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Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? (Page 2)
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| General Discussion | Triathlon Talk » Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? | Rss Feed  |
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 2009-04-28 9:03 AM in reply to: #2114403 |
Expert  1296   |  Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance?On race day, for me its about personal performance and feeling like I got the most out of my body. With that said the thing that drives the performance aspect for me is motivation. When I am motivated I enjoy training, tallking about the sport, helping others learn how far they can push themselves. Anticipating measuring myself against faster guys in the field. Sometimes, actually, most all the time the actual participation aspect of the entire "process" is more appealing to me though. But when I do race I commit to making it count. I am not one to sign up for 10 races a year. I do a select few races and make them count. Keeps me motivated and wanting more.
Edited by gadzinm 2009-04-28 9:04 AM |
| 2009-04-28 9:03 AM in reply to: #2114403 |
Champion 7553    Albuquerque, New Mexico | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? Sometimes, it's about participation. Sometimes, it's all about performance. The tale of two sprints: My very first triathlon was a small, local race. I'd figured "there won't be any real triathletes there..." I showed up on race day and WOW!! There were some hard-core triathletes getting ready to race. Luckily, this particular race was not their A-race of the season and they were all in a good mood, very friendly, very encouraging, blah, blah, blah. I had a blast (and I'm still doing these things 4 years later). Everyone hung around the finish line to cheer on the final athletes and stuck around for the awards. My second season, I met up with my brother to do a sprint outside Indy. This was his first season, and his second or third race. This race was part of a local series, and the people who showed up, showed up to RACE (well...everyone except my brother and I... ). These guys were all business. Nobody hung around the finish line, and the last awards were handed out in a nearly-empty room I guess if you don't have a trophy coming, there's no reason to hang around??. To be honest, I felt bad for my brother, and had this race been my first, I probably wouldn't still be here typing a reply to this thread. |
| 2009-04-28 9:11 AM in reply to: #2114895 |
Elite 2423 | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? What if we switched from AG to Cat racing similar to cycling so that you raced against those of similar performance or level instead of AG? |
| 2009-04-28 9:14 AM in reply to: #2115095 |
| Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? aarondavidson - 2009-04-28 10:11 AM What if we switched from AG to Cat racing similar to cycling so that you raced against those of similar performance or level instead of AG? If you wanna do that, then go race bikes  |
| 2009-04-28 9:22 AM in reply to: #2115095 |
Cycling Guru 15134 Fulton, MD | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? aarondavidson - 2009-04-28 10:11 AM What if we switched from AG to Cat racing similar to cycling so that you raced against those of similar performance or level instead of AG? I would personally prefer that. Level of competition would be closer. But that will never happen. Too many people would b-tch and complain because they wouldn't "win" anything anymore. and it really isn't fair to the older crowd unless you also break it out into Masters, Grand Masters and such .... which kind of defeats the whole purpose to going that route. |
| 2009-04-28 9:23 AM in reply to: #2115095 |
Extreme Veteran 575 Concord, NH | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? aarondavidson - 2009-04-28 10:11 AM What if we switched from AG to Cat racing similar to cycling so that you raced against those of similar performance or level instead of AG? I think this would help motivate some people. With the AG setup someone who is a beginner probably has little chance of getting on the podium, but if beginners race against beginners, intermediates against intermediates, and so on it may get more people involved. The hard part would come down to how would the upgrade system work, how would it be enforced, would it be self promotion or would everyone new to the sport have to race in the beginner field? |
| 2009-04-28 9:52 AM in reply to: #2115139 |
Pro 3906 Libertyville, IL | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? offrhodes - 2009-04-28 9:23 AM i am not sure i understand this, maybe cuz its not how i am wired. i show up to race my best. first time doing a distance, it has been to complete it, but after that, its race to the best of my abilities. i could care less what AG, or classification or planet everyone else is from. i am there to race my hardest and take on the field and see where i end up. they can hand out ribbons if they like if i do well, but i guess i dont see how dividing things up differently would make me race or try and harder. To answer the OP too, it depends on the focus of the race. I have done races just as practice days with set goals outside of best time possible. Some see that as a waste, but in my scheme for the ones that matter, it makes sense to me.aarondavidson - 2009-04-28 10:11 AM What if we switched from AG to Cat racing similar to cycling so that you raced against those of similar performance or level instead of AG? I think this would help motivate some people. With the AG setup someone who is a beginner probably has little chance of getting on the podium, but if beginners race against beginners, intermediates against intermediates, and so on it may get more people involved. The hard part would come down to how would the upgrade system work, how would it be enforced, would it be self promotion or would everyone new to the sport have to race in the beginner field? |
| 2009-04-28 10:27 AM in reply to: #2114506 |
Expert 1121 Chicago | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? ChrisM - 2009-04-27 10:48 PM False dichotomy. It's about both for me And the coffee Agree. I think participating and being a part of the race will be great, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to keep an eye on how I do overall and within the AG and that I'm going to be motivated by placing higher. |
| 2009-04-28 10:54 AM in reply to: #2114403 |
