The Temptation of Just One More Race…

Do you ever feel the temptation towards the end of the triathlon racing season to do just one more race…?

I feel the temptation every year.

I want to hold on to my summer fitness. I don’t want it to end. I like being “race lean” and sleeping soundly every night after being exhausted by long, hard training days.

Not doing one more race means shifting my mindset from “training” to “just working out.”

Two weeks ago I was contemplating either Chesapeakeman on 9/26, Great Floridian on 10/24, Beach2Battleship on 11/7, Ironman Arizona on 11/22 or some combination of two races. I had a decent race (by my standards) at Vineman on 8/1 so thought I might be able to bump up my performance a bit with a late season Ironman, especially on an easier course (which would be all of the above).

When I sat down and thought about what I want to still accomplish in the sport of triathlon, my list is fairly short:

• Sub 8:30 in an Ironman (next logical step after sub 9 hours)
• Set the Vineman course record (<8:50)
• Top 5 overall in one of the big Iroman races (Arizona, Louisville, etc.)

Taking a realistic look at where I am today, I am not where I need to be in terms of fitness to achieve either of those goals this year. More importantly, though, I have other distractions in my life right now that keep me from being able to effectively focus my training. Sometime life gets in the way of triathlon.

Finishing one or two more Ironman races this year after completing 26 is not going to do much for me other than give me another finisher’s t-shirt, which I don’t really need. I also risk finishing the year with disappointment and burnout. I was happy with my Vineman race, as it represented a “come back” from a frustrating leg and hip injury that I now have under control.

So, yes, I will pass on the temptation and throw in the towel for triathlons this year…at least for today. I am officially “just working out” although I might pick up some other endurance sports event later this fall and winter. The transition season will allow me to focus on the other things on my life, allow me to end the season on a positive note and set me up to hit the deck running in 2010.

Fortunately for me, a few of my clients are still racing through November, so I will get my “racing fix” through them as their coach.

Live life richly and boldly!

David
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David B. Glover
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine: Fitting Iron Distance Training into Every Day Life

© 2009 David B. Glover