Our World

I know I wrote a piece yesterday, but today something really hit home with me. Not a lot of training talk today. Today is about people. 

By definition, running, biking (there is a team element to this, but stick with me) and swimming are solitary sports. For the most part (leave relays out of this for now) there are no teammates for you to lean on when you're training, or racing. It's just you. And sometimes you can be your own worst enemy. 

In football, basketball, baseball, hockey et al, there is a group of people working toward the same goal. They depend on each other. What's more, they offer support be it skills advice, moral, emotional, or just plain silliness. Think of the NFL blooper reels, or team celebrations after a victory. They share the glory of victory, and the pain of a defeat.

We really don't have that. We might have partners and friends that support us, forgiving us for our insane schedule so we can get that training time in. Some of the lucky few have partners/friends who share the same passion. Some of us join Clubs and Teams as well, offering more support for our obsession dedication. 

There are those of us, for whatever reason are solitary and introverted. Not really doing well with other humans. I'm one of those. I feel very awkward in dealing with people one on one or in a group. Yes it's a self image thing. A lot of that is born from two physical issues I have. I'm not only half deaf, I also have a speech impediment. I get nervous when talking to people. I have to look at their lips at times to make out what they're saying because I can't always hear the words. I have to think about how I'm speaking so that I can enunciate clearly. It's a lot of work. And yes, I worry about people thinking I'm stupid or not paying attention or a host of other things.

Thank God for the interwebs. In just a few short weeks, I've managed to connect with the most awesome group of people on Twitter. Very few of these people actually know what I look like. To most of them, I'm just a voice in the darkness. And in that darkness we've all found each other. Like bits of humanity pulling together with our own sort of gravity to form our own little planet. A planet of incredibly weird, strange, brilliant, funny, insightful and awesome people. 

One of us has a bad day working out. We rally around them. Another one doesn't want to work out, we encourage them to do work. Another has got their thinking all sideways, we let them lean on us until they can walk again.

We are truly our own community. Our own culture. Our own society. There is no test to pass to be part of this society. We don't ask membership dues. If you want to be part of it, all you have to do is make the commitment to yourself. I don't run and bike for these people. I do it for myself. I do it because I want to push myself till I break into a million jagged little pieces. Then I want to pull myself back together again, and push even harder. I want to be more than I am today. This is the commitment I've made to myself. You don't have to make the same one. We don't care why you're doing it. That's between you and you. We WILL be there to share your joys and angst. Your laughs and your tears. We'll pull you through your self doubts and celebrate your personal victories. 

This is our life. Join us.