China 2011

Going into the race, I made a promise to myself that no matter what happened during the race, I would not lose focus of what I was there to do.  I was there to race for myself.  But I had no idea what those words would actually turn into, boy was I in for a big surprise!!  

Just like every ITU Age Group World Championship race, the days leading up to the race are jam-packed with things to do.  There is the opening ceremonies, including the Parade of Nations complete with dancing Chinese dragons.  The parade was longer than I remember from before; which, I wish I would have planned for by not guzzling a 1 liter bottle of water before hand!  Luckily, just as we were headed into the Stadium for the Ceremonies to begin, I spotted a restroom, which turns out was my very first squat toilet experience...my aim needs a little work ;)  After the ceremony, we were to have a dinner, also in the stadium.  Since we had all not eaten for at least 3 hours, a very long time for triathletes, everyone rushed to the food lines.  We were handed these nice looking boxes we figured was our dinner.  Inside, we found all sorts of preserved food items like a chicken leg, a pork product, preserved fruit, etc.  We sort of just stood there staring at the food and each other in disbelief that this was dinner!  As soon as I was about to dig into something, someone walked passed with pasta.  What?  Real food?  Immediately we rushed to figure out where it came from and how we could get some.  I don't remember ever eating pasta that quickly, it was like I had to eat it just in case that was the last time I would see familiar food again!  

After the ceremonies, our days filled with course previews, registration, meetings, team lunch, bike drop off, etc.  

Finally race day!!!  The bus left our hotel at 4:15am, which was fine since I can't sleep well the night before a race anyway.  I tried to eat breakfast, but all I managed to choke down was a piece of toast with jam.  Once we arrived to the race venue, everything was great...until I couldn't get air into my front tire.  Sometimes the valve closes itself inside the valve extender, which means I have to take my tube out and re-do the whole thing, NBD.  That is, it shouldn't be.  Sadly, our team mechanics were no where to be found (I found out later that the officials wouldn't let them into the venue and had to sneak in just as the race started) so I had to head to the official race mechanics, who did not speak English.  Somehow we managed to fix the problem in just enough time to hustle back to transition and get in line for the toilet.  40 minutes and no warm-up later, I had enough time to check in my remaining gear at the bag check and run around transition barefoot for 5 minutes before being corralled for the race start.  More than anything, I count on my warm-up to calm my nerves before a race, but since that didn't happen, I figured some good old fashioned girl talk would ease the tension a bit.  It seemed to work just fine.  

The water was too warm to be wet-suit legal, which I wasn't planning on at all, but I figured it's better than freezing to death in 40some degree water like earlier in the season.  I had high hopes for the swim, but it turned out just about like every other swim I have done this year - not that fast.  "Crap!  That's okay", I told myself, "stay strong, stay calm and carry on".  I grabbed my bike and headed out to the course, which was about a 100 meter down hill run out of transition.  I jumped on my bike and immediately knew something was wrong.  The first part of the bike course is on rubber mats, so I told myself that it was the mats.  As soon as I hit the pavement it was certain, my front tire was completely flat :(   I had no idea what to do.  We had no CO2 cartridges so I was unprepared to fix a flat.  The course was fenced off, and hundreds of bikers were flying past me, so I figured the only thing I could do was keep moving forward.   I took my shoes off and started to run, pushing my bike along side.  The first official I saw said something in Chineglish about my race being over and to hand in my timing chip. Confused, I just said NO and kept running!  A few other officials stopped me, all begging me to just turn in my chip, but I was not ready to have my race be over.  I just kept running, obviously knowing I couldn't exactly run the entire 25 miles barefoot, but I was not ready to give up.  I was not willing to quit the race just to save face, I wanted to finish that race even if I came in last place and killed myself doing it.  For some reason, about 2 miles into my run, there was a wheel pit.  Outside help usually disqualifies you in an ITU race, but I figured it was going to be the only way for me to finish, so I grabbed a wheel.  It was too wide and had some sort of off-road tred and about 90psi, but it was my only choice.  Once I was riding, I can't remember having so much fun.  I love going fast on my bike and I felt like I was absolutely flying!  It was a 3 lap course and I ended up doing the last 2 laps in about 20 minutes each.  

