So I just reread my last post and noticed that I had promised a "recap" entry... so here it is... I'm currently exhausted and my eyes hurt due to needing new glasses (for years at that), but I'll do my best to put down some thoughts about this past season...
The best place to start is around this time, one year ago... I had just come off my first full triathlon season and was eagerly looking forward to the off season, the long slow distance training, and continuing my journey towards health and happiness... Last year, I had the lofty goal of racing a 70.3 in 2011, which I did (sort of), so I knew that the focus of my off season would be largely geared towards my first long course race....
I'll spare you the stupid details of last year's base training efforts... It's not all that interesting anyway...
So to recap the season, I'll list the races I did and provide a Cliff's Notes version of the race report and whatever it is that I learned from each race (which will probably be that I have yet to nail down my nutrition/hydration plan while training/racing).
Here goes:
1. Open up the season with the Ironman 70.3 in New Orleans back in April. The swim got cancelled, which I was both thankful for, and kinda pissed about since I can't rightfully claim that I've done a (full) 70.3... Regardless, if I would have known my season would have been straight downhill after this race, I might have only done this race and hung it up for the season...
Overall, the race was awesome... completely no pressure to perform-- I just wanted to finish, and finish under 6 hrs... Despite the swim being cancelled, I finished in well under 6 hrs, which makes me think that I could have gone under 6 even with the swim...
What I learned about NOLA is that yes, I can do long course races... I remember having some minor cramping issues on the run, but it wasn't anything to stress about (at the time)... Of course, hindsight being what it is, I have dissected this race and figured out how I could have done better-- but I think that's pretty normal for any triathlete-- to dissect each race and being hypercritical of yourself... I always forget this, and the fact that 99.9% of people in this world have never done what I did on that day.
What I'll take away from this race has actually nothing to do with the race itself... I'll remember NOLA for one reason: my parents and sister came to the race... That probably meant more to me than the medal or finisher picture (which I have framed by the way)... To have my family there with me, to have that experience, was simply incredible.... To have them finally see what my life has become, and to have them (especially my Dad) truly understand it is something you can't put a price on... Definitely the best race of the season...
2. Memphis in May- another new race for me, another Olympic distance... and the first of many catastrophes that was the 2011 season... This was my only collegiate race this season, so getting my race/travel/hotel paid for was certainly nice, I'm just bummed that I couldn't contriubte more to the scoring effort....
MiM was a great race, despite the run course, which was about .5 miles too long... I got to watch a pro race, which was cool, I reconnected with college friend from years ago who is now a full time coach, I finally met Eric Turner (one of Kendrick's athletes), and had yet another great weekend with Kendrick, Chad, and Rumble...
What I learned from MiM is that I go too hard on the bike... simply put, it feels wrong not to hammer on the bike... but I paid for it big time at MiM (like every other race I did)... I don't feel like I trained enough for an Olympic distance race and unfortunately, I tried to go out and "race" the race, not finish and not fall to pieces... Having your legs fight back less than a mile into the run makes for a long, hot, miserable walk...
Despite the shitty performance, MiM was awesome... great location, great venue, great course... Just not a great race for me and my body type!
3. Heatwave: Just when I didn't think it could get any worse, I loaded up and split for Jackson to race Heatwave.... which by its very name, I should have known better... I did get to see Will for the first time all season, which was good, and got to see the rest of my posse (who all did very well, as expected)... Triathlon, to me, is quickly becoming as much as a social thing as it is a race or health thing... I like travelling to places to race and seeing friends that I only get to see at races... Kinda reminds me of my days when I volunteered for Kappa Sigma, where I'd see other volunteers only once or twice a year... Except this time, I'm exercising for 3 hours and not smoking/drinking until I can't see straight...
Heatwave was another demonstration in suffering for me... The weather was fine, until the run... then the sun came out and beat the abosolute shit out of everyone who was over 140 lbs... The bike was especially rough on me, as this was my last race on my old fit (which absolutely destroyed my back everytime I rode)... It just wasn't a good day for me... at all...
This race started, in my opinion, the descent into unhappiness with training/racing for me during this past summer... It was during this race, that I actually for the first time thought about DNF'ing a race... It was so hot and I was so miserable, that all I wanted was a ride back to the start... Of course, the rational side of me took hold, saying "you didn't pay all this money and drive all this way to NOT finish this race"...
My nutrition/hydration never fully got updated/revised from the base season or from post-NOLA... What I was doing back then wasn't working now, but I simply didn't know how to change it... and it destroyed me, mentally, physically, and somewhat emotionally, because I felt like a failure everytime I had to walk on the run course, or when I had to coast on the bike because my legs wouldn't fire... Heatwave definitely took its toll on me and in retrospect, I should have taken some time off afterwards to reevaluate what it was that I was trying to accomplish...
3. Heart O' Dixie: As I said in the original race report, I signed up for HoD not because I wanted to, but because the rest of my posse did... Given the poor performance at Heatwave and shitty training weeks that followed, I had zero desire to race again (at this point, maybe forever)... But, I saddled up and figured, "Hey, this will be a better race because I have a new fit on my bike that doesn't make me tired"... I was sorta right, sorta wrong...
The bike at HoD, while traditionally my fastest, was horrible this year... Headwind the whole way... also, my Garmin malfunctioned and paused itself during the ride, making it nearly impossible to gauge any measurements... As embarassing as it is to admit, THAT is what threw this race for me... My fucking Garmin... It got in my head during the bike so bad that it cost me a decent run...
