Clyde/Athena Frustrations

I can relate.  You're entitled to feel that now and again, especially at races.

But a reality check.  Is it about beating other people?  Or is it about giving it all that you possibly can at that moment?

Are you not fitter than when you started?

Are you not faster?

Look behind you, there's guys at 6'2" and 280 pounds looking at you and thinking "man, I'll never be as fast as that guy."

If it's about winning, then by your last paragraph might as well hang up that new bike, get some bon bons and get your a$$ on the couch

And the skinny guys work hard to win too.  Sure, bryancd has tons of natural talent, proven by his first year results.  but he trains hard too.

No, I hear you.  I wouldn't trade what I have done for anything.

And in fact, I often admire with wonder, more than jealousy or frustration, how these guys were climbing the steps (that's the event I did) in 7:30 and it took me 12:10.  However, even the other small runners were also just as amazed....  But I also realized, even though it's not THAT important, that I will never get to walk up when they call the first place winner...  But neither will 99.9 of the other runners.

I'm not taking anything away from the small guys either.  I know they work hard.

It goes the other way too.  When playing basketball, some of the little guys would NEVER be able to dunk, no matter how hard they worked - and it was easy to me...

DanielG - 2009-02-23 9:39 AM I don't much think about the sun coming up in the morning and I don't give the people who can do a full marathon in the time it takes me to do a 1/2 must thought either. I want to be in the first third of my age group. That's my goal. Being able to say I honestly don't care about more than I can do is something that's taken me 42 years and many almosts to get to

Seems a bit like a contradiciton.

You 'want' (care?) to be top 1/3 so it sounds like it's something more than you can do right now.  Sounds like you want to work harder to get there?  But then you don't 'care' that it's something more than you can do right now?

What drives you if you don't care?  If you can't ever make into the top 1/3, you wouldn't find it frustrating?  Not even a bit?  Of course, we can all except reality, but we can also be frustrated by it a bit, I think.

Yeah, I can imagine being disappointed by that, especially if you're the competitive type! But, if you are, have you accomplished beating your previous times for races of the same distance as a goal to focus on? Are you getting faster than yourself?!? I know, I know, even if you are, yer still not beating everyone to make the podium as an AG'er. Time to enter dunk competitions too maybe?

"Has this happened to you?"

Sadly, I have contemplated never being a winner as well, but it is what it is and I'm content enough just to try and beat my previous times. I do the races for a goal to motivate me to train regularly and don't get as concerned about time (at 274, maybe when I'm closer to 200 I'll change my perspective :] And yeah, I really do enjoy the fun of it all!

I understand what everyone is saying, and I'm not sure if I made myself understood.

Of course I'm happy with what I do, and I'm happy with doing better and making improvements and the entire tri lifestyle.  I like just 'doing it'.  I also like competing and giving the little guys a run for their money on occasion.

I wouldn't obviously be IN this sport if winning was the only thing on my mind.  If you think so, then you obviously don't know me.   But I also do this sport (or any sport) because I AM competitive at some level.

But that 1% of the time, when I see the times posted by the overall guys, and see how they are built, I realize that it's not in stars for me.  Do I cry about it?  Of course not.  But do I feel a little envous of their ability AND they fact they are a little more genetically disposed?  A little bit.

But I just get ready for the next race and keep on tri-ing.

Dude I don't know what it is but we are all built differently. I remember a race my brother and I did -a 14 k in Cincinnati. You guessed it it was a beer run. We signed up just for fun. We ran other races but we were not in shape . We just wanted the free  beer and the chilie dogs after the race.

 Well my brother beat me by 3-4 min.  -he's a natural runner that never trains or eats right.Pissed me off , but I still love him. Anyway, like I said I was out of shape.  I was near the end , about 100 yards to go -good I smelled the chilie and was hungry . I was thinking in 5 min. I will be drinking beer and chowing down some dogs. So, just then this older man -later I found out he was 85 years old, passed me at the finish line. I literally stopped right there . I was stunned . What the F......Like I said -go figure. I'll never forget that day. My brother -my wife always has somthing to bring me back home!.

