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| 2025 Dunedin Triathlon |
I'm going to start this post by saying that I am always ok with my results if I finish an event, and I finished my event yesterday. The medal is already up with all the others. However, I think it's always useful to look at results with a critical eye and ask "could I have done better?" and in this case the answer is a clear yes.
So, why do I think that? Well, I didn't really train the way I should have. I'm not saying that I'm not in good shape because that's just not true. If anything, I am in better overall shape than I was last September. I'm stronger than I was, and my running times have gotten better since then, but when it came to preparing for the Tri I just kept doing what I had been doing all spring which was cycling and weight training. I went for exactly one swim, and that was before the Long center closed for renovations. I swam the distance I wanted then, but I was a little tired afterwards and open water swimming is harder than pool swimming. So it's hardly an exaggeration to say I wasn't well trained for the swimming part, and that showed in the water. I got tired and had to take several rests during the swim. It probably didn't help that I took a boxing class on Friday night and burned out my shoulders, but if I'd been swimming every week, LIKE I SHOULD HAVE, I would have felt better in the ocean.
I have no complaints about my cycling performance, because I feel like I clearly improved on that. Once I got over the salt flavor in my mouth I rode fast and consistently. Average speed was good (18mph) and I peaked at 25 on a downhill stretch. I didn't feel like I overdid the bike and got off it feeling pretty good. Maybe I should have focused more on endurance and speed, but again I improved on that, so instead I'll say I need to drink more water while riding, and I should have worn my gloves.
The biggest let down for me was my running performance. I had to start walking almost immediately, never got into a good running rhythm and walked for most of the 5k. My hip and back were hurting for the entire section and it really crushed my performance. Yes it was hot. Yes I might have been a little dehydrated. Side note, I had my fitly but couldn't find it in transition so I left it behind, but I've done events before and been able to cope, and I think there are a couple of reasons why.
First, I didn't get a good nights sleep on Saturday. Getting up at 445am is tough and I should have been in bed earlier and sleeping. That was almost all my fault. I was stressed and overreacted to something with Merinda that wound me up. Not sure if that's why the room felt like it as boiling hot all night, but that didn't help.
Second, as with the swimming I didn't train the way I should have, and that goes back to New Years. I pulled a muscle in that race and it made me feel like I was behind, so once I was able to run again I started doing a lot of 5k's in a short period of time. In hindsight that was a mistake. Not that it was too much "work", because it wasn't, but running all that over a few weeks really made my joints sore, and as a result I had to rest them coming into the race. In fact, the last time I ran before Sunday, was the 5k by the bay which was on April 5th. That would have been a fine tune-up race, but I needed to get out and run between then and Sunday instead of taking a six week break which I had to do because I'd worn myself out.
Needless to say, with no swimming or running training I didn't do any combo workouts, so I was physically unprepared for the demands of swim>bike>run. We can add in that I didn't do a lot of longer workouts since I've been trying to be leaner/stronger rather than endurance focused which is what a triathlon is all about. As I said in the beginning, I'm in good shape, so I was able to gut it out, but since I'm 57 with joint problems, instead of 27 I struggled more than a younger athlete would. Especially since I didn't do any triathlon specific training.
Ok, what's the point of all this? I've become somewhat of a realist about my capabilities, and I'm 100% ok with accepting them. If I've set goals that are too ambitious, I can accept that, but I need to see that when I feel like I did my best, and I just don't feel that I did yesterday. If I follow a good training plan, and stick to it, and get similar results I'll accept it, but I need to do my part.
With that, let me talk about how I plan to address this. I have one event planned this summer and it's the 4 on the 4th in St. Pete. I plan to compete in this, and I plan to start some light training runs in June. I will not be competing in the Tarpon tri due to a grandchild being born, and I'm ok with that too. I'm going to work on distance cycling for the Ride for the Animals in November, and some distance running goals. I still want to get to 10k runs if I can. If I can maintain a decent running program though the winter I plan to start training for Dunedin early next spring which means swimming regularly and getting that stamina back. Assuming I can do all that I'll find a training plan and STICK TO IT. I don't care if it's difficult, or inconvenient, it needs to be a commitment. I was successful at the marathon because I stuck to my training plan. Obviously, if I have a health issue that prevents it I will have to consider my options at that point, but if I want to run Miami in 2027 I can't expect to wing it and be successful.
This was a long post. tldr I didn't train well, I acknowledge and accept that, and will pay attention to that for upcoming events to avoid feeling like I let myself down.
Just file this one under lessons learned.
