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Seasons End

09 December 2010

Seasons End

I usually write a "yearly recommitment" blog in January or February to jumpstart my training and remind myself why I race and what I love about my sport(s). This year, as we head into the holidays, I'm recommitting little early because, non-thinking person that I am, I registered for a race in May and my serious training must now commence, albeit in the midst of a five-day snowstorm in Cleveland.

I'm struggling with a less-than-stellar 2010 season and it's causing my recommitment to take on a certain reassessment-like tone. To my dismay, I'm still searching for answers to the same old questions:

  • How do I finally get faster on the bike? (I thought I figured this one out last year, but, alas, it didn't work)
  • How do I reconcile my passion to run marathons with my desire to race well in triathlons? (Whether you call it a need or an obsessive-compulsive behavior, it's something I MUST do.)
  • Where on earth will I scavenge up the cash to pay for ever-increasing race entry fees, gear (including necessities like running shoes, nutrition and supplements) and travel expenses? ...and still have something left to eke out a living or, *gasp*, take our yearly trip to the UK [to see Turin Brakes and our ever-expanding number of wonderful English friends].
  • How do I mentally deal with the age-related slowdown? (or the other age-related disasters like throwing out my back the day before my biggest race)
  • How do I let go of past disasters so I can race (or blog) without a bad attitude? (or so SOME people think)
  • What can be done for my newest ailment, allergy-induced asthma, a.k.a. "being allergic to spring," "not being able to go outside in the spring" and "ripping my hair out on the indoor trainer while everyone else is finally going outside in the spring"
  • How do I finally get command of those two age-old bugaboos, nutrition and sleep?

In the coming months, I will try (note: TRY) to address each of the above questions calmly (note: CALMLY) in a blog, with high hopes that some of my readers can help me find solutions.

For today, I'll just tackle the recommitment part. Why do I run (, bike, and swim)? I do it because, unlike my job and relationships, it is the one thing I do that depends entirely on me. Performance is directly related to the amount of effort I put in both physically and mentally. It does not depend on who likes me or who I schmooze or how good I am at marketing myself or spinning the truth. It's governed by a (sort of) golden rule that I always believed in: hard work pays off. In the case of the Disaster Magnet, a little luck sometimes helps, but... you get the point.

I'm fortunate to have new friends and an expanded support network heading into next season. I look forward to racing as a new member of a team -- the Bike Authority Fleet Feet Multisport Team. In turn, I plan to give back that support and (hopefully) a little age-related wisdom to my friends and the local triathlon and running community.

Tags: 
motivation, commitment, aging, training, Turin Brakes

Comments

Submitted by PunkRockRunner (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-09 14:00

If your season was “less-than-stellar” then mine was dead-on-arrival. My friend was volunteering at the California International Marathon and watched a guy throw a temper tantrum because he was disappointed in his marathon finish time of 2:24. I guess it’s all relative.

My recommendation for 2011 is to do what makes YOU happy. If you want to run marathons AND compete in triathlons then do it with the understanding that one of these two events might (read will) suffer as a result of the other. If you want to run a sub 3-hour marathon then you might have to select a fall marathon and make St. George your last (full) triathlon of 2011. The problem with this is that you’ll be training for Kona after St. George so your sub 3:00 might have to wait until 2012.

Sometime being a slow bastard (like me) is a blessing. I could put all my eggs into IMCA and make it my “A” race but that would require me to abandon a bunch of races I really enjoy and I’m not willing to miss these events for a 30-minute improvement that won’t get me any closer to Kona anyway.

Assuming your goal is still Kona then I would put everything you’ve got into St. George. Because of the difficulty of the bike, I would focus on your bike speed/climbing because your swim and run will not be an issue. Yes, I know you “think” the run was an issue at IMLP but I’m starting to think the bike was more to blame for what happened on the run and, as I own the most books on the subject, I am the expert here. WHEN you qualify for Kona, take a week off then start training for Kona.

To be clear – There are a shitload of marathons and triathlons out there and I suspect you’ll be an age-group elite for many years to come. Just promise me that once you have this whole Kona thing done that you’ll allow yourself to be okay with just having fun.

I’m pretty sure it was the Court Jester, and not the King, that got invited to all the cool parties.

You rock.

Ron

Submitted by PunkRockRunner (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-09 17:12

If your season was “less-than-stellar” then mine was dead-on-arrival.

My friend was volunteering at the California International Marathon and watched a guy throw a temper tantrum because he was disappointed in his marathon finish time of 2:24. I guess it’s all relative.

My recommendation for 2011 is to do what makes YOU happy. If you want to run marathons AND compete in triathlons then do it with the understanding that one of these two events might (read will) suffer as a result of the other. If you want to run a sub 3-hour marathon then you might have to select a fall marathon and make St. George your last (full) triathlon of 2011. The problem with this is that you’ll be training for Kona after St. George so your sub 3:00 might have to wait until 2012.

Sometime being a slow bastard (like me) is a blessing. I could put all my eggs into IMCA and make it my “A” race but that would require me to abandon a bunch of races I really enjoy and I’m not willing to miss these events for a 30-minute improvement that won’t get me any closer to Kona anyway.

Assuming your goal is still Kona then I would put everything you’ve got into St. George. Because of the difficulty of the bike, I would focus on your bike speed/climbing because your swim and run will not be an issue. Yes, I know you “think” the run was an issue at IMLP but I’m starting to think the bike was more to blame for what happened on the run and, as I own the most books on the subject, I am the expert here. WHEN you qualify for Kona, take a week off then start training for Kona.

To be clear – There are a shitload of marathons and triathlons out there and I suspect you’ll be an age-group elite for many years to come. Just promise me that once you have this whole Kona thing done that you’ll allow yourself to be okay with just having fun.

I’m pretty sure it was the Court Jester, and not the King, that got invited to all the cool parties.

You rock.

Ron

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