Moral: Always be prepared LOL

Hey, Jim, I feel ya!

I've competed at world-level (sometimes winning) in three different sports, and gee look at me now!

Winning's overrated. I wasn't any happier then than I am now--in fact, now I'm far more content. Don't know what it is about tri training, but it gives me a deep internal sense of contentment that far exceeds any of my wins--or even them in total.

The truth is, even if you were genetically predisposed, those folks work their azzes off for no guarantees. Everything has to come together and be perfect on race day, and you know how often THAT happens.

I have no doubt there are some sports you would excel at. But you, Dignified Man of Bravery and Persistence, CHOOSE to tri because it is giving you rewards that even winning can't.

Wait, that's why I tri

But you are amazing, and the truth is that our accomplishments as triathletes are so profound, I believe--it's a wonder to just drag oneself across the finish line of a difficult, technical, multifaceted endurance event--that it more than makes up for whatever mediocrity we may otherwise feel.

The odds of me ever winning my division are between slim and none, never mind a race.  I am working towards be a FoMoP'er.  I like this sport, as I am, aside from family and very close friends, a solitarty person.  Those that podium consistantly have the genetics to win, have/make time to train to win, and want nothing else but to win.

I have a wife, 4 kids, friends and downtime, otherwise known as a life.  I wll do my  best, and maybe I will place in my division once or twice, maybe. 

Kevin

I would say it's not even the "winning" that concerns me (even though that's what I keep talking about).  But the limitations of ability...

There are only so many Craig Stadtlers or Maccas.  I don't need to be one of them.

I like to dream, that with hard work, there are no limits, but seeing how fast some people are, I realize that's not true.  I could work my arse off, and there IS a limit for me due to size.  And it's no where close to even good AGers...

Maybe I just mean it's frustrating that no matter how much I want something or work for it, I am limited...

Again, that 1% of the time I think about it.

You know how many times I've heard that... "NO MATTER how much I work, I will NEVER be that fast."

Technically, I think it's a load of B.S.  We read stories about people dropping 100 pounds and doing a 10-hr Ironman in just two years.  Stories of people doing a 4-hr 1/2-IM at the age of 60.  It happens.  And there are only two elements to achieving it and two alone:

1. Doing what you know needs to be done.  You want to shed fat?  We all know EXACTLY what we need to do.  Once we stop B.S.'ing ourselves and are honest with ourselves, we each know deep down what it takes.  Actually doing it is another story.
   
   
2. Making it a priority and doing what needs to be done.  Are you willing to be at the gym swimming at 5am and then train again after work or on your lunch hour?  Are you willing to sacrifice weekends to training.  Is your family willing to sacrifice it?  Are you willing to go to bed every night at 9pm every night?  You willing to give 20+ hours a week to "the addiction"? 

It's not genetics (we're not talking about WINNING Kona, we're talking about podium in local races and qualifying for Kona), it's a choice.  If you go "all in", you can make incredible strides up the rankings.  You just have to choose to do it all and then actually do it all.

IMHO.

Nice thought.  But that's not reality, even if you say it's BS. 

I don't care how much I work.  I'm not making it to the olympics for high jump.  I made it to the state championships in high school, and I was good.  But it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to do what the worlds best can do.

Millions of kids want to be pro baseball players and they do everything they can, legal and illegal.  But they don't make it.  Some people are gifted, and others are not.

But that's ok.

Remind me to not share thoughts or show any doubts or weakness in the future.

I will continue to be cocky and say everything is possible and there is only optimism and joy in training.

Whoa!  Slow down there!  If you go back and re-read my post, I was talking about podium a local race or qualifying for Kona, NOT WINNING IT.  Of course it takes genetics to make it to the Olympics or race in the TdF or make it to the major leagues.  That's the cream of the crop.  But you were talking about getting faster to potentially win a local race.

You're not showing weakness and I'm not trying to be cocky and say everything is possible.  I can put myself under the microscope just the same.  If I...

1. Stopped eating so much, I could probably lose the 30-50 pounds I want and get down to 180-200.  I don't think my frame could get much lighter than that and I wouldn't want to lose too much lean muscle mass.
2. Trained more than 10 hours a week, I could probably get faster and longer.  But I choose to spend time with my wife and kids and I'm not willing to sacrifice that time.

