Last week was an interesting week to say the least. Check out Chuckie V's post and you'll get the gist of what I've been thinking about all week http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2008/05/two-wolves.html ....which wolf am I feeding?
I ended the training week with the Longmont Sprint triathlon. The short version of the race report is that it went really, really well. I place 12th overall (out of 280 or so) and came 2nd in my age group (3rd if you count the overall winner). This is without a doubt the best I've ever finished in Colorado. But, what makes a race a good race? I was happy with my race even before I saw the results. I was happy racing. I was happy during my hour ride before hand, I was happy in the swim, I was happy hurting on the bike and even when I thought my head might explode during the last mile of the run. This is really new for me. I usually race with ego. "I'm such a poser", "Why can't I go faster?", "I no good". But over the last 6 months I've really been putting my energy into the process rather than the results. Being good is about making the choices that help you reach your goals. On Sunday I was able to go faster than I've ever gone in Colorado because over the last six months I've swallowed the ego and trained at the right paces for me. Because I've been dedicated to making the right choices that allowed me to improve. Don't get me wrong, I'm grinning that I scored a little hardware :) This is the first time I've ever placed in Colorado, but that has everything to do with the size of the race and who showed up. Sunday was a good day because I let go, got out of my own way and just raced. The race was a success because the work I've put in over the last 6 months allowed me to go out hard, push for the entire race. Even before I looked at the results, I was feeling good about myself and my effort. Coming 2nd in my a.g. was just a nice perk.
As I was writing this, I took a little break to check out a few other blogs...check this out from Gordo's blog (http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/index.html) .... seems I'm not the only one working on some of these same things....
"If you are dissatisfied with yourself at the back of the pack then you will have the same feelings in the middle of the pack. There are a lot of people chasing self-esteem at the races – I doubt you’ll find it in your racing (you could find it in on your athletic journey, though).
If you think that qualifying for Kona, winning your agegroup, or winning a race will change the way you feel about yourself then you may be disappointed. My experience has been that outstanding preparation is more satisfying than performance.
....
The lessons of athletics come from the process of overcoming ourselves and learning to create habits that support our goals. Success is a continual process of finding patterns/choices/decisions that hold us back and eliminating them. These lessons are independent of inherent ability and ultimate performance.
Inherent ability and relative performance impact the satisfaction we receive but those feelings are shallow compared to the deeper meaning that arises when we overcome our fears and failures. "
Kia Kaha
Philip
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