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The Six Week Sprint...
Monday, 11 September 2017 23:10
By Nathan Ansbaugh (nathanansbaugh.blogspot.com - July 18, 2017)
Yesterday, Every Man Jack teammate and great friend, Sean Cooley, and I took off around 8AM to kick off the transition between what has felt like a constant sprint over the past six weeks into both a figurative and literal marathon that is about to ensue over the next two months with Superior Man and Ironman Wisconsin looming in the distance. About 2 hours and 18 miles into the hot, muggy, and generally demoralizing back half of our 22 mile run yesterday, I couldn't help but think, "Oh man, I forgot how much Ironman racing hurts." Between the past six weeks of bizarre schedules at work with every 3rd day spending 28 hours in the hospital with 30min to an hour of sleep on those nights, transitioning to becoming a chief resident in the emergency department, racing four times including two days ago at the Minnesota State Championship at the Heart of the Lakes Tri, and then giving ourselves rhabdo on the run yesterday, I have been in need of a day off. Thus, as previously promised, I figured I'd sit down and reflect a bit on the racing over these past weeks.
After imploding a bit at the Liberty Long Course Triathlon in early June, I realized I had a long way to go to get my endurance legs under me. I was very pleased with a second place finish there, but also felt like I needed to come to terms with the impracticality of significant endurance growth amidst an obnoxious schedule on the neurosurgery service and significant time constraints and sleep constraints due to work in general. I hadn't really planned the time out at all, but I found myself with a day off last minute here and there that happened to be appropriately timed with some local races and took the opportunity to jump in.
Wins at the next two races including the Lake Minnetonka Sprint and the Lake Waconia Triathlon were a welcome mental relief, but also gave me a lot of food for thought. I was also very honored and appreciative of the selection of Triathlete of the Month by Minnesota Tri News for June (
June AOMS). The past couple seasons, I have let myself fall into the mental trap of anchoring my own sense of accomplishment on race outcomes and comparison to others, whether it be judging myself harshly after a sub-par performance compared to friends or other athletes, or even just comparing myself to the expectations I hold for myself. As a new member of Every Man Jack, that sense of comparison certainly hasn't gone away, but I've tried to reign it in with some improved perspective and intentionality. I know it is human nature to compare ourselves to others, but letting these comparisons drive me in the moment has been a huge barrier to success in racing over the past couple seasons, and I've tried to take a different approach this year which seems to be paying off in the form of some more consistency and, more importantly, more simple joy in racing and training.
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