Most of us, triathletes that is, would agree that as a general rule we tend to be geeks. Not the pocket protector thing but more of a desire to have high tech gadgets and latest information for our racing and training. I would say this includes an unrelenting search for “new” and or “better” information, rules, tips, and tricks. I don’t know how many books I have on running, swimming, cycling, and triathlon I own but I know my wife is not too happy about the room they take up on the shelves.
I have learned a ton of stuff from books, magazines, pod-casts, and the Internet. A lot of important things are actually gleaned during training or racing. What works best for one person may not work best for you.
Sometimes the information you get never really sinks in until it actually happens in real life. Case in point. I did a race recently called the Newark Mile in my home town. The Newark Mile turns out to be two and a half miles in reality, don’t ask me why. I’ve run this race a few times in years past, usually pushing a baby stroller, and did not take it very seriously. This year I had a few friends in the race with me. One in particular was relatively new to running again and I expected to finish ahead of him. My plan was to run comfortably through the first half and then run a faster second half. Much to my angst, my friend pulled away early and stayed ahead though within sight. I decided to run a little faster than I had planned. After the turn at the midway point, I could tell my buddy was struggling a bit. He didn’t have the same fluid form. I don’t know how my form looked but I was still felt mostly OK and was gaining ground. At about a half mile to the finish I passed him trying to look a lot stronger than I felt. With about two tenths of a mile left, he passed me again. I was deflated. I “knew” that I had little left in the tank to increase my current pace. At the last turn with a tenth to go, I found another gear. I didn’t know it but I decided to “max out”. I blew past him again with thirty yards to the finish.
Later when pondering on the race, I realized that much more of this mental stuff is involved than I’d originally thought. After looking at my times, I found that I’d averaged 8:20/mi pace and dipped into the 5:36/mi range during my finishing kick. Whoa! I’m convinced that if I’d looked at my pace during the race, I would have not been able to sustain it. Why? Going in, I didn’t think I had a run under 9min/mi in me for that distance. Also, I’d never had a real finishing kick at the end of any race of more than a mile before. Mental. My next race was a half marathon down in Long Beach. I actually managed a finishing kick over the last quarter mile. It was a great feeling.
So, I’ve only recently learned how powerful the mind can affect one’s performance in an endurance event. The mental side. The cool thing is that this opens another avenue for improvement. Hmmm…. I guess more study and another book might be in order. 