Beginner Triathlete - Scott Tinley's Writings articles

The attitude of Wildflower

Traveling as an athlete is better than traveling as a tourist or on business or even just wandering around with a backpack and a holey sleeping bag. An athlete is given wide birth.

Why it’s so hard for us to talk about losing at a simple game? Sports are supposed to be about building positive character, supposed to be about fairness, equality, and striving for excellence.

There is a serious, devoted athlete, committed to the task of triathlon. He is happy because his heart rate is low, his blood lactate is low and his chances in this year’s Kona lottery is high.

Exercising in inclement weather is a lot like getting a flu shot or going to your in-laws for the holidays—you know that it’s probably good for you but still isn’t something that thrills you to death.

Of the many ironies inherent to youth participation in multisport, the fact that it’s tougher for them than it is for adults might be the most suggestive.

As endurance athletes we purposely trick our psyches. Our minds hop-scotching our physical bodies. We play chicken with something very personal.

The sport of triathlon is rife with untold stories of chicanery and altruism, deviousness and grace.

Triathlon style is no longer defined in the Nuevo replication of wool cycling jerseys and neon footwear. The style of swim/bike/run is a look and feel and way of being in the multisport world.

Triathletes have embraced any new device in the belief it will increase their speed and performance. Ten millimeter thick wetsuits and ten pound bikes sell for more than most paid for their first car.

If you ask beginning triathletes what they fear most, a standard response usually includes some reference to mass swim starts and bike crashes.

When people say that sport is “just a game” don’t believe them. Love is not just hanging out with someone that you like and raising a family isn’t just putting food on the table. Sport is more too.

Multisport athletes don’t have to look like cover models from some cheesy sex-and-abs magazine. You just have to be comfortable in your own skin however logo-d or clear.

We often forget the Other, that person or persons living behind the doors of our individual hubris, that secreted cheerleader who polishes our medals but never wins one of their own.

There are races to prepare for and health to be found and a lot of adventure and release to be sought in the oceans of the world.