I have realized a few things this weekend after racing the Ironman Florida 70.3 in Disney, Florida. The few things I have learned are: #1: Traveling to races with my mom is always the best! #2: Not having my dad at the race was a bit of a bummer (yes, I’m 31 years old and I like having both my mom and dad at my races!) however it was nice of my coach Mike to make the trek down to watch. #3: Race weekends are tough on spectators. It’s all about the athlete. Especially as a pro where I do this as a living as opposed to the age grouper that may have trained for a year for this one event and wants his or her whole family there for support. Having my parents come to watch is great, of course (obviously I’m used to my parents going out of their way for me, plus they usually go off and do things on their own to make the time pass) but I realized that if George (or any friend as well) has a chance to watch me in a big race, I want to be sure that it’s a place that he can enjoy too (bring his bike, etc), like Lake Placid or Kona. #4: I have taken for granted my ability to show up on race day time after time, and put out a solid performance , #5: I have now realized just how great my performances have been after having a “sub-par” performance this past weekend, #5: It’s not the end of the world (as long as it doesn’t happen again sometime soon). ;-)
So here goes the race report for the first race of 2008: 3:45 AM Sunday May 18th I wake without my alarm going off yet. I’m nervous as I usually am, but maybe particularly so because it’s the very first race of the season. I feel ready to go and confident in my fitness and my ability though, so I am anxious to just get started. I head to the race sight and set up my bike in transition. Next to me are Lisa Bentley (14-time Ironman champion) and Katia Schumacher (Ironman Champion and past winner of the Florida 70.3). Last year, I would have felt uncomfortable and “not worthy” to be next to these two women in transition. This year I feel at ease. I set up my drinks, my shoes, helmet, power tap, run shoes (Zoot, of course), sunglasses, gels, and endurolytes then I double-check everything and head to the swim where my mom and Mike are waiting. It’s still dark out and it’s HUMID and VERY WARM! Yikes! This could be a tough day, I thought, but then I thought “bring it on! I’m great in the heat and humidity”! I ran into Anne Bolton and her sister before the swim. Anne is a great athlete that I have had the pleasure to coach. She came to me in January with the goal of doing this race. She also told me that she had only completed one triathlon (a sprint on a mtn. bike) and hadn’t swum too much, if at all! I was worried, but after I started working with her, I realized she was a talent. I also ran into my friend Rob from Toronto. Rob was the triathlete that I had the pleasure of climbing Mt. Lemmon with in Tucson. It was good to see him.
I headed to the beach after saying my goodbyes to Mike and my mom and after getting my good luck call from George who was returning from a long night at work back in NY. It always psyches me up to talk to George before a race. I would consider it bad luck not to (I tend to be superstitious about things like this). On the beach are the male and female pros. We heard the national anthem and soon the cannon went off. The water was shallow, so we made a mad dash through the water and then did a series of dolphin dives before starting to swim. I tried to swim HARD in the beginning so I could try and get in a good group. There were some fantastic swim specialists in this race, such as ex-Stanford swimmer Dede Griesbauer, that I knew would be impossible to stay with, but my goal was to stay with the strong swimmers. I didn’t feel great right away, but I thought this might be due to the lack of a warm-up (no swim warm-up allowed). I found a good set of feet to swim on and tried the best I could, but I felt a bit “lethargic”. Soon I got a foot cramp…not a good sign! The last race that I remember getting a foot cramp in was Kona 2006, which happened be a tough year for me as I got sick on the bike and walked a bit on the run. Not to worry, I thought. I’ll feel better on the bike. I exited the bike with an OK time of 30 minutes (not too far off from many of the top women) and headed to my bike.