The run itself seemed to be longer and hotter than the year before... I walked alot, cramped alot, and yet again contemplated DNF'ing... But, I knew that my posse was way ahead of me, and that as per usual, they'd mount up and run back for me... They did, and I finished slower than I did the year before... All things considered, HoD was a tad better than Heatwave, but not much...
What I'll remember from HoD was the horrible bike and how it taught me to try to not let stuff get into your head when shit happens... I've had to work on this pretty hard, since I'm not the best about letting stuff go that I think I should have control over, but I'm learning... I'll also remember eating Domino's after the race with Chad, Kendrick, and Sara in the lobby of the very Domino's from which we ordered... I'll also remember being on the run and someone saying, "Wow, the first woman is already done... I think her name is Hallie or something" and thinking, "Hell yeah her name is Hallie and she's my friend!"
4. Hot Hundred Century: Though technically not a race, the H100 is something I paid to do, so it goes in the recap... A lot of stupid things happened that day, which resulted in the crash which I'm still recovering from (and still have some hip pain from time to time from)... Although I could go on and on about the ride itself, I'll stick to the big stuff...
I learned that I bit off way more than I could chew... I learned that my nutrition/hydration plan was completley off... I learned that bike crashes are not cool.... I learned that despite being in immense discomfort and pain, I could still push a little extra "toothpaste" (as Kendrick calls it)... I learned, most importantly, that I needed to chill the fuck out...
I'll remember with great pleasure though, Dan's comedic banter and commentary throughout the day... "Just drink more water"... Hammond banditing the race itself, but helping himself to every aid station... making fun of the girls from LSU after the race with Dan... The long trip home.... and the dinner at El Ricon that night where I almost punched a girl in the face...
5. UL Super Sprint: since this was in my last post, I won't spend too much time on it... the race was fun, which I needed, and got me back into racing, which I needed... after taking so much time off, I lost the buzz I had for racing.... I'm hoping to get it back before next year, but have sort of come to grips that I might never have the lust for racing like I did my first year...
What I'll remember from the UL race was getting to hang out with Brian, who comped my entry... running into an old friend from church and exchanging stories of how the Lord has moved in both of our lives since we saw eachother last... having a good swim... having a good run... being home....
So, that's it... not a glorious season by any means, and one that between you and me, I could forget altogether if it weren't for the actual fun times I had getting to see friends and travelling and celebrating the performance of my posse'.... I guess that would be another big theme of this year-- I really got to the point of enjoying when my friends did well... At every race I did, my friends either won their AG's or took a spot on the podium... I take great pride in that... To know that my friends train so hard and are all such genuine people, who love the sport, and who truly celebrate not only my accomplishments, but the accomplishments of others' as well, is a real blessing...
I really don't know where the 2012 season will take me, literally and figuratively... I had said I wanted to run a full marathon in early 2012 and race a full Ironman in late 2012, but with job placement still up in the air, I'm really not sure what the schedule will look like... I think 2011 taught me that I excel at the two ends of the spectrum: super sprint/sprint and long course stuff... At least that's where I had the most fun...
So in closing, here's a list of people that deserve my appreciation:
- Kendrick- this guy is a great coach and even better friend... he puts up with more of my shit than anyone else, yet doesn't take any shit from me (if that makes sense)
- Chad- This guy has, in my opinion, a very promising triathlon career ahead of him, if he so chooses... Chad also listens to me bitch about a lot without passing any judgement (at least none that I'm aware of)...
- Rumble, Hammond, Dan, Matt- These guys came at a real critical time for me, where I wasn't sure if triathlon was fun anymore... They've kept me laughing and more importantly, training for the sheer experience of it all...
- Hallie- all I can say is watch out, HB is about to curbstomp the triathlon world... Hallie is definitely one of the most talented and most humble triathletes that I know, and has been super supportive of my efforts over the last two years...
- Will- it's amazing how an old college friend can still keep you on your toes... years ago, I would have NEVER thought that Will and I would be as close as we are now, or that triathlon would be the reason... It's always a treat to see Will and his family at races, and I'm super proud of him for finishing his first 70.3 in Augusta this fall... I promise Will, one of these days, we'll do a long course race together!
- My parents- NOLA was a turning point for me and my parents... My sister "gets" what triathlon means to me, but until NOLA, my parents (Dad mainly) really didn't... My Dad is easily one of my best friends, so he had to endure phone call after phone call of me complaining about how I couldn't seem to get passed whatever "it" was that was holding me back from having fun...
- God- ok, I know it's cliche, but come on-- there were a LOT of times where I called on the Big Guy to get me through a workout because I was cramping so badly... I am thankful that the Lord has put triathlon in my life, and more thanful that He has put the people invovled in triathlon in my life, because I probably needed them more than anything... It's easy to complain about a bad workout or sub par race-- I'm guilty of it for sure... but waaay back in the fall of 2009, it was the Lord that (I feel) put it on my heart to run a half marathon, which blossomed into the actual lifestyle that I live today...
- YOU! Whoever you are, whereever you are, thank you for reading this blog... If you're a friend, thanks for being in my life... if we've never met, thank you for allowing me to write about the experiences that I have... Hopefully, you'll take something away from this blog like I did way back in 2009 when I started reading John Fell's triathlon blog and it all sounded "so cool"... Now that I'm in it, I want to pay it forward and try to be someone else's "John Fell" so to speak... that sounds kinda weird, but if you know me, then you know what I mean...
Ok, that's it for now... I feel like 2012 will be a big year for me, but have yet to really put a finger on why... Maybe a marathon? Maybe an Ironman? Or maybe just getting through a long ride during the summer without cramping so bad I almost shit my pants? Who knows...
Thanks for reading...
dma
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