Finding Happiness Through Endurance Sports

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Last Updated: December 16th, 2024 at 11:31 pm

Finding Flow
Have you heard of the concept of flow?

In the book Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author talks about “the psychology of optimal experience

In MY reading of the book and understanding of the topic, I can boil the concept of flow down to: The pleasurable psychological state when the difficulty of the challenge at hand appropriately matches your skill level in performing that task

(see image below)
Essentially…

If the task is too EASY, you’ll get bored.
If the task is too DIFFICULT, you’ll get stressed

Flow is when you find a balance between the two. Not too hard, not too easy.

Something that challenges you to focus and work hard. But not so hard that you can’t do it and get discouraged.

This ‘flow state’ has been associated with peak levels of happiness

I want to take this topic and translate it to the idea of race selection.

Are you bored with your training?

Are you stressed by your training load and becoming overwhelmed?

In either case, you might want to consider what target you’ve set for yourself.

In triathlon, the main race distances are:

Sprint
0.5 mile Swim
12.4 mile Bike
3.1 mile Run

Olympic/International
0.93 mile Swim
24.8 mile Bike
6.2 mile Run

Half Ironman 70.3
1.2 mile Swim
56 mile Bike
13.1 mile Run

Ironman 140.6
2.4 mile Swim
112 mile Bike
26.2 mile Run

In running, there are many many different distances. But the key ones are:
1 mile
5K – 3.1 miles
10K – 6.2 miles
15K – 9.3 miles
Half Marathon – 13.1 miles
Marathon – 26.2 miles
Ultra marathons – 30+ miles

Which races are right for YOU?
Do you need to challenge yourself?
Do you need to lighten the load a little?

Trying to answer some of these questions can lead to a happier 2023 training season

Last year, I trained for and completed my first ever Ironman and it was extremely stressful.

This year, I’m taking it a little lighter

Happy Training :)If you have pain or an injury that is preventing you from doing what you love and finding Flow, we should talk.Click the button below to schedule a free discovery call with me and see if we’re a good fit to work together.
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