Why You Should Write Race Reports.

The other day I went back and looked for what was my first triathlon race. People are always asking me how long have I been racing and doing triathlons, and I usually just have to give an estimated guess, but now, I can tell you exactly when I first started this journey.

Feb 25, 2008, just over 8 years ago, I did my first indoor triathlon. It consisted of a 500 yd pool swim, an 8 mile stationary bike and a 2 mile treadmill run. The reason I know this is because I created a race report for this race. It was pretty interesting and a little bit comical going back and reading my report.

To bad we did not have spell check back then!

So my assessment of this first ever triathlon was that the water was a little choppy. A pool swim was choppy. See how I complained about the water being dirty??  LOL  I had no idea what I was in for as you can tell from the next race I did. My first Olympic and first open water swim!

I can vividly remember that race and thinking my race was over before it started. I also remember thinking "why am I doing this? This is nuts!" At that moment in the water, I thought my triathlon career was over!

And I can pretty much go back and review every race I have ever done. It is a feature on the website Beginnertriathlete.com. This website has really helped me in just about every phase of my triathlon journey, from training questions to racing, so if you are looking for a good site on triathlons, you should check it out.

Other comments in other races speak of how proud I was that I did not float on my back for any of the swim. It was also cool to see the comments people left that read my report. All in all it is a good look back at this journey I have been on for 8 years.

I have race reports form setting PR's and feeling great and I have reports from my 1st ever DNF at Ironman Branson 70.3 (which still stings). I remember everything about that race, and the frustration I had in not finishing, but then I also got to read about the joy I had from coming back and getting my redemption on that course!

A race report can help you remember little things about a course you might not find on a race website, and it will also not only help you, but it can help another fellow racer competing in that race for the first time. So I would urge you to blog, journal or whatever about your races. You see, sometimes a blog is not really about writing stuff that everyone will like, it is often about talking to myself. Cause if you learn nothing else from me, remember this:

Recovery Weeks In The Dark With Indoor Tri's and 10K Trail Races!

I hate recovery weeks. I know they are needed, but I feel like I am just getting into a good swing of things, and then BOOM, time to recover. So it is very tough for me to get excited about a recover week. This is the time when I tend to start missing workouts cause I think I take the term to literal. So I hit up Google to find the common answer and I found that there is no common answer on the net.

A recovery week is basically a toned down souped up week of exercise. Yes your mileage may be smaller than normal, but I still go as hard as I would, but c'mon, a 1000 yard swim for a workout? Puh-leessse!! Now before you say anything, I know, that sounds really jerky for me to say, but when all the swim workouts have been 2300 yards or more, 1,000 isn't alot, and I think all those other swimmers are wondering why he only swam 20 minutes today??? Anyways, I use recovery weeks to ensure I am getting sleep and not over-training which could lead to other injuries, but by the time the end of the week is over, I am looking forward to hitting it again.

Topic Change:

I cannot tell you how many time I have walked through my house and turned off light switches. Now I am not some save the planet hippie that doesn't believe in 15 minutes hott shoers (I love (is there a stronger word than love?)15 minute hott showers). My wife claims that it is a dad thing, but I say No!  I say it is a pay the bills thing. It amazes me how almost every light in my house can be on and no one is even close to that room. The kitchen light, garage light, dining room light, living room light and the boys room light...all lights on! I can just picture that spinning thing on my electric meter spinning at a high rate of speed while the electric company sits and watches the dials and laughs and laughs at the Ford house!  Cha-ching!!!  Pet peeve of mine.

Topic Change:
My wife did an indoor triathlon this week. It was her first venture into the world of triathlon and she did great. She rocked the swim, did great on the bike and did better than she'll ever admit to on the run! It was my turn to be cheerleader while she raced and I am very proud of her!

Topic Change:
Tomorrow I am racing the last of the winter cross country series races. It is a 10K at Shelby Farms. I am strictly going to beat my time from last year. Last year I ran a 56:58 through the woods, so I am planning on beating that time this year. It should be perfect weather tomorrow. Forecast is calling for sunny and the high around 64 degrees, so it should be fun. I will post results on my Twitter for anyone that cares.

Thanks for reading!!!