Murphy's Law

For everything that you prepare and work for, and want so bad it hurts, something will go wrong.

This is true. I've experienced it often. In every triathlon I've ever done, something has gone awry. I'd run out of water, my water bottle falls off my bike (most common), I fall while dismounting, overheating in my wetsuit during the swim, knocking over the bike rack with my bike, locking my keys in my car right before the race starts (while 3 hours from home with the rest of my family 1000 miles away), making a wrong turn on the bike course, not being able to see because its too dark out for my sunglasses or mirrored goggles, bike chain slip of the cassette, swimming between the wrong islands and ending up 100 yards away from the transition at the end of the swim, swallowing a lot of water on the swim (there was a lot of chop), etc, etc.

So bad things happen. Does that mean that my race is over? Not hardly, (these races are at least an hour so a lot of the little things don't matter so much) I usually place in my age group (20-24). Does it mean that I could have done a little bit better if these things didn't happen? Probably, but then something else probably would have gone wrong.

So what does this mean to the candidates and vats who are about to tryout for the band in just a few weeks? It means that things will not go as you expect. You will turn the wrong way during facings, you will get caught going to at ease with your instruments up, your drums will fall off during a hats off, and you will likely screw up the tryout drill or an easy box drill while on the line, you will miss the line, rush the slow step, etc.

So, what do you do about it? Just accept that the fact that your going to make all of these mistakes and stop caring, NO! You just have to acknowledge that everyone will mess up one or two things here and there and no matter what, DRIVE THROUGH IT! So strive for perfection, but don't beat yourself up over it, remember to relax a little bit and enjoy the competition.

If I was making a sports team, no matter what sport, the first people I would pick are the vets. Why? Because I know they have determination to win. I can see it in their eyes. Think Rocky (not Rocky V, that was just bad) they have the "eye of the tiger". I see it in some of the candidates eyes too. Some people look scared, others are concentrating about what they are doing, and others look like they are about to kill everyone around them. That last ones what we are going for.

In conclusion, mistakes will happen, drive through it, and want this from the depths of your soul.