Monday, December 12, 2011

Mind Eraser, No Chaser (aka: New Race Schedule)

Blasting out to some Living Colour, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, and Pearl Jam this morning...

Bit of an editorial piece around the Crashing the Boards offices here this morning. No product reviews on the horizon, a couple of training pieces that are upcoming in the bin. However, before I get into training philosophies and whatnot, I wanted to follow-up on the race schedule that I had posted a few weeks back, in the announcement thread of my making Team Rev3 Triathlon.

If you've been reading here for a fair bit, you'll know that this past year was my first year in triathlon. Not, "oh, I'd competed in one or two, and this was my first full season." No, this was: I competed in my first two triathlons, period. As in, my first triathlon was the half-rev at Rev3 Quassy.

Nobody has ever accused me of being the sharpest knife in the block.

Now, we all know how Rev3 Quassy ended: me in the med tent, hanging out for a few hours with the wonderful crew there, then spending the night in a Days Inn just outside of Hartford because I couldn't handle the car ride back to Maine.

Fast-forward to the start of this month, as I'm reflecting on the past year's worth of training, trials, races, and overall insanity.

It'd be absolutely, positively bat-shit insane of me to try and race a FullRev at this point. Note that I italicized the word "race" here. It's an important distinction.

I am, at heart, an incredibly competitive person. It's extremely difficult for me, say, when in the pool, to not try and race the person a couple of lanes over if I notice that they are of equal or slightly faster pace than I, even if I'm in the middle of what is supposed to be a drill set. Out on the roads? There's no way I'm letting the guy in front of me make it to the next stoplight or tree before I do. I just want to keep pushing, and going.

My body is not in the place to make a sustainable push forward to a full distance race at this point. This isn't a bad thing; it's just that if I have the expectation of being competitive in my age-group when I decide to go and race a full, I need to take the time here and now to earn that speed, to earn that base, and mentally grow as an athlete.

It is the mental strength to know when to push, when to back off, when to hit every single workout, when to take a day or two off, when "more is more" and when "less is more." (Note: less is more is only more when you've first done the more is more; recovery is only recovery if you've done the work...) It is those areas that, moreso than physically, I need to grow before I can attempt to go race for 140.6 miles.

With that in mind, here's what next race season is shaping up as:
Polar Bear Tri or Du in May
Rev3 Quassy 70.3--June
Rev3 Old Orchard Beach 70.3--August
Rev3 Cedar Point 70.3--September

Mind you, the schedule is written in pencil, but this is what we're working towards. I firmly believe that by working this schedule, I'd be able to race a full well in the next year.


3 comments:

Chloe said...

Yes - you are totally correct on the 'mental' aspect of a full. It's tough - and you have to be ready for it or else you'll want to shoot yoruself. With 3 miles left :) 70.3 distance is my fav by far!

Alisa said...

I've been doing tri's for only a few years and 140.6 still scares the crap out of me!

Looking forward to meeting you this year.

Unknown said...

There's definitely a mindset for a full, especially racing one. I like your schedule... looking forward to meeting you in CP!