I have finally finished the 3rd season of Lost (just in time for the season premiere). I felt that my I.Q. hadn't dropped enough from watching so much TV that I decided to watch some more. I tuned into "American Idol"--auditions in high definition no less. Scores of people spoke with tremendous confidence and hope into the camera and announced to the world that they were going to Hollywood, they were the next American Idol only to completely bomb their audition. Most of them were tone deaf and made up for being out of tune or having a mediocre voice by singing loudly or singing multiple notes (all out of tune) accompanied by gesticulations. (Yes, deep in my heart I am much more Simon Cowell than Randy or the ever insipid Paula.)
I thought,"Can't these people hear themselves? Are they that deceived about their true ability or lack thereof to sing?"
Post-audition interviews: the ones who don't make to the next stage are not so much disappointed, but angry and incredulous that the judges couldn't see or hear how great their performances were. So even having 3 people in the music industry tell them that they're not cut out for stardom doesn't bring about much self-awareness.
It makes me wonder about Ironman, especially FIRST Ironman, expectations. I have spoken to alot of fellow triathletes about their first Ironmans since completing my first one last July. While the reasons why, the training methods, the finishing times were all different, the roller coaster ride of emotions that culminated in a finish line moment of happiness, relief, pride only to be followed by some disappointment with the overall time was the same. The superstudly triathletes who finished their first IM's around 10 hours were just as disappointed about not finishing 9:30 as BOP'ers were for not breaking 13 or 14 hours. I heard:
"I just ran out of gas on the run."
"I could've thrown down a sub 3-hour marathon if it weren't for those blisters."
"Everyone got a nice long look at my disc wheel cuz I was only averaging 19 mph on the bike"
I thought, "How could some of these people be disappointed?" In my dreams, I couldn't throw down a stand alone sub 3-hour marathon or hope to ride the IMLP bike course averaging 19 mph. It seems that our expectations are relative to our perception of our performances and ability. So then, if our performance falls very far off our expectations are we like those tone deaf people who audition for American Idol and can't believe they weren't picked to go to Hollywood? Seems that the accuracy of our expectations is directly proportionate to the how well we know our abilities and performance.
Though I was told ad nauseum that to set time expectations for my first Ironman was foolhardy, I still did it because I'm pig-headed and fiercely competitive. Like so many first timers, I multiplied my 1000m swim test time by 4, added it to my long ride time, then added that to a run time derived from my long run. Voila! I was gonna freakin' break 13 hours at Lake Placid and have enough energy to cartwheel across the finish line like Heather Golnick. As you can guess, my prediction was no where near the truth of what happened on July 22, 2007. I made up for my lack of speed by perseverating over my nutrition. Despite an unexpected mental meltdown halfway through the run, I kept going. It wasn't pretty and nowhere close to 13 hours.
So, was I that delusional freakshow that tries to sing a Mariah Carey song without the vocal cords to hit the high notes? Today, God I hope not! I don't think I am. On July 21, 2007? Yeah, probably.
Alot of Ironman race reports include some statement about how much you learn about yourself or what your made of during the race. I must say that on that day I learned that I could finish I what I started despite some pretty dark moments. In the days that have followed that race, I have a clearer picture of the true depth of my fitness and mental toughness and that there's alot of work to be done before I finish under 13 hours at IMLP. Yep, that first Ironman was a good, long look in the mirror of athletic truth--not just a flat picture, but a 3-D image that I'm still trying to figure out and more importantly, improve.
I thought,"Can't these people hear themselves? Are they that deceived about their true ability or lack thereof to sing?"
Post-audition interviews: the ones who don't make to the next stage are not so much disappointed, but angry and incredulous that the judges couldn't see or hear how great their performances were. So even having 3 people in the music industry tell them that they're not cut out for stardom doesn't bring about much self-awareness.
It makes me wonder about Ironman, especially FIRST Ironman, expectations. I have spoken to alot of fellow triathletes about their first Ironmans since completing my first one last July. While the reasons why, the training methods, the finishing times were all different, the roller coaster ride of emotions that culminated in a finish line moment of happiness, relief, pride only to be followed by some disappointment with the overall time was the same. The superstudly triathletes who finished their first IM's around 10 hours were just as disappointed about not finishing 9:30 as BOP'ers were for not breaking 13 or 14 hours. I heard:
"I just ran out of gas on the run."
"I could've thrown down a sub 3-hour marathon if it weren't for those blisters."
"Everyone got a nice long look at my disc wheel cuz I was only averaging 19 mph on the bike"
I thought, "How could some of these people be disappointed?" In my dreams, I couldn't throw down a stand alone sub 3-hour marathon or hope to ride the IMLP bike course averaging 19 mph. It seems that our expectations are relative to our perception of our performances and ability. So then, if our performance falls very far off our expectations are we like those tone deaf people who audition for American Idol and can't believe they weren't picked to go to Hollywood? Seems that the accuracy of our expectations is directly proportionate to the how well we know our abilities and performance.
Though I was told ad nauseum that to set time expectations for my first Ironman was foolhardy, I still did it because I'm pig-headed and fiercely competitive. Like so many first timers, I multiplied my 1000m swim test time by 4, added it to my long ride time, then added that to a run time derived from my long run. Voila! I was gonna freakin' break 13 hours at Lake Placid and have enough energy to cartwheel across the finish line like Heather Golnick. As you can guess, my prediction was no where near the truth of what happened on July 22, 2007. I made up for my lack of speed by perseverating over my nutrition. Despite an unexpected mental meltdown halfway through the run, I kept going. It wasn't pretty and nowhere close to 13 hours.
So, was I that delusional freakshow that tries to sing a Mariah Carey song without the vocal cords to hit the high notes? Today, God I hope not! I don't think I am. On July 21, 2007? Yeah, probably.
Alot of Ironman race reports include some statement about how much you learn about yourself or what your made of during the race. I must say that on that day I learned that I could finish I what I started despite some pretty dark moments. In the days that have followed that race, I have a clearer picture of the true depth of my fitness and mental toughness and that there's alot of work to be done before I finish under 13 hours at IMLP. Yep, that first Ironman was a good, long look in the mirror of athletic truth--not just a flat picture, but a 3-D image that I'm still trying to figure out and more importantly, improve.
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