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..