The first time I tried a Triathlon THIS was what happened...
Four years later I redeemed myself.
(that picture is me, after the swim, headed out on the bike and, yes, I'm smiling)
Ran my first Olympic Distance (1.5km swim/40km bike/10km run) Triathlon in June and nailed it! In fact, by the time I reached km 9 on the run I started getting emotional, so strong was the sense of redemption I felt after my abject failure the first time around.
The difference?
This time, as a result of my first failure, I knew what to expect and, because I'd failed SO badly the first time, I was determined to NEVER experience that feeling again so...
I stacked miles.
The key to success with a distance race (as in life) lies in doing the prep work required. Simply put, the first time, I didn't train anywhere near hard enough because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This time (after one more International Sprint distance Tri last year) I knew what to expect and, with that healthy dose of fear in my back pocket, I was able to push myself to train MUCH harder.
I stacked miles.
Running and running and swimming and swimming and riding that race bike farther than I ever thought possible until the distances I was going to have to do on race day, seemed routine.
That's right, routine.
Any challenge in life starts off daunting but (I believe) can become routine...
If you stack enough miles.
And I did, which is why I "did better..."
T
