Alaska Triathlon Club held their end of the year shindig at the Residence Inn. I would have liked to report more but I didn't catch a lot of the event.
I showed up a good 20 minutes casually late and the room was already packed so I enjoyed my food with the spillover crowd in the next room and missed a lot of the talk.
Should have known better. Every year this thing keeps getting bigger. Memberships have increased. Events sell out.
Triathlon seems like something that should not thrive in a place like this. It's cold and we've got a short season. So what makes it tick?
First. I think there is something with the light and dark of the seasons that creates a nice energy peak each summer in time for the events. We fight winter pounding on treadmills, pulling the front in the stationary peloton, and playing wall-tag in the lap lanes. Then spring hits, the world lights up, and people and animals come out to play. With all those miles in the bank and hours of daylight there's energy to burn. We're out doing hill repeats well after 10pm and adding extra pages in the training logs.
Second. There's a good community up here. Triathlon is an individual sport but not an isolated one. Riding a bike trainer indoors can be a cleansing experience for mind and body but it can wear down even the most tenacious willpower. It takes a good group not only to organize events, training meet-ups, clinics, and the fun stuff, but sometimes just to help each other grunt through the tough training days. Without this community, it would be too easy just to roll over and hit the snooze bar.
