The word must convey your purpose in the sport. Make it clear to others what triathlon means to you. You can use the word to guide you in career decisions. It must represent the importance of sport in your life. It might even push you to achieve the results you dreamed of last season.
See the list below. Select a word that best resonates with you as a triathlete. You want to remove any preconceived complexity from the sport to allow you to focus on less to achieve more with your talents.
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Asset
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“Cut”
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Full
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Confident
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reviewed
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Decisive
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definite
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developing
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driven
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Engaged
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Illustrated
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in evolution
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Fast
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In focus
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Ready!
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Hyper
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innovative
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Positive
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Fast
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aerodynamic
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uber
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Under construction
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Work in progress
Less is more. Most non-triathletes think there are three elements to a triathlon: swimming, biking, and running. Most triathletes will say that it also includes transitions and nutrition. Sport in the simplest terms includes these five training parts, plus two racing parts: Get Started and Get Er Done!
focus. Stay focused. Excel at doing really, really well. Describe what you do in terms that everyone else can understand. Performing at the highest level of a triathlete is easier than others think. Even easier than earning Ironman status and sporting an MDot tattoo. But you don’t need to tell them that kind of inside information.
The initial barrier to doing so is mental. The secondary barrier is motivational, working throughout training to cross the finish line. Follow these seven steps to be a Git Er Done triathlete on race day:
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Choose to do, dreaming is for spectators.
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Connect with your support partner to ensure sustainability in a relationship and in workouts.
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Choose your personal commitment to action: wish, wish and dream idle action.
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Establish an exercise routine. Get into your consistency pace to eliminate another decision of when to exercise.
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Team up with a training partner. Either in person or as a virtual couple. Hold each other accountable for completing each day’s goals.
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Do workouts in a bubble. Turn off, tune in and exercise.
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Fear to fail. Be proud of your successes.
My wife Chris chose to run her first triathlon without any history of swimming, cycling or running in a competitive environment. She trained with me to build a strong bond, honor her personal commitment, and achieve unified fulfillment.
Chris came out of the water in second place for the women’s division.
A research study at Indiana University confirmed that exercise was much easier when partners trained together. Spouses who trained together proved to be more supportive of each other. The study researchers followed married couples who began an exercise program. Half of the group understood that both partners exercised and the other half with only one spouse in an exercise program. Over the course of a year, 43% of individual spouses dropped out of the exercise program.
By contrast, 94% of couples who exercised continued to exercise together.
A binding factor that included excuses to bail out was kept in check. Half of those who quit said that family responsibilities and a lack of support from the other spouse resulted in their decisions to quit.
In our relationship, Chris emphasized fun because life is hard enough without adding competitive stress as an ingredient of success.
Take your first step into the racing action. Time waits for no one. You shouldn’t either.
What other word do you use to describe yourself as a triathlete?
