The Nature of Disappointment

Over the past few days Canadian triathletes experienced profound disappointment at the London Olympics.  Paula Findlay finished in last place, and Simon Whitfield did not even get the opportunity to complete his race after crashing only 30 seconds into the bike leg of the race.

What makes it difficult for Simon is that this is most likely his last Olympic event, and maybe even his last triathlon.   It is not certain that he would have won, or even made the podium, but what he wanted most was to show his stuff to the world.  And to see how all the training, sacrifice, and effort would have been measured against the rest of the field.

Paula entered the race with no race situations for the past 12-months. Maybe she was simply fooling herself.  Maybe she should not have even stepped up to the start line?  But true competitors will never back away from a challenge.  Regardless it was crystal clear that she felt the pressure of  disappointing others - family, coaches, teammates, and Canada.   That certainly is a great deal of pressure for a 20-something.


I'm in no way comparing myself to these two world class athletes in terms of ability, but I understand what they may be feeling.

Like Simon, I also have a DNF.  It was at an Olympic Distance race in Corner Brook, NL in 2005 and my body would not co-operate, and after a tough bike lap I pulled the chute and handed my bib to an official.  As soon as I handed it in I wished I did not.  It felt awful being in transition packing up my things as others were still on course.  And it was even worse at the athletes dinner having to tell people I DNF'ed.  I vowed then that I would never again DNF.

And a little later that year I experienced what Paula did at Ironman Canada.  Even going in to the event prepared my body shut down - dehydration - during the race and I had to struggle across the finish line in over 16 hours.    It was a dreadful run leg - cramping, stumbling.  But I heard my name called, got a medal, and finisher t-shirt.  And a few hours in the medical tent.  But I finished.  And even though my time goal was not achieved I averted a major disappointment.
 
So the question I asked myself is how should we view disappointment? 

First, I think it is naive to think that we will go through our lives without disappointment. 

Second there are will be major and minor disappointments.  Don't make a minor disappointment into a major one.

Third, it's how you deal with the disappointment that you'll be measured by.  We are allowed some time mourn if you will but do you  let the bitterness consume you?  NO!  Disappointment is simply a new motivator.

And finally, let's reshape our view of disappointment by reassessing how we measure ourselves.  Perhaps we are not managing our expectations, investing too much in the wrong things, acting in unhealthy ways. Instead of using finishing times as a measure perhaps we should measure if we really gave our all, or if we finishing in a healthy and uninjured state.  Or instead of a placement perhaps we should measure ourselves against how we executed our race plan. 

So if you've had some disappointment with your recent training, races etc. take a step back and determine how you are looking at / dealing with the disappointment.   You may just surprise your self and get back on the positive track.

Until next time, keep tri'n.

End of the Season

Well, it's sad to say, but the 2011 triathlon season has come to an end for me. This is always a tough thing to swallow because I thrive on having goals and milestones to work towards.

But as of today there are no more races this season to add to my calendar. But there is always next season.

That said triathlon is a process and this is an excellent time to look back at the "what I'll do" and compare that against the "what I did", and evaluate this against the "what happened".

This season I focused on short course racing - super sprint, and sprint distance races. This was for two reasons (i) I was feeling burnt out from 5+ years of long distance racing - Iron and Half Iron, (ii) practically I knew that I could not commit the time required, and (iii) I felt that my long distance pacing [speed] had plateaued, and that I needed to inject more speed into my training and racing to let this carry over to long distance when I return to it.
 
I also decided that I would not follow a structured plan.  While structure is a positive, it can also become a negative if one does not make the workouts.  Instead I tried to do 5-6 workouts a week - at least 1 swim, 2-3 rides, and 1-2 runs.  And a strength workout.    These workouts would be shorter in distance and duration but higher in intensity.

With the fitness I had built over the past number of years I should be fine.


And during each workout I would focus on technique.

The results:


Swim
I was taking a maintenance approach to the swim, but it only hurt me in one race.  In the other races I was always towards the front of the pack, without blowing up.
Grade B+


Bike
The technique and strength work really helped with my bike.  I added about 2-3km/h in pace, without hurting my run.  Doing brick workouts also helped.
Grade A+


Run
Much more solid and strong.  Was able to hold pace and form.  Would still like to see a reduction in pace time but with more hard work it will come along. 
Grade B+


So what about outcomes?  These are always difficult to measure because of the many different factors at play - how you feel, weather, course, and competitors.  The best measure is how one executed, and on that measure I'd give myself an A grade.


The actual results were also good.  3rd, 1st, 4th and 7th place positions in my Age Group.

And finally I was injury free all season which is very important.  All in all a very good season.

So whenever your season ends take some time to evaluate.


Until next time, keep tri'n.