THE GIVEAWAY RACE

Note:  This essay originally appeared in a 2007 issue of USA Triathlon Life. 

What makes a race a race and not just another training session?  We tow the starting line together, with an intense focus to sustain the highest level of intensity we can for the given distance.  We aim to have “nothing left in the tank” when we cross the finish line.

Often we begin our races in a state of anxiety, fearful of the pain we may experience, the uncertainty of our outcome and the possibility of failure or disappointment in our performance.  What if we could begin our race feeling calm and relaxed, without the fear and anxiety, but still maintain a razor-sharp awareness?  Is that possible?  Can we glide through the water, fly on the bike and streak through the run with a sense of effortlessness?  Anyone who has watched Natasha Badmann race and win Hawaii Ironman, all the while smiling serenely, knows this is possible.  There are ways to recondition the mental and physical states we conjure up in our approach to racing:  The “Giveaway Race” is one effective method.

When we tow the starting line of a giveaway race, our calm focus is to progress to the finish line with the least amount of effort possible.  This doesn’t mean we doggie-paddle the swim with little inflatable arm “floaties”, or sip martinis on the bike and stroll through the run eating pork rinds.  In a giveaway race, we swim, bike and run as gracefully and efficiently as we can, with the highest level of relaxation and the highest level of mindfulness.  (See the last issue of USA Triathlon Life or visit www.zendurance.net for a discussion on mindfulness and athletic excellence.)

The giveaway race is not a duel with our archrivals; it is an opportunity to race sensuously, to execute each and every stroke and stride with our highest level of feeling and awareness.  It is a celebration of kinetic mastery.  Rather than a painful slog, this race is a graceful dance, with slow, deep breathing and soft, supple joints and muscles. 

During the giveaway race, we discover a place of stillness and serenity within, and we take refuge in this place.  In this refuge, there is no clock, there are no competitors to place in front of or behind.  There is just the next sensuous, graceful stroke or stride and the supreme happiness of executing it.  Watches, power meters and heart rate monitors are irrelevant.  (Often times Natasha trains and races without a watch or heart rate monitor, as evidenced in many race photos.)  The giveaway is a race of mindful athletic excellence that needs no quantification, a race of supreme quality.

This supreme quality extends to our relationships with fellow competitors.  We truly exemplify the definition of competition as “a petition for companionship”.  This is a petition of empowerment.  To gain the greatest empowerment at any race, we must invest.  We must genuinely support and empower our athletic companions, volunteers, race staff and spectators.

In the giveaway race, we are “giving away” in two areas.  First, we give away our struggle, effort and exertion to cross the finish line as fast as we can, in front of other athletes.  Second, we give away our support and empowerment to all of our athletic companions – even the most aggressive and least friendly – without the expectation of a return.  (Remember, their aggression and cold demeanor is based in fear and low self-esteem.  If we wish to dissolve our own fear and low self-esteem, we do so most effectively by dissolving it in others through kindness.)

As we glide through our giveaway race, we allow and encourage others to pass us by.  Each time this happens, we disengage from our reaction to speed up and to “beat” others to the finish.  At the awards ceremony, we celebrate the glory and accomplishments of others.  All of this may seem like absolute agony and torture at first.  What can we possibly gain by allowing and encouraging others to beat us to the finish, by celebrating their glory instead of claiming our own?

The precious gain in giveaway racing is the mental reconditioning to disengage from our fears, our expectations, our “me against them” attitude.  In doing so, we are able to tap into the empowering synergy of the race.  This empowering synergy of athletes, volunteers, staff and spectators is the true source of stellar race performances – it does not come from a single athlete alone.  We all share in the glory.

We discover this empowering synergy when we relax our bodies and our minds and open our hearts.  It is only through our hearts that we can tap into the living, breathing and empowering entity of the race itself.  Opening our hearts allows our love to flow.  Through this simple, yet daring act, we discover the empowering love of racing and athletic excellence.  When we tow the line of a goal race with this empowering love, miracles happen.