Satisfaction and Gratification

“Satisfaction is short-term.  Gratification is long-term.”

Dave Scott NYC Tri-Mania Keynote

I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s Tri-Mania NYC key note speaker, Dave Scott, a six time Ironman World Champion, who explained that you should take stock of your performance in each race and identify what aspects satisfied you (in addition to what we all do in looking at what we could have done better).  But, for the long-term and to fully enjoy your triathlon career, you should look at the bigger picture of what the sport is doing for you and its meaning in your life to find gratification, which sustains you for the long-term.

This is the third year I attended this annual multi-sport conference held at Columbia University, which was a production of Sun Multisport Events and developed in collaboration with Jordan Metzl, MD (my sports medicine physician) and the Northeast region of USA Triathlon.  With a day of free seminars full of tech, physiology and medical talk, you feel like you are back in school – but for your passion!  This year my husband Mike joined me, having come off of his first year of triathlons.  Expecting the typical kind of sports expo, the event fully exceeded his expectations.

One of the pretty cool things about the event is the range of athletes in attendance – from first year newbies to elites and long-time veterans.  Three years ago as a “freshman”, I was inundated with a whole new language.  Now, as a “junior”, I found myself further comprehending the topics and taking away different aspects how to apply them, such as:

·         SWIM – Check out http://www.swimsmooth.com/ for good tips on improving your swimming technique.

·         BIKE – There are acceptable ranges for the slight bend in your knee when getting the proper bike fit.  Last year after my bike fitting, I resisted putting the seat down for awhile because I figured the bike fitter knew what he was doing, but the bike fitting presenter admitted it usually takes a second look after some riding to get the fit right.

·         RUN – It’s time for new running shoes after 300 miles or 6 months.  One of the biggest ah ha moments for me were the videos played of improper running form – perhaps one of the causes of my injury last year is my sometimes over-stride.  If you look back at a photo of my Stamford tri run, it’s so obvious now!  I will now be striving for the optimal 85-90 (1 foot, 1 min) running cadence, light on my feet, with no bobbing (or pony tail swinging).  Jeff Dengate, a senior editor of Runners World, also showed a great infographic on choosing the right shoes which he said could be found here: http://www.runnersworld.com/shoefinder (but the url takes you to their shoe advisor function which is also helpful)

·         SURVIVE – In other years I was just learning about VO2 max and lactate threshold, and so now I better understood the concepts in Polly de Mille’s (from the Hospital of Special Surgery) presentation.  Your VO2 Max is somewhat genetic, but your lactate threshold is more controllable.  You can become a much better endurance athlete if you can tap into the fat stores, which are a better source of energy than consuming carbohydrates. 

With the sport of triathlon, I’m constantly learning new things about how to improve my performance and overall health and well-being.

This learning process gives me great satisfaction.

After the event, Mike and I went to see a NYC tri friend, Ursula, whose husband, Antoine, had just placed 2^nd overall in the Brooklyn Duathlon early Saturday morning.  Ursula was telling us that our friend Allison had joined her that morning to cheer on Antoine.  I introduced Allison to the sport in 2011, and then Allison met Ursula and Antoine in 2012 when we all did the Stamford tri.

These connections give me great gratification.