Competing in an Ironman is a risky thing. I’m not talking about the risks involved in “going the distance” or succumbing to the physical problems associated with racing an Ironman. No, I’m talking about the mental risks that one takes when signing up for an Ironman. If you are a competitor by heart, and love to challenge yourself, it is likely that you have a hard time swallowing failure of any kind. When you sign up for an Ironman, you instantly commit yourself to months of training and “hoping” that you will be “on” for that one day. You may have had the most perfectly executed training plan in the history of training plans, yet the risk for failure is still there. Sometimes the failure is unexplainable, and sometimes people just give up.

When planning a season of racing that includes an Ironman, the tendency is to put all of your “eggs in one basket”. The Ironman can consume you if you let it. If the race does not go well, most people go in one of two directions; either they instantly begin looking for an unplanned race to tack on at the end of the season (so they can end the season on what they perceive to be a “good” note) …..or…..they spend the next three months wallowing in self-pity, while attempting to return to their pre-race motivation levels. However, the best way to deal with this type of dissapointment does not involve either of the scenarios I mentioned above. In fact, the best way to deal with a dissapointing Ironman is to analyze the day, reflect on the day, learn from the day, then apply what you learned to future races. It is not always easy to take this approach, but it is certainly the most productive.

After being forced to deal with nausea and extreme heat exhaustion during 2005 Ironman Wisconsin Triathlon, I managed to finish well below my goal for the race. I had grand plans of winning my age group and qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships, while breaking 9 hours and 40 minutes. Unfortunately, things did not work out as I had planned, and I have been using my experience last month as a source of information for future planning.

The difficult part was telling myself that it was over, and I did not reach my goals. I allowed myself to sulk for about a week, then began to reflect on the highlights of my race and my season. Within that first week, I had thoughts of trying to qualify for Kona at Ironman Florida in November (if I could get in). “This is crazy” I thought. I decided to let it go. Unplanned races added to the end of a season often turn out in dissapointment. This has always been true in my experience as an athlete. Trying to leave on a “high note” is always the goal, but this year it was not a reality.

For the past month, I have been recovering and simply exercising in whatever sport that I feel compelled to work on each day. It’s actually quite refreshing to throw structure out the window for a few months and do what feels good….whenever I feel like doing it! I’ve also decided to enter a “fun” race in December. It’s an adventure race, so I call it fun because I know that there is no pressure to win or to qualify for anything. I’m just going to have a ball and enjoy the day.

I think it’s always a good idea to reflect on the entire season at year’s end. Rather than focusing on the one “BIG” race, it’s always a better idea to take a look at consistency in training and some of the other “little” races that you did. I always like to have at least 1 race that I can look back on and say, “nicely done, Tom…..congratulations!”. This year, my “BIG” race was IM Wisconsin. Although it turned out differently than I expected, I can honestly say that I am very pleased with the training I went through to get to the starting line in Madison. I was better prepared for that race than I ever have been, and my training will continue to benefit me in the years to come. That’s the beauty of endurance training…..it’s something that builds from year to year. My “engine” got bigger this year, despite the fact that it decided not to run at “full throttle” in Madison. I’m excited about the possibilities that next year holds. 2006, just like 2005, will be a season that is unlike any other…..one with up and downs….victories and defeats…..but mostly triumphs of the soul.

I plan on racing in the 2005 December Chill ADventure Race on December 3, and wanted to get some practical, hands-on experience in navigation before heading to the East side of the state. In the past, I have been able to stay close to the leaders in adventure races until orienteering skills were tested. This is where I would fall far behind. Many of the top adventure racers that I have competed with have simply taken their time to look at the map…carefully…then plot a course and move seemingly straight to the control points. I, on the otherhand, would typically become impatient with plotting a course and start running in the general viscinity of where I THOUGHT the control point was located. As it turns out, this is NOT a good strategy. More time was wasted circling back and re-tracing footsteps, then actually moving toward the desired location. Bottom line: Spending a few minutes plotting an exact course to your destination will save you MUCH more time in the long run. A simple 1.5 km travel to the next checkpoint (as the crow flies), will turn out to be 3-4 km when poorly plotted or planned.

Last weekend, I traveled to Yankee Springs State Park to compete in a SMOC orienteering meet. They had 5 levels of difficulty beginning with “beginner” and moving up to “expert”. Because I have very little experience with orienteering, I opted to try the first three courses starting with the beginner course. I did very well on the first two courses because most of the checkpoints were located within site of a marked trail. The intermediate course (3rd course) took me quite a bit longer because I was up to my old tricks of simply looking at the map and running. I rarely used my compass, and that is what took me so long. As soon as I began to study the map closely, and recognize some of the clues, I came to the control points much quicker. I plan on returning to Yankee Springs to try out the expert course sometime next week. I’ll time myself, but will really spend the time to learn the symbols, clues, and details contained within the map guide.

I’m looking forward to learning much more about this type of racing.