Lessons from Nascar...

Oh, I'll catch some flack for this...

I was watching a bit of the NASCAR coverage yesterday on television in the afternoon...

I'll note that hockey had not yet started, and I had finished a morning run, and just wanted to relax for a couple of hours... Not that this will help justify watching NASCAR, but to add to the "excitement" there was a rain delay so all that was happening were interviews with the drivers.

Now that I am done with the self-flogging that occurs from admitting you have spent valuable time watching NASCAR, I'll get into the point of this comment...

In nearly all the interviews, there was mention of the "team", the folks who help get each driver the best results he (or she) can achieve. The "pit crew", as they are known, are acknowledged for being as much a part of the race as the driver.

And these drivers also mention their family a lot as being part of this. I think in NASCAR, with it's "down home Southern roots", you see a definite emphasis on the "good ol'" family. I think these guys seriously look at this as the way they earn their living, doing a hobby (really, all sports are hobbies) they enjoy, being around people who share the same interest in racing, etc. But, when it comes down to it, they love the competition, the sport, etc. but the real joy seems to come in joking around with their team, competitors, and having their family and friends around them.

In the morning after my run yesterday, I went to breakfast with some folks from the Denman Running Room marathon clinic, and we sat around, joking with each other, telling stories of marathons past completed and athletic pursuits, and chatting about the marathon that is coming up this weekend.

Last night, to cap this day off, I had the opportunity to go and see "The Rocket", the story of Maurice Richard. I saw how a team of players played for each other, even though each had individual goals and lives of their own, but their desire to win and come through for each other, and stand behind each other, bore out the true story. In hockey, of course, you really do see the nature of teamwork, especially when a player is being targetted by the opposition. Your teammates come to your rescue and, especially in those days, would gladly clobber the other players in support.

Throughout the day, I was reminded of the different aspects of teamwork that weave their way into the things we do. I realized how significant it was, that accolades and moments of glory are somehow hollow when you have no one to thank or to invite in to share. I'm not talking about bragging rights, either... I am talking about truly sharing each other's glory and significance. We are not successful without those around us. My triathlon training partners are part of my success, as I am in theirs.

Without people to run with, or swim with, we're alone, and the training itself is quite hollow.

Truly, as John Donne said, "No man is an island". Having a team around you not only makes the moments special, but is necessary for the moment to have much significance at all. We all need to feel like we are part of something more than just "me".

I have thought about this since yesterday. Mostly because I found those three reminders, in the breakfast with runners, the NASCAR interviews and the movie "The Rocket". I figure getting three reminders in one day is enough serendipity to warrant examining. I also have felt a little selfish lately, both in the training, but also in dismissing others for my own needs, writing a blog that seems more like self-indulgence at times than a surface accounting of a training diary.

It is at these times that I need those reminders that this Ironman training is important, but it is a journey, and it's the people and friends along the way who are part of the journey who make it real and, for that matter, worthwhile. Being alone is not how we were meant to be.

As Lance Armstrong said, "it's not ALL about the bike"... To which I add, "but it IS about the post-run bevvies!"