I re-read the sign-up form.
Yep, as is normal, there is no performance level to be met.
Meeting a minimum age, medically safe and payment were the entry requirements.
So why had I held off until September to enter my first race this season?
I told myself, and others that it was due to covid in April taking me out of training early on. Then a significant calf injury hit as I got back into things mid summer.
However, if I’m really honest looking deeper behind both of those factors there was a further hesitation.
Yes, they were both real and genuine and caused me to miss events and impacted training. But I’d also set myself an entry critieria before I signed up for a first event.
In my mind I had a performance level I wanted to be at before I raced.
It’s interesting to consider how much of your enjoyment comes from competing against this “ghost” pacer. Faster than expectations? Slower than expectations? The desire to be better. But better than what?
The barrier we place, its height and who, apart from yourself, is standing guard at it?
It’s the classic limiting mindset of “I’ll be ready when….”
So what changed?
My attendance at the IM event last weekend was the catalyst that moved my expectations. However, perhaps not in the way you might first think.
At the time, the event was amazing. The support and atmosphere were so positive and upbeat.
However, it was actually just beforehand that I signed up.
Something in the anticipation of coaching/spectation at the event triggered me to fill in the forms.
May be some element of FOMO?
May be some rekindling of the fun of events. I’m still not quite sure.
However, once signed up there was a little voice through Nice that made me look forward even more to my own events to come.
The other fundemental change was answering myself the question I ask all my coached athletes beforehand
“How do you want to experience this event?”
There was a click in my mind that actually the best way to experience this was to
- use it as a benchmark for season 2024 training
- reset my expectations to measure against how well the rehab has progressed rather than against PB’s / season 2023
- support local events
- enjoy the event environment
- see what lessons can be (re)learnt.
Both events were amazing.
https://pyreneeschrono.fr/evenement/ogeuloise/
The weather was glorious over the weekend albeit a bit toasty during running.
There were definatively lessons learnt – here are just a sample
- Preperation – test your equipment with sufficient time to deal with issues rather than just find them. My bike front disc was faulty but without time to get confident in the fix.
- Align behaviour with goals – I should therefore have brought my road bike but I persevered with my TT bike. Why? The performance ego / flashy kit demon crept in. This was is a usual visitor and came to see me before in an event using newer fancier cycle shoes over beat up super comfy ones.
- Swim course awareness – One of the bouys moved during the second lap of the swim. Yep, the whole swim snake went wonky, following the person in front. We ended up bewildered once the bouy became lodged up against the pontoon. It’s tough given the limited sighting but every so often try and take in the bigger picture during a race otherwise the red-mist of racing can make you miss the obvious, whether this is in swim or in other disciplines. This is particulary relevant in T1 & T2.
- Stryd / Running to power – This was the first time running to a power figure for intensity and pacing. It was a fresh metric and helped with not comparing against prior km pace.
- Know the course – one of my 3 race fundementals. Having raced the trail run multiple times I assumed it would be the same set-up. It turned out to be reversed and slightly modified. Although not materially impactful, it did have an effect on my understanding of aid station location and sense of RPE/pacing.
Overall – remember to take some pictures as a way to help me pause and capture the vibe and emotions in images. I even took the time out of the trail run to take some midcourse photots. The goal was fun, not performance.
There was no entry criteria except the barrier I created in my mind.
Have fun out there.
Action(s) / Personal Reflections:
- “I’ll do x when….” behaviour is super common. Where might you have holding you back waiting on a pre-condition?
- Where is there a performance entry criteria in your mind?
- Can you re-write this expectation?
- Where have you calibrated this criteria against? Historical you, future you, peers, instagram?
- What primary and secondary benefits could you gain by taking the step today?