Extreme Veteran 750 Long Beach, Mississippi | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? As a 46yo newbie to sports (I got off the couch in my 40's) I am competing against lifetime athletes, I have no chance of winning or even coming close... but I'm a competitive person by nature, and I want to be able to do my best - even if that effort gets me last place in my AG... that's life... Hopefully, I will improve through the years, and stay in the sport long enough that there will only be me and maybe one other person in my AG competing, then I can get a podium finish by default  Until then, I aim to finish and perform my best... My FIRST challenge is to get to the START line uninjured... |
| 2009-04-28 11:15 AM in reply to: #2114403 |
Master 1651 Breckenridge, CO | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? For me it's about both but probably in a different way than most. I've always been happiest when I was training a couple hours a day so I love to "particpate". But my love is the training. The races are just gravy. I also love to improve at things and so I've always kept detailed training records with an enormous number of different personal time trial records that I try to break regularly. My time trials are things like how fast I can ascend/descend our local 14k foot moutain, or my total time riding the same road route four days in a row. By having lots of different personal PRs, there's always one I can work towards improving upon. For me, limiting time trials to things like 10k race PRs is too narrow a reflection of fitness/skill improvement. For me, I am motivated by improvement. The more different measures of that I can attain, the better. I want to avoid the case of having a breakout 10k race PR in perfect conditions and then not PRing again for a year or something. That would be very de-motivating for me. For me, race results are measures of improvement but I don't consider them any more important than my personal time trials. |
| 2009-04-28 1:14 PM in reply to: #2115460 |
Expert 1091 | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? Cardholic - 2009-04-28 11:54 AM As a 46yo newbie to sports (I got off the couch in my 40's) I am competing against lifetime athletes, I have no chance of winning or even coming close... but I'm a competitive person by nature, and I want to be able to do my best - even if that effort gets me last place in my AG... that's life... Hopefully, I will improve through the years, and stay in the sport long enough that there will only be me and maybe one other person in my AG competing, then I can get a podium finish by default Until then, I aim to finish and perform my best... My FIRST challenge is to get to the START line uninjured...I think Diane and I are pretty similar! No competitive sports background at all to grow from, but let me tell ya, I don't want to be DFL! I also know I won't beat the lady who had a running background and has been active her whole life, but I have discovered I am competive (mostly with myself) and I will do the work to get better! I participated in the first to complete, and now I am approaching my 3rd season with hopes of increasing speed. I'm 45 and have old parts, so injuries are an issue, but also a goal I have set for the season...to not have any! I want to be better at 46 than I was at 45, and since I am new to sports, I feel I have the chance to improve for many years yet. I am doing sprints, but will probably get to oly distance next season. Then...who knows! The goal is the same...keep moving, keep my fitness, keep improving, keep injury away! |
| 2009-04-29 1:29 PM in reply to: #2114523 |
Master 1325 Lake Oswego, OR | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? trishie - 2009-04-27 8:57 PM ChrisM - 2009-04-27 11:48 PM False dichotomy. It's about both for me And the coffee and the post race cookies. Here in Oregon it is about the beer they serve at the finish.
And for me it is about racing. I just love the experience of hanging it all out there, although I suspect my first IM will be about finishing. |
| 2009-04-29 3:46 PM in reply to: #2114403 |
| Regular 97 zxzxaz | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? I think most people start off in the "participation" group with their only competition being with themselves to finish or beat last years time. That is where I am as a newbie. However, I hope to increase speed and abilities and get to the point where it is about the performance and competition against others. |
| 2009-04-29 8:00 PM in reply to: #2114403 |
| Fishers, IN | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? I really race against myself, because I have learned that everyone has days where they are recovering from injury or aren't in peak form etc. My fitness is a moving target. Why base my judgement of performance on someone else - too much of a sum of variabilities? I know when I put it all out there and when I have not. To me it is that which counts most. I am pretty new to this sport and have found it to be rather odd. The distances, at least for sprints, are highly variable and it makes it difficult to compare from one race to the next less you hit the standard distances of Oly, HIM, or IM. Perhaps that is one reason I favor the longer course events. I feel I can judge my improvement better. From a competitive aspect, the wave starts make things somewhat confusing unless you know the others. During the race itself, rarely if ever do I look down at the AG on the kid's leg and decide whether or not I want to beat him - no I just want to beat him. |
| 2009-04-29 9:13 PM in reply to: #2114734 |
Champion 7233 | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? pitt83 - 2009-04-28 7:54 AM Once you pin a number on, the barrier has been crossed. that is awesome |
| 2009-04-29 9:36 PM in reply to: #2114403 |
Expert 1215 Austin, TX | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? One road bike race I did had categories and they started together. Shortly after they had a "Gran Fondo" category which was basically people who wanted to ride the route for fun. I wonder if that is logistically possible for a tri. Regarding showing up for participation or performance, I bet the majority actually show up for performance. Its just that the measure of performance is versus oneself versus others. I know this applies to me depending on the distance of the race. Ultimately, it is a race and racing is competition - either against others or yourself. |
| 2009-04-29 10:33 PM in reply to: #2114622 |
Expert 1202 Montana | Subject: RE: Is triathlon really about participation and not performance? pamiejane - 2009-04-28 12:56 AM eabeam - 2009-04-28 6:03 AM In the beginning, participation is a performance marker. It is just part of the progression. I agree with this. Initially I did it for participation. As I have improved I have become to focus more and more on performance. For me it is definitly a progression. I think this is well said. I am testing my performance against my own expected performance. |
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