I'm starting to realize that writing posts in my head doesn't actually count as writing posts- and that my memory's capacity is starting to dwindle as I age. So I'm going to write things down before I forget everything.
On July 2, 2017, I participated in my second 70.3 mile distance triathlon. I had registered for it last year, the day of the race, when the adrenaline was still high from the event. At the time of registration, I had every intention of training harder and intensely than I had this year. After all, I wouldn't be in school and- theoretically- my work load would be reduced...theoretically.
Of course, life happens and my best laid plans did not come to fruition. Of course, even I could not have predicted that I would be able to train at all for the event. No more than half a dozen run, swim or bike sessions were executed from December of 2016 to June of 2017. I wasn't just under trained- I was under prepared.
Now, you might say "But Zita, you 'train' every day. You are constantly teaching group fitness classes and at the gym training others. Surely that counts the same way." But, as I will explain later, it does- and it really doesn't.
The race was successful- depending on how you define success. Some have told me that it was an even greater victory for me because of this lack of training factor. I don't feel that way, but there were definitely some major takeaways for me as an athlete and as a professional. I mean, when you are on a bike for 3 and half hours straight, and then running without music for another almost two and half, a lot of thoughts go through your head. Besides, the difference between this year and last year is that now I am not only an athlete; I am a trainer and coach in my own right, and have an increased perspective on the nature of this wonderful sport.
So here are my top ten takeaways from the race and how they will influence me in years to come, broken down into 3 major categories, each of which will be their own post: Women's issues, Performance, and Personal Epiphanies
Women's Issues
This is a pretty big header with a bunch of sub topics- and it is a topic I feel passionately about. In fact, I have argued that one of the only flaws to my PFT program is a very specific lack of classes and programming covering social topics in sports and fitness- many of which center around women's issues. Great White North presented me with multiple examples of just how important it is to start talking about these, not only from an academic/teaching perspective, but from a social acceptance perspective.
We do not talk about women's issues in sport performance, despite the fact that many amateur sport are dominated by women.
10. Menstruation: I already posted my rant about this on Facebook, but can we please start talking about the realities of menstruation as they affect performance. We glanced at this topic (barely) while I was in school, mostly focusing on elite level athletes who train to the point of losing their cycles. But that's a tiny percentage of our athletic population. Most women will menstruate regularly throughout the course of their athletic career. Fatigue, nausea, cramping, iron depletion, uncomfortable sanitary products and additional breaks have to be factored into performance. And while there are definitely new products on the market that alleviate some of these issues, they do not eradicate them.
At every transition location, I was equipped with midol, tylenol, sanitary pads and tampons. My cramps coming out of the swim were so severe that I almost had to pull from the race. Thankfully, drugs kicked in just in time and I was able to push through the event. I had to stop twice along my ride, because I am perimenopausal which leads to unpredictable menstrual patterns, and race day unfortunately happened to be a particularly tough one.
I lost at least 4 minutes on my race from these breaks, one on the bike and one on the run. These minutes were literally the difference between making my goal time and not making it. While I realize that everyone has physiological issues that they have to deal with that affect performance, it would sure be great if we acknowledged that 50% of us have to deal with these about 10-20% of our performance careers. And, while there's really not much that we can do about the impact that it has, I do think that we, as athletes, as trainers, and as educators, need to start being a lot more transparent about the fact that menstruation is a consideration that should be factored by all trainers and athletes in to both training programming and performance prep. I was fortunate that I was prepared. It would have been a very different race if my cycle had started unexpectedly early.
9. "Mothering" while performance training. Now don't get me wrong- my husband is amazing- better than virtually anyone I know when it comes to sharing the parenting load. He is not the problem here. But one thing I experienced in droves last year was social shame for the amount of time training took away from my family. I was constantly reminded of how hard my husband worked at his full time job (which he does, but it bears mentioning that I was working practically full time, coordinating multiple part time jobs to do so, while also carrying a full time course load.)
And while that shame never once came from my spouse, it took a toll on me emotionally. By the time last year's race came around, I was overwhelmed by guilt and convinced that every time my children had a tantrum, it was the result of their mother's perpetual absence. When I discuss this phenomenon with other athletes, I get very different reactions from the men- who tell me that I need to just ignore these comments and that I shouldn't let them bother me- and the women, whose most common response is something along the lines of "ME TOO!".
The fact of the matter is that training for ultra distance events is an extremely time consuming hobby, and that- on a social level- we are still much more tolerant of men taking time away from their families to pursue personal interests than we are in women doing so. Finding time for training is simply a different challenge for women with children. And, quite frankly, I field enough questions about my family missing me as a working mom- I'm sure not a fan of having to deal with them as a training athlete.
8. Sexism and female body shaming:
Last year, during the run, I distinction remember seeing athletes with their tri tops zipped down to their navel. As it was bloody hot out, I remember admiring this tactic and thinking to myself that I wish I had the confidence to do that too.
This year, I went into the race determined to not let body issues hold me back. And when my collar felt too tight on my bike ride, I unzipped it approximately 4 inches, about an inch below the strap of y sports bra. No biggie, right?
Wrong.
As I entered into transition, a male official informed me that I had to zip up my top. When I asked why, he stated "Modesty rules. Your torso must be covered." Despite my rush, I noted to him that this was a pretty sexist stance, to which he replied "No it isn't- the men have to do it too." My husband was there to witness this entire interchange. And while I would have loved to have stayed and argued with him if, you know, it hadn't been a race. But it was, so off I went...to fume for the entire ~2.5 hours of my half marathon.
You see, scrolling through the GWN pictures confirmed to me exactly what I knew to be true. Yes, the 'modesty' rules apply to both men and women equally...on paper. But these are NOT enforced equally at all. In fact, I would state that roughly 40% of men along the race course were showing infinitely more skin that I had been. On many, I was able to see their navels. Don't believe me? The pictures speak for themselves.
Now, it is possible that these men- unlike me- waited until after they had gone through transition to loosen their tops. It might have been foolish of me to do so right at the transition opening. But I suspect that there were at least some who, like me, were already immodest upon their arrival to the gate. And I have an extremely difficult time believing that all of these men were spoken to and just chose to ignore the rules. I have an even more difficult time believing that every single one was missed by the officials at either transition, or on the many stops on the run course. Let's not kid ourselves here, the men were not policed the way that I was.
Now, I did see *some* women daring to race immodestly, tops zipped down to the bra line. AND I saw at least two of them zipping themselves back up before getting to the finish line. Again, a cursory glance at the pictures will confirm that women are, directly or indirectly, forced to comply with modestly rules that men are allowed to freely ignore.
So while the rules may exist for both sexes, if these rules are inequitably enforced then intentions matter very little. Also, can we please stop using the term 'modesty' as if it is some kind of ideal or trophy. Showing less skin than I would if I was wearing a bathing suit may very well be a violation of the rules, but isn't 'immodest'.
This short conversation cost me both physical and mental energy that should have been directed into the race- and it only happened because I am female.
Post 2: GWN2017 10 Takeaways: Performance Learnings
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