On Saturday I did something I thought I'd never do - I lined up on the beach with the Pros for the elite wave of Zurich 5150. It was an experiment. I could have raced the Age Group event but then I'd never have known how I would fare amongst the best in our sport. So now I know. And its safe to say that Nicola Spirig, Lisa Norden and Co. don't have much to worry about yet. I finished in 2.21 and definitely the last of the pros, but I would have placed 3rd in the Age Group.
I was pretty intimidated on the start line, but willing to give it everything. I ran into the water and for a brief moment, I thought 'I'm swimming on the feet of the pros, how cool.' That is before the onslaught of the Age Group men who'd been standing about 10 m behind us on the beach and went on our gun. So I was swum over by about 250 men all eager to reach the first turn buoy at 150m! It was hellish and I had to take a short break to decide if I had survived, regain my composure, and then complete the rest of the swim, which I did in a mediocre 26 mins. A personal worst for me, but I did see one of the pro women crying in transition who had obviously suffered too. These things happen -although never to me before.
I nailed the rest of the race as best I could, working through the age group men, and trying to chase back to reach any of the pros who were having a bad day, or punctured. I eventually caught up to Sam McGlone who had been wrongly directed to run further than necessary by the marshall. We ran into the finish chute with me respectfully behind, but pleased not to have finished completely alone.
All of this got me thinking a bit more reflectively about life, added to the fact that I'm reading a good book called 'Luck - what it means and why it matters' by Ed Smith. So, unusually for me, I thought I'd share some of my thought patterns.
The book focuses on the treatment of fate and the role of luck in determining outcomes, both of sport and in life. It shows the evolution through history, from the Ancient Greeks who considered that events were pre-ordained and 'in the lap of the gods' even as far the gods themselves, such as Zeus, who's hand was dealt by 'Fortuna' or fate. These days society regards our fate as rather more controllable, as we are told that 'anything is possible' and we can make our own luck, to some extent. Others of course still believe in the luck of the draw, hoping for the Lottery win, or trusting in religion to look after their interests. And there are those who believe that mathematical algorithms can predict outcomes such as the financial markets - we can see where that has got us.
Had I not entered the pro wave, I might not have been swum over and my race may have gone a different way. It made me consider what we can do as athletes to make ourselves 'more lucky', such as training our bodies to be as prepared as possible, and knowing the courses, the rules and the likely competitors before races. Or we could just prepare for all outcomes and turn the uncontrollables to our advantage. Working with the psychologist Brendon Wylde has taught me the value of a self-serving bias, ie taking credit for the things that go well and learning from those that don't and moving on, without blaming oneself.
When I consider the differences between the two Ironman races I just watched, in Zurich with pouring rain, hail and 13 degrees, and in Klagenfurt Austria under melting sun and 35 degrees, it shows that some of the uncontrollables certainly influence the outcomes of our sport.
Ed Smith discusses the ratio of luck to skill in sport, and how increasing this can make the sport more enjoyable to spectators. The Giant-killers of football is the ideal that every fan longs to watch, and seeing seeds being knocked out of Winbledon in tennis, a game largely dictated by skill, certainly keeps the ticket sales high.
However, the fact that Chrissie Wellington has managed to triumph in 4 Ironman World Championships, despite such 'unlucky' incidents as a puncture that couldn't be fixed with a gas canister, and a crash 10 days before the race, surely shows that the long distance triathlon is the preserve of the skilled, rather than lucky.
The IOC have managed to inject more uncertainty to keep the spectators interested at the Olympics since this distance is a drafting event, with many more chances for things to go wrong. Of course the world's best, such as Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee will do everything in their power to avert these incidents.
For the amateur triathlete, that level of uncertainty would make the sport inherently less satisfying as so much time has been invested in preparing for the event that there is a sense of entitlement in the outcome i.e. what you put in should relate to what you get out. I for one prefer some predictability and I'm definitely not a gambler. I don't think that the chance of getting food poisoning or being swum over could have definitely been avoided but I do think that I've learned from the experiences and that is what will count in the future.
