7/9/11- Minneapolis, MN
The race started from the beach with all the elite amateur athletes charging into the water. Since I am more comfortable breathing on my left I positioned myself near the outside right of the group with a straight path to the first turn buoy. The first 200m went by quickly and I was feeling good. I noticed that the main pack was veering way to the left, so much so that I spotted a few extra times just to make sure that it was them and not me drifting. Lucky start, I thought. "Seems everyone else wants to swim further... fine by me." The water was a balmy 82 degrees and thus we were not wearing wetsuits. This was something else I figured would be advantageous.
After feeling strong for the first section of the course, I rounded the turn buoy and that's when I met Mr. "I'm a horrible drafter". The rest of the swim was the most annoying 15 minutes of my life. He was swimming on my right side with his head about 6 inches from my hips and was literally running his left arm into my ribcage every single stroke. That made it really hard to hold my body position, not to mention at this point my stroke wasn't feeling good anymore. Because I was not going to swim off course I had to put up with this guy ramming into me the whole back stretch. After the second corner I was really getting sick of this so I tried to sprint a little. At first I thought I lost him but then he started tapping my toes every single pull. I veered right, he followed. Veered left, same. I didn't want to red-line the last 500m of the swim so I settled back into my pace and again he was on my side. I somehow lost him in the final 50 meters so I didn't have a good chance to punch him in the face when we got out of the water. Oh well that probably wouldn't have worked to my advantage in the grand scheme of things...
Coming out of the water, my mom, who travelled up to watch the race (Thanks!) told me I was in 9th. That got my spirits up, since even though my swim felt slow (and it was but so was everyone's) I remembered that last year I got out of the water in 11th at this race. So I hopped on the bike excited to put the swim behind me and hammer the bike.
Getting on the bike I passed a few guys in the first miles, but soon found myself struggling to find the power that came easily just 2 weeks ago in my workouts. I don't race with my power meter and I'm glad I don't know what my average was because I don't think I would be very proud of it. The bike course was technical, which didn't bother me, and it was on poor quality roads, which at least I was ready for and set my tires to 110psi instead of 120 like normal. As the ride went on it became more of a struggle... there wasn't any specific part of me that really hurt, and my breathing wasn't out of control, but I just felt achy all over and was having trouble finding strength. I came off the bike with a split of 1:04, which is my slowest 40k in awhile. Last year was a 1:01 on the same course.
Again, going into the run I thought if I could find my form that I could have a good run split that would get me back near the place I thought I could be. It was a flat, fast run course so a 36 should've been doable, and in the back of my mind I knew I could run a 35 on a great day. However, it soon became apparent that it just wasn't my day when my turnover and stride length just weren't there. I ran a low 39 and finished with a 2:09. I gutted it out the best I could but there was no snap in my legs this weekend.
Initially I was pretty disappointed, but not because my time was bad... a 2:09 is a good time. I was bummed because I had been biking and running much better during workouts a couple weeks ago than I did on race day. After going back to the house I was staying at for the weekend (Thanks Dave!), passing out for a few hours and then hanging out at the Mall of America for the rest of the day, I had plenty of time to reflect on the day and the season so far.
This race had been high on my priority list for this season since it started. I knew the course well and was in the middle of my season. I was fit and motivated going into it and thought that this might be the time when I break through to the next level. I track my workouts and the trends were all there. I don't think I did anything wrong on race day or race weekend. Actually my race plan was executed very well. I think, and more so after talking with Blake Becker, that I pushed my workouts too hard recently. I, like many athletes, am very motivated to train hard and sometimes I can overdo it. It's tough because the days you feel the best are sometimes the days you need to hold yourself back the most in training. After a long season, which this has been (I started training in earnest back in January) you need to make sure you are giving your body adequate recovery time. Blake tells me this a lot, and I know it too, but it's always easier said than done.
While I wish every race I do would be one of my best efforts, that will not always be the case. The really important things for long term success are how you progress in your training, the consistency and adequate recovery time. Basically it is a lifestyle. Lifetime Fitness. I haven't gotten to where I am by training hard during workouts and then having an unhealthy lifestyle outside of training. My good overall health is a huge part of my continual improvement in this sport. To reach your true potential you have to live it. That does NOT mean that triathlon or sport should be the only thing in your life. I would consider that unhealthy and many athletes who take that path don't last long. Some do but sacrifice so much outside of sport to do it.
As I was lining up on the start line, they introduced the woman who would be the honorary race starter. She was 93 years old, and at the age of 89 completed this triathlon. Very inspirational.
I didn't perform my best on Saturday, but I am not worried at all because I know that once I rest up I will be back stronger than I have ever been. I know this because I have seen myself improve this year in key workouts across the board and have had some of my best races ever. I also know this because it is a lifestyle, and will continue to be. I don't know if I'll be able to do a triathlon at age 89 but I certainly intend to have lifetime fitness.
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