Three Things Thursday

1. I’m doing this for me and no one else. Don’t judge what you don’t understand.

This whole triathlon journey was started on a whim while in a crazy mood. During the training process I’ve learned so much about myself and although I’m not where I want to be in my training, I’m happy with how far I’ve come from the beginning of it all.

It was said to me recently that I’m too hung up on the race aspect of things. Considering I’ve been doing 5K races during training to better myself and the final result is a race, I don’t think I am. I’m not racing anyone else but myself. I’m pushing myself to train and go further, harder, faster and stronger to make myself better. Timing myself and checking out my pacing helps me keep track of my progress and helps me determine what I need to do to improve.

I had a quote emailed to me today that fits here perfectly:

Frustration is first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I’m content with what I can do. ~Bingham

I can’t lie; I’m a competitive person by nature. I like to compete. Being in races motivates me to do better because seeing someone ahead of me makes me want to catch them in that moment. I love that feeling. Motivation. But, when it comes down to it, I’m only in competition with myself. I want to do better than I did the last time. And I’m disappointed when I don’t see forward progress. That’s human nature and I don’t see anything wrong with that. 


What I do think is wrong, is other people passing judgment on me because I don’t think the same way they do. I don’t think I’m better than you because I like to compete and I don’t think you’re better than me because you don’t. I think it just makes us different. And different is good. Embrace it. Don’t fight it. And definitely don’t be rude about it.

2. On Tuesday I did couch to 5K week 5 day 3. This included a 5-minute walk warm up; 20-minute run and a 5-minute walk cool down. The mental hurdle has been leaped and I actually believe that I will finally finish the Couch to 5K program this time around. This is my 3rd time attempting it and it’s the furthest I’ve ever gotten. I know I can complete it. I dread running each and every time I do it, but knowing that I can do it is what’s pushing me to actually do it. Maybe one of these days I’ll enjoy running, but don’t hold your breath.

3. Yesterday I attended a swim clinic by Max Performance. They are organizing the Title 9 Triathlon that I’m doing. I grew up swimming, so I have a strong background, but I wanted to learn about swimming in a triathlon and learn tips and tricks that would help me out on race day. I’ve read many articles and heard lots of people talk about the swim being the hardest part of the race for most people. I’m lucky that I grew up swimming in lakes and ponds, otherwise I’d be right there with everyone.

When I did my duathlon a few weeks ago, I waited until most people started, then started swimming. During the clinic, I wanted to put myself right in the middle of things so I could get a feel for a hectic start and deal with the “worst case scenario” before race day. We did 3 race starts to a buoy 100 yards out and back. There were about 70 people there and they split us up into two groups. We did start waves in 2 groups to lessen the amount of people. They said for newbies, it’s easier to stay on the outside since most people will swim as close to the buoys as possible. The first start, I was in the middle of the pack, right in the center. The second start I tried to stay as close to the inside as possible, but still in the middle of the pack, front to back, to get as many people around me as I could so I’d get jostled and see how I could deal with it. The last start, they had the two groups go together, for anyone who wanted to give it a tri (see what I did there? J) I got myself right up front and on the inside. I figured if I was gonna get kicked in the head or swam over, I’d rather it be during a swim clinic than during the triathlon. Although in the actual race, I’ll probably still hang back a little bit and err on the side of caution.

The clinic was very cool and it was good to get another group swim under my belt. I’m so used to swimming solo and swimming with a group motivates me to push myself and do better. After the swim, the Max Performance people hung around and answer some questions and talked with everyone who was interested and gave some great tips on triathlon swimming. They also mentioned that they would be having a “Newbie Night” for Tri-newbies to talk about anything and everything regarding a triathlon. I’ll definitely be attending. It was a great event, I’m sure the newbie night will be great too, and it’s making me look forward to the triathlon more than ever. Max Performance sure goes above and beyond to make sure they make everyone feel comfortable before race day! Thanks guys!

Before - all smiles

After - still smiling!