The run was also 3 laps, with a nice long hill on each one.  Despite the hill, the course was really fun!  I had a great time on the run and somehow managed to even pass a few girls in my age group!  On the last lap, for the first time in a long time, I was sad the race was coming to an end.  Even though I was devastated that I didn't place very well, I had so much fun doing it!  After the race, there was one remaining obstacle...getting my wheel back.

After getting the run-around, I found out that the only way to get my wheel back was to actually retrieve it from the wheel pit. Great.  Ok, NBD...except that I had 30 minutes or so to get back for the bus to our hotel.  Oh man, it was getting hot and I was thirsty and ravenous but the only way out of this was to run the 4 miles to get me and my wheel on the bus.  Just as in the race, I was stopped numerous times and had to explain to the Chinese officials what I was doing, using lots of hand gestures and made up sign language.  There is not very much freedom to do anything without being questioned and followed.  I was a little late for the bus, but somehow managed to make it back.  In case you are wondering, a 40 minute cool-down run does not feel very good!  

People have asked me how I feel about my race now that I've had time to reflect.  Maybe I should feel frustration and disappointment, but I don't.  I raced for me.  For once, I didn't give up on myself during the race, not once.  I'm proud of what I accomplished regardless of where I placed.

Aquaman

This year has been an interesting one for me to say the least!  1 week before Aquaman, I was supposed to do the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon, but for the first time I set my alarm all wrong :( I woke up in enough time to still make it to the race, which was shocking because I did only get about 4 hours of sleep!  Anyway, I got the race, set my stuff up, jumped in my wetsuit, headed out and swam around in the gorgeous lake...then quickly proceeded back to my stuff, packed up and walked back to my car.  And for whatever reason, it felt great!  It was exactly what I needed to do, for ME.  Of course I felt a lot of things, but looking back, I know I made the right decision.

Fast forward 6 days to Aquaman.  The prestigious Friday night aquathon held in downtown Richland, race 4 of the 5 race multi-sport series.  I had been going back and forth with trying to figure out if I really wanted to race or not, until finally I decided that I would much rather run and swim with a bunch of happy people than mope thru a 50 minute run by myself!  

As I pulled up to the race, I was not too surprised to see that I was one of the first ones there...since that's pretty typical.  It was a toasty 90 something August evening...but it felt so nice to be there.  One of the reasons I love being early to a race is because you get to watch all the excited people arriving!  It's sort of relaxing, in a way, to realize you are not the only one that gets worked up over a little race.    With the race rapidly encroaching, I was somewhat calm and relaxed...at least a little more than normal.  I told myself I was really just going to take it easy and have FUN.  Usually I feel like throwing up before a race, but this time I felt fine, just like before a workout.  As we lined up I began to wonder...what is everyone going to really think if I just take it easy?  Then I thought, I honesty don't care, I'm just going to do what my body feels like.

As soon as the "horn" went off, everyone started filing out down the path towards turn #1.  I was surprised to notice that I was right there with everyone.  I couldn't help but go hard, I LIKE to go hard.  But it wasn't strenuous, it felt comfortable...almost like that's where I belonged.  Until, that is, we got to the turn around point and I couldn't breathe!  I had taken nearly 2 weeks "off" of training and my lungs were still in off mode!  Oh well, I thought, there's only one way out of this now...here we go!!!

