LVTC Happenings!
A monthly report of events and resources for our passionate, growing local multisport community.
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2022 Triathlon Season!
We had a second LVTC event June 12th – it was a hot and windy morning! Congratulations to everyone who participated – it was a tough day but great to see so many toe-the-start-line!
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The next Las Vegas Triathlon Club event is an Aquabike on July 16th … and it is open for registration!
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April 23rd - done
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June 12th – done
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July 16th
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August 21st
These events are free with your club membership. If you can’t participate – we always welcome volunteers!
In this newsletter issue, there is more information about ‘Take the risk’ … and reap the reward … but the reward is not always what we thought it would be!’ In the triathlon context, the ‘take the risk’ applies to toeing the start line, getting out and training, or joining a new training group! Some aspects of triathlon do require us to take the risk … what is important is to look for the reward. And sometimes, the reward is very different than what we expected.
Keep enjoying the journey!
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Socials/Training Events/Education
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Check our Facebook Group for locals who are training in town or down at Lake Mead. Post your workouts!
2022 Club Sprint Tri Events
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July 16th (Aquabike)
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August 21st
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Membership Drive
Support your local Triathlon Club
Membership Includes:
- Club logoed gear for purchase
- 3 Sprint Triathlons & 1 Aquabike
- Triathlon Programs: Events and Skill Clinics
- Opportunities to train, get together and socialize
- Discounts for members only on BBSC races
- Additional discounts on products and services
Single Membership is $65.00
Family Membership is $85.00
College Membership is $40.00
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Safety Corner
When is DNF Your Best Option?
Triathletes generally have Type A personalities. Many of us are driven to achieve enormous goals and push our bodies. So, when is it OK for a triathlete to not finish a race with a DNF (Did Not Finish) or DNS (Did Not Start)?
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You have a serious injury. You could possibly make the injury worse or prolong it by pushing through. It’s better to sit out of one race than to miss out on an entire season (or worse).
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You’re sick. Your health is more important than a race finish. If you’re ill or recovering from a recent illness, your body might not be ready for intense physical activity.
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The Course is Not Safe. While there are race directors trying to make each race safe, you have to know your own limits.
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You’re in Pain. Listen to your body. Know the difference between pain from something serious and discomfort from pushing yourself.
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You’re not in the right mindset. Many triathletes suppress things that they might experience outside of triathlon. If you’re not in the correct mindset, you might forget to focus on vital parts of a race.
If you do decide to either DNF or DNS, all is not lost. These are learning experiences you can use to prevent similar challenges in the future. Take care of yourself and seek medical attention when necessary.
~Amanda Wolpink
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Coaches Corner
Change the paradigm!
Changing the paradigm that defines ‘success’ or ‘failure’ in multisport.
Triathlon competition comes with a lot of heaviness. It’s a big heavy deal. Not purposefully, but just by default. After all, The preparation is extremely intense- the training, the personal battles with athletic identity and ability, the unknown and the doubt surrounding the efficacy of all the work. Though this is even still rivaled by compounding weight that is the growing question about how one will perform in the looming race. So many instances where things could go ‘wrong’ or one could ‘fail’. So easy to focus on flaws and the resulting detriments making up the triathlon experience.
Which is why it’s this coach’s job to highlight important life features lost in the grey of tri life. There are larger and more important things working in the background of racing. Grounding features between the cracks of tri race drama. Things that can carve a person’s athletic self far better than the perfect training block or USAT age group ranking. Concepts which ought to be celebrated or at least regularly highlighted to keep the mental script of the multisport athlete a healthy one (not a depressing one!).
Because MULTISPORT is MAGICAL. Here are a few of the qualities improving one’s life provided by a race, no matter how disastrous the race:
- You are fitter from the training.
- You have a fitness ritual or regimen truly locked down for life after locking down on a race
- You appreciate the outdoors
- You have reduced anxiety
- You manage stress well through at least a movement approach
- You manage time well with work and training and/or family
- You have a newfound ability to conquer turmoil and move forward despite discomfort
- You have grit
Grit. The biggest gift of them all. For grit within the personal disposition is the gift that keeps on giving. All life and human progress requires some grit in navigating the world’s chaos. Racing gives one their grit.
