The Best Rivalry in Sports thread got me thinking about personal rivalries. Specifically, do you have a nemesis – another triathlete in your training/racing world who usually is faster than you and makes you think “I want to beat him/her.”? I had one once. Here’s my story:
Four years ago, I had my job under control and was able to train on a regular basis. That summer I started finishing in the top 10 - 15% of my age group and even broke into the top 5 of my AG a couple of times at smaller races. Then, in August, I raced a moderate sized (500 plus) Oly distance tri in northern Ohio. I had a decent swim and PRd the bike. My run seemed steady and I passed a lot of triathletes. Around mile 5 on the run, I heard some runners coming up on me. Relay teams, I thought. No, two guys passed me strongly and both of them had my age group marked on their calves. I couldn’t match their pace. I had just dropped two places in the final mile. When results were announced, I finished 5th in my AG and was very happy about my best ever finish.
Three weeks later, I raced at the USAT Mideast Region Championship in Indianapolis. I had an average swim and bike for me, but I felt good on the run. It was brutally hot and I was happy to be passing people. With about 1.5 miles to go, I heard footsteps from behind getting louder. I thought “Oh no, not again.” As the triathlete passed me, I looked and saw he was one of the same two guys who passed me in the previous race. I looked at him and said “I can’t believe it. You passed me at the same spot in a race 3 weeks ago!” I expected some sort of friendly nod or short response. Instead, he turned to stare me directly in the eyes as he passed, sneered, and then said in a contemptuous tone “Why don’t you learn how to run?” He then dropped the hammer and left me. In the span of 5 seconds, I was surprised, angry, and then laughing at myself thinking “Ya know, he’s right.”
Anyway, I knew then I had a nemesis. You cannot believe how much I wanted to drop that guy the next year. We did many of the same races, neither of us was aging up, and I knew I would see him again. I trained harder on the run that winter came out the next year with improved running speed and endurance. I even thought about taking it easy on the bike to let him get ahead of me just so I could dust him on the run. When I didn’t see him at popular Midwest races by June that next year, I asked an Ohio race director friend about him. Apparently, my nemesis had moved to Texas during the off season. I haven’t seen him since, nor has any other triathlete brought out the fire in me like that guy did that year. The funny thing is, he probably doesn’t even know I exist. But if I ever get down to Texas to race – and I will eventually – I’ll be a gunnin’ fer him!
So, who’s your nemesis?
Four years ago, I had my job under control and was able to train on a regular basis. That summer I started finishing in the top 10 - 15% of my age group and even broke into the top 5 of my AG a couple of times at smaller races. Then, in August, I raced a moderate sized (500 plus) Oly distance tri in northern Ohio. I had a decent swim and PRd the bike. My run seemed steady and I passed a lot of triathletes. Around mile 5 on the run, I heard some runners coming up on me. Relay teams, I thought. No, two guys passed me strongly and both of them had my age group marked on their calves. I couldn’t match their pace. I had just dropped two places in the final mile. When results were announced, I finished 5th in my AG and was very happy about my best ever finish.
Three weeks later, I raced at the USAT Mideast Region Championship in Indianapolis. I had an average swim and bike for me, but I felt good on the run. It was brutally hot and I was happy to be passing people. With about 1.5 miles to go, I heard footsteps from behind getting louder. I thought “Oh no, not again.” As the triathlete passed me, I looked and saw he was one of the same two guys who passed me in the previous race. I looked at him and said “I can’t believe it. You passed me at the same spot in a race 3 weeks ago!” I expected some sort of friendly nod or short response. Instead, he turned to stare me directly in the eyes as he passed, sneered, and then said in a contemptuous tone “Why don’t you learn how to run?” He then dropped the hammer and left me. In the span of 5 seconds, I was surprised, angry, and then laughing at myself thinking “Ya know, he’s right.”
Anyway, I knew then I had a nemesis. You cannot believe how much I wanted to drop that guy the next year. We did many of the same races, neither of us was aging up, and I knew I would see him again. I trained harder on the run that winter came out the next year with improved running speed and endurance. I even thought about taking it easy on the bike to let him get ahead of me just so I could dust him on the run. When I didn’t see him at popular Midwest races by June that next year, I asked an Ohio race director friend about him. Apparently, my nemesis had moved to Texas during the off season. I haven’t seen him since, nor has any other triathlete brought out the fire in me like that guy did that year. The funny thing is, he probably doesn’t even know I exist. But if I ever get down to Texas to race – and I will eventually – I’ll be a gunnin’ fer him!
So, who’s your nemesis?