Pre Race
It was a restless night (and week) but a peaceful race morning. My legs were feeling strong and the best they've ever felt before a race. My confidence and fear were running high because I knew what I was capable of and was a bit tentative of how much I was willing to hurt. It was the first time I was mentally in the game and believed that I could give it the best of my best, leaving absolutely nothing in the tank.
I was in good spirits all morning. I took my precious time waking up and getting to the race site and somehow still managed to have ample amount of time to set up my transitions. A fellow Zoot teammate from another state (never learned her name :( ) approached me and we got to catch up. She had recognized me from both age group nationals and 5150 nationals. :) (we would run into each other on the course again and she even waited at the finish line just to tell me thank you for encouraging her during the race. How awesome are the people in this sport?!!).
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| With a view like that, who wouldn't be calm? |
Swim
I started in the front line, second row back, opposed to normally starting in the middle or back. I was going to hit or miss the front pack and wanted to try to hang on as long as I could. I drafted and stayed with the leaders for a record time but dropped off the fisherwomen's pace and splashed the rest of the way at my own leisure. I was really in the moment, focusing on maintaing my race pace with proper stroke form, and no second or third wave of swimmers caught me like they usually do. My mind started to wander and I thought about setting a PR bike and PR run after what will be a PR swim. During that time, I lost my rhythm and slowed down and didn't realize it until a good chunk of time had passed.
Lesson #1: Stay in the moment. One leg at a time. Focus on the race now, not later.
I did PR my 70.3 swim with a 37:36 and was super stoked with finally cracking 40 minutes. :) I knew it could've been lower if I had stayed focused the entire swim. Next time!
T1
I hit T1 in high spirits, knowing I was on track to setting a major PR race. While my mind was in the clouds, my feet ran over multiple burr patches in the grassy transition. I debated saving time by leaving them in my feet and just put on my cycling shoes and go, but I knew I'd pay for it majorly later. I seriously spent 2-3 minutes picking each burr out of the soles of my feet (a few are still stuck in there a week later =/).
Bike
My favorite leg was marred by misfortunes. I started off really strong with my bike strength/dominance really showing within the first few miles and climbs. Then the wheels started coming off or at least bottles and cables and chains. Every time I got into a good rhythm, something would happen with the bike, and I'd have to get off to fix it and/or MacGyver a solution (especially the frayed and broken cable). The rough roads must've rattled things loose. Gears didn't work well after that and I'm sure some racers were wondering what was going on because I had passed them four times within a short period of time. Bad jujubes. And when I thought it'd all be over, I had a second helping. I almost got hit from behind by a car that was on the course, I almost got T-boned during a left turn by another cyclist barreling down a hill and going straight/missing the turn (I luckily like to double and triple check before I make passes and turns -- ended up doing a track stand at the turn intersection and let him blow by me), I almost got hit by novice cyclists who couldn't hold their lines on rough roads (I ended up biking near the edge of our lane, closer to the opposing traffic because I trusted drivers to hold their lines better than I did for some of the riders), and I tweaked my back trying to avoid an accident.
Lesson #2: Life sucks. Just kidding! Know when enough is enough.
At this point I knew the race performance I wanted to give was over and that my chances of winning my age group was slim, as well was earning a qualification slot to 70.3 Worlds. I had signed up for this race somewhat last minute (six weeks beforehand is last minute to me!) to earn a ticket to the world championships since coach and I saw that my training numbers gave me a legit shot or else I would've ended my season earlier because I was exhausted and worn out from a busy racing year and bad sleep. I'd use the extra downtime to rewind before training for a long course focused 2015 season.
So to quit or not quit? Quitting is never an option, so I decided to step off the gas and shut it down. I wanted to enter the offseason in as few pieces as possible and not dig myself into a bigger hole. It pained me to just cruise into T2 when my legs were feeling so strong, but my back was killing me and I also couldn't get the nutrition in that I needed. (If this were an A race, it'd be a totally different story, and I would've fought till the end!)
T2
My back spasmed when I bent down to put on my Zoot shoes. I couldn't stand back up. I kinda still wanted to bang out a PR run, but after this episode, it reconfirmed lesson #2, so I took it easy.
Run
I was in a dark place in my head for the first few minutes, having a huge pity party because I knew I wasn't giving 100%. Because I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, I rolled my right ankle and re-aggravated the sprain. Dang jujubes. I leisurely finished the race with an easy run, but I felt pretty bad because I was definitely mean mugging for a while instead of smiling and encouraging racers.
Lesson #3: Remember why you're doing this sport. Don't be so serious!
I finally came to terms with my decision of shutting it down and began to feel light hearted again after the first lap and started cheering on teammates, friends, and strangers. It definitely brought my spirits back up. It was awesome to see so many people I know on and off the race course, a huge difference from just a year ago when it was only me who I knew racing. I love being a part of this community!
Finish
Lesson #1: Stay in the moment. One leg at a time. Focus on the race now, not later.
I did PR my 70.3 swim with a 37:36 and was super stoked with finally cracking 40 minutes. :) I knew it could've been lower if I had stayed focused the entire swim. Next time!
