Here are the tentative dates for our 2023 events (we are submitting permit requests for these dates):

• 4/15/23: Saturday - Triathlon 
• Registration opens March 1st
• 6/18/23: Sunday - Triathlon 
• Registration opens May 1st
• 7/8/23: Saturday - Aquabike 
• Registration opens June 1st
• 8/13/23: Sunday - Triathlon 
• Registration opens July 1st

Pencil these dates into your calendar! More information will be posted as we get closer to the date.

Events are for members only! Membership is annual and runs this season from March 2023 to March 2024.  

Thanks everyone!

Check our Facebook Group for locals who are training in town or down at Lake Mead. Post your workouts!

The New Triathlete

What Motivates You to Train and Race Triathlons?

If you’re like me, you’ve struggled with this question ever since you started racing triathlons. Why do we put ourselves through all the pain of training? Why do we get up at 5:00 in the morning and go from a warm bed to a cold, wet pool? Why do we train like it’s a second job? It’s nuts. Regardless of how hard it is, we still do it. Whatever this motivation is, one thing is certain: it must be powerful.

There are many reasons people race triathlons – to lose weight, to keep our hearts healthy, for recognition, for finisher medals, for stress relief… For me, I think the reason was quite unhealthy. I wanted to prove to others that I was worthwhile and that I was worthy of their respect. Intellectually I knew that this was an unhealthy reason, and that I should get my self-esteem from within. But the truth is that I didn’t have anything on which to base any self-esteem. And so, I struggled on, while the “why” conflict raged on in my mind and I tried to come up with a ‘good’ reason to train and race triathlons.

Through injuries, surgeries, and continual defeats, I still didn’t have a good reason for doing this. But along the way I learned some things, and I even hit the podium a few times. I helped with some races and got involved with the Triathlon Club encouraged by others in the club. They stood by me and provided support and encouragement and kept me going. I became part of our wonderful community, and I felt that I was appreciated and respected. 

Along the way, my motivation for doing triathlons and being involved in Triathlon changed. I love helping people swim in open water for the first time and seeing them feel good about themselves. I love seeing people crossing the finish line for the first time wearing a proud and often emotional smile. I love riding, swimming, or running with people and realizing that we are all equal parts of this Triathlon thing regardless of who is faster. Compare this with the reason I started, and you’ll realize that the reasons – the motivations – not only changed, but they are also polar opposites. I went from a place of need to a place of abundance. Realize that you may be at a point where the thing that motivates you may not be the same now as when you started.

So where does your motivation come from? Why do you do this? In the long run, it doesn’t matter. You’re doing it. This puts you in a very special community and on a wonderful journey. Can your motivation change? Absolutely. Triathlon is a journey of growth, not a destination. What’s your motivation? It doesn’t matter. Keep it up.

Tips for your first triathlon

• https://lvtriclub.com/starting-out/

~ Bob Gamble

Past President

What motivates you?

This month’s theme is motivation. I wrote about motivation in a previous article, more specifically finding your ‘why’. I wanted to know more about it so researched this topic and found there are any number of motivators but 7 or 8 seems to be standard.

1.     Incentive motivation: When you are motivated to perform a task because of the reward. In terms of racing or training, I would think this is landing on the podium, losing weight or something that comes as a “reward” for the completion. (To me, this would be more measurable.)

2.     Achievement motivation: When you are motivated to perform a task to achieve specific objectives. This would be finishing the race or checking boxes off. (To me this would be not as measurable.)

3.     Power motivation: When you spend a lot of hours to become an expert. You strive to control your life and that of others. You enjoy actions that will make you the sole determinant of what happens to your money, food, health, relationships and more. Power can be a healthy motivator as long as you respect other people’s opinions about their lives. For example, if you are on a very strict keto diet and it is working well for you, it isn’t okay to push that on a vegetarian. 

4.     Fear motivation: The fear of negative consequences can drive you to avoid an unpleasant experience. This would be things like weight gain or not finishing the race.

5.     Affiliation motivation: Also known as “social motivation”, this motivation encourages social interaction among people.  A person who is driven by affiliation gets motived by the spirit of cooperation and by others accepting their desirable attitudes.

6.     Competence motivation: Competence motivation pushes people to become highly proficient at what they do, allowing them to become subject matter specialists in critical aspects of their sport. For this set of people, their motivation comes from being able to use their competence where it will make the biggest difference. I can think of athletes who are like this and analyze every aspect of the race, including the weight of their shoes and how to alter those by cutting sections out to lighten them.

7.     Attitude motivation: This motivation drives an individual to change other people’s perceptions or thoughts. It focuses on making people around you feel better about you and themselves. I picture a cheerleader here.  “Go team!”

