I didn't know there was a name for it at first. But my competitive persona wanted some form of challenge beyond the daily run, something like a"mini-triathalon" until I discovered the official nomenclature of "sprint triathalon." On vacation at our in-laws' place in Wisconsin, we decided it was time to mix it up and push beyond the usual. Thus, the UNO (Up North Olympics) were born. The rules were simple: a run, a bike route on the country roads and then some sort of water travel via swim or self-propelled craft on the lake.
David took the challenge first with a 7 mile run, a 24 mile bike route and sailboarding the Lake's diameter and back. My triathalon day was a bit more conservative (I guess I was a tad concerned I didn't have it in me) consisting of an 8 mile run, followed by a 12 mile bike ride and concluding with a 2 mile kayak round the perimeter of Lake Irogami. It wasn't terribly difficult but was tremendously satisfying.
Why take a perfectly good vacation and create such a task? Well for one, the need to at least make a showing is pretty strong when the patriarch of the family, Dziadzia, can do all this and much more on any given day. Secondly, there is something inherently energizing about a challenge. The buried machismo surfaces and one's killer competitive instinct emerges. Against whom was I competing? The toughest opponent of all: myself! And there's the payoff. I also get to be the victor. And plan for the next battle (as my inner Klingon rejoices.)
The challenge I gave myself was to run 1000 miles from my 44th birthday to my 45th. Well, 45 is now here and the results are in. Did I meet my goal? Not quite. But in retrospect, I'm glad to have set a goal even if it slipped away. It was a tough year, with the worst winter in 20 years (I do run outside in Chicago, after all) and numerous family deaths & illnesses, but I persisted.
