Lake Lenape triathlon Race Report - 3rd o'all

Don't beat yourself up too much Brian. Most people would be thrilled with 3rd place, especially on limited training. Good job!

As a side note: I've started trying to use the low HR training ideas from that thread in your forums. Too soon for performance improvements, but I'm not getting so fatigued while still training more often so it should help. Thanks.

Trust me...PLEASE don't think I'm saying sour grapes that 3rd is so terrible, it's just that I think everyone would agree that you always want to race at your best - whether it's finishing in 1st or 400th and I just feel right now I'm going through the motions.

If someone would have said 10yrs ago that I'd be getting 3rd on a bad day I'd have said they're nuts :o) so I'll never take that for granted.

Glad to hear you're getting on board w/ the low HR training...keep us posted as to how it goes.

-Brian

LOL. Thanks for the shout!

Listen, I may take you up on the diaper changing challenge.  How about one handed?  I once had to do that for about six weeks after I had a shoulder separation.

Congratulations again on a great race and on your new baby.  They are so worth all of the work.  Your life gets flipped upside down, but nothing could be better.

Diaper changing? I thought that's why we had wives!

Just kidding ladies Please don't tar and feather me.

I think I might give you guys a run the money. But one handed would be tough.


Brian, darn fast for 5-7 hours training. Congrats on a great race.

Edited by OldAndInTheWay 2005-07-11 12:19 PM

Brian,

CONGRATS on a great race and thanks for the report.

Even those of us that are nowhere near your level can appreciate/respect what you are saying about not feeling like you are performing at your best. I just my best was 1/2 of your worst!

Good luck with the training and I'm looking forward to your next race report being at 100%.

All the best,
Rob

BTW:
Congratulations on the baby as well!

Great job Brian

i saw you at the race, wanted to say hello, and ask you a few questions about your PBN stuff, i turned to do something and then you were gone... I did see you on the bike...
congrats on 3rd place. Tough to beat Rich, i hope i can bust a hour next year, i only have 4 mins to shave

Thanks everyone for their comments here and via e-mail, sorry for the delayed RE.

Joel - I did my 1st sprint tri in '95, 1st 1/2 IM in '96 and 1st IM in '97 (GFT - 10:39). I was a beach-bum since before I could walk (literally grew up on the sand), so I've always been comfortable in the water, but as a ocean guard was a very avg swimmer. I ran through HS, again with very avg PB's (5:29 mile; 18:46 5K)...fair, but very avg by HS standards.

The thing which attracted me to triathlon is it is a sport which gives athletes of very average natural ability (which I definitely consider myself) the chance to hone their skills in (3) different sports. You don't need to be the best swimmer, cyclist or runner to do well in this sport - you simply need to get pretty good in each to succeed.

As far as how long will it take for you to do this, I went from 150th (+/-) place o'all at my 1st tri and won my 1st o'all about 5-6yrs later (+/-). Now, it's important to remember that a very small % of athletes make the jump from 150th to even the top 20, so you really need to work at improvement - it's less about training hard and more about training smart. Triathlon is much more than a hobby for me and for many years it was my life 24/7...I LOVE IT! The difference between the athlete who finishes in 150th year after year and the athlete that makes improvements, is simple, they work to improve. There are a lot of athletes who finish in 150th year after year b/c they just love to be a part of it…which is totally cool, but I had different goals.

Depending on what your goals are will dictate how serious you get. A goal of finishing your 1st IM is a world away from saying you want to qualify for Kona, so you need to decide what those goals are and commit to them. Saying you want to qualify for Kona someday if you're in the MOP is going to take years of work. Is it difficult - YES! Is it impossible, NEVER!

Keep your eye on the prize and never forget where you're headed. For me the holy grail was qualifying for Kona, so every morning at 5am or Friday night when my friends were heading out partying, it was an easy decision for me to make - which was more important, the Kona start line or another night out with the boys? Treading water at 6:55am in Kailua Bay last October made every single one of those days worth it.

Hope that helps, enjoy the trip!

Also, just an FYI for those of you in NJ this Friday, I will be conducting a clinic on nutritional strategies for triathletes. There is additional information posted here. Hope some of you can make it.

Brian Shea
www.PersonalBestNutrition.com