The First Day of School

A year ago today I walked into my first triathlon training class at the Rye Y. I knew nobody in there and had no idea what to expect, it was a super scary experience. It may be hard to believe but in certain situations I am actually shy - stop laughing it's true even my mom will tell you that. To make matters worse I missed the first few meetings so I really knew nobody and here I was walking into a group training situation. Of course all of the usual things went through my mind...would I be good enough, would I be the slowest, would I make friends and countless other things that caused me to panic. In reality I was good enough, I was the slowest (at running anyway) and YES I made friends so nothing bad happened and my worst fears were really all in my head. The thing that I have realized about triathletes is that although it's a competitive sport we really are a team of supportive people...after all we all race for the Rye Y Tri Club. We stand by our fellow triathletes...nobody is ever "left behind" on a training bike ride, run or swim. There is something about knowing this that I am trying to bring with me into my second year taking the class. I have made some amazing friends through the class and the club. People who I train with, socialize with and talk to on a daily basis - I am 100% comfortable around these athletes many of whom will smoke me while racing but will always be at the finish line to cheer me on - that's what I mean about being supportive.

Tonight class starts and there is a mixed group of newbies and alumni like me. I have introduced myself to as many of the new people as possible at the meetings we've had to help them not be as nervous or feel so alone walking into the spin room with this group of friends for the first time. Kind of like the first day of school - knowing that you were walking into a classroom of friends always made going back after a break made a lot better. When I was in 6th grade we moved from Scarsdale to Rye right in the middle of the year....yup after Thanksgiving I had to start at a new school where I knew not a soul. I can clearly remember walking into the school for the first time and being filled with dread and a lot of the same questions running through my head but most of all will I have any friends, will anyone eat lunch with me or even talk to me. Needless to say it all worked out and I did make friends which is pretty typical of these situations.


It is amazing how calming it can be to recognize just one smiling face in a group. As I have said these last two years have been growth years for me and part of this is realizing that being kind to others every day is so important. I was not always a nice person but I think that a lot that stems from the fact that I was so unhappy with myself and my life that it was hard to be nice to or even happy for anyone else. I am a lot more comfortable with who I am and with the life that I have created for myself, that in and of itself makes me a happier person which in turn allows me to be happy for other people. Does that make sense? It is amazing that the smallest things can sometimes make the biggest difference in the lives of others and it is kind of sad that I had to live 37 years to learn that although I guess it's better late than never. Being part of the tri team has given me the chance to make a difference in peoples lives like I never knew I could. Mostly through donations to charities that I never thought of or volunteering at a race when I would rather be in bed sleeping but these small acts make a difference not only to those benefitting but to me. That is why I made it my personal mission this go around of the class to make sure that people who were doing this for the first time had one face in the crowd that they would recognize - hopefully that will help them feel like they too are really part of the team.

Training is hard enough and it takes over a lot of your life - it is really comforting to know that you have at least one person who you can lean on as the hours get longer and the workouts get harder. I complain A LOT during training, especially spinning but no matter what I will always smile...

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