The biggest problem was my lack of focus on the race. While swimming I was never into the 'here and now' but thinking about lot's of other things. Mainly the fact that my triathlon career started here 8 years before and lot's of things happened in these years. In first edition I came out of the water second last, got overswimmed by the girls who started 5 min. laters. Year after year I improved especially in swimming and so I once got a very good race as a junior finishing 4th. Since U23-category lot's of bad things happened in Izegem. 1st year I quit the race already during swim, 2nd year I had a very dissapointing result, last year I couldn't start because of injury... and this year I was dreaming too much.
Also on the bike I was not focussed - or else I would not notice that the KSA organises a French frites party 2nd weekend of September in Meulebeke, as this was announced on a poster near the road . Above this, my legs felt awful. Since I was not in front, I didn't puch myself to the limit... what did it matter to become n°25 or n°35? But anyway, I was enjoying being on the road. I noticed that this was a kind of mindeset I never had before. In other races, on days like this I would have quit the race already. So I turned the button in my head at the start of the running track. The amazing crowd gave me wings again and I think I must have passed like 20 athletes or so on this 10 km.
So, afterwards I looked at this race as on of my best races ever. Because this might have been the first one in which I could change negative thoughts into positive motivation. What had happened 1 week before made very deep scars, but I think these last 7 days have changed me as a person and an athlete, although this change already started 4th of May...
That was the day I decided that I did not enjoy no longer what I was doing. A whole year it had been so extremely busy combining school & sports and actually I was training for races I had not that much affection for. Above this I received a bike I hated (I think I may say this by now)... so on the 4th of May it became too much to handle. I gave up in team championship and decided: 'fuck it, I'll do what I want to do'. So I bought a mountainbike and started training more, harder, better, faster than ever before. I was a 100% focussed on national cross triathlon championship and I still believe this was my best race ever as well.
But now it is time to think forward. I'll leave Belgium to go training in Kenya - another thing I wanted to do for years but never did it because of triathlon calendar - and afterwards I plan to race Dwars door Ieper and a beautiful cross duathlon in the Netherlands before taking a rest.
There were 3 things missing this year to make me improve at 1/4 (non-drafting) triathlon: time, money and the presence of sparring partners and coach during my training, 3 factors influencing each other. Since this will only get worse next 2 years, my 1/4th triathlon career stops at this moment. I'm also feeling the 'hunger' for this races is no longer a 100%, it is time for new challenges.
Concrete plans I do not have already, focus will definitely be on studies, but I'll try to keep running a lot, since this is a discipline which you can in fact do everywhere, every time. I'll maintain swimming and cycling by 1 or 2 training sessions/week... so during academy year I think I'm going to do trail runs and mountainbike races as a personal challenge or just for fun... maybe in summer focussing and working really hard again for a XTerra race... we 'll decide that later. First I focus on Kenya. Being in such a nice country I really want to be in the 'here and now' during my stay.
Also on the bike I was not focussed - or else I would not notice that the KSA organises a French frites party 2nd weekend of September in Meulebeke, as this was announced on a poster near the road . Above this, my legs felt awful. Since I was not in front, I didn't puch myself to the limit... what did it matter to become n°25 or n°35? But anyway, I was enjoying being on the road. I noticed that this was a kind of mindeset I never had before. In other races, on days like this I would have quit the race already. So I turned the button in my head at the start of the running track. The amazing crowd gave me wings again and I think I must have passed like 20 athletes or so on this 10 km.
So, afterwards I looked at this race as on of my best races ever. Because this might have been the first one in which I could change negative thoughts into positive motivation. What had happened 1 week before made very deep scars, but I think these last 7 days have changed me as a person and an athlete, although this change already started 4th of May...
That was the day I decided that I did not enjoy no longer what I was doing. A whole year it had been so extremely busy combining school & sports and actually I was training for races I had not that much affection for. Above this I received a bike I hated (I think I may say this by now)... so on the 4th of May it became too much to handle. I gave up in team championship and decided: 'fuck it, I'll do what I want to do'. So I bought a mountainbike and started training more, harder, better, faster than ever before. I was a 100% focussed on national cross triathlon championship and I still believe this was my best race ever as well.
But now it is time to think forward. I'll leave Belgium to go training in Kenya - another thing I wanted to do for years but never did it because of triathlon calendar - and afterwards I plan to race Dwars door Ieper and a beautiful cross duathlon in the Netherlands before taking a rest.
There were 3 things missing this year to make me improve at 1/4 (non-drafting) triathlon: time, money and the presence of sparring partners and coach during my training, 3 factors influencing each other. Since this will only get worse next 2 years, my 1/4th triathlon career stops at this moment. I'm also feeling the 'hunger' for this races is no longer a 100%, it is time for new challenges.
Concrete plans I do not have already, focus will definitely be on studies, but I'll try to keep running a lot, since this is a discipline which you can in fact do everywhere, every time. I'll maintain swimming and cycling by 1 or 2 training sessions/week... so during academy year I think I'm going to do trail runs and mountainbike races as a personal challenge or just for fun... maybe in summer focussing and working really hard again for a XTerra race... we 'll decide that later. First I focus on Kenya. Being in such a nice country I really want to be in the 'here and now' during my stay.