More is More, Better is Better

There are a lot more of us, triathletes that is, around today.

Years ago when I started with triathlon, for no apparent reason, the sport was much smaller. Triathlon was a mysterious sport that only the super-crazy or super-human would dare to attempt. Today there are many people, who have never done a triathlon, signing up for IM races, training for them, and finishing. This is really gutsy in my book.

Ironman has become the new marathon. In the past few years triathlon has become much more mainstream. This is really good. There are more races. The quality of the races is really good. And, I have met many more really good people. The list of good things can go on and on.

So, in the past...let's just say "many" years, a lot has changed and improved. I do notice a constant though among those of us who take this hobby really seriously. The people that do 140.6 seem to look at anything shorter as, well, not quite triathlon. And, many of us seem to feel like they won't really be triathletes until they do 140.6 (an NAS sanctioned one at that). Then they are real, bonafide, card carrying triathletes.

I have done iron distance (IM brand and other), sprint races, and all sorts of combinations in between. I have never hurt so badly as in a local sprint race with a pool swim where I finished 6th overall. I felt like I was going to die for the entire 50 minutes it took to complete it. A couple months before this I blew up on the run at IM Canada, but finished. The sprint was harder.

In a longer race you have more opportunity to make mistakes with pacing, nutrition, and such. You also have more of an opportunity to make up for mistakes like a bad swim. In a short race pacing is simple, just go like mad. However any mistake you make will be costly.

Triathlon is a great accomplishment at any distance, especially for those of you who continue to get better or do more.