119. One In A Row

The courage to start

I raced my first triathlon in 1992.
I did it to spite an ex-girlfriend.

She had done a triathlon a few months earlier and, in her own special patronizing way, she used it to let me know how great she was. So I’m sure you can understand that I absolutely, positively had to do a triathlon myself, and to complete it faster than she did hers and to make sure she knew I was better.

No wonder we split up, right?

After all these years, I very clearly remember the nervousness and anxiety that took over my body in the days leading up to that first triathlon. I remember the fear that nearly paralyzed me on race morning.

I remember the utter cluelessness in getting my gear in place and the total self-consciousness of feeling like an idiot among all the experienced racers that surrounded me.

It sucked.

I remember walking to the start line, diizzy and light-headed with the feeling that life had become surreal. Like I was wobbling on the very edge of a precipice that could quickly lead to my demise. I was being pulled into the unknown abyss and, if I succumbed to its pull, my life would never be the same again.

I stood on that start line waiting for the starting gun to go off; trying to slow time - to stop time - to control time - anything to get me back to my comfort zone. Anything to avoid the…

BOOM!

The starting gun went off.

One In A Row

It is not the person who strides gallantly for the finish line that should be revered. Not the one who goes the fastest or furthest. The numbers on the finishers clock are no barometer of any person’s self worth. They never have been and they never will.

It is the person who had the courage to begin - that is the true hero.

The hardest thing to do in life is to assemble the courage to toe the start line, not knowing what lies on the course, on the road to your future. The start line can be anything: a new job, a new company, a tough conversation, a leadership challenge. You’re the only one that knows your starting line - the only one who knows where you are destined to begin.

The miracle isn’t that you’ll finish, the miracle is when you get the courage to start.

Because every marathon starts with the first step.

Every great achievement starts with one-in-a-row.

You’ve got to get the first win before you begin a winning streak.

You’ve got to get to the start line before you have any hope of seeing the finish.

Former Olympian Julie Isphording put it best:

“Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way.”