I’ll be racing in my second tri this coming Sunday, The San Diego International Triathlon. In my heart and mind, I know I’m ready. For me, this will be a significantly longer race as compared to my first tri, which was a Super Sprint. This race is a 1 K (0.9-mile) swim, 30 K (18.64-mile) bike, and 10 K (6.2-mile) run.

I just have something nagging in the back of my mind, the fact that it’s very unlikely I will finish in a medal position. I looked at last year’s winner in AG 40-44, and he finished his swim in a little over 12 minutes. I’ll be lucky if I can do it in under 30 minutes. Trust me, it’s not that I’m used to winning at athletic events. Far from it. Here’s the deal: I’m used to doing well in everything I do. Yes, the key word is well. The problem is with how I define well.

I’m trying to think about the long term, about racing for many years to come, which means having a long period of time to improve. It’s hard to be satisfied with that, especially when I really love to win.

So here are the facts:

1 – At my swim race pace, I can swim an 800 in about 3:40. If I were to do 6 x 800, it would equal a little more than the distance of the swim on Sunday. Assuming that I did not fatigue during the swim, it means I would finish in 22 minutes. Add maybe a minute or two of slowing down, and I think I might be able to finish the swim in about 25 minutes.

2 – I estimate that I could probably finish the bike route in under an hour. I’ve ridden the course two times. It’s uphill for most of the way up, so downhill for almost all the way down. Let’s say 50 minutes.

3 – By the time I get to the run, I know I’ll be very tired. I hope to run at a speed of at least 7.5 mph. I’d like to do the run in under 50 minutes.

So with some extra padding allotted, I’d really like to finish the race in under two hours. And that is most definitely not good enough to get anywhere near the podium because the people who win this event are finishing it well under two hours (like 1:45). When I say I want to finish in under two hours, I’m mean like I hope to barely squeak across the finish line in under two hours. That’s a huge gap between my goal and a winning time, almost 15 minutes.

So between now and Sunday, instead of daydreaming about medals all day long, I’d like to solidify in my mind that the definition of well for the race would be to finish it in under two hours.