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Is Triathlon still your main focus

wchevronwchevron Member, POTM

Seems like some have gotten into downhill mountain biking, others into gravel, etc. Have some of you gotten away from triathlon totally or is it just on the back burner while you take up something else? Did you migrate away from triathlon once Covid hit or had you already started transitioning before Covid. And why?

Triathlon is still my main focus. Mostly long distance. Like the solitude of the long training days and the challenge to still try to improve. Swim and bike times have stayed about the same but my running times have really dropped last couple of years from my late 40's to early 50's. Still trying for PR's but I think those days are behind me.
Did quite a bit of mountain biking (cross country) in my 20's and 30's. Could maybe see myself getting back into it, but right now no interest. Can I still get 26" tires for my Dean hardtail?

Aaron WebsteyJames Lange

Comments

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    kjrunninkjrunnin Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter

    Wine has become my main focus.

    Seriously though, I had concluded my triathlon days were behind me when I concluded my running days were behind me after being told I had advanced osteoarthritis in both knees. I'd only been to the ortho because I had so much pain from running so it's not like it was an incidental finding with no impact on my running ability. Once I gave up running, I would try again every few months because I missed it so much, and then my knees would get super cranky again and I'd be like "oh yeah, right, this is why I stopped". And that's why it was an easy decision to sell the tri bike. In the last 2 years, I have been mostly cycling (road).

    But then IM announced Alaska and I just couldn't resist. I am cautiously getting re-aquainted with running, and loving being back in the pool. I had also forgotten how nice it is to have variety in training. I like the intensity and exhaustion that comes along with long distance tri training, and I am fine with my own company (I'm hilarious), but I also like the social aspect I found with my tri group. I joined a cycling club but I find they take themselves so seriously. It's all pace-lines and taking turns with short pulls on the front. When we hit a quiet section of country road, where my tri peeps would see it as an opportunity to ride side by side and chit-chat, the roadies all want to single up, lift the speed and do the 30s pulls. I would rather grind into the wind for 20 minutes in z3, then watch my Wahoo to make sure I stick to my 30s, then fall back to last wheel, and pay attention to not gapping the line, crashing into the person in front of me, blah blah blah. Having said that, I'm a better cyclist for having spent 2 years training with these folks and climbed more in 2021 than I have in any other year, and I definitely wouldn't have done that without this crew.

    So right now: triathlon, but we'll see how it goes. If cartilage turns out to be super important, I may end up focusing on Aquabike. Or wine.

    wchevronMartinAaron WebsteyJames LangeTad_MStruangMattCraig_D

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    MartinMartin Member, Rooster Endurance Member

    I changed my focus back to swimming over the last year, and that was working pretty well until they shut the teams down here again. I'm not organized enough to sign up for one of the 12 slots in a public lap swim 23h59m59s before hand, which is when they open and fill up. Kinda too bad because I had a set a goal of breaking 1:00 for the 100 free (SCM) and probably would have done it in March.

    I switched my focus to 'events' rather than races last summer. Not training for anything, just going out and doing things. One was a 112km bike with four hill runs interspersed along the course, others were guerilla running events through downtown. Mostly just trying to do something everyday, whether it's a run, bike, swim, skateboard park, snowboarding or cross-country skiing. My favourite were long bike rides ending at microbreweries or country pubs.

    I joked in another thread about getting in shape for triathlons and then not doing them, and I'll probably stick to that. I might jump into a sprint or Oly that I can ride my bike to, but not dropping the big bucks for a branded event. (While I'm no former ITU pro like @AaronWebstey, I was sufficiently not shitty back in the day that getting a t-shirt for finishing MOP is not that interesting to me.) I would LOVE to do a swim run at some point, though, and would happily finish dead last if it was one in Scandinavia.

    Aaron WebsteyJames LangeMattCraig_D
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    Aaron WebsteyAaron Webstey Administrator, Rooster Endurance Member, Rooster Endurance Officers

    I'm training to get healthier with the faint hope of doing a 1/2 IM distance "someday". I'm 45 and my kids are 10, so maybe in a couple years the stars will align. No plan, no prospects, nothing on the horizon! And about 25 lbs to lose before I'm out of the "danger zone" for all of the heart disease and cancer that killed my grandparents.

