Already More Than Half Way Through...

Ugh I hate that we are already more than half way through this season. But boy it's been a fun one so far...

I never have read a "sports psychology" book before but was really interested in this book when I heard A.J. Brown was reading it on the Eagles sidelines between plays, I thought "Hmm, good enough for him, maybe I'll give it a try". 

It's been amazing frankly. It's changed my entire viewpoint on competition and it has given a language for why I never stick around for awards. If you haven't read it, it's a great read. 

I think it's made me a better triathlete AND a better competitor. And by better, I mean someone who truly values everyone who comes out for a race. It's also shifted my mentality to be less results driven and focusing on enjoying the ride.

But to my wife's chagrin, I still do care about how things turn out. I mean, it doesn't say to not set goals or anything. The results are just feedback. And so far this year, the feedback has been really good.

Here are the things I changed coming into this season in order of impact from what I can tell:

1. Training Cadence: If you train more, you do better. ;) This year, I swim 5-6 days a week without fail. This has helped tremendously. Not just with the swim (which it has obviously) but also my general conditioning. I also have made a commitment to hitting the bike 3 times. I've been playing with running 3 times too (I have really reduced distance to a ridiculous level though to keep my right knee happy). 

2. Equipment: When I bought my new bike, this allowed me to free up my old Cervelo to be used as a training bike. I bought a  Garmin TacX Neo 2T and this has changed my bike training. Before, I'd go out and ride on gravel and it was fun. But it never seemed to translate no matter how hard I went. By locking in on my indoor trainer, I have hyper focused my bike form and cadence to be maybe 80-90% of race pace. I can do that because of the built in power meters on my new bike and the TacX so I always know how had I go. Now when I ride indoors or at races, I always look at Watts/kg 3 second average. I don't even look at speed. I only get that info AFTER I race.

My new bike has definitely given me some gains. It's kind of hard to measure because I also made so many other changes at the same time. I do love knowing that I have the fastest bike/wheels/aero helmet that can be purchased so really if I'm not doing well it's just me :)

Much less impact but worth mentioning is I have invested in quality race goggles and haven't had any fogging issues which I know keeps me more straight.

3. Race Approach: I always loved to race. I do love the "lone gunman" feeling of doing all this alone on my own. Training for instance is all just me. And that's the way I still like it. 

I have to admit though after reading the book, I love races even more and it's BECAUSE of the relationships. The friendships I've made in the last few years has really made it even more fun. Who else knows the trials and tribulations that we endure than these other old dudes doing the same thing I'm doing?! It's been amazing.

So how is it going? Well, if you'll recall I decided I would abandon the SCTS series and (with the exception of my beloved Tri the Rabbit) it's been wonderful not trekking down to a very far away place every other weekend. Those races (except for the aforementioned Rabbit) were really not my favorite anyway. I've reconnected with some old triathlons I did many years ago and have done all the close ones. Let's check in with the goals:

1. All American Status: Well as I type this, my current rank score is 108.305 (!) Frankly, this is a ridiculous score. I had a very legitimate 99.8 last week, but got awarded a 129.887 for competing in a new Super Sprint. Truth be told, I wanted to do the longer tri option that day but I did a Wed night race that week and my legs were dead. Either way, whether my 99.8 or the 108.3, achieving this goal was in the bag.

2. Win the NCTS for AG: There have been 9 races so far and there are 5 left (we are now enduring the long summertime where they inexplicably have no races for me to consume - how dare they!). As it stands now I have a best of 4 races total of 36,815 (I competed in 6 of the 9 so far...the next highest number of races so far is 4 - I'm putting Bill's kids through college.). Ok, so nobody really has come close to my raw number so I'll do an average. Assuming I don't do any better, I'll end the year with a 9203.75 average. The guy currently in second has a 8908 average. So that looks pretty wrapped up (unless the other guy scores a 10,091 or chips away at it in other races). In fact, I have the highest average of anyone in the Age Group category and 142 and 119 points away from the top 2 Advanced males. 

3. Improve my overall USAT Final Score: Last year I had a 95.676 and in 2023 had my previous best at 98.480. So that's already done. In fact, this year I have outperformed every single race I did last year from a USAT Score perspective (10 races). I mean, these scores are a bunch of bull but I'll take it. Doing it again next year... that will be the real challenge given how much focus and effort I've put into this year. That kind of thinking though is what burns people out...

4. Be the highest ranked triathlete for my AG in NC: Well, if my 108 stands, that looks pretty tough to beat... Had a shot before that too. But these 3 race folks who train and train and just do a race every 4 months? Who knows...

This is NOT something I want to be so results oriented with since it really doesn't mean anything other than who did or did not show up, but fwiw, I have 7 podiums this year so far with 3 wins (counting the duathlon win I had in February), 2 2nds, and 2 3rds. My average place this year is 3.57 (but again, not something I want to dwell on since its beyond my control and may be more a statement of folks not coming out to the same races as me, etc). But my record of 9 podiums from last year looks like it may be well within reach. Possible new stretch goal, have most podiums in a year ever. I'll go ahead and say I should include the duathlon win in the results since its multisport (as opposed to running races I've won in the past and haven't included). Need to make a call on that I think. 

If I ended (or still somehow do end up) with a 99.8 or whatever for a final score, I obviously would have craved a 100+ overall score. If things stand where they are, this stretch goal is already then achieved.

Other than continuing to try to best my old USAT scores for each race, I'm not sure what else I have for stretch goals... I'll keep thinking.