Having a challenge or goal is what drives people forward. For athletes, having a goal is our raison d'être. When our goals are taken away it can leave us feeling lost and unmotivated. For many of us, our goals have been shattered due to races being canceled. Over the past couple of months, I have personally seen motivation levels go up and down like the hills in the Gatineau's. If you are feeling this way, I want you to know that you are completely normal.
"If you are feeling motivational ups and downs, I want you to know that you are completely normal."
When we retire from work, we are given retirement classes to prepare us for no longer being a nurse, a business owner, a government employee, etc. As parents, we have plenty of time to watch our kids grow. We know that they will fly the nest and we ready ourselves for that eventuality. When professional athletes retire, they are given counseling to prepare to be someone else besides Johnny Canuck the hockey player.
For many of us, being a triathlete is part of our identity. With the pandemic hitting suddenly, we have not been given the time to prepare to retire. Psychologically on some levels, this unplanned retirement may be playing with your head a bit.
"This unplanned retirement may be playing with your head a bit."
I truly believe that this is not the time to throw down your transition towel just yet! It's the perfect season to work on being in the greatest shape and health of your life. We are able to sleep more and recover better. We have more time for yoga, strength training, and healthy cooking. We don't have to worry about tapering for races, we can literally just keep improving our strength and endurance.
"It's the perfect season to work on being in the greatest shape and health of your life!"
It's so important to create our own personal challenges right now. This is why we are presenting challenges to our members most weeks so you can get motivated to try the challenge and have something in the swim, bike, and/or run to look forward to.
But what about a long term goal?
What about peaking your fitness for something later in the Summer?
"Ask yourself what you would want to accomplish if this pandemic wasn't happening right now and then ask yourself what's stopping you?"
If you would like to have a one on one coach meeting for an hour to talk through your thoughts, challenges, and roadblocks, feel free to reach out and set-up a FaceTime call. We are all here to help! Drop us an email info@pbest.ca to get started.
A year ago I could only tread water and had not run since childhood. With the amazing Virtual Olympic course, support, guidance, and tips from of all the folks at Team Triumph I've ended the season with my first Olympic distance triathlon under my belt and am hooked! Really looking forward to the 2025 season and even to the hard work over the winter to prepare. Karen Houle
I wanted to let you know that the Perth triathlon was a great experience, I somehow placed third in my age group! What a supportive group of participants (including Team Triumph athletes), cheering bystanders and volunteers.
Thanks to your swim lessons, I learned the technical basics and gained confidence to get back in the pool after decades. And it was really special doing this with Ann Laidlaw, my bestie for many years. We did a couple of additional swims with Kevin and Team Triumph people, also a great way to continue learning and practicing good technical form.
I will continue with lane swimming and who knows, maybe there's another triathlon in my future!
I love the accountability and the structure of the Virtual 70.3 Half Ironman training program. I don't think I would have gotten this far without the program. The accountability is huge for me!
Deborah Jackman