Is it me, us, or them?

The problem with not writing for awhile is trying to narrow down what to write about. I will just start with my struggle over team vs individual.

Doing a tri is something I've been planning for months. When I finally mentioned it at work the response was that several people from work would be doing the same tri. CRAP. This was so incredibly personal to me that I didn't want co-workers there.

And I know my company and presumed some how it would turn into a team DIB. ack. That was the last thing I wanted. I debated if I should follow thru and still do the Warsaw tri or just do a different one. I wanted it just to be 'me'.

Then I decided I could still do this tri and not be on the DIB team. I didn't want to be in the team photo for the family news. I don't want to be the last one from the team coming in and have them all there waiting for me. I still wanted this to be just about me. And at this point it was 'me & them'. And my attitude was kind of crummy about it.

A couple weeks ago a vendor sent samples for jerseys. Yep - it's officially being sponsored by a vendor. Team DIB. And guess who is now 'us'. I ordered my jersey and bike shorts. I'm still not crazy about the Team DIB thing. But at least it's palatable now.

I guess it's turned into a balance of me, us, and them. I hope to keep that balance in check.

My training is still me. I do have someone helping me figure all that out but it isn't them.

The me part has been pretty incredible...seeing changes and improvements, and getting stronger.

I don't train with them...I rarely even talk about the tri to them. I will, however, talk to them about it if they bring it up. I will compare notes and answer questions.

There will be a team picture...that I am sure of. I guess it will be a picture of us. I'm sure we will be touching base before the race too...making sure all of us are doing alright.

When I say 'me'...that doesn't mean me all alone. There's no way I could do this alone. My family is understanding that training is a part-time job. My kids are amazed and proud. My friends think I am crazy but they are excited for me. The folks at the LBS - some give me thumbs up and some wonder why but the still cheer me on. I guess I really do have a lot of 'them'.
They celebrate my small victories even when I'm not. They believe in me even when I have doubts. They help me push through.

So, I guess there really is a me, us, AND them.