What is your Limiter? In triathlon, you often hear about limiters. Typically the term is used to describe the weakest of the three disciplines: swim, bike, or run. Often times we are asked “what is your strength” or “what is your weakest” event by friends, family, and other athletes. In essence people are looking to gain an understanding as to where you excel and where you struggle in the sport of triathlon. Pretty simple right? Well I am going to challenge that thought because (for most triathletes) I don’t believe limiters are as simple as one of the three disciplines: swim, bike, or run; but rather I think true limiters are aspects inside of those events which may pertain to one part or all of our race day. Let me explain by telling you about my limiter, which I believe is the single biggest limiter in competitive triathlon… EGO… a.k.a. Pride, a.k.a. I’m faster than you, a.k.a. I can’t get chick’d, a.k.a. “If you ain’t first your last” – Ricky Bobby… Ego is the reason why I sometimes burn a match (over-accelerate) when someone who appears to be bigger or “less fit” than me passes me. It’s the reason why I start racing harder than I should and stop following my race plan which results in me neglecting my nutrition and my race crumbling. It’s the reason I run 7:00 min/miles early in the marathon, and blow up at mile 13 only to get passed by everyone I passed earlier. Ego is the reason why I always see athletes hammering out crazy bike sessions the day BEFORE they race Ironman, or turning their “stay loose” run into a world record 5K. Ego becomes part of our human nature but it’s important that we do not worry about those people around us. Here’s proof… There are 2 out of the 8 Ironman races I’ve completed where I went into them with the mindset that I don’t care who is around me and I had no time goals other than to finish. As I raced both of those races, I didn’t pay any attention to who passed me, whether I was getting chick’d, or what my time was vs. my goal. Oddly enough, those happen to be my fastest two Ironman finishes and the two races where I was in the best condition (medically/soreness-wise) after the race. It’s no coincidence that putting an insane amount of pressure to a achieve particular result causes my ego to drive me throughout the race instead of relaxing and sticking to the race plan, knowing that THIS RACE PLAN was built with MY abilities in mind; to get the MOST out of MY strengths and manage my day accordingly. I admit, I’ll probably always struggle with it but the first step is admitting you have a problem right? Another Limiter that I have seen often is fear. Fear will drive people to do irrational things, like change their race nutrition plan the day before the race, spend ridiculous amounts of money of equipment that they don’t know how to use or need, or hold back their true potential for fear that they might fail. Fear is why many can swim countless laps in the pool but can’t swim 50 yards in the open water, so they breaststroke the swim. Fear is riding down a mountain at 50 mph+ hoping you don’t hit a pebble and crash, so you start feathering the brakes. Most of all, Fear is entirely in your mind! It only exists because you allow it to exist. I’m not suggesting people not fear anything, but think about why you struggle in certain aspects of triathlon (or heck in life itself) and take a look at whether you are allowing fear to dictate your actions! While there are many other limiters, the final one I’d going to address is discipline. This can apply in varying aspects from following a race plan, making smart food choices, executing your training sessions with purpose and drive, or even just getting the training done. We all have goals, many of which are ambitious but not impossible. I can tell you without a doubt that many of those goals will never be attained without some form of discipline. Getting up early, working hard, staying up late, and not being afraid to make changes and take on the unknown… all of these things require something of us. However, many times we cower and make excuses as to why we can’t do that, only to truly be disappointing ourselves. Having a lack of discipline is a huge limiter in triathlon and may be the difference in achieving your goals or always wondering what if… It is also important to understand your limiters in life. While most of this article discusses our limiters as it relates to triathlon, we all fight different limiters in our lives. Don’t’ feel bad because we all have them and those who think they don’t, well… I can tell you what your limiter is right away! So continue to be excellent! Always seek to get the most out of everything you do! Having room for improvement is not a bad thing, in fact it’s a fantastic thing because you have not reached your limits! So I ask you, what is your limiter? - Coach Trevor
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 20:16:13 +0000
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