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Overcoming Fear of Triathlon...

Sunday, 24 March 2019 23:10

By Will Murray (mytimetotri.com)

You don’t have to be super-human to complete a triathlon. That is despite the popular notion. Many people could become triathletes if they could get past their fear of just giving triathlon a try. Let’s clear up the misconceptions and get you started.

I CAN’T (FILL IN THE BLANK: SWIM, BIKE, RUN).

Truth: there are very few true three-sport athletes who are equally proficient at the swim, the bike and the run. Almost everyone has one discipline that isn’t their favorite, because it isn’t their strongest. So, during the race it evens out. Solid in one discipline, a little less in another. Most of us are in that situation. Some say, train to your weakness, but race to your strength. If you don’t yet know how to swim well, this is your chance to learn a new sport while keeping up with your cycling or running. Who knows? You might really learn to love it. Here’s a mental skill exercise for learning how to do that. And, there are other multisport events in addition to triathlon: duathlons have a run-bike-run format, and aquabikes a swim-bike format. ...

I MIGHT NOT FINISH.
Well, you might not. And what happens if you don’t? Here’s a good test:
1 Place yourself in the future, the day after your imaginary first race, as if you are really there.
2 What do you want to be able to say to yourself? “I tried, and wasn’t able to finish?” Or, “I gave up before I started?”
3 Which one feels better, and which feels worse? Now you have your decision.