Although…
Most ironically….
Grit is born only from discomfort. Or despair. In a triathlete’s case, the kind of race where things did NOT go perfectly. Or in perhaps a performance NOT celebrated or labeled as a ‘success’. In other words, long term life gifts are often born from short term perseverance through discomfort. Or that imperfect race. Which beneath its exterior of an experience where ‘stuff went wrong’, is in fact a bottomless provider of personal growth power. Long as the athlete knows where to look and what to celebrate!
~Coach Nancy
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Prez Corner:
Take the Risk!
Thinking back on the first triathlon you did … most of us ‘took the risk’ and did that first race. And then we were hooked! I know for me, the reward of finishing that first event was huge … I have great memories of that first race (an Olympic-distance race back in Buffalo, NY) and being inspired to train more for the next one. Here I am some 35 years later and still training and racing! The rewards of training have gone far beyond any race experience. Health, friendships, travel experiences – these have all been rewards of taking the risk and toeing the start line of a race.
Taking the risk means we are willing to accept not meeting our goals or expectations. Maybe that dreaded ‘DNF’ (Did Not Finish) happens. What then? Was the risk of toeing the start line worth it? My answer of course is a loud and strong ‘Yes’! Personally, I have had some terrible race experiences, I’ve gotten lost on courses, I’ve crashed, I got held up by a train crossing the road, … some of these have led to DNF’s. But the experience … the experience of training for the event and participating in the event far outweighed any negative aspect of the experience. In any ‘bad’ race experience I’ve had, I can also tell a story of a new friend I’ve made, or the experience of exploring a new place, or finding some positive aspect of the race itself. The reward of training and participating in the event far exceeded any risk of not meeting my pre-race expectations.
This year, our club theme is ‘Enjoy the Journey’ … having that mindset will help us all find the ‘reward’ of training and participating in an event. Take the risk. Toe the start line … and then look for the reward that you may not have been expecting!
Our club theme this year is ‘Enjoy the Journey’ … the race is just one part of that journey. Frankly, sometimes it is easy to get lost in the path for preparing for an event … and if the event does not go well, it is hard to keep Enjoying the Journey. If you are in that category … connect with a club member! Go for a bike ride with a group … meet up for a swim at the lake … go for a hike! By connecting with others, you’ll find that enjoyment again … after all, that is why we train and race … to enjoy the experiences!
#enjoythejourney
~John Mercer
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Past President
My Greatest Accomplishment
The theme for this newsletter is about taking the risk and getting the reward. I laughed to myself because the Shawna who entered triathlon expected to find the reward of doing triathlon a lot different than what she got.
Beginning Shawna thought placing in triathlons would mean a lot to her. She thought statistics would be her motivator, her greatest source of pride. Beginning Shawna did not yet know what was to come.
Shawna today knows that triathlon saved her from postpartum depression that she suffered from having been in the work force, surrounded by lots of people and friends, making the adjustment to being alone, exhausted, with babies all day, every day. She credits the friendships that she’s made, the adventures she’s been on, and the ability to be something more than just someone’s mother. Don’t get me wrong, being a parent is incredibly rewarding, but sometimes you lose your identity and that can be unfulfilling.
Shawna today knows that the best races are the ones with a sense of camaraderie, a sense of friendship and community. My best races are with friendly faces and cheering on others. Yes, I want to do well, but a rising tide raises all boats. If I can help someone else be a better competitor, it drives me to push harder to raise my level as well. The best races involve racing against my “frien-emies”. That is a best friend who is in my age group, so we are enemies on race day. I have many wonderful memories of chasing down my best friend on the run course and her battling to keep the lead.
If you ask me what my greatest accomplishment is you will never hear a place or a time. My greatest accomplishments are the friends I’ve made, the hours of hard work I’ve put into cultivating this passion for triathlon, the goal planning I’ve done, the making myself a priority, the example I’ve set for my children, the adventures I been on, and the going in scared but daring greatly.
~Shawna Glasser
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LVTC Member Spotlight
Get to know our club members as our President sits down with the following members to talk about tris and life.
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The Evidence-Based Triathlete
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Where in the World Has Our TRI Club Raced?
Check out the map below to see where our athletes have raced!
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