As soon as I got to the water, I felt sooo incredibly relieved!  The cool water felt amazingly refreshing and it didn't even feel like I was swimming until about half way.  That's when my arms were on fire and for the first time during the race, I felt like puking!  A few boats had passed, making the water really choppy, plus the water is kind of smelly, especially when people with horrendous body odor are swimming by you!  Never the less, I had a decent swim, only allowing a couple people to pass me.  Incredibly I was still the first woman.   For a while I thought it must have been a mistake, but sure enough at the turn around I hadn't seen a single woman!  Thankfully the men all had their tops off, or it can get a little tricky sometimes.  The second run was fine, once I got over the feeling that I wanted to hurl!  I just tried to keep a steady pace and good form.  As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was so happy to be there and SO incredibly glad that I had raced.  Not because I came in first place, but because I really felt like I wanted to be there.  

I will never forget a story someone told me a long time ago.  It was about a marathon runner that had come up to them after a race, in absolute admiration of what they had done.  This person had probably finished around 2 hours after the Marathoner and did not understand what was to admire.  The Marathoner said that running that far is so hard, they could not imagine having to endure it for 2 additional hours!  I think of that story often at races when I see EVERYone out their going as hard as they can.  I don't take for granted that it doesn't take me as long as some, as I'm sure that won't always be the case!  Doing events like this is so inspiring, on so many levels!  Kudos and thank you!

The Drift

During my training run yesterday, I felt really strange.  It was about 5pm and 95 degrees out, but I figured it was nothing that I wasn't used to.  That is, until I noticed my HR creeping dangerously high.  It was a tempo run, so my HR should have been somewhat comfortable.  And for the most part it was, but during my efforts, I would be running along and suddenly could not catch my breath.  I looked down and my HR was 15 beats higher than normal...WTH!!  I immediately started analyzing the performance and figured I was either out of shape, over trained or a big fat wuss!  Turns out we can chalk this one up to a good old fashion "hang-over".  Well, partly anyways.  After further review and consultation with my coach, it has been diagnosed as "cardiovascular drift".  The major factor in cardiac drift is dehydration. I drank at least as much water as I normally do throughout the day, but it wasn't enough to combat the previous night's birthday festivities.  That and the heat.  But, you know what, it was worth it!  So what if I could barely jog home with my HR as high as it would be during a normal race effort.  There are few nights when I let loose a little and forget about the stresses of training and racing, and it feels kind of good to just be a normal person out on the town every once in a while.  Of course, the reality of the day after remind me why I don't do that very often. 
More importantly (to me) is that I'm reminded that the rewards I feel from racing and training are much more fullfilling than that second glass of wine...on most days!  

PreRacePCT

I remember when I first heard about Pacific Crest Triathlon.  Everyone I knew raved about it as being fun, beautiful and very challenging.  Being the girl that I am, obviously I signed up as soon as I could!  It is all that legend told, and more!  There are 10 or so events throughout the weekend, which means lots of people and a guaranteed good time!  And it's in a mountain resort town, obviously very beautiful.  And challenging, in so many ways! I mentioned it's a mountain resort, right?  MOUNTAIN = Cold, that's the first challenge.  Today we pre-drove the course, and sections of it still sport a 6-10 foot snow bank, for example.  Not so bad, unless you start the day swimming in sub 60 degree water - starting to get the picture?  I guess I probably don't need to mention the climbing, since the snow gives away the elevation bit.  The run course is pretty gentle, if you don't consider that it is 40+ degrees difference from when you started the race, another perk of the mountain town!  I'm not the only one that enjoys said challenges, which is probably why the race draws the most competitive bunch in the Northwest, giving it that extra special added challenge of competition, yes it IS a race after all!

For me, the biggest challenge is within myself.  Yes, I'm tougher on me than the fore-mentioned lake, mountain, snow and competition.  So, thank you for everyone for your encouraging words, that I'll be playing in my head over the course of the race.  Here are some of my favorites:

"you are the only one that can beat you"

"you may even surprise yourself at what you are capable of"

"if it doesn't hurt you aren't going hard enough"

"SMILE"

"don't be afraid to shine"

"I will cheer for you when you sprint across the finish line in first and I will still cheer for you when you can barely make it to the finish in whatever place"

"don't forget to breathe"

"if you learn something from this race, it is a success"
"I love you"

Thank you everyone.

