Fear is vital

A natural portion of triathlon is fear. It helps to be "aware" and sharp in spirit. However, from time to time it is good to overcome our worst fears. On my triathlon journey I fought with the following "monsters":

* Swimming: I was afraid of fishes, especially sharks. I know they are quite seldom in European pools, but it doesn't help if you think, what if there were some sharks in the pool - just this time. PANIC! It helped me a lot to go scooba-diving and to find out, you must be really lucky to see a shark. More people are killed by cockonuts falling down.

* The fear of being under water and having no air - granted, that is a bad situation. However, the ability to stay calm helps a lot in such moments.

* Riding the bike downhill with max speed - I had two car accidents where I felt quite an impact. So my brain goes "alarm" facing speedy situations. I had to learn to rely on good material and have it checked regularly.

* Once I had this nightmare: 5 mins to race-start, I enter the transition area and find my bike dismantled to the last screw. Wonderfully sorted and ordered in pieces like an inventory. 5 mins to start and I start putting it together. Horror! I like to be quite early at races, having the equipment checked 3-4 times.

* Latest fear I overcame was to jump from the 3m-high-diving tower for the lifeguard course. I prepared my mind first by watching youtube-jumping videos. Then I went to the pool and enjoyed the fly.

Triathlon is really helping to thrive!