The Un-Comfort Zone

More than anything, I think it is important to try new things. New foods. New vacations. New movies. New books and especially new sports. It is really easy to fall into a rut and become depressed if the only thing you ever do is the same things you've always done. If you are looking at this blog thinking “Well, I could never do a triathlon!” My response would be, "You’ll never know unless you try." It’s true, triathlon may not be your thing and that’s okay because there are so many fun activities out there. My belief is that you just need to try lots of things and find out what you enjoy. What is the point of life if you don’t?

I have tried many different sports over the years. Some have “stuck” and some haven’t. When I was in my early thirties, I started figure skating. When I was a kid, I would watch the skaters on TV and I just thought it looked fun. I would go to the rink once a year and have a blast dreaming that I was Dorothy Hamill. Then, I would wait a whole year to do it again. I fanaticized about one day taking lessons. Then, nearly a decade ago, I got the schedule for the local Adult School and saw that they were offering some lessons, so I signed up. I was hooked right away. Since I am (just a tiny bit) obsessive, I ended up reading every book ever written on the subject and eventually even ended up on the Board of Trustees for my skating club.

However, when I became pregnant with my son, I took a break from it. After he was born, I wasn’t quite ready to get back into it and by then I had developed an interest in running. Now, I try to skate at least one a week. One of my challenges in developing a triathlon training schedule has been working in a day of skating. I am just not ready to give that up yet again. So, right now, I have substituted a skating day for a bike day, since it works most of the same muscles. When summer gets closer, I will likely drop it from my schedule until fall.

In addition, two years ago, I signed up for the Spartan Sprint and got involved in the Obstacle Course Race (OCR) community. If you’ve never done an OCR, they are a good challenge and very exciting. Mostly, they involve running, or in my case hiking, up a mountain and getting past obstacles like barbed wire, cargo nets, monkey bars and walls. I am signed up for the Tuxedo Spartan Sprint, this May, for the third year in a row. One day maybe I will go for my Trifecta, but not this year. So, I’ve got to work the training for that into my schedule as well. Thankfully, this overlaps with running (hill repeats) and strength training (upper body).

Over the years, I have also tried hockey, rock climbing, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, roller-blading, yoga, equestrian and a number of other sports. While I find these nice activities to do occasionally, they are not ones that really hold my interest as much as skating, running and swimming. But, I am not content to sit back and just do only these things. On my list of things to try soon are the trapeze and archery. Why? Because they sound like a blast!

That, I think, is how everyone should approach fitness. It should be an exciting adventure, not a chore that you make yourself do. Sure, there are days I don't want to work out or go to the gym. I kind of stink at maintaining discipline too. But I'm definitely not going to stop myself from trying new things just out of fear. I believe that it is by challenging our fears that we grow. So, I make it a point to try new things regularly. I may not love everything I try, but I am never regretful that I did. So, that is my main reason for trying to do a triathlon - because I have never done one before! Maybe I will hate it and say "Wow, what the heck was I thinking?!" or maybe I will say "That was great, I should do an IronMan!" I won't know until I try and you can bet I'm going to have fun along the way.