Letting go of control....

nytro women- all AG winners

How is that for an attention getter?    I write "letting go on control" relative to hiring a coach.  Many of us have years of racing, training experience and some many years with different  coaches or simply have been self coached.  We hire a coach because we

realize we are not the expert (even coaches hire coaches- myself in point. Not because I don't what to do but because I need an objective outsider and someone looking at the big picture - am i too tired, can I do more? . I learned very quickly the rational objectivity I have with my athletes goes out the window when it comes to coaching myself. Somehow the rules change.   In any case when we hire a coach we are turning over most (or in my case 99%) or all off the control to someone else.   While that can be refreshing, as in no longer having to think about what workouts should I be doing- should I go longer/harder, shorter etc. it also is scary.  So having trust in your coach is key.  1- trusting they know they are doing and 2- trusting they are monitoring you and understand what you are doing.  

Do I trust my coach.....yes.  But it is not easy.  I am tired, sore, grumpy and putting in workouts that are very different to me.  I had a workout Friday.  Nailed the swim and was on fire, but had nothing  on the bike - I could not come close to power he as looking for so I bailed on the intervals and just rode. I was contemplating not running 45 minutes as written due to the horrible bike, but I wanted to try - I was telling my self 20 minutes and when I die I can tell him SEE how tired I am.  10 minutes into the run, my stride was easy, feet felt light and I had a great 45 min run.  Surprised- yes.   

Craig rocked it-  fun racing with friends 

We (coach and I) discussed racing Sunday- it seemed like a great idea until I failed my Friday workout.  Now I was signed up (but with insurance so I could cancel)  He altered Saturday to 3 hour ez ride ( no intervals) and I felt ok as long as it was easy.  I really did not want to race.. ( can I say really, really)  but I wanted to test my new tri kit (which I LOVE thanks to Betty Designs for the cool design and Champion Systems for a super comfortable kit) , Aquasphere Phantom wetsuit and to go through transitions, race day prep etc.  So I was IN.  I had my old race wheels with heavy tires but bike was running well (  thank you Nytro ) and I did not feel like making it race ready- I took off the heavy stuff, taped on the Pit Stop (just in case)   -

Superseal is interesting..they do a sprint first- so while I did not have to be there until 6:55am ( late for this sport) my wave did not go off until 8:45.  Lots of time to watch nearly the entire sprint and hang out.  Luckily there were a lot of my friends racing so we chatted, watched and the time passed quickly.

Swim - 1500 M in the shape of an R.  I kid you not and after watching many go off course I was nervous.  Not knowing if I would have feet to follow I studied, counted and watched. I still got confused, had to ask 2 times where to go- I felt great swimming and had a good swim but frustrating to keep stopping and worrying I was off course.  

AG wins + 1st and 2nd Amateurs 

Long run to T1- under the tunnel and my T1 was slow. So slow in fact as I was sitting on the ground Mo is yelling at me " this is not an Ironman"  - again why we race.  On the bike and as soon as I dialed in the my watts I knew it was not going to happen.  Lots of fatigue and ache in the legs and could not maintain the targeted watts. In fact I could not hold what I held last weekend for intervals.  Frustrated, negative talk and then around mile 5 I stopped looking and just rode. Enjoyed the fact it was 80+ degrees and I was racing.  My bike was slow and watts were lower than 70.3 but I was now onto the run.

Run- nervous about my foot, but I slipped on the Hoka's and off I went.  No spring but were okay starting off.  I dialed in 70.3 pace and thought I would see what happened in a a mile. So far so good, survived the soft sand and foot felt great.  Picked it up for about 1 minute a bit and soon realized that was not happening either. So decided to think O'side training day.  Ran a steady run and a steady pace and felt good.  Tired yes, heavy legs yes but enjoyed the run a lot.  Lots of familiar faces and that is why racing local is so fun.  Managed a fast last mile and finished.  Not tanked, tired but all okay.  Raced alongside 3 of my athletes and it is inspiring to be on the same course with them as well.  

Nutrition- again why we race.  Using Ignite-  tired 3x scoops of IN Carbs (180 calories) + Refresh Electrolytes in my bottle.  3 scoops is TOO much.  It was too thick and racing while not feeling great it was hard to get down. So better today than in 2 weeks- need to keep it to 2 scoops.   So I only had may 60 calories on the ride- and drank water only.   Took an Ignite Gel right before the swim and that was awesome!  During the run I struggled getting it open - settle down.... so I threw the gel and used the "energy drink" on the course which was surprisingly good. APX.  I wish I had thrown a Bonk Breaker into my bag as back up- as i know I can always eat one- even when redlining.  So again - this is why we race before we race :)  I am still 

Awards was fun....every category it seems like there was either Nytro, HERev, Zoot or TCSD so lots of cheering and fun.   Coach had me riding 2 hours after the race but Riley called  "native foods?"  On my way... 1- quality family time with R trumps a  2 hours spin 2- not sure the extra 2 hours would make or break O'side.  So enjoyed the afternoon and called it a weekend.  Again every time I race I am reminded of the great friends I have made in this sport and every year there are new friends too :) 

Consensus-  "you are tired"  Yes.... so taper begins.  ease up, rest, still train with short intense intervals but need to shed the deep fatigue I have.  Glad I have 2 weeks as well for my neck. I have a disk that is slipping out due to the bike bailout trying to avoid the truck 2 weeks ago and when it moves it causes neck pain + headache that starts dull and slowly gets deeper and deeper. So that is NOT fun.  But surely I have time for that to heal up.