Which one are you? 

*These points found on Indeed’s Career Guide

~Shawna Glasser

Prez Corner:

Motivation

It is always exciting to prepare for that first triathlon of the year. For some of you, maybe that was Oceanside 70.3 or maybe it was our first club event … or maybe your first race will be coming up shortly.

Putting in the training and preparation for that first race is typically fairly easy – we want to kick the year off in the right direction so it is often easy to fit in the training.

But what happens after that first race? Once that motivating factor is behind you … how do you keep going? Of course, the obvious answer is sign up for another race! Or, shift the goals to something else – maybe it is an endurance challenge like the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim. Or maybe the challenge of summiting Mt. Charleston. Whatever the next goal is, once you have completed that first race of the year, put up your next goal!

Many of you reading this likely have your year planned out already. So that next goal is simply the next event on the schedule. I certainly fall in that category of planning! It helps me stay motivated for the year knowing the series of events I have planned.

But what happens if your first race was not what you were expecting? Maybe you did not hit that time you were shooting for … or maybe there were several obstacles during the event that really made the event challenging. In times like this, it is good to take a step back and think back on what happened. Taking a critical view of the training, the preparation, race week, and race day can often help with preparing for the next event to be successful.

On the other side, what happens if you hit your goals at your first race?! Of course, that should be easy … right? But the trap a lot of people fall into is that they set a new time goal, a new goal to be faster. Oddly, this can have a negative impact in the long term. What we are often telling ourselves is that we aren’t fast enough, not good enough, and we need to be better. Don’t fall into this trap! Instead, if you hit your goals on the first event … Celebrate! Take credit! Enjoy the moment!

When we learn to celebrate the success we have achieved, we will naturally continue to grow as an athlete. You may actually find that you enjoy the triathlon experience even more when truly give yourself credit for what you have achieved.

Let’s Thrive in 2023!

#thatsthevegasway

#enjoythejourney

#thrive

#timetothrive

#LVtrifamily 

~John Mercer

Coaches Corner:

When you lose your motivation, now what?

2023 race season is here. Weather in the Las Vegas area is starting to warm up. You’ve either have already begun training or about to – but you have lost that motivation. Well, you’re not alone!



Triathletes losing motivation is very common. The many hours we put into training and time away from family and friends can wear on us. The training we once thought of as fun or stimulating has now turned into work and agitating. As those weeks of training slowly click off, race day is quickly approaching. How do you find your motivation again?

Take a look at your current training program, are you overtraining? One of the first things that can make us lose our motivation is our training program. In the beginning of the race season, we are very ambitious, maybe a bit too ambitious. We think we can put all these hours into training, but in the end, we begin to miss that time with our family and friends. Readjusting your training program may be that quick fix you need. 

Remember your ‘why’. Why do you race? Why do you put in those long hours to train? Your ‘why’ is the most important part of you getting to that finish line. Begin incorporating your ‘why’ into mental race preparation. Have it on your visual board, include it in your mantra, have it there for when times get tough. 

In the end, remember to give yourself grace. When we lose our motivation, it suddenly becomes the priority to find it back, but it’s not gone for good. It will eventually come back. Just take a moment for yourself and reflect on you as the triathlete and celebrate your accomplishments. Those accomplishments might be what you need to motivate you to that finish line.  only" or "only 7 remaining"!

~Hilary Mauch

Have you met these Coaches?

Triathlon race season is here. Do you have a coach? Are you looking for one? Well, the Las Vegas Triathlon Club is going to try to help make some connections.

Earlier this year, we sent out a google form to try to capture our local coaching expertise. We had a number of coaches (all are members of Las Vegas Triathlon Club) respond and we have featured them on this webpage: https://lvtriclub.com/coaches/

We are going to continue to highlight coaches on our web page – if you would like to be part of that, please fill out the form: https://forms.gle/yEbcByPPVfHCb7A67

LVTC Member Spotlight

Get to know our club members as our President sits down with the following members to talk about tris and life.

• Jay Correa

https://youtu.be/jaPHfxwEoac

• Anne Alba

https://youtu.be/eBAUBrcsn-M

• Jeff Caldwell

https://youtu.be/HwGgjRWIp64

The Evidence-Based Triathlete

• Mental Fatigue

https://youtu.be/_lDRP7wCpQk

• Super Shoes

https://youtu.be/sAV0XPVwIYI

• Questions Answered!

https://youtu.be/zaTCXZLVfS

Where in the World Has Our TRI Club Raced?

Check out the map below to see where our athletes have raced!