T(RIATHLON) Minus SIX WEEKS & COUNTING

AUGUST ALREADY?

How do people have time to work and to train and to blog?

Since last posting, I've had a chance to observe another triathlon, to think more about the tri phenomenon, and to continue my preparations for the mythically difficult Devil's Lake Challenge. On the micro-level, I've made some progress, in terms of medical metrics---down 30 pounds, with a dramatic drop in a lot of the measures that have concerned me; "normal" on these fronts for the first time ever is a better victory in the bigger picture than a strong finish at Devil's Lake would be. And: the social support from the quarters that offer it has been very rewarding. STILL: I'm feeling under-prepared for DL and fussing about that. It's clear it's time to set up a serious, well-planned training regimen for the next six weeks, and that there's a lot to do. I'm re-learning how to swim---triathlon is a humbling sport---far behind on the run, and the last time I went to DL to do the bike course, I ended up "pushing bike" on more than one hill. So, there's both skills work and aerobic work that needs to come together in these six weeks. Figuring out how to get a good night's sleep and really assessing what I need to be eating would be good, too. I'm not sure I have to train harder, but I am sure I have to train smarter. Actually, I do think I have to train harder. Aside from the fractured ankle, I've been pretty easy on myself so far---good for keeping myself amused and in having fun with this, but perhaps not as productive as I could be. Time to push into some pain, I suspect.

At the macro level, I continue to contemplate the economics and class issues related to triathlon, as well as the racial stratification enacted by the sport. I've begun to wonder if it would have less appeal to whites if more people of color participated. In one particularly cynical moment, I began to wonder about the possibility that triathlon is a kind of athletic gated community; I mean, does the expense of the sport, along with its self-indulgent and individualizing characteristics, function to exclude athletes who, if present, would quickly make a strong showing? Does the expense work to limit the pool of competitors in ways that benefit whites---not just socially but athletically? Is this the same as other sports that historically excluded people of color---like tennis and golf? And how is it different? One doesn't have to be a member of The Club, officially, anyway, to swim, bike, and run, but the label status and high end gear can certainly function as membership fees.

On the up side, I can see for myself how/why triathloning has a lot of appeal besides its social homogeneity. It builds on pastimes that were easy and fun and associated with freedom for me as a kid; it gets people in our nature-deficit-disordered society outside to swim, bike, and run; it combines an interesting mix of autonomy and personal achievement with community---and that community---obsessive compulsive as it may be--is nonetheless in some ways radically resistant to this culture's pressure to be inactive, unfit, and resigned to poor health, and/or to the medical management of illnesses that can be treated or prevented through diet and exercise (which, of course, have unfortunately become consumer commodities themselves). So, while I'm developing a more deeply critical sociological analysis of what's going on here, I'm not ready to argue that triathloning or triathlon competitions are *only* problematic. Like most stories, this one is mixed. I *am* thinking it might be interesting to start a project to promote the inclusion of people from more diverse backgrounds in the sport, however. Given the out-of-control rates of metabolic disorder in communities of color, the accessibility of swimming, biking, and running on at least an introductory level, and the impact this can have on all of the precursors of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease (cholesterol, high BP, high triglycerides--the central characteristics of metabolic disorder), it could prove as effective and as fun a bait-and-switch into better health for others as it has so far been for me.

Maybe I'll think more about that tomorrow, when I'm at Devil's Lake at the crack of dawn trying to figure out a strategy for getting up that hill on County DL that doesn't involve pushing the bike.