Things were going so well.  I had just finished Ironman Lake Placid, one of the harder Ironman courses on the North American list of triathlon races.  I had just signed on for my fourth IM race in Chattanooga, and was starting the long progression into training for it.  The Coaching Business became our own franchise, and we had a great group of Athletes to work with. Things were going so well . . . 

and then the world stopped.

Covid-19 came and suddenly the world, and life as we knew it, was no more.  Suddenly you could not be around people, you had to wear a mask, you had to wash your hands constantly, and things like dining out and going to the movies were no more.  Races were being cancelled left and right, and we had to wonder if our IM would be next.

Friends got sick, some lost their jobs.  Our coaching business took a hit as athletes, with no races to train for, decided to stop training.  I even wondered if it was worth training, but kept going because there was a slim hope that Chattanooga would still go on as planned.

Until that slim line of hope snapped.

I knew it was coming, I knew it! But when the email came and Chattanooga was cancelled, it was like a punch in the gut.  Covid-19 may not have hit me with it’s infection, but it went after my happieness as well as my joy in coaching others.  

But suddenly, and without so much as an announcement, the world started Moving again.

Athletes said “I’m going to run my marathon anyway!” and so we set up aid and support as best we could. I cannot imagine how hard running a marathon alone is, without the cheering crowds, without the signs and water stops, without the road bocks. Just you, maybe music, and definitely your thoughts.  But I had several athletes that did just that!  They were not going to be denied, no matter what.

So we decided to hold an olympic distance triathlon for E11even Athletes only, and got a great response.  We had more volunteers than participants, and they stayed for the entire race!  The world was on the move again; different, but moving.

So after seeing how motivated my athletes were, how could I sit there and not keep moving forward? So I dusted myself off and started on the training road again, knowing that one day races will return . . . and when they do return, I will be ready.

We also opened our home once again to a new member who needed a home.  Red has fit in quite nicely, and is Julie’s running partner.  The way we adopted was different, but then everything is different now.

So yes, the world as we knew it stopped. And now the world as it is has started moving again.  We have adapted, changed, cried, cussed, and moved on.  There is a song by Jimmy Buffett that fits the situation perfectly:

“Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On”

And that’s what we have to do.  Move forward, move on, and be ready for tomorrow.

Live healthy, be happy!

Travis