T1
I hit T1 in high spirits, knowing I was on track to setting a major PR race. While my mind was in the clouds, my feet ran over multiple burr patches in the grassy transition. I debated saving time by leaving them in my feet and just put on my cycling shoes and go, but I knew I'd pay for it majorly later. I seriously spent 2-3 minutes picking each burr out of the soles of my feet (a few are still stuck in there a week later =/).
Bike
My favorite leg was marred by misfortunes. I started off really strong with my bike strength/dominance really showing within the first few miles and climbs. Then the wheels started coming off or at least bottles and cables and chains. Every time I got into a good rhythm, something would happen with the bike, and I'd have to get off to fix it and/or MacGyver a solution (especially the frayed and broken cable). The rough roads must've rattled things loose. Gears didn't work well after that and I'm sure some racers were wondering what was going on because I had passed them four times within a short period of time. Bad jujubes. And when I thought it'd all be over, I had a second helping. I almost got hit from behind by a car that was on the course, I almost got T-boned during a left turn by another cyclist barreling down a hill and going straight/missing the turn (I luckily like to double and triple check before I make passes and turns -- ended up doing a track stand at the turn intersection and let him blow by me), I almost got hit by novice cyclists who couldn't hold their lines on rough roads (I ended up biking near the edge of our lane, closer to the opposing traffic because I trusted drivers to hold their lines better than I did for some of the riders), and I tweaked my back trying to avoid an accident.
Lesson #2: Life sucks. Just kidding! Know when enough is enough.
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| My normal HR data is usually always a steady effort. You can tell that wasn't the case on this race day. |
At this point I knew the race performance I wanted to give was over and that my chances of winning my age group was slim, as well was earning a qualification slot to 70.3 Worlds. I had signed up for this race somewhat last minute (six weeks beforehand is last minute to me!) to earn a ticket to the world championships since coach and I saw that my training numbers gave me a legit shot or else I would've ended my season earlier because I was exhausted and worn out from a busy racing year and bad sleep. I'd use the extra downtime to rewind before training for a long course focused 2015 season.
So to quit or not quit? Quitting is never an option, so I decided to step off the gas and shut it down. I wanted to enter the offseason in as few pieces as possible and not dig myself into a bigger hole. It pained me to just cruise into T2 when my legs were feeling so strong, but my back was killing me and I also couldn't get the nutrition in that I needed. (If this were an A race, it'd be a totally different story, and I would've fought till the end!)
T2
My back spasmed when I bent down to put on my Zoot shoes. I couldn't stand back up. I kinda still wanted to bang out a PR run, but after this episode, it reconfirmed lesson #2, so I took it easy.
Run
I was in a dark place in my head for the first few minutes, having a huge pity party because I knew I wasn't giving 100%. Because I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, I rolled my right ankle and re-aggravated the sprain. Dang jujubes. I leisurely finished the race with an easy run, but I felt pretty bad because I was definitely mean mugging for a while instead of smiling and encouraging racers.
Lesson #3: Remember why you're doing this sport. Don't be so serious!
I finally came to terms with my decision of shutting it down and began to feel light hearted again after the first lap and started cheering on teammates, friends, and strangers. It definitely brought my spirits back up. It was awesome to see so many people I know on and off the race course, a huge difference from just a year ago when it was only me who I knew racing. I love being a part of this community!
Finish
I crossed the finish with smile and gave myself a pat on the back for making the smart (and tough) decision to slow it down and preserve myself for a hopeful breakthrough 2015 season. I checked the results and was pretty shocked and stoked to have placed 10th in my age group. Of course the competitive side of me thought of all the coulda/woulda/shoulda, but I had to hush that voice and relish in my successful day. I knew it was a long shot, but I went to the slot roll downs anyways just in case since top 10 has better odds than top 20.
Lesson #4: Never give up. A slim chance is still a chance.
As the announcer roll called the names on the result list one by one, no one replied. "ROLL IT!!" the crowd yelled as he moved down the list. He finally got to my name and I jumped up with an exuberant "YES!! I'll take it!" So, I'm going to Austria next August for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships along with Pamela who also got a rolldown slot! :)
Lesson #4: Never give up. A slim chance is still a chance.
As the announcer roll called the names on the result list one by one, no one replied. "ROLL IT!!" the crowd yelled as he moved down the list. He finally got to my name and I jumped up with an exuberant "YES!! I'll take it!" So, I'm going to Austria next August for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships along with Pamela who also got a rolldown slot! :)
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| Tehehe. Going to AUSTRIA baby! PC: Jason Bentley |
Lesson #5: Life is so full of adventures. Just take the punches and roll with them. There's always something brighter at the end (ie. if you get punched in the face.. you see stars! Bahahahaha :D).
My 2014 triathlon season is officially done! Thank you to all my sponsors, teammates, friends, and training buddies for all the support and encouragement this year. You have made 2014 an even more memorable year for me and I can't wait to show you what I can do in 2015!
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