On Monday mornings, I routinely check Strava’s Kain Performance Club Page so I can share last week’s stack rankings on Facebook.

This afternoon, I scrolled to the bottom and these words jumped out at me:

Go hard, be safe, and have fun. This is what we stand for.

Those words remind me of why I’m a part of Kain.  Triathlon is an individual sport, so why be part of a “team”?  There are so many reasons, aren’t there? Including mentoring, personalized training plans, fixed schedules, coached workouts, acWhat countability, fun, cool gear, friends… and in addition to that, Strava reminded me of the unwritten “values” we share.

If you follow the link to what Strava stands for, it reads: “We Know The Rules. We Rest. We Give Kudos to Sportsmanship. We Think Ahead. We’ve Got Each Other’s Backs.” Love this.

These are great guideposts to live by. Here’s what Strava says about each guidepost:

We Know The Rules

“Laws and rules are created for our protection. Cycling, running and swimming are inherently dangerous and following the law, and common sense, when it comes to traffic, weather, or conditions, reduces our odds of getting hurt or hurting others. It’s as simple as that.” I second that.

We Rest

“We listen to our bodies to avoid injury and we inspire in ways other than by being number one. We don’t burn ourselves out. We enjoy our recovery days because they too tell our story on Strava.”  Our Coaches, Chiros, Massage Therapist and MD sponsors would second that. Gotta love Mondays!

We Give Kudos to Sportsmanship

“We all want to get kudos by being great at our sport. We are courteous and treat others with respect. We earn our spots on the leaderboards through clean competition.”  Our Coaches are great examples of this, they never make you feel small. Always lifting you up. We share a cooperative space with each other, and other teams, with open arms to the triathlon community. We always go out of our way to shake hands with competitors.

We’ve Got Each Other’s Backs

“We watch out for one another. The community does what it can to keep things safe for everyone by looking out for potentially dangerous situations and flagging segments as hazardous.” At Kain Performance, we have each other’s backs too. We’re lucky to be part of a team that is always looking out for one another, both on and off the field so to speak. Kain Performance is a family.

For this I am grateful. Kain Performance embodies similar values. And there’s a few more words I’ve heard Pete mention over the years:

No Big Heads. No Whiners. Work Hard. Play Hard.

Did I miss any?

Oh and I almost forgot, last week’s Top 5 were:

  1. Wayne Yurtin
  2. Mike Hatam
  3. Amadeo Casas
  4. Tommy Nosek
  5. Johnny Cerrito

Keep on keepin on, Kain Team!

Best,

Jody Gold, on behalf of Kain Performance

Reference: Strava, http://www.strava.com/stand-with-us