against all odds

We messed up. Got eliminated. Did not finish. In front of home crowd.
That was one year ago.

Getting back up and trying again is what we do. Always. Between last year's failure and this past Saturday a lot has happened. Countless sessions, a new squad, many days of juggling it all.

Days full of doubt, days full of confidence. Chasing a goal is never linear. When we toed the startline again last Saturday we knew we had it in us. National League Zug is not the olympics. Not even swiss championships. But a race that means a lot to us.

It's where we finished our first ever youth triathlon, where our team is located, where we work, where we know every corner of the course. Where we know the faces of many people cheering on the sideline.

In case you're not fully into the triathlon game: Zug is a race over three rounds of super sprint triathlons. That means 200m swim, 5k ride, 1k run. Times three. You can get eliminated after each round if you don't make a certain time. That happened to both of us after two rounds last year.

We are both realists. This kind of racing is currently not our biggest strength. Hard but true. Not because we don't want it, just because other distances suit us better. Similar to putting an alpine downhill skier in a slalom race. It's still sking and he will eventually get down. But he won't win it.
So why racing it?

To show that success is not always winning gold. Somedays, winning is showing up and facing the challenge. It is about being brave. Not about seeking praise from others. But to prove that failing is not the end. Giving up. That's failure.

You will fail again and so will we. It will feel shit. Wrapping up our stuff in front of our family and friends, without making it to the final lap, was a punch it the face last year. There is no wise words behind that. What matters is how you react to those moments. Will you not show up the next year because the race "doesn't suit you" or will you swallow the pill, deal with the pressure and take the risk of failing again?
You choose.

-> I wrote this blog the night before the race.
I knew it. The confidence didn't grow whilst looking in the mirror and telling myself that I can do it. It grew with every repetition and set during the past winter.