I will leave you with one quote from the book that demonstrates that great people do not achieve by following the plan to the letter:
'Successful people, by being open to opportunity and exposing themselves to chance, take new directions that prove more fruitful than anyone could have predicted. A life does not follow a course. We change in many ways as we grow. A missed opportunity represents the failure to evolve into a different, better person.'
In other words, unless you try, you'll never know.
I was pretty intimidated on the start line, but willing to give it everything. I ran into the water and for a brief moment, I thought 'I'm swimming on the feet of the pros, how cool.' That is before the onslaught of the Age Group men who'd been standing about 10 m behind us on the beach and went on our gun. So I was swum over by about 250 men all eager to reach the first turn buoy at 150m! It was hellish and I had to take a short break to decide if I had survived, regain my composure, and then complete the rest of the swim, which I did in a mediocre 26 mins. A personal worst for me, but I did see one of the pro women crying in transition who had obviously suffered too. These things happen -although never to me before.
I nailed the rest of the race as best I could, working through the age group men, and trying to chase back to reach any of the pros who were having a bad day, or punctured. I eventually caught up to Sam McGlone who had been wrongly directed to run further than necessary by the marshall. We ran into the finish chute with me respectfully behind, but pleased not to have finished completely alone.
All of this got me thinking a bit more reflectively about life, added to the fact that I'm reading a good book called 'Luck - what it means and why it matters' by Ed Smith. So, unusually for me, I thought I'd share some of my thought patterns.
The book focuses on the treatment of fate and the role of luck in determining outcomes, both of sport and in life. It shows the evolution through history, from the Ancient Greeks who considered that events were pre-ordained and 'in the lap of the gods' even as far the gods themselves, such as Zeus, who's hand was dealt by 'Fortuna' or fate. These days society regards our fate as rather more controllable, as we are told that 'anything is possible' and we can make our own luck, to some extent. Others of course still believe in the luck of the draw, hoping for the Lottery win, or trusting in religion to look after their interests. And there are those who believe that mathematical algorithms can predict outcomes such as the financial markets - we can see where that has got us.
Had I not entered the pro wave, I might not have been swum over and my race may have gone a different way. It made me consider what we can do as athletes to make ourselves 'more lucky', such as training our bodies to be as prepared as possible, and knowing the courses, the rules and the likely competitors before races. Or we could just prepare for all outcomes and turn the uncontrollables to our advantage. Working with the psychologist Brendon Wylde has taught me the value of a self-serving bias, ie taking credit for the things that go well and learning from those that don't and moving on, without blaming oneself.
When I consider the differences between the two Ironman races I just watched, in Zurich with pouring rain, hail and 13 degrees, and in Klagenfurt Austria under melting sun and 35 degrees, it shows that some of the uncontrollables certainly influence the outcomes of our sport.
Ed Smith discusses the ratio of luck to skill in sport, and how increasing this can make the sport more enjoyable to spectators. The Giant-killers of football is the ideal that every fan longs to watch, and seeing seeds being knocked out of Winbledon in tennis, a game largely dictated by skill, certainly keeps the ticket sales high.
However, the fact that Chrissie Wellington has managed to triumph in 4 Ironman World Championships, despite such 'unlucky' incidents as a puncture that couldn't be fixed with a gas canister, and a crash 10 days before the race, surely shows that the long distance triathlon is the preserve of the skilled, rather than lucky.
The IOC have managed to inject more uncertainty to keep the spectators interested at the Olympics since this distance is a drafting event, with many more chances for things to go wrong. Of course the world's best, such as Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee will do everything in their power to avert these incidents.
For the amateur triathlete, that level of uncertainty would make the sport inherently less satisfying as so much time has been invested in preparing for the event that there is a sense of entitlement in the outcome i.e. what you put in should relate to what you get out. I for one prefer some predictability and I'm definitely not a gambler. I don't think that the chance of getting food poisoning or being swum over could have definitely been avoided but I do think that I've learned from the experiences and that is what will count in the future.
I will leave you with one quote from the book that demonstrates that great people do not achieve by following the plan to the letter:
'Successful people, by being open to opportunity and exposing themselves to chance, take new directions that prove more fruitful than anyone could have predicted. A life does not follow a course. We change in many ways as we grow. A missed opportunity represents the failure to evolve into a different, better person.'
In other words, unless you try, you'll never know.
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