SHERI FRASER

Evolution of aTriGeek
In the spring of 1985 I signed up for some Kona thing by paying a $180 entry fee. I then bought a $500 bike because I liked the colour of the wheels [red], got a pool membership at U of T because apparently you had to do a bit of a swim first, and entered a marathon to confirm that I could run 26 miles. With very few race options, my first triathlon was the Lake Placid ½ Ironman. This was the IM course except the bike looped the opposite route and you climbed up the 7 mile hill. I panicked and whined and bobbed my way through the swim and walked most of the run. That was my prep for the big day…I was ready to take on Kona. 
So things have changed slightly since then. In that first race season, my equipment consisted of a pair of goggles, a cheap helmet and I wore the same shoes for both the bike and run. There were no tribikes, wetsuits, race wheels, aerobars, aerohelmets, bike computers, Timex watches, GPS, clip pedals, gatorade and gels, HRM’s or power meters, gadgets and gizmos, electronic shifters, Co2 cartridges, compression socks, racing flats, race belts, magazines and certainly there was no such thing as a triathlon coach.
Over the following 10 years information and technology started to become available and I made use of it. But my greatest success was in making every mistake I could pack into a season. I discovered what injuries were and had plenty of them and I spent most of my fastest racing days on the sidelines as a volunteer due to recurring calf tears and low back pain. Clearly just swimming, biking and running was not working for me.
So I took an alternate route. I tossed most of the instant feedback doodads and started to train on perceived effort, discovered Pilates and core before it was fashionable, spent significant time in the gym and yoga studio and bought a Concept II rower. I also became a Sport Massage therapist and began to notice obvious patterns in personalities and recurring injuries; the “hammer” competitive mindset and those who would take the time be proactive with their rest, core, balance and stretching.
Since ditching most of the electronics and using “ brain training”, the only injuries I have experienced are from falling off my bike [yes I still do this at least once a year] or face planting while trail running… no wear and tear “overuse”aches and pains that athletes of a certain age acquire over years of abuse.
I started racing watchless and without a bike computer, began to focus on my efficiency rather than my speed, and not on my competition and prize money. I set the goal to be a foo foo dork and enjoy the day, be grateful that I lived in a safe world where I was able spend my spare time on a very selfish and expensive sport. And OMG!!!…I got faster at IM in my 40’s when I had a full time job and two busy boys. Rats..If I had only known all this in my 30’s….
If numbers and data are your hobby, then by all means get out your flow charts and spread sheets and analyze and compare and talk about it with your fellow excel nerds . Absolutely nothing wrong with this. And as a training gauge for pacing and/or if you are one to not push yourself or blow up all too often then numbers are for you.
But if you just wanna have fun, then surround yourself with a positive group of training partners who are faster than you and I bet you will have just as successful a day