Tomorrow, I will be a 1/2 ironwoman :)

HARD days are rarely the hardest!

Over the few years that I've been training, I've become a firm believer that it's not the hard days that make the athlete, it's all the OTHER days!  It's the gruelying long "easy runs" and "light spins" that are the hardest to get through.  First of all, you almost never feel like doing them.  And Secondly, they never feel easy.  Honestly, recovery weeks are my least favorite weeks.  Sure, there are a few fewer hours I spend in the pool, on the bike or running, but I wouldn't really be able to do those extra hours if I tried!  Those are the hours my mind starts to play tricks on me.  Do you really need to get up at 4 to go swim, really???  Wouldn't you rather meet for Happy Hour than do an "easy spin"?  Oh man, am I ever going to feel better?
Getting thru those days is where you find a lot about yourself and your mental strength and determination.  It will also teach you a lot about your friends and how much you rely on them to make grueling workouts barable.  Not to mention, your loved ones and their ability to love during these hard times!

HEAT

I realized today how long it's been since I've actually trained and/or raced in warm weather!  8 months!  Dear Sun, I think I like you, please stay for a while.
Luckily my body is still in shock, otherwise I'm sure it would have revolted against my training.  My first ever half (ironman) is coming up, so training is intense right now, focusing on all that high end speed.  It's sort of grueling, but definitely my favorite part of training...and that's not the only thing wrong with me :)
One other thing wrong with me is allergies.  Today, I forgot to take claritin and was an absolute mess on my ride.  Honestly, not that unusual.  However, when I passed a couple of guys who decided to hang on to me w/o letting me know, they were not too happy when snot came flying back at them...oops!
Other than that, my 4 hours of training went off w/o a hitch!  Ok, other than that dehydration thing.  It's one of those things that happens when summer finally decides to show up.  Like the first time in spring when you accidentally forget to wear sunscreen.  It only takes that one time and you never do it again, until next spring.
This weekend makes the countdown 3 weeks until the "big race" - holy crap!  Physically, definitely ready. The rest of me, well, I'm doing better than I ever have!  I'll be ready, and so excited!

Here we gooooo!

It's hard to believe the first race of the season is already over...which means triathlon season 2011 has officially started!!! Of course, just like the spring has been in eastern Washington, the race was cold and wet.  In fact, you might have heard me cheering at the top of my lungs Sunday morning when the race director announced they were cutting the swim short because the water was so cold.  That was my favorite part of the race.  Oh, and the last mile of the run when the feeling finally returned to all 10 toes.  The swim went surprisingly smooth, other than having to dodge some bobbers and crazy side kickers, nothing catastrophic happened.  I brilliantly placed the only thing that was supposed to keep me warm, on my transition towel, under my helmet.  Of course, the absorbent towel created a mini-lake under my helmet for my "warm" gloves to paddle around in.  Ok, so I guess my 4" shorts and a tri-singlet will keep me warm?  Answer = NO!  By the time I knew I needed to get some calories, my hands had frozen into the position of hooks, making it nearly impossible to get anything out of my jersey pocket.  Luckily, it seemed I wasn't the only one suffering from the cold temps, by the time I entered T-2 I had a pretty good lead.  Since my feet were frozen in one position, it was easy for me to slip my foot into my running shoes...not able to feel a thing, I just hoped my toes weren't bent backwards or sideways and off I went.  By mile 5 of the run, my toes finally regained feeling and I actually felt warm!  What a great way to end the day - feeling good :)
This race was so much more than a victory for me!  I have been working extremely hard on my self-talk during a race and I feel like I've made huge improvements so far this year.  Not to say I don't have a long ways to go, but at least for once I finished the race with a positive attitude!  Actually, I was shocked at how good it felt...of course the wine tasting afterwards helped a bit too :)
Thanks to everyone who has helped me get to where I am - I could never have found this road alone!