Relay? Really!

 

One of my favorite athletic things to do is to share.  Sometimes that means running with my wife, my daughter, my granddaughters and their parents.  But over the years it has also meant running a LOT of running, duathlon and triathlon relays.

I understand that some people don't particularly like to relay.  For instance one of my first coaches really hated relays.  He didn't mind if we did them, but he didn't want any part of them.  When we finally pinned him down, it turned out that because he was very competitive by nature, he felt too much performance pressure in relays. I'm sure others would rather rely on their own ability and not have to worry about someone else.  

I on the other hand LOVE to relay, but when I build a team it is based on certain rules, which I explore below, along with some, but certainly not ALL of my relay history. 

 

 My very first relay came about because the Austin Duathletes, a team I was affiliated with at the time was doing their (at the time informal) Protest Du 2007. Glenda was going to do it, and I sort of wanted to....but I was very nervous about the bike course.  Then I found out that they were allowing relays and went to find a cyclist. I found Maggie Dolch (now Komazec), I ran both run legs, she cycled...we had a blast...and a habit was born, right along with Suellen's #1 rule of relays...Speed is not the point, fun is. First and foremost have fun!

The next year I did a relay at the same race (now more formal) with Glenda as my cyclist. She lost a PEDAL on her bike and finished anyway.  We had a lot of laughs over whether she would have one BIG leg from all the one legged drills on the hills. 

Just as an aside I also relayed 2 different times with Miriam Raviv, one year as the Golden Girls (I've forgotten our other team name) at the Tough Cookies Du.  Miriam was the team cyclist and we always had a blast.

 

As much as I enjoyed the earlier relays it would be 3 years later before I did another, this time the Silicon Labs Marathon relay.  It was my 55th birthday, which I referred to as my "senior menu" birthday....and our team was called "Suellen's Birthday Bash."  Glenda ran 12K, Anna Belousov and Angel Syrett each ran 10k and Teen Edwards and I each ran 5K...with me anchoring.  As I was about to run across the finish, I spotted all my ladies running my way (along with a couple of their "other halves") with a big birthday banner to run me across the finish. While some of us were worried before hand about letting each other down, in the end we had a blast (and a fantastic brunch at Threadgill's) afterwards.  This lead to Suellen's #2 rule of relays...If you are worried about your pace, your ability, letting down your teammates or anything else, refer to rule #1.

By the time I ran the Zilker Relays with Team "I thought they said Rum"(Tammy Roen and Anne Eckerd along with Glenda and I) the 2 rules were well established. And we took fun seriously with our bunny ears!

I didn't really relay much more until I started doing triathlon relays every year after we moved to Madison.  The first of these was in September  2014 when Bridget (Kudrle), Eric (Kestin) and Suellen (Adams) used their first initial to become the BESt Tri Team.

I have done multiple relays in the years since, and I can give you 4 good reasons why people relay...with some example: 

REASON #1 

The first reason to do a triathlon relay (or any relay where some folks are doing the full race) can be described as either boredom or FOMO (fear of missing out). This is the case where you are trailing along with someone who is doing the race, but you are neither prepared to do the whole thing nor sit back and just watch.  

Like this time in 2015 when Glenda was doing Elkhart Lake and I got Stu Chase and Chris Neff to Relay with me (Team name: 2 Cubs and a Cougar)

REASON #2

The second reason is that you are relatively new and want to see what it is all about or are not ready to do the whole thing for some reason. 

 

For example last summer I did 2 relays that included Bridget Kudrle and her son J.D. (who may not be quite ready for a full sprint, but is an amazing competitor)  Team Shaving off 50 years and Team Misery Loves Company were both anchored by J.D.'s run.  

This coming summer I have a couple more teams set up that will introduce some of my relay-mates to the sport.

REASON #3

The third reason to try a relay is that you have 1 of the disciplines you feel you need to work on and you want to concentrate on just that piece of the race.

