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Today I attended my usual spinning class. As we were warming up, the spinning instructor asked a husband and wife couple how their triathlon had gone this past weekend. The couple looked at each other and laughed.

Let me just pause to give a little background on this couple. In addition to coming to class in their biking shorts/pants and biking shoes, they bring in their own pedals. Before spinning with them, I didn’t even know that you could do that. They have high tech biking shoes that don’t clip into the pedals on the spinning bikes. I’m very impressed by this. For a lot of the other members of the class just making sure our shirts aren’t inside out is an accomplishment. For me, my shirt is usually fine, but it is a challenge to have my hair brushed…a challenge at which I fail about 50% of the time.  Did I mention that this class begins at 5:45 am? For the record, I have the cheap biking shoes that do clip into the existing pedals.

I just assumed that this couple was in it for the competition. Hey, they own their own spin bike pedals, and they’re serious enough about spinning to install them before every class.  I expected them to answer the instructor like other well equipped members of the class by saying that they had placed in the top ten. When they paused and started laughing, I thought I had underestimated their success, and that they had each won their respective categories.

When they stopped laughing, they looked at the instructor and the husband said, “We participate, not compete.” The rest of the class, including me loved that. The instructor then asked, “Did your participation go well?” He said that indeed it had. They did it for fun and they enjoyed themselves.

My triathlon training buddy’s slogan is “Not to compete, but to complete.”  For a new athlete, targeting participation or completion can make it seem a little less scary. Sure, it’s the same distance, but the emphasis is more on the fun. The emphasis allows you to walk if you must. There’s no rule that says you have to cross a triathlon finish line running. Presumably there have been people who walked or possibly crawled. I’d say cartwheeled, but no matter how slow you go you’re going to be too tired at the end!

That’s not to say that there’s not competition in it for us at all. There’s something to be said for competition. I swam competitively throughout college and I loved it.  In fact, the crowd of triathletes got me through the 3.1 miles of running (aka the last leg of the triathlon) a couple weeks ago when I was on my last legs. I tried my best to keep up if not pass the people near me. My training buddy and I share the big goal of striving to beat our 2008 times in 2009 when we repeat the same triathlons.  At the end of the race, however, I am happy crossing the finish line regardless of where I place.

by Alex Elliot

Photo graciously provided by La Mars, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved