Support Your Supporters

Only on the surface does triathlon appear to be an individual sport. Meeting one’s full potential does not happen in a social, emotional, or financial vacuum. Investigate your favourite athlete who competes in an individual sport and you are likely to find that person training with a coach and a group. Moreover, you will discover that the athlete is empowered to perform at a high level because of a support network made up of family, friends, and sponsors. Individual sport is a misnomer.

Suffice it to say that Laura is my biggest supporter. I do what I can to keep it that way.

I spent some of today watching the Superbowl with Nick, Kamal, Tyler, and Jairus. As we spoke about ways to continue developing as athletes, the topic of relationships came up. I heard a few horror stories of athletes whose partners pressured them to diminish their training or quit sport altogether. Ouch! Nevertheless, I wonder if athletes create problems for themselves when they become monomaniacal about their time and training.

Conflicts between my partnership to Laura and succeeding at the sport I love occur very infrequently, but when they inevitably do, I am faced with an opportunity to choose the person that I want to be. There are times when being in a relationship means that I choose to put training second.

Skipping training can make me feel guilty and grumpy, and I don’t like that. However, when I let my selfishness go and put my relationship first, it is always the better choice. I keep my priorities straight so that Laura knows she isn’t competing for my time and attention against a mistress named Triathlon.

By making sure I support my biggest supporter, there is a huge payoff: I’m free to train a ridiculous amount of hours each week with wholehearted support from my spouse. Give up an hour every once-and-awhile to have full support throughout the year. (Of course, relationships aren’t about equations, but if they were, this is a good one.)

To close, I wonder how many athletes think that success means sacrificing everything for sport, including relationships? I mean, the Olympics are coming up next week and part of the view popular view of these athletes (who represent nation-states) includes notions of the complete dedication of the athlete to pursue success at almost any cost (except cheating).

This idea of the single-mindedness of the athlete runs up against another odd assumption we have of Olympians, namely, that they are moral figures who embody their nations values. I mean, to a large degree, people think of Olympic athletes as not just physically superior but also morally advanced. Something about the Olympics conjures up ideas of super-humans, like Hercules or the Nephilim.

Thoughts?