4 days to first 140.6 triathlon. - Looking back over the last year.
So here it is. This weekend I will compete in my first triathlon that includes a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run (= 140.6). Some people have started asking questions like, "are you getting nervous", while others have just flat out said, "you're looking anxious". I'm trying to keep a mental calm this week, therefore I am trying my best to not let transference occur and actually feel anxious. Because up until last night (and the 100th time I faced this situation) I didn't feel any anxiety.
To help in this process I thought it might be nice to take a look back over the last 14 months and put this race back into perspective.
Starting over - again.
I moved back to Kentucky in July of '05 with one thing on my mind - getting married. There were other things that I thought about like having the time to exercise regualarly again, having a group to exercise with and getting back on my bike to ride outside regularly. None of those things happened during my time in Divide, CO.
After our wedding, I started thinking about the one question that I have consistently thought about since 2000 - How can I become a decent long distance triathlete. That question lead me to the first question I had to face, How can I start to get back the base fitness I had lost.
The second question resulted in a great answer. Nikki and I decided to train for and run a trail marathon together. We completed this goal by running the Tecumseh Trail Marathon in December of 2005.
2006 Goal #1
At the start of 2006 I felt like I was returning to 2003 levels of fitness, so I decided that I'd try for my next "marathon goal" - run a sub 3 hour marathon. That entire journey is in my blog archives (Feb through May) so I don't want to rehash that, but I did learn a great lesson. That lesson was this:
It is easy to think about getting fast, but it takes humility, time and consistency to become fit. And if you are not dedicated to becoming fit, you may never find out how fast you can become.
Gordo has had a lot of great information on this over the years. Sometimes it takes a personal experience to drive a message home.
Committment to the Big Picture
The post Derby Festival Marathon time period was a good time for me for many reasons athletically. I was able to take a step back and look at the landscape of competing in triathlon again. The decision I made was to once again committ to a 3 year plan. (I made this committment in '03, but lost focus when I finished graduate school).
The make-up of that plan lead me to spend the rest of '06 focused on building a base. The idea was to test that base by competing in two half-ironman distance triathlons in Aug and Sept. I also wanted to spend all of '07 focused on base building and improving my fitness. The goal was to finish my '07 season off with my first Ironman at IM Wisconsin. After spending two years consistently challenging my endurance and fitness levels, I would continue to work on overall endurance in '08, but also start working on the ability to hold a "steady" pace for longer periods of time, again finishing the season off with IMMOO.
How did Runovia get plugged in?
The basic issue was that I had scheduling conflicts, which lead me to find another way to "test my base fitness". Runovia was the answer.
The trap of allowing goal inflation to occur.
It's weird to think that last year at this time I was nervous about getting ready for a trail marathon, yet I've allowed myself to create expectations for the race this weekend. As recently as May, I had plans to complete my first 140.6 mile race in September of '07. But somehow I've allowed myself to consider what times, paces, efforts, etc. would be acceptable.
Goal inflation is an easy trap and a dangerous one!
Looking back over the past year, I'm happy with what has happened, in terms of improving my fitness. It is also a reality check. This weekend will be fun. It will be a great challenge, but also a good stepping stone into 2007. When I cross the finish line - that will be the accomplishment I've been working towards this summer, whether directly or indirectly.
To help in this process I thought it might be nice to take a look back over the last 14 months and put this race back into perspective.
Starting over - again.
I moved back to Kentucky in July of '05 with one thing on my mind - getting married. There were other things that I thought about like having the time to exercise regualarly again, having a group to exercise with and getting back on my bike to ride outside regularly. None of those things happened during my time in Divide, CO.
After our wedding, I started thinking about the one question that I have consistently thought about since 2000 - How can I become a decent long distance triathlete. That question lead me to the first question I had to face, How can I start to get back the base fitness I had lost.
The second question resulted in a great answer. Nikki and I decided to train for and run a trail marathon together. We completed this goal by running the Tecumseh Trail Marathon in December of 2005.
2006 Goal #1
At the start of 2006 I felt like I was returning to 2003 levels of fitness, so I decided that I'd try for my next "marathon goal" - run a sub 3 hour marathon. That entire journey is in my blog archives (Feb through May) so I don't want to rehash that, but I did learn a great lesson. That lesson was this:
It is easy to think about getting fast, but it takes humility, time and consistency to become fit. And if you are not dedicated to becoming fit, you may never find out how fast you can become.
Gordo has had a lot of great information on this over the years. Sometimes it takes a personal experience to drive a message home.
Committment to the Big Picture
The post Derby Festival Marathon time period was a good time for me for many reasons athletically. I was able to take a step back and look at the landscape of competing in triathlon again. The decision I made was to once again committ to a 3 year plan. (I made this committment in '03, but lost focus when I finished graduate school).
The make-up of that plan lead me to spend the rest of '06 focused on building a base. The idea was to test that base by competing in two half-ironman distance triathlons in Aug and Sept. I also wanted to spend all of '07 focused on base building and improving my fitness. The goal was to finish my '07 season off with my first Ironman at IM Wisconsin. After spending two years consistently challenging my endurance and fitness levels, I would continue to work on overall endurance in '08, but also start working on the ability to hold a "steady" pace for longer periods of time, again finishing the season off with IMMOO.
How did Runovia get plugged in?
The basic issue was that I had scheduling conflicts, which lead me to find another way to "test my base fitness". Runovia was the answer.
The trap of allowing goal inflation to occur.
It's weird to think that last year at this time I was nervous about getting ready for a trail marathon, yet I've allowed myself to create expectations for the race this weekend. As recently as May, I had plans to complete my first 140.6 mile race in September of '07. But somehow I've allowed myself to consider what times, paces, efforts, etc. would be acceptable.
Goal inflation is an easy trap and a dangerous one!
Looking back over the past year, I'm happy with what has happened, in terms of improving my fitness. It is also a reality check. This weekend will be fun. It will be a great challenge, but also a good stepping stone into 2007. When I cross the finish line - that will be the accomplishment I've been working towards this summer, whether directly or indirectly.
posted by gary at 9:52 AM
5 Comments:
good luck!
Good luck indeed! And take that stupid plastic ring off of you wife's rear wheel! That should distract your anxieties for a while.
I actually think the plastic ring is the new cool!
Plus by this time next year she will have successfully beat me at everything I'm good at, so I need at least a little more time to think that I'm the one in_the_know.
funny you should say that. I was thinking of putting on back on my bike!
good luck and have fun this weekend!
get r done gary
dont bonk drink lots of mountain dew and have a big mac before the race
dan
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