    Tad_MCraig_D
    #KOAT
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    James LangeJames Lange Member, Rooster Endurance Member

    Like @AaronWebstey I'm also firmly in the "danger zone" and it seems that I can only keep my weight down when I am training. I'm also in a significantly better mood when training as well, so the past 2 summers without any races has been tough. I've had similar ideas as @Martin to training for events (like trying to break a 40 minute 10k) but I just can't train seriously without a race to focus on.

    So, I have taken a hiatus from triathlon for now. I have no interest in training for a triathlon so long as COVID shutting down the pool is a possibility. The last thing I need is excuses that are out of my hands.

    The last two summers I really got into mountain biking. I'm lucky to live right next to the Rockies so I can go out and do long rides with a lot of up and down. It's really turned into a way to trick myself into exercising because I can go for really hard rides for hours on end and it just feels like fun. I'm vaguely keeping my eyes on some mountain bike races (50km and 100km) but I don't know that it will ever be my main focus. I can definitely see hard mountain bike rides being a part of IM training though.

    Now I am training for Ode to Laz in July and I'm liking it so far. I like running and despite being overweight, I seem to have a pretty good style for long, steady runs. My training got derailed a bit in December because of weather and holidays, but I'm eager to get back at it now.

    Tad_MM_WareAaron WebsteyCraig_D


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    Tad_MTad_M Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter, POTM

    I can't run much, but I love the feeling of running. Therefore, I bike a lot and swim to make up for the frustration of not being able to run. I love swimming the most, but it's hard to annoy @P_Cottrell while I swim, so I mostly gravel bike. Oh, I like using the rowing machine downstairs too. I guess that makes me an imbalanced quadathlete. Quintathlete if you count the beer drinking, Sextathlete if you count the hot tubbing, but that sounds too dirty. I have found that gravel bike racing is extremely fun.
    In short, I'm a mixed up multi-sporter that will combine them in any way and have loads of fun.

    M_WareAaron WebsteyCraig_D
    visit Michigan July 19th to 24th 2023 - The Sworry Trials Impossibleman and Ode to Laz
    https://www.facebook.com/sworrytrials/
    https://www.facebook.com/OdetoLaz/
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    Aaron WebsteyAaron Webstey Administrator, Rooster Endurance Member, Rooster Endurance Officers

    @Tad_M I think you need to include a Sextathlon as part of the sworry trials this year. Format and events brainstorming starts now. No matter what the format, I predict @Brew_Tri wins

    Tad_M
    #KOAT
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    I haven't done a triathlon in almost 5 years. Thinking about it though, since my favorite gravel events have become corporate and cost as much as an Ironman now anyway.
    In reality I'll probably do nothing this year as I'm kinda done with humanity.

    Aaron WebsteyM_WareMartinTad_MJames LangeCraig_D
    Resident Genius.
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    Tad_MTad_M Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter, POTM

    @A_drizzle said:
    I haven't done a triathlon in almost 5 years. Thinking about it though, since my favorite gravel events have become corporate and cost as much as an Ironman now anyway.
    In reality I'll probably do nothing this year as I'm kinda done with humanity.

    Fortunately, at the Sworry Trials, humanity is legitimately a non-term. I think you're safe @A_drizzle

    visit Michigan July 19th to 24th 2023 - The Sworry Trials Impossibleman and Ode to Laz
    https://www.facebook.com/sworrytrials/
    https://www.facebook.com/OdetoLaz/
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    Tad_MTad_M Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter, POTM

    Working on the wine sponsor at Sworry Trials to put the pressure on @kjrunnin. Heck, how much wine is required as bait to get a person to travel thousands of miles to the woods in Michigan?

    Aaron WebsteywchevronkjrunninCraig_D
    visit Michigan July 19th to 24th 2023 - The Sworry Trials Impossibleman and Ode to Laz
    https://www.facebook.com/sworrytrials/
    https://www.facebook.com/OdetoLaz/
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    wchevronwchevron Member, POTM

    Well, it is @kjrunnin you're talking about. That's a lot of wine needed.

    kjrunninAaron WebsteyCraig_D
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    kjrunninkjrunnin Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter

    I like to think I’m more into quality than quantity but let me contemplate that over a glass of full bodied red. 🤔

    I am sure Michigan is a lovely place to visit but my fingers-crossed for travel plans this year include Alaska in August and Croatia in September, and I can’t really afford those trips, let alone a 3rd. I need [another] side hustle.

    Aaron WebsteyTad_M

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    MattMatt Member, Administrator, Rooster Endurance Member

    My last tri was in 2017, and ITU Montreal only because we had free entry via A18. I haven't really cared to do one since before that. Working in the bike/tri industry killed my desire, along with any free time I had.

