“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.” – Emil Zatopek
“What are you learning?” I was asked this recently by one of my sister’s. With less than 3 weeks until the proverbial gun goes off, I have been through several experiences en route to this competition. Through this process there are several aspects I’ve learned along the way. Five stand out in particular, and they are:
- Injuries: Importance of pacing myself
– In each of the 3 tri sports I have injured myself as a result of pushing myself too hard during the training sessions. This results in losing days when I could be training as it takes time for the injury to heal
– To avoid this I’ve learned to ease in to each sport and focus at only going 70% instead of 100% - Ask questions: Talk to other people
– Seems obvious, but this can go a long way in understanding the sport, training ideas, diet, health & equipment suggestions
– I talked to family, friends, health experts, elite athletes, those who have done triathlon’s before & found their insights to be quite helpful - Get a coach: For those extra “training eyes”
– This will help you improve in those sports you’re hoping to get better in to feel confident in your abilities & give you that competitive edge
– For me, I got a swim coach to help with my stroke and technique, and it has been invaluable to my growth as a swimmer - Write your goal: Create a goal and WRITE IT DOWN – Something powerful happens when you write down on paper what’s important to you. It shows you’re committed to see it through to completion, intentional to follow-through at each stage, and focused to do what needs to be done – My goal is: “I want to compete in a Sprint Triathlon on Sunday, May 19, 2013 in Airdrie”
- Invest in equipment: Essential for your best performance
– I went out and purchased a good pair of swimming goggles that were comfortable to wear and would prevent water from getting in my eyes while swimming
– For goggles to fit well they’re supposed to stick to your face, on both eyes, after you let go from holding them up to your face. I went through 10+ goggles at SportChek & Swimco until I found the right fit
– The goggles I’m using from Swimco are the “Aqua Sphere Vista Smoke Lens”
“Competitive sports are played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch court, the space between your ears.” – Bobby Jones
Dwight Van Middlesworth 