I had a supervisor in the Navy that said after every detachment you needed to write down what you learned. That way if there was something special you needed for the next time you were at that location you knew to pack it. I am going to adapt this to do after each race season so I can look back and see what I need to work on and the details of the previous seasons.
Lessons Learned
- Don't limit your challenges, challenge your limits! Started this season wanting nothing more than finish a 5k and loose the weight. Look were I am know. I have finished a half marathon and starting training for a half ironman.
- Putting this journey in a place like here or Facebook was a great idea. Public humiliation is a great motivator!
- You can't out train bad eating habits (Thanks Big Daddy Diesel for saying it best). Just because you ran 10 miles today doesn't mean a you earned the Big Mac you ate for lunch! Bad food is not a reward for good training!
- Just because it is a small pool doesn't mean you shouldn't use it to train in. (This mindset is why I didn't get a tri-sprint in this year!)
- Triathlon training and gear are not cheap, even if you get lower end products.
- Top end gear doesn't make you a top end triathlete!
- Amazed at the amount of high caliber athletes that are happy to help you improve through sharing the knowledge and experiences that they have learned along the way!
- Ignoring the hills and speed training to focus on distance training doesn't work when you want to run far fast!
- Some supplements will help, others don't and side effects are as different as the people who use them. Diets are this way too!
- Unplug from technology every once and a while so I can sense what my body is saying about the pace I am running.
- Food logs are a savior when you start having issues with your stomach. Also great when trying to figure out why you are only loosing a pound instead of the steady pounds you were loosing!
- Soda is just evil and no longer has a role in my life.
- Stretching is something you do after a run, not so much before, and is not something you skip when in a time crunch.
- Temperature will effect your running.
- Female runners are just sexy!
- There is a huge difference between "can't go on" and "don't think I can go on".
- The longer you get out of your comfort zone the more effective your workout will be!
- Shaking muscles after a workout just means you worked them.
- The only way to finish a race is head and shoulders back, with a smile on your face and running like you just stole something!
- Running is an individual sport that is tons more fun with people
This is just a short list that I could come up with today and by no means is all that I learned. Most important thing I learned is that there is not a goal that I can't reach as long as I commit myself to do the work to get there. I am not concerned about if I finish a half ironman next year, I am concerned about exactly when I finish a half ironman
- Mike
Great list! I can attest to nearly all of them myself. The greatest catalyst to my better performance was changing my diet. I cut out all processed foods, all sugary drinks, soda, and general crap. I eat a varied, healthy, whole foods diet and I do it on a limited budget. I decided that improving performance and preventing future health issues was much important (and not all that hard with a little bit of discipline). I've never looked back and things just keep getting better.
ReplyDeleteAlso, like you say, the social networking aspect of your training should not be overlooked. I have enjoyed following your transformation via FB and I also find that following other people's training endeavors inspires me to do more and do better. When we surround ourselves with positive minds (whether in real life or in the online community), suddenly putting in the hard work doesn't seem so hard. It also makes us accountable, so when we don't feel like getting up at 5 a.m. to go run in the rain, we do it anyway, and as soon as we do we're glad we did.
I have to agree with you Jeff. Watching your success and reading your race reports always motivates me to get out and do it to the best of my ability. I also find that training with someone who is slightly faster/stronger gives me the extra motivation during my runs to get out of my comfort zone for longer time periods. That keeps my progress moving in the right direction.
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