One thing that frustrates me is people thinking I am totally clueless.
Okay, so on many fronts I am indeed clueless (translating guy speak, watching yacht racing on TV, anything involving electrickery), but when it comes to triathlons I do have a clue. It may not be a huge elaborate clue, but I know a thing or two, or three or four. Or, at least enough to get by, and "fake it 'till I make it". Heck, nobody walks out of Uni knowing everything about everything. It's just not possible.
Similarly, you don't become a seasoned and experienced triathlete just by entering a tri and paying the entry fee. You have to get off your butt and go do it.
Completing one half ironman or a fitness qualification doesn't make you an expert either. Sure, you have miles under your belt and a lot of valuable knowledge and experience, but how do you truly master something? By repeating it, making adjustments and improvements as you learn and grow. And you need to learn in order to grow. Sorry, but that's just the way it is!
I have read everything I have been able to get my hands on around triathlons, tri training, transitions, endurance, nutrition, equipment, technique, etc. I'm absorbing it all like a sponge, and having completed one baby tri, I learnt a few things that day too. It's called lifelong learning for a reason, and I'm nowhere near done yet. I'll keep reading, I'll keep doing tri's, and I'll keep learning. I will never close my mind to new ideas or the opinions of others - but just because someone has an opinion doesn't mean I need to take that opinion as gospel.
A Buddhist teacher once told me to "question everything; accept nothing at face value". I've always been a "why" person. Not getting the facts or information or whole picture really wiggs me. I need to know why I'm doing something, not just be told to go do it. And people who answer questions with a question really wigg me too. Stop being so bloody lazy and answer the damn question I asked you, would ya?
Just because I've only done one baby tri and haven't been a PT for years and years and years, doesn't mean I don't know anything. I know when my body needs rest. I know when my body needs carbs. I know that training in the same disciplines every day is not a smart thing to do. I know the difference between progressive overload vs. plain old overtraining. I know that increasing my training load by 200% a week instead of 5-10% is not smart. I don't want to get to my Half Ironman event day and completely blow up, receiving a DNF (did not finish) next to my name instead of a real time.
I WILL FINISH. It may not be pretty, it may not be fast, but I WILL FINISH.
As I said two days ago, I want to complete, not compete. Hell, I may never be able to compete - my right knee may be too far gone, I may be too fat, and too old, and too "*insert insult here*". Whatever, man. I am what I am, and what I am is determined. If someone tells me I can't do something, I'll go and do it just to watch them eat their words (and possibly suggest they have some cake to go with it, when I have a Marie Antoinette moment).
All ya gotta do is have a little faith in me.
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