triOK's Group - CLOSED (Page 33)

Aaron is racing for our esteemed department in a law enforcement tri. They better win too!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

And good luck to everyone else who is racing this weekend. Looking forward to the race reports for inspiration. I have a tri next weekend....I may actually be more nervous for this one than I was for my first one.

Good luck - hopefully you'll still have fun!

Sooooo... how did everyone do this weekend? 

Kudos to you, Dan for finishing your race... there is no way I could have managed to do that...

Race is done.  They replaced the swim with a run.  You could look at my log for the reason.  We (Myself and 2 other officer from the Rochester Police Dept.) won the Law Enforcement Challenge.   They added all 3 times together for a final time.  I was 52 overall and 7/15 in my age group.  Crazy weather today.

I hope everyone else had a good race. 

I thought of the race as just an extension of my training.  Sure the swim was a new experience, but once I got in the groove, I just swam it as one stroke at a time, and tried not to think about how far I still had to go.

The bike was easy for me because I love being on the bike!  I wanted to go around again, rather than come in for the run.  However, for the last 5 miles, I paced myself a little way behind another rider.  That gave me something to focus on other than the distance, and all other thoughts went out of my mind other than staying with her.

The run is still my biggest challenge although I've improved in that quite a bit this year.  I did want to stop a number of times, and at those points, I eased off the pace a little and that's always helped me. 

The worst though was shortly after mile 2 when I saw over a 1/2 mile straightaway followed by a 1/4 mile uphill.  Around here you just don't see that far ahead at once, so I was suddenly thinking, you've gotta be kidding me, and I quickly doubted I could do it.  At this point though, I started following another guy, and I just looked at his back and forgot about the scenery.  Don't you know, a little while later I was at the top of the hill before I knew it!

So in a nutshell, my strategy to stop the doubts was to focus on one step at a time, and not the whole race; pace with the people around you as a distraction.  Also to just look at the next telephone pole, or the next landmark and run to that, then to the next, and the next, until you're done.  I also thought about my technique and concentrated on that to keep my mind from wandering and doubting (stretch the strokes out, nice and steady, keep the rotation going, nice smoothly pedaling, keep the cadence up, lean forward, land midfoot, keep my arms back, etc, you get the idea)  If I kept thinking about how far I had to go, I would really struggle.

willie05 is dead on.  The biggest problem people (myself included) is thinking about the race as a whole but putting that feeling in the moment.  Case in point, you're in the swim worried that you are BOP and then start thinking how can you recover and that the whole race is going to be like that.  Now not only do you have negative thoughts, but you have taken yourself out of the moment and are not "working" during the race.

Treat every disipline on it's own.  Focus on the swim only during the swim, etc.  use others as referance but not as a measuring stick.  Like on the swim, I focus on sighting, pulling through, etc.  Then I will glace to see if I am still by the person to my left or right as reference.  When I get out of the water, it's done.  No need to worry if I had a bad or good swim.  I hit my lap timer, but NEVER actually look at it.  There is nothing I can do at that moment, so you can analyze it later.

It's the hardest part of your training to master!  I think it starts by getting out to train on the days you really don't want to.  That's the first step.  Then when you need to be mentally tough on race day, it's easier.  Focus on short goals and give yourself rewards.  At my last race, it was walking the aid stations and getting fluids.  I didnt' stop to walk even though I REALLY REALLY wanted to.  I walked the aid stations and still stalked one guy down.  The only reason I beat him was because he stopped to walk and I didn't. 

Another way to work on it is when you are out for lets say a 1 hr ride.  You get back to your starting point at 56 min.  Do you Call it good enough?  or do you ride that extra 4 min?  Most people do the former.  Do the latter more often and it helps.  Especially with running...that's the hardest.  Those are some little things that I do to work on my mental game.

Great races this weekend, it is great to hear so much positive feedback about all the events and experiences--it makes doing this sport just that much more rewarding!

Thanks for the race moment advice, as well.  It is easy to let the mind wander off.... I guess focus is one of those skills that comes with practice!!!   I know when I am wanting to stop and walk or get off the bike or whatever, I just tell myself "ten more steps" or something small and simple, and go from there.  It usually works.  Last night on the long run, one of the gals told me that increasing your cadence when you are tired works to keep you going and keeps your pace up.  We all tried it about 45 minutes into the run, and lo and behold, we all finished strong.  And I can still walk today (LOL).

Great job, Vanessa! I hope I can do as well in the water. I still want to wet my pants when I think about it.

Dan! That was one hell of a race! Glad to see you did not fry all your brain cells.

Great advice on the head game. I know that when training if I find a fluffy bunny to chase, my workout is faster and flies by than if I am just out there going: one mile.... there is two.... etc. 

Yup... glad to see that everyone has come to a point in their training that they are thinking about their head game... that means we are all confident enough to be able to do the distance, right?

To keep my head in the game, I have entire coversations with myself when I start to slack off... I'll find someone to chase down when I am on the bike or run, and when I pass them I will find the next person.  If I am starting to get tired I just remind myself there is a difference between being uncomfortable and being in pain.  So suck it up.  On the swim, I have a mantra that I repeat to myself over and over and over and it helps keep my stroke relaxed and smooth.... "Long and strong.."  I know its nerdy, but it helps me.