Unpredictable

Chapter One. Last November, I completed my first triathlon. On a mountain bike. The swim was a nightmare, but it was over before I knew it. The bike ride was frustration in slow motion, as everyone zoomed past me on their light frames and thin tires. The run was redemption, but still tough. My final result left a lot to be desired.

A year and a half later, I found myself on the edge of the ocean waiting for the horn to sound so that I could take another swing at the Haleiwa Triathlon. This time I was stronger, more experienced, and had way better equipment. It was payback time. It wouldn't take a genius to write the story for this race. Chapter Two: Power, Lightning, Perseverance, and Glory.

Only it wasn't. The air grew light just before the horn sounded, revealing that the water was thick and brown from the heavy rains. My shoulders and biceps were already aching from a week of overtraining. My stomach kind of hurt. They had set the buoys much farther out than last year.

Power turned to struggle. Lightning turned to pain. Perseverance became begging for it to end. And glory was a stumble to the finish.

Realistically, it wasn't a bad race. Still, it wasn't what I had expected. I had expected to destroy the course, but the course dealt most of the blows. That chapter had taken a drastic detour from what I expected to happen.

* * * * *

Just an hour later, I was at mid court coaching our team's last basketball game of the season. We were up huge and the outcome was all but decided. We went to the end of the bench and brought on Keon, our autistic player who had played in only one other game. We had added him to the squad because his mom said it would be good for him to improve his social and motor skills. The crowd cheered and he bounced around the court. With a minute left, we called a timeout. "Get Keon a shot," I told the players.

Anyone could write the story of what was coming next. Queue the "Chariots of Fire" theme. Keon would get the ball in the corner with the clock ticking down. In slow motion he would take the shot, and as the buzzer sounded, the ball would pass through the cylinder and tickle the net. The crowd would explode and the kids would carry him off the court. Chapter Three: The Hero's Shot.

Only it wasn't. The defense was in a 2-3 zone and it was impossible to get him an open shot without some sort of dribbling. The first time he got the ball, it was stolen a way. The second time, he traveled. The buzzer sounded and we celebrated our victory by shaking the other team's hands. Once again, the chapter would have to be rewritten.

Don't you hate it when the outcome takes a wrong turn like that? When the story gets turned upside down?

I don't. Unpredictability is what makes life so much more exciting. Now I can continue to train for the next race knowing that the redemption is still just beyond my reach and I have to work a little harder to get it. Keon may not have hit the shot, but just being out there when the buzzer sounded and celebrating a victory with his teammates still may have been the moment of his life.

Truth be told, life shouldn't read like a predictable novel. There would be no point. Everyone knows that the best books ever written were Choose Your Own Adventures.

ps: Is this cover racist?