Disclaimer: this is just a load of waffling with a few pictures that made sense to me!
I've just celebrated my birthday and am now in my final year of my twenties, which also means the last year of the 25-29 Age Group! When I first turned 25 I was only just beginning to understand what a triathlon was and thought it was rather glam and rather exciting! I still have the same enthusiasm that I had then but I have also come to value other things a lot more as well. For example, I do love training, but I also love having a clean house and succeeding at work and spending time with my friends. It's hard to sometimes find that balance and succeed (in your own way) at everything you want to succeed in.....being today's modern woman is tough!
When I first got involved in triathlon I also thought, "How exciting training for 3 different sports!" Now I think "It would be much easier to train for one!" I often read through social networking about how much people are loving training and they can't wait to get up at 4am to do their 5k swim. That is great to hear, but in all honesty the few times I do set my alarm for a morning swim I feel more like this:
It has, however, been a great honour to race for Team GB every year in this Age Group and it's been lovely to see some of the girls I started with go on to (&succeed in) elite races, and it's nice now to see new faces coming into the sport. I feel like an old & wise lady that has many a tale to share!!! One thing I have learned is to not get disheartened when all goes wrong! For example, I am supposed to be running the Watford Half Marathon next weekend but a little thing called injury has got in the way. I've hardly run at all this month, I've done no speedwork whatsoever and my hip really hurts from the outset. I'm still in two minds what to do (I know what the sensible option is) and it made me realise that the reality can greatly vary from your plan!
Another thing I've noticed since racing triathlon is how expensive it's getting! I went to enter a sprint distance race the other day and it was a whopping £71.50! For an hour of racing!?!? I enter the races (reluctantly) because I love competing, and there are some good companies out there who do actually care about the athlete and give some good value for money races.
I've also noticed (or maybe I've just become aware of it more) of a lot more Facebragging than there used to be! I have probably also been guilty of this but there seems to be a common need to post about every single training session, and everything that has been consumed, and all the recovery clothing that is being worn. I sometimes get exhausted just reading about it! I think the biggest learning curve then is to focus on what you are doing and not worry about everyone else. Come race season the results will do the talking and as long as the journey along the way is enjoyable that's all that matters!
I've also learnt that as the years have gone by I've really had to up my game to compete with the best age groupers. Holding down a full-time job, running a functional home, making time for your nearest and dearest and triathlon training can be pretty tough (as you already know!)! I remember in 2012 I did the odd day in the year where I trained twice a day. I thought I was the dogs bollocks and that nobody else would ever dream of doing that. How naive I was! I realise now that training twice a day is the norm for many athletes. Thankfully I've insisted on training smart and not judging my training based on how many hours a week I'm doing. I also insist on plenty of rest days and time for normal things!! But it has opened my eyes to just how much triathletes train. It's also made me more accepting of my performances. The circumstances and opportunities for Age Groupers to train varies so much from person to person so the only person you can judge yourself against is you.
So with that wisdom I will wish you all the best in being completely fabulous in whatever it is you would like to achieve. And I'll wish myself a happy final year in my twenties Age Group!
