The English phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” sums up the tendency of spending too much time comparing ourselves with our peers. While this can be good if we use it as a source of inspiration, it often tends to address more material possessions.
When it comes to triathlon racing, competing against others can be a useful way to test yourself and improve. If you pick the right person to compete with. I like to say that endurance racing is a race of one. You are the only person who matters. You need to run your own race. If you get caught up setting off too fast just to stay with another competitor, you are setting yourself up for bonking (hitting the wall) later in the race.
It is very important that you set your own targets and milestones. For example, in a recent race, I set myself a target of 12 mins 30 sec per 6.67km lap on the bike. So during this one hour period, I was focused only on how I felt and my stopwatch. When a rider went past me I did not try to catch them. I had a plan and I stuck to it.
Now that I have achieved a good foundation of training and faster times in races, I can look around at my team mates and see who I can engage in friendly competition. One team-mate Xiao Lu is a weak swimmer and I am about 10 minutes faster, we are about equal on the bike but Xiao Lu blows me away on the run - often 15 - 20 minutes faster than me! So when I beat my own running time by 10 minutes, I was able to get within 4 minutes of Xiao Lu. So we have some friendly banter about the next race. When it comes to the next race, however, I am still going to focus on my times and pacing regardless of how Xiao Lu races.
Are you too focused on what other people are wearing, owning, and saying? How can you focus on your own improvement? Find some peers who you can use as a source of motivation and support. For example, I gave Xiao Lu some tips on how to improve the swim. If you find yourself thinking about becoming jealous about other people, stop and refocus on yourself.
Run your race with your targets and milestones, and use others only as a source of inspiration and give-and-take support.