The Tri Town Time: 4/24/23

• Posted on 24 April 2023
• By Antonio Gonzalez
• Posted in the tri town times
• 0

The importance of core principles and nailing the basics; what we accomplish comes down to what we dream we are capable of.

Hi all,

Here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:

Weekend race report:

- 30,000 people started the 127th edition of the Boston Marathon last Monday. Boise State grad Emma Bates led the women's race at multiple stages late in the race, ultimately finishing in 5th place and top American. Evans Chebet of Kenya defended his 2022 Boston Marathon title by holding off one of the strongest fields ever assembled.

- Kat Matthews won the women's race at Ironman Texas. Local professional triathletes Jocelyn McCauley and Danielle Lewis finished in the top 5 and earned slots to the Ironman World Championships. Rudy Von Berg won an exciting men's race that saw the top three finishers cross the line within 25 seconds of one another.

Quote that struck a chord:

“When you first start to study a field, it seems like you have to memorize a zillion things. You don’t. What you need is to identify the core principles – generally three to twelve of them – that govern the field. The million things you thought you had to memorize are simply various combinations of the core principles.” - Author John T. Reed

Last week I wrote a post on pyramids. What I love about pyramids is they visually and physically represent the importance of a strong foundation. A pyramid is all about getting the basics right. Like building a pyramid, committing to core principles may be simple, but is rarely easy.

As we develop as athletes we often get lost in the detail and complexity of training and racing. Developing, working, and reflecting on core principles can act as a beacon for focus. Core principles will always bring you back to what really matters- the basics.

The key is to never get bored with the basics.

If you have a moment to spare:

How much of racing is simply a mental belief of what we are capable of?

Look at this graph of the Berlin marathon finishing times. See the big spikes at the 4 and 3 hour mark? That is the visual representation of the power of the mind.

If these people can will themselves to a 3 or 4 hour marathon, why not a 2:45 or 3:45 marathon?

Much of what we accomplish comes down to what we dream we are capable of.

Train smart,

Antonio Gonzalez

Tri Town Bicycles

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