Kicking the critic to the curb

"Don't underestimate yourself," Rich Clark told me. "That's probably one of the bigger tips I can give you."

I met with Clark yesterday to talk about his company, Score This!!! (and yes, the proper name includes the three exclamation points) --  a race management and timing company which puts on a four-race multisport series in the area.

Clark, who has been competing in triathlons since about 1988, played football and ran cross country in high school but found the challenging nature of triathlons kept him coming back to multisport. It isn't so much the physical challenge, he noted, but the emotional gratification he feels when completing a race. The challenge isn't just to beat someone else, but to test yourself and see how much faster or how much farther you can go.

This concept, a recurring theme among the triathletes I talk to, has pulled me into the sport and resonates as I continue to learn how to deal with a variety of critics.

Critics come in many forms. Sometimes it's a tiny voice in your head that says something seemingly innocuous like "are you sure?"  Sometimes it's well-intentioned family and friends who offer concern that comes delivered in the form of criticism (but you can't swim for 15 minutes yet). And sometimes, it's total strangers who will flat out tell you what you're doing is stupid.

Becoming more invested in your athletic goals often means more critics come out of the woodwork. The critic will unfortunately never go away. Coaches are fond of saying they're only interested in things within their team's control. They can't control the officiating, the crowd or the other team. They can only control how they react to those situations.

And so it goes with the "recreational" athlete. You can't control the critics in your life (well, maybe that critical voice in your head) but you can control how you react to them.

As I learn the mechanics of triathlon -- how to swim, the proper form for running and best dynamics of the bike -- I'm also learning the art of tuning out the critics, the naysayers, the oracles of negativity. It's not just my body that gets stronger, but my mind as well.