About a year ago, I met with my University’s public relations guru, Barbara. (She is a media coverage rainmaker!) She had heard that I was training for my first Ironman, and that I would be raising money for a scholarship during the process. She wanted to help me promote the scholarship. We had lunch, during which she asked a series of questions about my athletic and academic history, about the training, about my motivation for raising money for the Iron Scholarship.
At one point she asked, “Has this training helped you be a better teacher?”
At the time, I said yes, even though I wasn’t convinced. I wasn’t sure that Ironman training had changed my teaching other than to leave me strapped for time ALL THE TIME. I was thinking the training was a bit of a negative influence. I didn’t think it would be appropriate to tell her that, however. So, I simply said, “Sure.”
Turns out: I wasn’t lying at the time, even though I thought I was. I simply wasn’t looking closely enough for the lessons I was learning. The Ironman journey has taught me the challenge and the joy of endurance, which can be a part of any endeavor we undertake, mental or physical. I’ve learned that hard work can be it’s own reward–even when it doesn’t result in a winning race, or a perfect grade.
For example, in riding my bike down monster downhills, I learned how rewarding it can be to face one’s fears and move past them. This lesson has proved invaluable for teaching my students in Public Speaking course, who are filled with anxiety at the mere thought of giving a speech in front of their peers. We grow when we push ourselves past our comfort zones.
I’ve learned that recovery is an important part of one’s growth and development. In this regard, I understand that students need downtime in order to think critically, and to be fresh when they do their work–just as my muscles need to be fresh for big workouts and race days. I’ve learned how important it is to have supportive cheerleaders that help you take the next step no matter how badly you want to stop. I have knowledge of methods for quieting those voices in your head that make you want to quit, strategies for time management in a hectic schedule, and the value of celebrating the small and large successes. I encourage students to recognize how realizing a “big” goal is an enjoyable and rewarding series of meeting smaller goals.
Perhaps the greatest lessons from Ironman are the core values of determination, focus, discipline, commitment, desire. No matter what your goal–a college degree, an Ironman, a 100 mile run–these are the principles for success.
These lessons are not necessarily part of the official curriculum, but they are necessary topics for life. I’ve come to see my role as a classroom-version of a personal trainer–challenging but supportive, helping my students find their potential, pushing students through “exercises” designed to enhance their intellectual endurance. I’m not training them for a job. I’m training them to relish the opportunities and challenges that life offers.
I felt guilty last year because of the time I spent training for Lake Placid. Shouldn’t I be doing “other things” for my life? But, now, I realize that training is not in opposition to my “regular” life. It is part of the flow of my life that teaches me valuable lessons every day.
