A lesson in patience, that is the major thing I have taken from this race last weekend. This has been a difficult lesson for me to swallow because I'm not a very patient person. Pretty sure my impatience ended in stitches a few times when I was younger because I refused to wait for my dad to help me use some tool. I've realized though that if this came too easily and if there were no lessons to be learned, than I probably wouldn't appreciate it very much. Instead, each obstacle is something to learn from and when that endurance and speed does evolve over time, I'll be a much better athlete and person from those struggles.
Take the swim for example. I taught myself to swim when I was 18, I even used a nose clip for a few years. Ask my college swimmer friends, they teased me relentlessly (all in good fun of course). They were also the ones most excited when I did start to improve in the swim, and they were the first to give tips and advice. My swim start in my first pro race at Williamsburg was almost comical. I didn't really know what to do in the start and as a result lost the entire group. Since then, every time I got into open water, I practiced swim starts. Coach Tara was great about teaching me how to go right from the gun and get onto feet. It must have paid off, because my swim start at Steelhead was probably the highlight of my race. I dolphin dove with the best of them and latched onto feet right away. The water was choppy and we were swimming against a light current but I didn't lose those feet until the very last part of the swim. By then, another group had caught up and I came out with them right on my heels. Speedy swimmer Radka had gone way off the front, followed by a few women in a group and then I came out with the next group.
It was a long run up the beach and down the lines of bikes through transition. I didn't sprint and instead thought about what I needed to do to get on my bike. Some of the other girls in the group out of the water had gotten up the beach before me and had already left on their bikes. Once on the bike I set my sights on a couple girls just ahead. One of the girls I was back and forth with almost the entire ride. I would catch up and pass on the hills and then she would pass back on the flats. I took the last stretch a bit conservatively to see if it would help my run and she pulled away a little. Not sure if this more conservative approach was best, but I am just starting to train with power (Stages) and that should help me to gauge my efforts better.
Another long run through transition and then I was able to get my stuff together much more quickly and get onto the run. I felt pretty good for the first few miles, my legs were turning over well. After those first few miles though I had trouble getting my legs to open up and find that half ironman gear. Good news I guess for my upcoming full but not so great when you're trying to do a speedy half. I have three main races left this season: Ironman Louisville, Augusta 70.3 and Ironman Florida. I feel like I'm better at the full distance so I'm excited to change gears and focus on those more. With less than 3 weeks until Louisville, the main goal right now is to stay healthy and maintain the edge.
I had a chance to talk to several of the other pro women and men. They were all very encouraging and all had the same advice: patience.
The weekend was made very enjoyable by my travel buddy Kristen, and our homestay hosts Sean and Jann. Kristen made me laugh all weekend, and her positive attitude was infectious. She raced as well, and got a PR! I remember walking from the parking lot to the expo and a nice gentlemen offered us a ride on his golf cart. Kristen replied "we are not allowed to receive any outside assistance." She and Brian helped me find perspective after the race. She also helped me research causes of peeing blood, because to be honest it was the first time its happened to me and it genuinely freaked me out. I was reading off the potential causes: enlarged prostate, tumors or long distance running. She replied "well it can't be the long distance running, maybe you should get your prostate checked." Haha so much ridiculousness.
Sean and Jann (and their kids) were wonderful. It must not be the easiest thing to open your home to strangers, especially athletes that tend towards type A personalities. They were also racing (Sean the half and Jann running for a relay team) and both did awesome. Kristen and I missed our puppies and they shared their goofy pup Blue with us for the weekend. Their friends were wonderful and fun. I really enjoyed meeting their friend Andrea, who is also just starting out as a pro. She and I shared some similar thoughts and experiences and its nice to have that camaraderie with other pros that are trying to find their way.
I also really enjoyed seeing a couple of our team mates. Zoot Ultra team mates Rick and Dana were both racing and both made it on the podium in the 30-34 age group. Our team is full of positive and fun people and its always great to catch up at races. I was also finally able to congratulate Rick and his awesome wife Brittany on their recent wedding :)
Thank you to my sponsors for their continued support. Thank you to my family and friends for your words of encouragement. Huge thank you to coach Tara for helping me to develop as an athlete.
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