The Tri Town Times: 4/29/24

• Posted on 29 April 2024
• By Antonio Gonzalez
• Posted in the tri town times
• 0

The work has to be the win.

Hi all,

Here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:

Last week's highlights:

• Kat Matthews and Rodriguez Hernandez won Ironman Texas, with Hernandez setting a new run course record of 2:34:14 in the process. Local pro Danielle Lewis finishes 9th on the day.
• Local elite triathlete Tyler Robakiewicz won St. Anthony's Triathlon in Florida, confirming his ticket to the professional triathlon ranks.

Events I'm looking forward to:

- The 70.3 National Championships is this weekend in St. George.

Shop ops:

Tri Town Bicycles is assisting the Treasure Valley YMCA and BASE Idaho with the 2024 Treasure Valley Triathlon on Saturday, June 22nd. 

In collaboration with the YMCA, we have designed a new, longer bike loop for this year's event. The revised course will take athletes off Whitewater Park Boulevard and through Garden City. The loop is approximately 4 miles per lap, providing a more enjoyable experience for all race participants while remaining spectator-friendly.

Successful races rely on the support of volunteers, and we need your help managing the new bike course. If you can volunteer your time for at least a few hours on race morning, please complete this short form.

Quote that struck a chord:

“The work has to be the win. Ultimately, you have to love doing it. You have to get to a place where doing the work is the win and everything else is extra.” - Author Ryan Holiday.

By my estimate, the average endurance athlete will train 98.5% of the time, and race 1.5% of the time.

Take a triathlete for example, training for a half ironman event:

32 weeks of training is typically required to feel "prepared" for such an event. I break this into two, 16 week blocks.

The first block is devoted to building endurance and "preparing to train." Most athletes mistakenly cut this too short. The great triathlete Mark Allen once said, "It takes four years of training to begin training for an Ironman."

The second, 16 week block is when the real training begins. It's made up of specific workouts and intervals that prepare the athlete's body and mind for the event.

On average, a half ironman triathlete will want their weekly training hours to at least equal twice their expected finishing time. So, if they expect to finish in 6 hours, they will want to train at least 12 hours per week.

The simple math of 32 weeks at an average of 12 hours per week equals 384 total hours (16 complete days) of training.

The 6 hours on race day equals 1.5% of their total time spent preparing for the event.

What this exercise highlighted to me was that an athlete that trains solely for the event itself is truly missing the forest for the trees.

An important lesson I've learned from endurance sports is that the quickest way to success is to find joy in the daily process- find joy in the 98.5%.

Enjoy waiting up early and getting the training in while everyone else is sleeping.

Enjoy the rhythm and flow of the Zone 2 workout that you've done 100x before. 

Enjoy the road or path you've trained on the last 4 years and know like the back of your hand.

Alan Watts once said, "This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.".

If you find enjoyment in the daily process, every day is a win, and success on race day is inevitable.

If you have a moment to spare:

There are additional volunteer opportunities available for those who are able to support local racing:

- Volunteers needed for the Girls on the Run 5k, May 18th. Online volunteer signup form.

- Two lead cyclists are needed for the Famous Idaho Potato Marathon on May 18th. Email [email protected] or call 208 344 5502 ext 211.

Have a great week!

Antonio Gonzalez

Tri Town Bicycles

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