Never happy..

So I did the Chester triathlon Sunday and finished 3rd overall behind Roger Wilkins and Martin Cain. Both are flying at the moment and as they are both cracking guys I don't think I could have been happier having never finished that high up in the event. However.. as soon as I saw the results I wasn't happy.. the swim could have been a minute quicker, I think I can go 2 minutes faster on the bike when on form and the run could be 1-2 minutes quicker.. and there lies the problem.. I'm never happy.

It should work along the following lines.. I dedicate hours of my life to training and sacrifice a great deal of pain and sweat, I finish a race in the highest position I've ever managed and this is followed by unrivalled satisfaction which makes all the effort worth while.. not so.

I've coached several people to Ironman pbs and their response when I speak to them after the event? I can go much quicker.. I think the bike was too slow.. etc. If you dedicate a large amount of time to training, at some point it is balanced by the satisfaction of performance.. otherwise how long can motivation last?

In the tri world where all your peers are doing the same as you, it's easy to lose touch with normality and realise that what we all do is something special and a sense of achievement and satisfaction should be the reward after every event. If you think that your Ironman time is nothing to brag about.. you're spending too much time with triathletes and not enough time with normal people!! When you hit a target, enjoy it.. rather than instantly brushing it aside and not even recognising it's existence!

Anyway.. I still think I can find 4 minutes next year.. but I'll just relax for a minute today and enjoy yesterday's result.

Thanks to the guys at Chester Tri for yet another exceptional NW Olympic championships, next stop Boundary Breeze - NW Sprint organised by Manchester Tri.. another great race!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Focus Daniel son..

I remember someone telling me about oxford and cambridge competing in the boat race a few years back.. I have no idea who were the favourites but I remember that the underdogs set out to row as close to the favourites as possible and clash oars.. they did this within the first mile and repeatedly continued.. as a result the favourites lost focus and lost the race.

It's interesting that both teams clashed oars yet one lost the plot and the other went on to win.. the reason for this is that for one team is was their game plan, so their race went to plan and they remained focused on their own actions. For the losers (who were the favourites), they did not expect this at all and they spent most of the time focused on what the other team were doing..

This is a perfect example of open water swimming success.. if people bump into you and you switch your attention to them.. or the choppy water, or any one of the other swimmers.. you are not focusing on yoruself! Block everyone else out and focus internally.. pick 2 things which you need to do well.. keep your head down and keep your body long. Focus internally on those 2 things and ignore your surroundings..

Research has shown that elite athletes tend to focus internally rather than externally and we can all learn something from that!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Oop North..

There are some bloody fantastic races up here in Lancashire, just got back from Rossendale Sprint race which is just like triathlon used to be.. £25 to enter, no frills and £1 for pie and peas at the finish.. I've competed in triathlon for 19 years and the changes are incredible, some for better and some for worse but on the whole who cares if more people are triing!

If you fancy a bit of Lancashire racing there are some great events which include Horwich, Brinscall and Rossendale, and more recently.. IMUK who I hear are giving out branded flat caps in the goodie bags.

The NW in general is a great place for racing and in addition to the Cumbrian monster races such as Helvellyn and Coniston Old Man, there are some great club races.. Chester Olympic organised by Chester Tri and Boundary Breeze organised by Manchester Tri are perhaps the best established and amazingly well organised and supported by club members. Everyone tends to know everyone and club members are friendly right across the board towards their local neighbourhood rivals, just how sport should be.

Pie and peas have just settled as I write this.. Chester in 2 weeks and then on to Boundary Breeze.. everything leads to Helvellyn! The summer lies ahead and is structured around these landmarks!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..