After completing my first sprint triathlon I spent time
reflecting on the lessons I can take away from the event. I've narrowed it down to three that seemed worth sharing: A long warm up is essential; group exercise beats individual exercise; and make your exercise sessions competitive . . .
- A long warm up makes for a great run
- The 3.1 mile run was the final leg of the sprint triathlon, so you could say I had been warming up for an hour and 20 minutes prior to hitting the pavement. I felt loose; my breathing was great; and in my mind I knew that I’d already covered so much ground, so what difference does another 3 miles make? Athletes competing at the highest levels spend what seems like an excessive amount of time warming up and getting loose. The next time you attend a professional event – football season is right around the corner – try and get to the stadium early. I’ve seen NBA players shooting two hours before the game; baseball players playing Frisbee in the outfield at 5pm before a 7:30pm game . . . there are reasons these athletes compete at the highest level.
- Group exercise vs. individual exercise
- Some people really enjoy their alone time during exercise, and that’s great. Personally, when I’m surrounding by other people chasing a similar goal I’m motivated to push harder. If you can find a group of people who move at a similar pace and enjoy fitness around the same time of day, you’ll find those workouts tend come easier and easier. Search online for local running groups; check out your nearest Crossfit gym; if you live in Boston, look into what happens at Harvard’s football stadium at 5:30am on Wednesdays. The groups are out there, you just have to look for them.
- Make your exercise competitive
- The people in my life possess some degree of competitive spirit. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone without that trait, at least to a certain degree. And when it comes to exercise, a little competition goes a long way toward better performance. Seeing other people on the course in Lakeville pushed me to go harder. I didn’t like being passed on my bike, or having that guy swim by me so quickly. Those feelings drove me to push myself, and that’s a good thing. So if you can’t find a workout partner(s), focus on implementing some form of competition with yourself. Some examples: your running pace compared to your last outing (a sports watch makes this one simple); your number of work outs the previous week; your weight on Monday vs. Friday; your treadmill speed for 2:00 increments (can you do level 6? Level 7? Level 8?).
Considering a fitness tracker or sports watch to keep your competitive edge? Have a free fitness wearables guide.
