The Tri Town Times: 9/11/23
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- By Antonio Gonzalez
- Posted in the tri town times
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This week: Sam Laidlow wins Ironman World Champs; Dr. Seuss and keeping it playful
Image: Pro Triathlete Travis Wood on the bike
Hi all,
Here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:
Weekend race highlights:
- Sam Laidlow is the first ever French Ironman World Champion. This year's race was held in Nice, and saw over 10,000 feet of climbing and technical descents, followed by a flat run course. Sam led off the bike and never looked back. A few additional highlights include:
- 2x Ironman World Champion Patrick Lange took 2nd place by running himself up from 12th off the bike. His run split of 2hr 32min is the fastest in Ironman World Championship history.
- '22 champion Gustav Iden and '21 champion Kristian Blummenfelt are preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics and did not compete in the race.
- American Sepp Kuss leads the Vuelta España as the race enters its final week. His Jumbo Visma team holds the top 3 spots in the race, which Primoz Roglic in second, and Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard in third. This is Kuss' third grand tour race this season, and he only seems to be getting stronger as the season progresses.
- An insightful article on Kuss' training this season with an emphasis on tracking just the basic metrics and keeping things simple.
Events I'm looking forward to:
- The annual Tri Swap is Saturday, September 30th and Sunday, October 1st. We've hosted this swap and store sale for over 10 years, and it continues to be a popular way to buy or sell used and new gear of all types.
- The women's Ironman World Championship race is on the traditional course in Kona on October 14th.
Thought that struck a chord:
Yesterday my 6 year old niece ran up to me and said with excitement, "I just read TWO Dr. Seuss books! It was so much fun I think I'll read a third one."
I smiled and thought, "That's it. She's got it."
The trick is not to force a child to read, but to make reading so much fun that she wants to read. The genius of The Cat in the Hat is that it has less than 300 unique, simple words arranged in fun and memorable ways that most first graders can understand. Dr. Seuss kept things simple, he kept things fun, and along the way showed generations of children that reading is awesome.
Exercise is no different. There is little benefit in forcing yourself to read a bad or boring book, similarly there is little benefit in getting out the door and grinding through a workout you don't want to do. The trick is to make training so simple and fun that you want to get outside and workout. When you find yourself excited to read a good book you truly absorb the information within its pages. It's the same with training- when you're excited to exercise, you're more able to absorb all the benefits of the training itself.
Be wary of metrics that interfere with your enjoyment of the activity itself. Would knowing how many words you're reading per minute actually help you enjoy the book? Probably not. Nor would it help you understand the material. Does knowing your speed, pace, or heart rate during the exercise help you enjoy the activity? Probably not. It may be interesting, but it ultimately distracts your focus from what really matters: having fun in the moment.
Keep it simple. Keep it playful. That's the trick.
If you have a moment to spare:
Last week saw some inspiring running take place:
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen breaks a 20 year old 2,000 meters record. Along the way, 6 national records were broken in the same race, meaning it may be the single fastest 2,000 meter race of all time.
Antonio Gonzalez
Tri Town Bicycles
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