Expectations - Steelhead 70.3

By nature, I have a very high competitive drive. The drive to compete was experienced early during my youth and the desire continued to be fed and peaked in my high school swimming days. In my senior year at the Class A State Swim Meet, it was clear that our team had put in a lot of hard work and we were strong within our regional division. But what we found was that at the state level, it was a completely different story! We qualified for many events during my 4 years in high school and each year, on the heels of the State meet, we left with wide eyes and jaws on the floor for what it really meant to be fast. Big Fish - Small Pond is the term that was realized and it left a lasting impression. Over the years I think that feeling of awe and astonishment had been forgotten or at least had faded....until recently.


Being "competitive", just like being "fast" is all in how you define it. Fast on your block or in your school? Fast on your side of the state or in the region? Nation, World? It's all in how you frame the question and your experience. When I started racing, placing within the AG of a small local race was the goal. I worked hard and once I got "fast" and got a taste for winning I started picking bigger races where being competitive got more difficult and the definition of fast continued to evolve.

Last year, I started this blog to capture my adventure of being a working, married, father of 3 all the while, pushing myself to be a competitive amateur triathlete and measuring myself against the fastest guys around. My Top Shelf reference continues to be my theme of working to be my best and competing against the best. The pinnacle of my season last year was my 5th place finish at Ironman Wisconsin. History has shown the Ironman branded races draw out the fiercest competition and with Kona spots on the line, I closed out my 2012 season on Cloud 9.

After a bout of smaller and less competitive races early in 2013, this past weekend I raced Ironman Steelhead 70.3. It was my first real 70.3 (lMuncie '12 was shortened) and I felt up for the challenge to test myself at the distance. Finally...I'll cut right to the chase here. I had a decent race, the course was fast but fair and I went 4:24 for 6th AG / 44th OA. "Fast" but not even close in the context of the fastest in the AG. One month prior, I went 4:24 at the Grand Rapids 1/2, won the AG and got 7th OA. Again, fast is all relative!

At Steelhead Dan Stubleski, Adam Zucco and Scott Iott, all showed up and put on a demonstration of what fast is. Recent accolades for these guys include: 2012 Amateur 70.3 World Champ and current #1, #2 in the USAT National points ranking. 

Whether I was looking for a mid-season ego check or not, I certainly got one. The hardest part about getting spanked by 20 minutes at Steelhead is that I executed a pretty good race and a 4:24 is all it got me.
 
I could go on and on about why I think these guys are faster than I am, wonder about what training they do that I don't and consider if I were willing to make the sacrifices necessary, could I even be competitive with these guys...but I won't.

What I will say is that I can do better.  I've gotten lazy and complacent with past results.  Mid-season motivation has been low and this is just kick in the ass I needed.  Time to get after it.
 

Coming Soon: Realist Goal Setting when racing against the best in the World (Kona)!