Group Benefits

There are some very obvious benefits to having a group of people to train with each year.

First, there is the friendships that inevitably develop. How can you not consider yourself friends with someone who has swam, biked and ran with you,  encouraging you through your weakest times and cheering you on at your strongest times.  Plus, there are the race planning parties, the end of season rides and all the shindigs in between.

Second, there is the wealth of knowledge that everyone brings to the group.  The person who offers swim clinics and gives you personal tips on bilateral breathing.  The person who offers weekly run clinics, expounding on the benefits of hill repeats and speed workouts.  The person who has transitions down to a science and is willing to share his secrets.  Only by getting out and working out with people who live this lifestyle, can you avail yourself to this wealth of knowledge.

And sometimes, there are activities and opportunities that come your way only because you are part of the group.  Think professional clinics by world champion triathletes.  Or bike clinics by professional bike mechanics.  If I were training on my own, these opportunities would not come my way.  Earlier this month, our group had one such opportunity.  A photographer approached one of our members and asked if he could photograph our group.  He explained that he has a website that he is looking to update and wanted to do a special section on motion and had some ideas for shots using bicycles.  She put out the call to the group.  Four of us were excited to take part.

We had no idea what to expect.  He wanted it to be at sunset with open fields and rolling hills in the background.  We chose Dresser Hill.  He had us ride by him in a line with particular spacing in between each of us.  We probably rode the same section back and forth about 10 times before he was satisfied.  The traffic on the road was pretty heavy, so we went around the corner to a side street that met his same criteria.  He wanted us to come down a hill, around the bend in a tight formation and ride by him as he was laying in the road.  He wanted us to ride super close together as we passed really close to him.  It was sketchy.  We had to do that about 20 times and each time he would say "I have a vision" and then would give us more detailed instructions.  It was a little weird, but really fun to have someone photographing you so close as you rode your bike.

As a thank you, he gave us two of the shots.  I think they came out pretty cool.  What do you think?