But if I did shed 50 pounds and put it 20+ hours a week of training, I think I could place top 10, maybe even top 5 in the local sprints and Olys in the 40 age-group.

My main point was that for most of our REALISTIC goals, it's choice, not genetics that hold us back.  And sometimes those choices are perfectly fine.  No one expects a person to race like Mark Allen, but with significant training and dedicated lifestyle, many people could complete an Ironman in under say, 11 or 10 hours.

I wasn't trying to citicize you.

Well I understand.  I tend to like to do 1 race a year that I feel I can place.   Problem is the one race I have a shot as placing is my running clubs race and since I am on the board I feel like I can not do it since they need help to run it and I have no family that can help.  One reason I am into running so I will be there and not stuck on the couch.

 Yeah it is frustrating.  Even though they say its all about finishing sometimes it get to me that I am also the person who tends to always be last.

 Yes I know I need to train more.  I know I need to lose weight.  Yeah in many ways I would be faster but I doubt I ever BQ.  I know people who run 50 miles a week and can not ever do that and those are way faster than me from the start.  If you said I could get down to 225 - 215 and BQ at Chicago this year I would give it a shot but I can not see how even come close since at about 255 I can only run a 5:30.  

I realized that after I posted.  I was too quick to respond.

Here was my goal:  Maybe to get a couple people to at least realize bigger guys have it 'rougher' in this sport and recognize that.  Maybe understand that it can be frustrating and comiserate a bit.

What I got felt a little more like I have my priorities out of wack and all the cliches.  "winning isn't everything", "it's the journey, not the destination", "all things are possible with god or work or determination".  Whatever...

I think most people used my post as a springboard to soapbox about their own 'mission statement., or views...  Which is fine...

But I can also be REAL, and not be shallow or 'poor me'.  Unless everyone forgets to show up, I WILL NOT win a local event.  These guys are FAST.  Can I podium in my AG?  That's possible if I drop down to 200 and train more than the 10 hours per week I am...  That's my goal...

But the reason I posted in the first place, is I did a stair climb race.  I did well and place top 1/3 or better and did the steps in 12 minutes.  The winners?  Little guys from Mexico City, a smaller fire fighter from Seatle, and so forth...  They did it in 7:30.  60% faster!!!!  Impossible for me to overcome their physical ability/talent.  I was shocked, surprised, in awe, and happy for them AND sort of wished I could do it.

But to win the event?  Can't happen.  Do I cry about it?  No.  Do I get envyous?  Maybe a bit.  Do I dwell on it or do I give up?  Of course not.  It's the 99.9% of the rest of the time of training and racing that I love.

Anyway.  I'm over it and out there trying to beat the little guys..

Well, they do give us the Clydesdale division, and had you waited around, you would've won your AG at your IM!!!!!

In all seriousness, I get it, at races and in training.  Guys I  ride with used to drop me within 5 miles when I first started.  Eventually, I could keep up, and sometimes lead a little, but when they really want to have a go it at, or do a hill climb, I am constantly reminded that they are 5'8" and 160, not to mention years and decades of riding, whereas I am... not.

That stuff is nice.  For me, during my first season, I would beat some people, but look at them and say (to myself), "I should be beating them".  I know, that probably sounds arrogant.  BTW, there were some others that looked like I should beat them, but still kicked my arse.

This last season, I was finally beating people that based on appearances, made me proud that I prevailed.  I felt I arrived.  They were trim, athletic, had nice equipment (yes, I know that says nothing about the 'engine').  I finally felt like I belong in triathlon.

I guess that's just the competitive side of me talking and only pertains to ME and my view of myself.  It's no reflection on any other competitors...

Probably didn't happen to you at Silverman, but on a loop course at IMAZ, it was nice being on the third loop,. running with people on their second    I looked at them and thought "you should be faster than me," and I'll bet a couple looked at me and thought "how the hell are you faster than me???" 

I should edit above, you DID win your AG, you just weren't there to stand on the podium