May Perspective

It is that time of year again...I think I have written a post just like this a year or so ago. This post is not only for my friends, but it is also a little pep talk for myself. We all need to hear this sometimes.

It is almost the end of May, so most triathletes are somewhere between finishing their first race of the year and already having multiple races under their belt. These first races can be tough mentally. Some people come out of the blocks on fire, and others are still trying to find their groove for the year.

So, I have listed out below the things to keep in perspective when that first race or two does produce the result you are used to having or want to have.

1. If you have been injured, cut yourself some slack. Health before pride. We need to be healthy to be at our best. You have been sitting out or are just trying to regain fitness from an injury, give yourself some time and know that it will come around. There are plenty of bloggers that have been dealing with injury: think of Mel, Eileen, and even myself. Think about Marit- she lost a whole season to a severe injury. While we were all training for our A races, she was trying to walk again. How hard must that be? Well, she is now getting Hawaii slots and placing overall in tris. We can learn a lot from her patience and persistence.

2. If your last race was an Ironman- in 2008- (or something long and slow) well, you are going to feel cobwebs. And, I wouldn't trade my Ironman finish for a good May race ever- and I don't think most of you would either. Sprints and Olys are such a far cry from the training you did last year. Remind yourself that you are very fit and the Ironman training will help you in the long run. Just line up for a few more short races to get the blood flowing. You are probably stuck in Zone 2, 350 calories per hour, and 10 minutes transitions. Wait, that was just me with 10 min IM transitions... (by the way, I haven't gotten my HR monitor out since Ironman. ha ha! I got so tired off looking at Zone 2!)

3. If your job is not flexible, or you have experienced job stress (or mom stress- that is a job too!), keep it in perspective. We can't all train 3x a day. We can't all get the recovery food, rest, massages, myofascial realease, ART, sleep that we want. Times are tough right now for a lot of people. The economy is not picking up, and we have friends that may worry daily about the security of their jobs. Just do what you can do. Be creative and get the training in that works for your life. And if such and such friend just happens to be able to do twice as much training than you, take a step back and count the blessings you have in your whole life, not just your tri life.

I am doing my first race this weekend. I am a little nervous. I still don't know if I can run the whole 2 miles yet. ha! But I will try to speed walk really fast. Won't that be a hoot! I hope someone catches that on camera- and I won't wave or smile for the camera, either- I will look super intense! :) But seriously, I know how prideful I can be to not have a good run on the end of my race- so I am going to remind myself of this post and the patience we must have with ourselves.

The season is long :) This is just the start and there are many more races ahead! Good luck!