I have heard lots of triathletes talk about having to split time training between swimming, biking, and running. It is so true. How much faster or better could they be if they were allowed to focus on just one. I know I have asked myself that same question over and over again. Do I want to fine tune my training to one event in order to maximize my results there? What is my real strength anyways? Even if I could pick a sport, what distances should I choose? To do that, first I need to list all of the racing I do:
- Triathlon - Sprint distance
- Triathlon - Olympic Distance
- Triathlon - Long Course (half/full Ironman)
- Triathlon - off-road (Xterra)
- Duathon - road/off-road
- Adventure Racing
- Running - trail running
- Running - 5K/10K
- Running - Half Marathon/Marathon/Ultra
- Cycling - Mountain biking
- Cycling - Cyclocross
- Cycling - Road/Criterium/Time Trial
- Stair Climb
- Obsticle Courses (such as Warrior dash)
- ... and probably more. I forgot two on this list and had to come back to add them in already
WOW! That's a lot of racing! I easily participate in 24 races per year. An average of 2 per month and it's not uncommon to have 3 or 4 weekends in a row of races. I'm in the middle of a 4 consecutive race weekend stretch right now. That doesn't include the occassional mid-week race. I look at that list and wonder which ones I am best at. The answer is, none of them. I wouldn't say that I'm bad at any of them either. The balance of my triathlon race has always been my biggest strength. That is the same here when you look at my fitness over all of these different events. I don't win or make it into the top 3 overall ranking hardly at all, but you'll find me in the top % of total racers in all of them. If I'm going to choose it's going to have to be by some other measure.
The next factor is actually the more important one in the way I live my life. Which one do I enjoy the most? I have always lived by the mantra to do what makes you happy and do those things as often as you can. The problem is, all of those events make me happy. Each of them has their own individual aspects that I love. It's easy for me to pick any of them and say "I definitely want to do _____". However, I can't even start to think about the other side of that which is "I'm going to give up everything else on the list". No way!
I'm am stuck being a multi-sport multi-sporter and I love it! I hope to be racing and staying fit all year around for as many years as I can make it last! It's not that I don't care about results. I most certainly do. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm competitive. I've been known to claim victories in everything despite there being a winner or not. I've won a couples massage and even yoga. Yeah, that's right. Yoga. I did my yoga with a heart rate monitor on with a goal of getting my heart rate as low as I possibly could (not the whole time obviously as I like the challenging poses the most). So, I will continue to chase the top performers in each of my races and never giving up trying to be the best at all of them.
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