Should I Be Concerned About My Triathlon Times?

It is the inevitable question that almost every beginner to the triathlon world has to ask his or herself. Should I be worried about my triathlon times? The answer, unfortunately, is yes and no. Obviously, this needs an explanation.

The first factor to consider is how much conditioning you have as an athlete in general. A seasoned athlete in one leg of the race may consider their triathlon times to be of importance since they would like to rank in among the professionals. On the other hand, most of us that are doing our first triathlon are only concerned about finishing. We decided to get off the couch one day, put on shoes and go for our first run. Being concerned about your triathlon times should be the furthest thing from your mind. Instead, focus on improving your skills and endurance. Your times will improve automatically.

Second, a triathlete needs to consider how much time they have to dedicate to the sport. Working full time, taking care of a family and fulfilling other obligations will always be time consuming and fitting in a rigorous triathlon training program can be quite difficult. Make sure and allot enough time to make your training beneficial but don’t let it outweight your other family obligations.

Remember this: You aren’t going to get first no matter how hard you train and hopefully you won’t get last. Just finishing is quite an accomplishment for most people so don’t be too hard on yourself if it takes you four hours to finish an olympic length triathlon. Keep your focus on improving your skills and endurance and you will be amazed how much it will cut down your triathlon times.

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