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Written by Vince
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Wednesday, 06 August 2008 15:48 |
...or perhaps it is better used to describe the personality type of the typical triathlete. A common theme among the triathlon community is our Type "A" personality and our obsessive-compulsive behavior. I personally obsess about many things including: my weight, what I eat, the amount of calories I consume on the bike, my Garmin recording my data accurately, my swim stroke, my drive train cleanliness, and the race results for events I've done or am about to do. Heck, I just did the last one right before I started writing this entry. I was busily looking up Silverman results from last year in order to determine where I'd finish, what times I could accomplish for each of the disciplines, and how I'd compare to others in my age group.
Type "A" individuals are impatient, aggressive, highly competitive, dissatisfied with the world, hostile, unable to relax, time-conscious, and workaholics. I'm certain some tree-hugging-crystal-wearing-dope-smoking-hippy came up with that definition and I can beat him in a race... umm... never mind. Looking at this list, I see more than a few that describe me personally. But then again, I've already done some soul searching on my own so I know what I am. I'm so Type "A" that I took a personality test and was proud that I aced it. I win! Take that hippy!
When someone asks me about doing a triathlon, I normally tell them that one of two things will happen when they finish. They finish the event and say: "That was incredible! I'm never doing that again!" Or they say: "That was incredible! When is the next event?" I believe it is the latter group that is Type "A" and the former group that is Type "B". Obviously there are going to be exceptions to the rule but there's just so much going on in triathlon which the Type "A" personality can recognize and relate to it almost immediately. Let's break it down. There are the three disciplines: swimming, biking, and running. That's multitasking... another characteristic of the Type "A" personality. Throw in nutrition, transition, and competition. What more could you ask for? There are so many things to focus on all at once... I'm in heaven.
At the heart of the Type "A" triathlete is their killer instinct. I not only have a desire to beat someone else but I also have the desire to beat myself. I must go farther and faster than I did previously or else I have failed. But that's ok too, because I will obsess on my failure and use it for fueling my next attempt. When people describe successful athletes, you normally hear them suggest the athlete is genetically gifted. In context, they are referring to the athlete's physical abilities. But I wonder if whether or not it's more about what's going on inside their head (that killer instinct) rather than their physical abilities that drive them to push through the pain in order to win.
While the typical obsessive-compulsive is impatient, and I am typical, interesting enough is the fact that while I am impatient, I am also methodically patient. Let me give you an example. Each year I run an end of season marathon. I will not run a marathon mid-season because it throws off my training for triathlon so I basically get to do one a year. In 2007, I ran a marathon with a specific time goal. I initially started the race with a faster pace than I had planned in order to get through the crowds. My pace never settled down to where I wanted until it was too late. Looking back, I should've just accepted the crowds rather than go faster. In the end, I wound up falling apart in the last miles and missed my time goal. I PR'd but that meant nothing to me. I've been patiently waiting to fix that mistake and I will this December at the California International Marathon. This just proves that some characteristics of this personality type dominate more than others. But in the end, even when I fix this mistake, I will set another time goal for the following year in order to continue the cycle. And to me, that's the true beauty of my personality type.
Does any of this sound remotely familiar to you? Welcome... you are among friends. Oh and by the way, we want to beat you. :)
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 August 2008 15:57 |
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