When I first started in triathlon I was pretty amused by all the talk about ways to cut a few seconds here and a few seconds there. The big areas are in the transition (swim to bike, bike to run). My view had always been that it wouldn't make that much of a difference compared to how long the race would take and I wasn't going to win anything anyway, so it was best to focus on the race itself.
Last year when I was training for Ironman Wisconsin I started to have a change of view. Even in a race that would take me something like 12-14 hours, I started to realize there was a big difference between finishing at 12:59.59 and 13:00.00. Or, as some of my friends know first hand, missing the cut for Kona by a few minutes.
This weekend I raced the Batavia Triathlon. It was a Sprint distance (400m swim, 14 mile bike, 4.1m run) and I was really hoping to do well (my goal was to beat 1:20.00). I had a great race. I finished in 1:16.38. That was 25th overall out of 453 participants. My swim ranked 14th overall and I ran 6:44's. I ranked 4th out of 59 in my age group! There is plenty to improve upon (that's what makes triathlon so fun IMO), but I was very pleased with the effort.
So, why bring up "17 seconds"?
That's the difference between placing 4th in my age group and placing 3rd. I missed the podium by that little.
As I think back on the race and all the good parts I also think about my botched bike mount and the few times that I got caught behind other riders and wasn't aggressive enough to pass. And, any number of other details.
17 seconds.
Don't get me wrong, I am not at all disappointed. Trust me. It was a great race, I had a ton of fun, and it was very motivating. I said in my earlier post, it's a blessing to just be able to be out there at all. But, it's a good reminder that personally and professionally, sometimes it is worth focusing on the little things because they end up making a big difference.
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