Pain…that is the one word I can use to describe the bike. Immediately I felt pain in my legs. Every single pedal stroke hurt! The power that usually comes effortless felt like a near all-out effort! OK, I thought, I just need to open up a bit. I thought about turning around right away and calling it a day. I convinced myself to give it 45 minutes. After 45 minutes it still hurt really badly. I was unfocused and when I got passed by other female pros I had zero counter-attack. I simply let them pass me and disappear into the distance. I tried to push, but every muscle in my body ached. I thought about quitting again. I even stopped pedaling and coasted for a bit, but quickly started up again. “How can I quit”? I stayed in the race. Eventually I gave up trying to hold power. I thought, “Maybe I’ll feel great on the run”! After 2 hours and 37 minutes of pure torture, the bike was over. So was my race. I was far behind. I contemplated not running, but thought again that I might have a good run. In fact, for a moment I thought, “Maybe I’ll have the run of my life and catch the leaders”! So I continued on. I felt OK. I shuffled out of transition and felt like I was running decent. Then, after a mile I realized that I did not feel good. I was shuffling at a slow rate on the tough section of grass. I thought I would finish the loop (#1 of 3) and then I would call it a day. At mile 4 I took a gel, drank some coke, and actually felt a burst of positive energy! It was then that I decided that I would simply “cruise” the rest of the race. I would do what I could that day and bring it home. I was OK with this. I knew that I had Boise 70.3 coming up on June 1st, and I figured this would be an excellent day in the bank. My goal was now to try to avoid last place. Funny when I think about it. My goal going in was top 3!
Did I mention the weather? Humid! The bike was OK though. Grey skies for much of it, one downpour for about 4 minutes and slight wind. The run was OK, as far as heat, for the first 4 miles, then the sun came out and wow! The typical 90+ degree, humid Florida weather emerged. We had one downpour of rain out on the run, which was nice to cool off, but then it became similar to a sauna after the rain ended. It was hot and the air was thick! I had to deal for 2 more laps (a little over 8 miles). I felt bad for the athletes just getting off their bikes in the thick of it! The run was interesting. I never felt down about my result. I just forged ahead and I actually felt like I had a good rhythm going for the last 6 miles or so! I thought of some of my friends that have had bad days and gutted it out, like Bob Cook in IM Louisville last year. Despite a bad day in oppressive heat, he finished the race. I thought of what my friend Wolf said to me after IM Arizona this year-that he and Nicole had an understanding that they would never drop out of a race. I thought of my friend Tara Norton, who continued to race IM Lanzorote after getting a dislocated shoulder in the swim and stomach troubles on the run (she still finished 2nd!) I thought of George back home who got into a crash at Bear Mtn. last weekend, then got a flat tire and waited for a new wheel for 10 minutes and continued to get back on his bike and hammer solo with the group way ahead without so much of a thought of dropping out at that minute. These are the things that ran through my mind during the run and I must say they helped me get through the race. I finally finished without even glancing at my time. I finished one spot away from last place. This would have devastated me last year. I was OK with it this year. I thought back to the two weeks before this race, and the days before and realized that I had been unusually tired, but I tried to ignore it. Tried to forge ahead and figured that I would of course be ready to rock on race day. I always am. This is one of the most valuable lessons that I can learn. One that George always tries to drill into me. If I’m tired I should listen to my body. It’s trying to tell me something. Perhaps a nap would be more beneficial than the prescribed workout, maybe it would benefit me more to sleep in and not swim one morning when I am feeling fatigued. It’s a tough thing to do. Probably the toughest lesson because I am constantly pushing myself past a barrier of pain and suffering during my training. Constantly overcoming mental battles and constantly self-motivating myself. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the days feel effortless and easy, but many times it takes a mental push to complete them to the best of my ability. One thing I know for sure, I will rest up before leaving for Boise next Thursday. I am hungrier than ever for a dynamite race and I feel a little more educated as an athlete after Sunday’s race.
As for the rest of the day, my athlete that I was coaching for the event Anne Bolton, finished in 6:07. She had a smile the entire race and she told me yesterday that she felt great! Had she not taken the 15+ minutes in transition she would have gone under 6 hours (she told me that there was so much going on-like a horse eating food out of someone’s bag- that she stayed around in transition longer than she thought)! It was awesome to see her race and finish so strong. What an accomplishment for someone who hadn’t done any formal swim training and hadn’t ridden a road bike before January! It made my day to see her have such a great day. As for me, I will be resting and getting ready for a spectacular race in Boise next weekend. I cannot wait!
