Doing tri's purely for the fun it.... (Page 2)

totally for fun.

and to check out the ladies. 

Lots of great perspectives from fellow-BT'ers, thanks!

I really do love the training and I really like heading into a brand new race wth nervous energy, but not being totally freaked out by whether I will hit a certain time (like I am with running these days) or be the top three in my AG. Looking back, I started running with no care in the world, but to finish, but the better I got, the more competitive I became.

When (not if) I finish my first tri this Spring I will remind myself how far I have come (barely able to put my head under water at the pool wall) and I will keep this mantra in mind:

"I'm in it to complete, not compete!"

I hope by picking different race venues, distances and relays, I can keep it fun and light (e.g. like no previous time to beat) because at 44 yo I am in it for the long haul and hope to be doing these things into old age.

Thanks

Suzy

I struggle with this all the time...fun vs. time/pace/placement.

For me bottom line if I don't have fun I shouldn't do it. I'm just a MOP to BOP middle aged Mom to 5. Never going to be a super star; doing this for fitness and to have fun. I get caught up in numbers, do excel spreadsheets comparing this and that..just sort of how I'm wired. But I'm trying to stop that.

I am way to competitive with myself. My coach helps remind me over and over we do this for fun and I need to enjoy the journey and racing more. We actually do our best when we are in a playful type mood at races and I have found this to be so true as compared to the I need to hit xxx pace or split on my s/b/r. When I get caught up in numbers and race with them as the focus I do worse; take away my gadgets..HRM, bike computer and race by feel and enjoy myself out there I actually do better as it is just me and my body doing the best I can do at that moment and isn't that really all I can ask of myself?

I've made progress at enjoying things more...my A race I was 5 minutes slower than last year but felt I did great (injuries/bike crash set back my run/swim and it was hot). I was thrilled for my run as I didn't cramp, moved up from the bottom 100 folks compared to previous year about even though I was slower. Best part is I enjoyed the run as I talked with fellow competitors and enjoyed competing. I even had some young 30 year old guys say they were pacing off me and I dropped them...it was sweet for me.

My first HIM, I did w/o gadgets other than my power meter set at power, cadence, and HR so I didn't have a clue to my pace. I executed everything as planned in my race plan on a hot day, felt proud to have done so, but was disappointed with my time as I was slower than I guessed I would have been worst case. Thinking about it I came to peace with it as it was a record high, it was humid, bike course was windy, reality is I was lucky I could race given my bike crash less than 4 months before, the experience was good and I should be proud of what I did not be disappointed that I was 6 minutes slower than I had hoped.

Next year I'm doing my first IM and my goal is to finish before 17 hours..I want no other time goals as it will take away from the enjoyment of the day. It is a big enough deal just to do it and finish. Other thing I'm doing next season is to do all new races so I can't compare me to me. Each race will be new and exciting and I can be a bit more judge free about my results.

Just comparing time can be so misleading. Do the same race 2 years in a row...time only reveals part of what happened out there race day. What about the weather? For me weather plays a huge factor..hot/humid I'm slower. Was the swim course long or short? How was your stress levels in life going into the races? My husband reminds me we aren't like machines and expect to get certain results.

I think this is a big issue often overlooked in racing. Thanks for bringing it up.