Semi-new to this forum, and a new triathlete. Just started at the end of last summer. I’ve won my AG (20-24, not a huge group) in all the sprints I’ve done. Usually this means I beat the girls from the college teams in Virginia, which is kinda cool. I haven’t done any longer races yet, but will do an Oly next month.
I’m not sure how to judge this though. In a race with less than 400, is this a big deal? It’s given me the boost to dedicate myself to the sport and learn cycling, which is entirely new to me, but I don’t know what to make of the whole AG thing. I’m afraid I’m going to feel really, really crappy when i don’t even place at the Oly…
Sorry my question is so unspecific–just wanted to hear people’s philosophies on what winning means to them.
No need to knock your results because of being in a small group. Only thing I would worry about, is that my competition in the future age groups hasnt even bought a bike yet. Your in a lucky minority that has already discovered triathlon. Enjoy your success for the here and now. Pursue it!
Learning what it feels like to lose is part of competing. It can make you a stronger competitor or not, it’s all part of the mental aspect of competitive athletics. I would suggest that when it happens, because it eventually will (just like your first DNF, or your first bike accident), that you make a serious effort to understand and deal with the emotional aspect of “losing”. You may take it hard, but you will have to realize that you have to lose to win. As Wayne Gretzky used to say “I score 75% of the time I shoot the puck, but I miss 100% of the time I don’t.”
I already DNF’d in a du. I learned SO MUCH MORE from that than I would have from winning. I didn’t do a mechanical check on my bike, and something was wrong with the brakes… Actually, after I got over the shame and extreme disappointment with myself, I realized that I’m almost grateful it happened. I didn’t get hurt, and I learned something REALLY important early on, which will hopefully prevent other catastrophes in the future.
It’s good to concentrate on the things you can control: training, nutrition, pacing, equipment. Forget about the stuff you can’t control: weather, who shows up. Be happy with a well executed race with minimal mistakes. If you win then that’s a bonus. You should also remember that this time of year many folks may be training through races so the same people may be a lot faster for their A race.
I won’t say that winning my AG doesn’t mean anything because it does. But for me it’s a bonus – like nickc said. I’m much more concerned about my race performance/execution than how I placed, and I’d much rather race better than I thought I could and not place in my AG than “underperform” and win the AG (both have happened).
enjoy winning in your AG. i used to, but really don’t anymore. boy, i sure wish i could again! so, enjoy all the wins you get, don’t ever water them down and certainly don’t let anyone else water it down. winning is a big deal–i don’t care what the event is!
build on this and continue on. when you’re older the competition is more stiff. by then you’ll have plenty of experience and it will be fun to see how you do against a bigger group of fit women.
This is a great question because it highlights what in particular motivates each of us to race. It feels great to win for sure (or collect any podium place for that matter). On the other hand, there’s no doubt some performances will always stand out in my mind more than others.
In big venue races with large fields, you can turn in a 90th percentile time and be well out of the jewelry but dang! what a freakin’ killer job you did. On the other hand, if you’ve been training and racing Olympic distance and then race a smaller sprint and destroy the field (often with lots of newbies) then what have you really achieved (yeah, I know, that over-distance training can kick ass). It’s a tough one for me philosophically.
What I find is that beyond genetics, there’s no magic formula (OK, EPO and HGH) for consistant wins other than the proverbial hard work. I now know, after repeated trials, that with X amount of training, I will be in Xth percentile and, unless I’m willing to significantly alter my life and schedule, the place changes are going to be incremental up or down.
So for me, I race against the other involved dads and husbands with small kids at home, that are also working 40 plus hours a week in a job where we struggle to pay the house note and have some to put away for a driving vacation somewhere in the West each year. That narrows my AG a little and saves my MOPer pride just a little
Anyway, nice job- I think of myself as a winner for toe-ing the start line and plunging in when the horn sounds. Hard enough to even get there let alone win it all.
I agree with a lot of whats said and I’ve never even placed top 3 in my AG since I was 18…but different races have a huge degree of different degrees of competitiveness. Small sprints can be very competitive or very easy to win. Most longer races are more consistent and usually more competitive than most sprints. I’ve race a half well and placed 150/900 - I then raced a sprint well and placed 19/900. Big difference.
Just do not let a lower placing in a more competitive race get you down (if you are used to winning).
