FEATURES
A Schedule Emerges - Part I
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Monday, 22 March 2021 00:10
By Ted Treise (https://www.instagram.com/ttreise/)
A Schedule Emerges
After a year getting ready for races that may or may not happen, then having the later ones happen and scrambling to panic train for a race that was miraculously put on the schedule, I think in 2021 we’re emerging into a safer space. A space where races have a good to great shot at going off. A space where we can shape a season with a few key races on the calendar. I recently sat down with my coach Nate Dicks and we planned out our 2021 racing dance card. The schedule isn’t quite clear what the fall will look like as I imagine some early season races will defer to that period of the calendar, but it’s a great start including something I’ve never done before – a full Ironman. This blog post outlines my 2021 season and the thought process behind it.
Lesson Learned from 2020 Racing: ....
I get it – 2020 was rough, but through the lens of triathlon, I’ve learned a couple things that can be applied in going forward. First, is the pure joy and skill development that comes with racing locally. Through 2018 & 2019 my trajectory of racing locally was dwindling to the south east as I was trying to do a few big IM branded races a year. It wasn’t a knock on the people or groups putting local races on, just kind of the direction things were flowing.
However, 2020 put a quick stop to this. IM branded races ceased to be a thing as gatherings of thousands of people were no longer possible. Amidst this, smaller races were able to pull off a race here and there. I jumped at the opportunity to race and could not believe how much fun I was missing out on. Getting ready the day before a race at home – with all my tools, usual food, and own bed to sleep in. Get in my car the next morning, raced, then I was home by noon. I was able to try new things like equipment, prep & strategy- wise with little downside and again had a blast doing it.
In 2021, I am scheduling more local races into the program and cannot wait to line up for these. They include:
- A
pple Duathlon
- Heart of the Lakes
- Maple Grove
- Gear West TT Series
Second, I learned to be flexible. I never trained for a race, or 4ish of them, that ended up being cancelled. In motocross this happened occasionally due to weather, but never in triathlon. Moving forward in 2021, I am targeting races on the schedule that have a secondary race available if that main one is cancelled. A hedge if you will. Additionally, if a race does get cancelled or moved, we know how to change the program with the given scenario and I’m better at mentally pivoting as well, i.e. no more week long halfhearted workouts with a few more bottle caps in the recycling than usual. I have full faith in the promoters for doing everything they can to put their races on, but if they can’t I’ll be OK. Nate and I will jump on a call, and we’ll be back to business the next day.
No emotion, just a stable execution of the plan....End of Part I
