am constantly more conscientious about my drills and exercises in the pool, as opposed to merely swimming for an allotted amount of time, I still feel a child-like playful attitude when I jump in the water. On a similar note, as I practice more and more in open water, just getting used to the “new” element has all of my senses fully encapsulated. But as I watch the young kids around me on the other side of the buoys, their youthful naivety invites envy and nostalgia to the last time I was able to play without any sense of caution to my surroundings. Part of our hesitance as we grow wiser is necessary to our survival, to a certain extent, but striking a balanced chord, which brings tonal and total harmony, can create a culminating and kid-like creativity that our brains inadvertently crave.

As science continues to show us that being in some sort of “nature” is beneficial to our brains and well-being, what better way to benefit our physical selves than to walk/jog outside? Though most triathlons are run on roads, I still do much of my running on trails. The surreal scenery is constantly changing, however so slightly, and my brain is always engaged in the next foot placement or root to hop over. On long 30-40 mile runs, pavement can get tedious and hard on my joints, so I often turn to trail running. I take pleasure in the soft ground under my feet, the smooth rocks to glide over, and rough tree bark to run my hand across, as well as the silent solitude I frequently find. Besides the obvious changing of seasons, it is ordinarily nearly impossible to perceive the changes in nature, even on the same section of the same trail. From trail maintenance crews ambitiously moving logs to storms angrily throwing down leaf and limb, a single trail can never look the exact same, which brings so much wonder and curiosity from me as I trod on them. The vast majority of our society has become bored in doing the same things day in and day out. But what most people have yet to fully grasp is that we don’t have to continue on our path of most resistance, which has ceased to change. We can explore our vast surroundings with the playful and youthful inquisitiveness that has been inexplicably stripped from us as we age.

Children think differently than adults, as we’re seeing in numerous studies and in our own lives. This is because they are still learning and exploring and haven’t been subjected to the types of experiences that we as adults have that make us, well, adults. But performing in the activities represented in the triathlon, outside in nature, can re-open our minds to the impossible, our hearts to the playfulness of exercise, and our bodies to the transcendental experience of seeing, feeling, and being succumbed by the natural world of beauty we too often forget we are a part of. It is said that we are our most creative selves when we are at play, and even more so when that play is in nature, so let us have fun while seeing what our minds can conjure up while we leave our due dates and burdens behind. Whether you enjoy just one of the three sports or all three, the triathlon was made for us.