    Sticking to running, with some biking and XC Ski thrown in. Want to break 1:15 for a half marathon this fall.

    Aaron WebsteyTad_MJames LangeM_Warekjrunnin
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    Tad_MTad_M Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter, POTM

    @kjrunnin said:
    I like to think I’m more into quality than quantity but let me contemplate that over a glass of full bodied red. 🤔

    I am sure Michigan is a lovely place to visit but my fingers-crossed for travel plans this year include Alaska in August and Croatia in September, and I can’t really afford those trips, let alone a 3rd. I need [another] side hustle.

    OK @kjrunnin you and President Jackson are excused until 2023, at which point this clusterfuck of a festival will be truly irresistable - and the Canada VS. International competition will already be stuff of legend.

    kjrunninJames LangeAaron Webstey
    visit Michigan July 19th to 24th 2023 - The Sworry Trials Impossibleman and Ode to Laz
    https://www.facebook.com/sworrytrials/
    https://www.facebook.com/OdetoLaz/
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    idking90idking90 Member, Pro Triathlete

    For me: yes but less than it was.
    I took about half of 2019 off of triathlon after some disappointing results and did some trail running.
    I was pretty geared up for 2020 and kept some motivation early through covid, but that waned and I shifted again to playing trail runner, trying and failing at an FKT on a section of the Appalachian Trail.
    2021 I just wanted to get back to racing and probably overdid it in the first part of the year, especially given the pool access and therefore swim fitness issues I had, though some downtime helped cure that for a good push for later in the year. I also went and tried that same FKT and failed again.
    …all this to say I think I can and will swim, bike, and run year round, but I can only give a truly focused effort for maybe half the year anymore, aimed at a couple of races. I may take the other parts of the year to go trail run, big gravel/MTB riding, or just be able to do active adventuring things like backcountry skiing or packrafting that take me off the grid and away from hitting green squares in Training Peaks for days on end. I generally plan to keep my elite license for as long as I can reasonably maintain it. That might be this year or it might be in 10 years, but I don’t see myself going and racing more than maybe 1-2 high profile races a year going forward.

    James LangeAaron WebsteyTad_MM_WareMattStruangCraig_D
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    Craig_DCraig_D Member, Rooster Endurance Member, POTM

    I was motivated to train up until June last year when the realization set in that IM Canada wasn't going to happen. At the same time commissioning a new plant that was poorly engineered really started to ramp up. Add in a nagging hip injury that is just getting itself sorted out.

    I'm about a month behind training according to the calendar but the craziness at work has actually helped hold a bit of fitness. I have the Sworry Trials (training weekend) that will probably derail IM Canada in August. I'm fine with that. I'm just looking forward to getting out and doing fun things again. Especially hanging out in the wilds of "merica with people I only know from the internet.

    James LangeTad_MM_WareAaron Webstey
    Canadian Division
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    Aaron WebsteyAaron Webstey Administrator, Rooster Endurance Member, Rooster Endurance Officers

    About a month ago I started doing weight lifting videos with my wife. She pays $35 CAD a month to a local instructor for 3 workout videos a week - each video is 3 rounds of 3 sets of something plus warm up and cool down. She focuses on good form and exercises that support the lifestyle of a normal human.

    My relationship with weight training is long and terrible. It started in high school, going down to the former grocery store-turned-corporate-gym-for-Seagull-Pewter to try to get strong and qualify for Canada Games in ski racing. I was so bad at weights and did not get any stronger (or qualify). In our swimming days, @Martin and I had a strict regime of "do whatever the football team is doing!" from our swim coach. And during my tri career we did some weights but it was always so high rep low weight and we were already so exhausted from doing exactly that on the roads and in pools that it seemed pointless.

    I'm enjoying lifting heavy stuff for the first time ever, thanks to my wife and Dani from "Kerrfit". Anybody else having a new hot love affair with weights?

    #KOAT
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    MartinMartin Member, Rooster Endurance Member

    @Aaron Webstey said:
    I'm enjoying lifting heavy stuff for the first time ever, thanks to my wife and Dani from "Kerrfit". Anybody else having a new hot love affair with weights?

    I enjoy weightlifting and do not nearly enough of it given my age, but it's really something you need to do with a partner to get the most out of it.

    Also, leg days.

    Aaron Webstey

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