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Not ideal.
Dusting off the triathlon gear, shaking out the cobwebs and toeing the line for the first race of the year is generally one of my favorite days. This year it was for the Desert Tri- Olympic race, I raced here 2 years ago and had an amazing race. I loved the entire race and was so pumped to race, Oceanside 70.3, which was up next. Feeling fit and knowing I still had a solid block to gain a bit more fitness is the ideal place to be in.
Well, let's just say Sunday was the opposite. I was excited to get out there, had a ton of fun with teammate Polly on our road trip and swanky Travelodge Accommodations. But race morning, I did not have the usual fire in my belly. There was a lot of waiting around, and I was thinking that when the gun goes off I will be all in! The gun went off and I took off but was not all in. I swam hard and had a good swim but was not loving it. Onto the bike, my jam, but the watts were low and the mojo was still in San Diego. Lap 1 I worked hard to keep a few guys in sight and lap 2 I was dying as if I had ridden at 125% and was blowing up. Calories were good but I was not. I seriously thought about stopping, but who DNF's an Olympic. I began dreading
the run, working on my attitude for the run. All the good mental talks about stay in the moment, get after this,
why the F do I do this, the run will be awesome,
I may die on the run, My transition was humorous, why we race a B race before an A race. My socks were in a ball, my race number was already clipped, my shoes were reversed, I forgot to take my feet out of my shoes so I was running in my bike shoes and my bike was the furthest away because I forgot to register for the race so I was literally the highest number and the furthest away spot to rack my bike. I take off running and am feeling okay, I purposely did not look at my pace but accidentally did at .75 mile and it was not pretty. I knew then it was not going to be a repeat of 2017 where I crushed the run. Today I wanted to finish. I took 1 mile at a time and just felt terrible, turned my watch around and just ran. But honestly at mile 4, I was done, I did not quit, did not walk but my mojo was now in another country. I jogged it in.
I was not happy at the finish line, but pretended to be for a hot minute and was gracious to the volunteers and then had a bit of a private tantrum. And then it was time to get out of there. I should be happy with my placement and I realize it may seem a bit arrogant, but I am hard on myself when I don't hit the goals I struggle to find the silver lining. I am working on this, promise.
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| Mom, Sis and my nieces |
Why? What happened? Who the F knows....had a long chat with the coach, lots of speculation but best to put it behind me and look forward! After all, needed to jam home to get ready for an 85th Birthday party for my mom, that night at my house and unpack and repack to catch at 6:25 plane to Denver on Monday AM.
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| Mom and her friends |
The birthday party was great and a solid reminder of what really counts in life! Family and health! I can only hope to be living large like my mom and her friends at 85.
Denver was 1 degree, yes 1 degree when I arrived. Let's be clear I ran on the TM and swam at an indoor pool. I walked across the street and to and from the Uber. But I did get to have dinner with JD.
What does a week at camp look like? 23 Hours and 33 minutes of training, fun, suffering, new friends, sweating, a lot of Gatorade Endurance, many shot blocks, lots of water, not much wine, laughs, fun and memories! Why go to camp? You are pushed beyond regular boundaries, you get to train without the usual distractions. All you need to worry about is swimbikerun vs walking the dogs, cleaning the house , your kids, parents, school, work, life etc... you get it. Being self-employed I had a few hours of work a day but the remainder of distractions were gone. camp is easy, but that 4th swim at 5:40 am when it is 36 degrees outside is tough. The recovery ride a that is not so recovery when you are smashed. A race sim on day 5 of camp, when you normally do the sim rested. But at camp you just do it! And that race sim, went pretty damn well after 15 hours of training, so that is a confidence builder for Oceanside.
