What doesn't break me, will make me stronger... that is how I am looking at the result of this race. I was mentally split going into the race. I LOVE this distance and it's a hometown race, so I was hoping to do well and MAYbe even go for the top 3 overall amateur! However, I also knew that I wasn't fresh- 2 weeks off a 1/2 Iron with my big 'A' race of the season just 2 weeks down the road and the main focus right now. It ended up being an off day for me... actually, the worst race performance of my season due to lack of freshness, lack of mental strength, poor nutrition and rookie mistakes. I was able to walk away not feeling completely defeated, as I got a heck of workout and was reminded of what NOT to do 2 weeks from now ;)
 |
| Watching the Sprint distance athletes |
The day started with a 3:30am wakeup and the usual breakfast of rice cakes with peanut butter and honey, a banana and applesauce. (My first mistake...Probably shorted myself about 200 calories and didn't consider the extra hour of waiting for the Sprint race.) Michael dropped me at transition about 4:45 and I set up and scouted the area while he parked the car. With about 10,000 athletes competing in this race (the biggest triathlon in the world), transition was huge! In the dark of the morning, I wandered for a while trying to find my rack, the Swim IN, Bike OUT, Bike IN and Run OUT. I did my best to figure out the best routes, but it was CRAZINESS (not that I wasn't warned ;)!! Transition closed at 5:45 and the first wave of the Sprint race went off at 6am. Michael and I walked down to the water and hung out until my wave start at 7:20. It was about a 15 minute walk to the start and as soon as we arrived, I remembered I forgot to put my bike in an easy gear!! Because I was cleaning the chain last night, it was in the hardest gear. It's too late now :( On top of that, my shoes were clipped into the pedals and we start up an onramp. Getting started was going to be slow and energy-wasting. At 6:45, I went out for a short jog, then ate my caffeinated gel, donned my wetsuit and got in line with the Elite Amateur Wave, comprised of 32 Men and 17 Women.
 |
| Elite Wave |
Swim: Starting with the Elites was good and bad. The good was that we went off as the first wave of the International distance and, therefore, avoided the extra hours of waiting around pre-race as well as the crowds on the course. The bad was being left in the dust! I knew this wave would be full of fast swimmers and I had secret hopes that all my swim training this season would finally pay off... Not so much. Within seconds of the horn, I was basically by myself. I went out hard and tried to hang, but I was anaerobic and it was hopeless. The water was extremely rough and I was fighting to survive. All I thought about for the first 5-10 minutes was whether or not I should just climb up one of the ladders and call it a day. I never considered dropping out of a race before, but I just didn't know if it was worth putting myself through this misery when it was barely a 'B' race... more so a 'C' race. Then I thought about how I'd probably be so mad at myself later if I quit, so I kept trudging along and looking forward to the swim exit and the rest of the race. We swam with the current for a short bit and then around the bouy and against the current for the majority of the swim. I was getting slapped in the face non-stop by the chop and sucking in gasoline-flavored water (from the boats). This was not fun. I could see Michael and Shannon walking alongside as I swam- I wished I could trade places with one of them. A little over 1/2way in, another purple cap came up from behind! I then realized I wasn't the slowest one out there!! This gave me a little motivation. As she passed, I got on her feet and tried to take advantage of a draft for the remainder of the swim... though I think she got a little annoyed that I tickled her feet a couple times ;) I finally reached the swim exit after about 33 minutes (~6 minutes longer than usual for this distance). The volunteers were AMAZING as 2 of them grabbed me by the arms and hoisted me up the stairs! I was so happy to be out of the water, but knew I was WAAAAY behind and needed to get a move on if I still had a chance of catching people.
 |
| Midway through the .93 mile swim that felt more like 9.3 miles! |
 |
| Totally exhausted! |
Transition 1: I saw Michael and Shannon immediately as I exited. All I could say was, 'THAT SUCKED!'. Then I couldn't find my shoes that I had planted to protect my feet during the long asphalt run to transition. Someone decided to cover them with their swim cap... no wonder! I lost a few seconds there, but didn't focus on it. What I was focused on now was that my legs weren't working. I never felt so heavy! I was trying to book it to transition, but felt like I was moving in slow motion- just like those recurring dreams I have! Once I got to my bike, I was pretty smooth with getting out of there.
Bike: The ride is 2 out-and-backs on Lakeshore Drive. It was a windy day and we rode into the wind first. Still, my legs were heavy. My power output was low at ~155watts, as was my speed at about 18mph. I was hungry and thirsty and was sucking down my Clif Replacement Drink, but knew I needed to ration since I just had the 1 bottle (which is all I normally need for this distance). About 15 minutes in, I saw Christine Anderson heading in the other direction. I didn't know how far I was from the turnaround, but seeing her gave me the motivation that I needed to focus and start hammering. I got my head out of the clouds- my mental strength rose, and with it, my power and speed. For the remainder of the ride, I was looking at mostly 165-180 watts and 20-22mph into the wind, 25-27 with it. I ran out of drink a little over 1/2way into the ride... which was not good, but it didn't slow me down. My bike split was 1:09:06 (21.9mph).
Transition 2: This went pretty smooth. Probably the only part of the race where I didn't make any major mistakes. I was all business- grabbed my run stuff and put it on as I exited the area.
 |
| Starting the 10k run with a mouthful of sugar! |
Run: As soon as I exited the transition area, there was an Aid Station... THANK GOD! I was so thirsty and hungry- I poured as much gatorade as I could fit into my mouth while on the move. I didn't know where I stood in the field at this point, but knew I still had alot of work to do. Unfortunately, my legs were still heavy and slow to turnover. I hoped they would soon wake up, but just did what I could with what I had. My first 2 splits were 6:36 each. The run was 1 long out-and-back, so I could count how many women were ahead of me as they passed in the opposite direction. I saw Christine in 1st and she had a large lead on 2nd place. I passed 2 girls right around the turnaround point and just tried to keep those legs moving in hopes of seeing more women up ahead. I passed 1 more girl with about a mile to go and that put me in 7th place for the finish. My run was 40:21 (6:30 pace)- a full 2 minutes slower than what I've been putting out for a 10k this year.
 |
| My best fake smile |
I'm not happy with how I performed, but I'm happy to have had the experience. I know I made alot of mistakes and those are all mistakes that I don't plan on making at the 70.3 World Championships on 9/11/11. I am mentally stronger because of this race. Every swim workout I completed the following week was one of the best workouts of the season. 2 days after the race, I swam the 4 fastest 400's I'd ever swam! And another fantastic set of 800's 2 days after that!! And this past weekend, I tackled the same choppy open water... but, this time I felt strong and fast ;) I've been saying for years, 'Confidence is the key to Success'. I did not have confidence in the water at the Chicago Triathlon and I let it get the best of me. It was a good reminder of how important mental strength is in endurance sports. Onward.
No comments:
Post a Comment