For example in June of 2016, I really wanted to work on my bike...so I did the bike leg at the Lake Mills Tri

As a member of the Three PACsketeers with swimmer Janice Baylor and runner Glenda Adams

REASON #4

The fourth reason you might want to relay is if you are "making a comeback." So you've been injured (or still are and can't do one of the disciplines) or for whatever reason you lost your motivation and have been away for a while.  An example of this is my friend Bridget Kudrle who I have relayed with often. She had a foot injury a few years ago and has been coming back. She was the swimmer in The Sparklers, for instance...the team pictured at the top of this Blog entry.

REASON #5

This is my favorite reason, and probably should be included along with any of the others as the very best reason to do a relay....to HAVE FUN!! Naturally there are sometimes bits that are not traditionally fun like a very hilly bike ride or a very hot summer run or having someone swim over you...but even those stories can be fun when shared with like-minded friends and teammates!  And so much of the rest of it is fun, from naming your team (you may have noticed that I like sort of silly team names), to choosing some piece of clothing or bling that will identify you as a team, to just the camaraderie that comes with doing something a little challenging as a team. 

And if you are lucky enough to have a spouse who is a photoshop expert, like I do...you can have some epic team photos!

Like this one of The Untouchables with Polly Hamner and Becca Marshall

Or this one of WOO PAC(hers)! with Chris Neff and Eric Kestin

So....WHO WANTS TO RELAY WITH ME?

Sometimes there are reasons

I'm usually a very even tempered and optimistic individual, but there are certain things that drive me completely bananas.

Some of these things have to do with athletics and "motivation."  I am self aware enough to know that that the things that make me craziest are those that play on my insecurities and guilt.  Let me provide a few examples:

I have belonged to a number of running and triathlon training groups over the years.  When I started in each group it was fine that I was all about doing 5ks and 10ks and maybe the odd half marathon.  And I was always told that if I only wanted to do sprint tris, that was cool.  Yet in nearly every case it was assumed that eventually I would want to be a "real" runner or triathlete and do marathons or Ironman, etc.   I have done a marathon. I got injured training for my second one, and decided that both the time required to come back from injury and the sheer time it took to train for a marathon at my pace made it not impossible, but unreasonable, to do another.

And don't get me started on Ironman.  I have never wanted to do an Ironman...and I don't need to do one to be a triathlete.  I love the fun and challenge of a relay, a super sprint or a sprint...and the training for them is reasonable.  I swim, bike and run...I am a triathlete.

So I  hold  onto this to help me deal with the peer pressure:

 

The other, tougher example is illustrated by this meme, posted on several of my athletic friends' posts over the last months

This, if you will pardon me for saying so, is horse hockey. Or at the least very simplistic drivel.  It is along the same lines as "you can do anything you put your mind to." It suggests that somehow if things, very real and  sometimes difficult things, get in the way...then you do not want it enough.  Or you aren't digging deep enough, or you don't care enough. This plays strongly into my sense of guilt, of not being good enough or trying hard enough. And then I have to remember that this may motivate the people posting it, even though I find it does the opposite for me. 

I have to remind myself that by rights I probably should not be physically able to do what I do as well as I do.  I was born with a hip problem and a turned in foot. Fortunately my parents had these corrected in a time when that did not always happen, so although they are not perfect, they are perfect enough.  I also have spinal stenosis to a degree that once upon a time an orthopedist told me I should not expect to walk half a mile without pain.  I have since done over a hundred 5Ks and numerous other races, including my one and only marathon.  

But the other thing is that I have more than one priority in my life...and sometimes one of them blows up or needs more attention and attending to that is a REASON to reassess my goals and set more reasonable ones.  It is not an excuse.  And sometimes those other priorities like work and a sometimes complicated family situation cause me to dig deep, suck it up and use all the energy I possess just to get through them. 

And sometimes when I reassess, my goals change for a reason (not an excuse).  I skipped the Disney 10K this weekend, because after the 5k with my wife, my daughter in law and my granddaughter (which was hot and sticky and tiring), I could see that by choosing to do the 10K as well, I would be short- changing my granddaughters and myself. I could meet my goal and miss my family time. I think I made the right choice.