I'm a complainer just like most other athletes that I've met. We can have a perfect race course and perfect weather and we'll still complain. Swag, aide stations, fee, parking, swim cap color -- you name it and we'll complain about it.
When I did the Peachtree International Triathlon, I knew ahead of time the weather was iffy. I still went. Sure it sucks, but gotta face it sometime. What I didn't expect was to see so many people packing up and leaving 20 minutes before race start.
At first I thought they were leaving because the swim was cancelled. When other racers mentioned that the people were leaving because it was raining and they didn't want to ride in the rain, I was a bit flabbergasted. What the hell? I am not hardcore, but the rain won't kill you. Sure it makes riding a bike a little more precarious, but nothing major. If you ride smart, you'll be fine. If you go balls to the wall, you'll get what's coming to you.
I figured that they were all sissies. I mean, seriously? I don't enjoy riding in the rain. If it's raining on a ride day, I'll postpone it. Swap it out with something else. But seriously... Quit a race before it starts? 10-30 minutes before it starts? Really? What sissies.
Then a fellow DMer posted that same weekend about her ordeal at a race. She's hardcore too. I admire her discipline and performance. She kicks ass. Evidently, Pennsylvania was getting some horrible rains like we were in Georgia. She showed up for her race that Sunday and the race directors announced that they cancelled the swim due to thunder. She was going to continue anyway, but she noticed that the roads were in rough shape because of the amount of rain. When set up in transition, all her gear got soaked even though they were plastic bags. (That is rather demoralizing.) She debated and thought it through. She then packed up her gear and went home. Granted she said she cried in the car for a while before driving home.
What was her reason?
She was there alone and knew no one else at the race. She rides hard and that race was only just a warm-up race for a bigger event weeks later. If she crashed and got injured, her husband would not be around to help her. Hell, he may not even find out something went wrong until a long time later. If she crashed, that could also hurt her chances at performing well at her "A" race later. Perhaps she would wreck the bike -- costing lots of $$$ and potentially not be in working order for her "A" race.
She had a lot of things to balance. Is she afraid of riding in the rain? No. But for her, the risk of injury, being alone, and damaging the bike was too high. Why test fate?
Do I think she's a sissy? No. The way she told the story, it sounds as though she made a selfless decision. It also sounded as though it broke her heart to make the decision.
Looking back at all the people I watched pack up and go... Do I still think they are all sissies? For the most part. Especially by the look of them, they gave the impression that they were wimps. What are the chances that some of them may have a similar to story to my fellow DMer? It's there, but I definitely wouldn't count it in the majority. It's probably rather small.
Why did I continue in the bad weather?
- I had driven there and stayed in a hotel the previous night. What a waste of a trip.
- I hate riding in the rain, but I'm sure so do most people. We couldn't make it stop raining. Might as well deal.
- I have had near perfect racing conditions for triathlons the past 2 years. I gotta pay my dues.
- Everyone else is racing in the same conditions.
My reasons are my own. Fellow DMer had reasons of her own. Those couple hundred racers who left that day had reasons of their own. What are yours?
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