Fall 7 Times, Get Up 8 ~ Moments that seem like failure & embarrassment

Moments of extreme embarrassment or what seems like failure, I have a more than my fair share of these in my pursuit of becoming a triathlete. I feel like these are the moments that make or break you as an athlete, because in the process of making yourself great, there WILL BE times that you fail.

• My first hill climb (cycling training) ride with my coach, Meyrick... It was a tough ride, for me, but I was managing to do pretty well, we were on the last leg of the final hill and I could tell Meyrick wasn't completely 100% convinced I was going to make it to the top. In full support mode, he stayed beside me supportively encouraging me and of course just in case I needed him to steady me or give me a push, but to his surprise and mine, I did it! He pulled ahead of me and waited as I rode up beside him. Just as I began to unclip I realized that I was slowing down faster than I could get my tired legs unclipped from my peddles. Loosing momentum, I bailed, tipping right over onto my side, (and the hard pavement). Ego bruised and disappointed in my poor finish I crawled to my feet and lifted my bike off the road. FALL 7 TIMES, GET UP 8.

• Any triathlete knows how important transition time is, as a paratriathlete it's even more important to get this done as quickly as possible, taking into consideration that not only are you going from swim, to bike, to run, with that needed equipment but as an amputee, myself, also changing legs for each discipline. This being the case, Meyrick had me scheduled to practice transitioning during one of our sessions. This wasn't my favourite session, I felt slow, clumsy and awkward and eventually I also got flustered, frustrated & tired. He set up a practice area in his facility with all my gear, part of it including getting on the treadmill and walking a distance (for time purpose). I was doing decent, that was until I got to the section where I was supposed to get on the treadmill. With my mind processing all the new steps, I failed to get on the treadmills' stationary section and jumped right on to the moving belt. FAIL. My feet went straight out from underneath me and I went flying off the end of the treadmill onto my knees. Facility packed with other people & trainers, my face now beet red... I looked up at Meyrick sheepishly with tears filling my eyes as I pulled my embarrassed self off of the floor. FALL 7 TIMES, GET UP 8.

• During my very first triathlon Meyrick had warned me, don't forget where you left your bike in transition & don't fall off your bike during dismount. Sighhhh, I had a GREAT ride and once I got to the dismount line (with a crowd watching) I was calm and cool (or so I thought) as I began to hit the brakes I suddenly lost all track of what to do next, as I stopped I failed to firmly plant my real leg on the pavement before I unclipped my prosthetic leg. EPIC mistake. I threw my entire body off center, lost my balance and came crashing to the ground (although by crashing I mean falling in slow motion as everyone watched)... Hit the pavement... Volunteers rushing to try and help me up... A firm "no thanks, I'm fine!!", was all I could say as I pulled my body and my bike off the pavement. FALL 7 TIMES, GET UP 8.

• (This ones' a real goodie...) Leaving the facility with Meyrick for a training ride, we headed up a hill toward the one set of lights at an intersection that we had to navigate to begin our ride. As we climbed the hill I slowed my pace in hopes I could coast a bit and keep my momentum so I wouldn't have to come to a full stop and unclip, (clearly an area needing work for me). There was one car ahead of us waiting at the light, (in the car were two of the trainers that work at Meyrick's facility). Unfortunately, for me, this happened to be a long light... As I got closer and closer to the intersection and literally right beside the car I realized (in an extremely delayed reaction) that I was going to have to unclip. Too late. I lost momentum and started falling over, not just onto the street but onto, against and basically on top of the car, apologetically yelling "I'm SORRYYYYYYY!!!", as I hit the ground. MORTIFIED, I quickly pulled my road kill self off of the ground, hobbled to the side of the road (out of traffics way) and to a safe place I could remount my bike. FALL 7 TIMES, GET UP 8.


Those are just a few samples of times I've had to suck it up and get back up. Of course I have bailed while running at the track, I have even had my leg just fall off right in the middle of a workout and I have had more cuts, bruises and sores from training that have left me sitting on the "so called side lines" until I healed up, feeling a bit battered and absolutely left out but those, in particular, are a few of my most memorable moments. TRUST ME when I say there have been many other moments like this and I'm sure that there will be more in the future. Having a prosthetic leg doesn't make me the most graceful creature on the planet, but it has made me a very resilient one. In those moments when I feel like I'm about to die of embarrassment or frustration I have learned to take a deep breath, calm myself and just move on. After all, the only way to really save face in these situations is to get back up and prove myself worthy of this sport. I'm not the only one who has found them self on the ground and embarrassed, this I am sure of. Each training day that passes by allows me to become a more efficient and competent athlete, my skills grow and so does my confidence. I can proudly, with a slightly embarrassed smile on my face, say I am proud of all these "falls" I've gotten up from.

If I fall, I will get back up.
If I am beaten, I will return.