Planet Tri

The thing is that the damn registrations often arrive faster than the time of reflection essential to any good choice.
Maybe you don't have to get into this dynamic, huh? And if the races for which registrations leave quickly are important to you; perhaps the desirable reflection can begin well in advance? Like: if I achieve this objective and that other (please, not just time objectives...), if I overcome my fear of hills, waves or whatever, if I manage to surpass myself in general, Well, I'll re-register or tackle another challenge. No? In short, a little planning never hurts when our health and our wallet come into play.
Besides, you know that when registrations for a race are complete, well, that allows you to discover another one elsewhere which isn't so bad either, eh?

Me-Me City

Well, the majority of your friends had signed up for big competitions at the start of the season, and you, well, had done the same but worse (or better, depending on the angle adopted); you had chosen a distance greater than those to which you were accustomed, and, what's more, you were aiming for a pace a little better (quite a bit better even) than usual.

And even if, paradoxically, you are not very competitive, you are still a little competitive. In other words, you were racing for yourself, sure, but your inner punk was yelling at you not to finish after Brigitte, huh? You love Brigitte, but, well, you prefer her behind you. It's the same. It’s still a race. And a race is a race, said the bear.

The bear is the nickname of the peat man (well, well hairy) with sunglasses and the orange polo shirt (ugly, the polo shirt) who held the rifle to give the start.
He's bigger than you and me put together, but he alone embodies the competitive spirit.
It is the same; he is in the organization and he is serious. At least enough to stress you out with his shot and make you swim too quickly for your means. It's because of him (he has a broad back) if you passed over the bodies of two or three participants during the first meters and shot the leg of the cursed breaststroker only 200 meters from the start.
A race is a race, said the bear, and don't leave too quickly, said Brigitte (who still dreamed of overtaking you). But you can go over the entire race in your head; you were in the race even if you weren't in the lead. It's the same. You didn't really need the advice of the bear who also told you to forget all your friends once you left, because, in the race, you are in Moi-moi City (for those who are weak in map mapping). the ego, Moi-Moi City is the epicenter of the planet Tri).

Besides, when you think about it, you had already gone to Moi-moi City before leaving. And for some time now. Don't worry, it's normal. This is one of the collateral damage of sporting challenges. We bring a lot of things back to us, we compare ourselves, we doubt, and we can even be downright unpleasant. It’s not the sinews of war, but the sinews of war. We are stressed and we take it out a little on the people around us. Ah, we don't have to do this, but it threatens us all, we have to be careful. But before signing up for another race, I think it's not bad to remember that we've already been to Moi-Moi City, and that next time, we won't make a detour and we'll will manage to avoid this state which raises the tone as soon as the border is crossed. Finally.

The thing is, once the race is over, you’re still in Moi-moi City. Yes yes. Me in the photo at the swim, Me-me on the bike, Me-me in the race, Me-me at the finish line, Me-me on Sportstats, Me-me in my t-shirt to finish…It’s good to experience that. Really.
The cloud is quite expensive, it's good to take advantage of it and stay on it for a while, but at some point come back to Earth. Your loved ones will thank you (and if you want they will encourage you again instead of trying to dissuade you from registering again...).
In fact, before you rush to register, also think about who you are to the people around you. A model is good, a pleasant model is better. It’s not to lecture you, it’s to make sure you do things right. In fact, Brigitte already told me that you did things well; so perhaps it’s more to me that I’m talking. Finally.

In short, coming back from a major challenge means coming back a long way. And when we come down from our cloud, sometimes we stumble. Everyday landmarks are lost and we have to put some things back if we don't want to get too bogged down.

A well-trained person spends hours, days, weeks, months or years structuring their affairs to succeed in a major sporting challenge, but what about after the race? Was he well prepared?

More lists, more lists, just lists

I already told you that I don't like checked lists, right? If from the outset, I don't believe that you have to be a parent, or have done a marathon or written a novel to be happy (I actually did everything from my old diaries which I keep carefully). ), I must say that the beautiful thoughts and lists found in Eat, Pray, Love type books literally get on my nerves.

Question of literary tastes, if you suspect that I don't only read the Holy Scriptures, I must say that I prefer Annie Ernaux or Louis Hamelin to Elizabeth Gilbert; finally... My opinion on lists in general is of no interest (personally, I would still talk to you about it for hours depending on your prices) but it is perhaps worth focusing on when it comes to checked- lists concerning sport…

Humbly (as many pretentious people say), I find that checked lists can hurt you when it comes to sporting challenges, both physically and morally. The famous lists can make you opt for a race for which you are not yet ready (and for which 1 year of preparation will not really be enough), a race which does not suit you and which does not bring together your current strengths.
And if, ultimately, we can take many shortcuts in the preparation and “succeed” (this expression is always very relative) the majority of the challenges, it is morally and mentally that the after-effects can also be significant.
I've talked about it before, I know. But it matters to me.

Last, not check

How many triathletes, to give just one example, have practically stopped doing triathlons after doing a 140.6? To be an iron man (or a woman obviously; the name Ironman makes us say business...), it takes morale of steel.

Firstly, it takes a lot of determination during the preparation, but also during the race because you have to stick to your “numbers”, not those of your neighbor. Which means that you have to respect your plan, your watts, your speed, your pace, your quantities of food and liquid, and that’s not easy. It takes a lot of concentration to stay in your wattage zone when a cat frame, for example, passes us on a bike.

But it’s the post-race morale that interests me more, especially if the triathlete had put incredible pressure on himself to perform well or to finish. Yes, finish. Because you know, there are all kinds of pressure and snobbery (I’ll come back to that one day because it deserves an entire blog); there are people who are not necessarily very nice who do not necessarily know your history and who do not necessarily hope that you finish your race.
The triathlete lives with this, and it doesn't always make for a good path (we're talking about happiness as much as the potential for injury here, read Imposter syndrome).
In short, I will return to this aspect one day, but one fact remains; Preparing for a big challenge takes up a lot of space, and then, well, there's a hole... and I suggest you don't fill it too quickly with another registration unless it's already well planned.

If the important thing for you is to last, well, avoid checking off lists and prepare your things. Did you follow a plan and do a period of sharpening? So continue to structure things; see how to resume training after the big day, and see how to be happy without leaving in fear with sick ambitions. Planet Tri is beautiful, but don't hang around Moi-Moi City too much. 😊

Happy planning!