So here goes the race report for the first race of 2008: 3:45 AM Sunday May 18th I wake without my alarm going off yet. I’m nervous as I usually am, but maybe particularly so because it’s the very first race of the season. I feel ready to go and confident in my fitness and my ability though, so I am anxious to just get started. I head to the race sight and set up my bike in transition. Next to me are Lisa Bentley (14-time Ironman champion) and Katia Schumacher (Ironman Champion and past winner of the Florida 70.3). Last year, I would have felt uncomfortable and “not worthy” to be next to these two women in transition. This year I feel at ease. I set up my drinks, my shoes, helmet, power tap, run shoes (Zoot, of course), sunglasses, gels, and endurolytes then I double-check everything and head to the swim where my mom and Mike are waiting. It’s still dark out and it’s HUMID and VERY WARM! Yikes! This could be a tough day, I thought, but then I thought “bring it on! I’m great in the heat and humidity”! I ran into Anne Bolton and her sister before the swim. Anne is a great athlete that I have had the pleasure to coach. She came to me in January with the goal of doing this race. She also told me that she had only completed one triathlon (a sprint on a mtn. bike) and hadn’t swum too much, if at all! I was worried, but after I started working with her, I realized she was a talent. I also ran into my friend Rob from Toronto. Rob was the triathlete that I had the pleasure of climbing Mt. Lemmon with in Tucson. It was good to see him.
I headed to the beach after saying my goodbyes to Mike and my mom and after getting my good luck call from George who was returning from a long night at work back in NY. It always psyches me up to talk to George before a race. I would consider it bad luck not to (I tend to be superstitious about things like this). On the beach are the male and female pros. We heard the national anthem and soon the cannon went off. The water was shallow, so we made a mad dash through the water and then did a series of dolphin dives before starting to swim. I tried to swim HARD in the beginning so I could try and get in a good group. There were some fantastic swim specialists in this race, such as ex-Stanford swimmer Dede Griesbauer, that I knew would be impossible to stay with, but my goal was to stay with the strong swimmers. I didn’t feel great right away, but I thought this might be due to the lack of a warm-up (no swim warm-up allowed). I found a good set of feet to swim on and tried the best I could, but I felt a bit “lethargic”. Soon I got a foot cramp…not a good sign! The last race that I remember getting a foot cramp in was Kona 2006, which happened be a tough year for me as I got sick on the bike and walked a bit on the run. Not to worry, I thought. I’ll feel better on the bike. I exited the bike with an OK time of 30 minutes (not too far off from many of the top women) and headed to my bike.
Pain…that is the one word I can use to describe the bike. Immediately I felt pain in my legs. Every single pedal stroke hurt! The power that usually comes effortless felt like a near all-out effort! OK, I thought, I just need to open up a bit. I thought about turning around right away and calling it a day. I convinced myself to give it 45 minutes. After 45 minutes it still hurt really badly. I was unfocused and when I got passed by other female pros I had zero counter-attack. I simply let them pass me and disappear into the distance. I tried to push, but every muscle in my body ached. I thought about quitting again. I even stopped pedaling and coasted for a bit, but quickly started up again. “How can I quit”? I stayed in the race. Eventually I gave up trying to hold power. I thought, “Maybe I’ll feel great on the run”! After 2 hours and 37 minutes of pure torture, the bike was over. So was my race. I was far behind. I contemplated not running, but thought again that I might have a good run. In fact, for a moment I thought, “Maybe I’ll have the run of my life and catch the leaders”! So I continued on. I felt OK. I shuffled out of transition and felt like I was running decent. Then, after a mile I realized that I did not feel good. I was shuffling at a slow rate on the tough section of grass. I thought I would finish the loop (#1 of 3) and then I would call it a day. At mile 4 I took a gel, drank some coke, and actually felt a burst of positive energy! It was then that I decided that I would simply “cruise” the rest of the race. I would do what I could that day and bring it home. I was OK with this. I knew that I had Boise 70.3 coming up on June 1st, and I figured this would be an excellent day in the bank. My goal was now to try to avoid last place. Funny when I think about it. My goal going in was top 3!
Did I mention the weather? Humid! The bike was OK though. Grey skies for much of it, one downpour for about 4 minutes and slight wind. The run was OK, as far as heat, for the first 4 miles, then the sun came out and wow! The typical 90+ degree, humid Florida weather emerged. We had one downpour of rain out on the run, which was nice to cool off, but then it became similar to a sauna after the rain ended. It was hot and the air was thick! I had to deal for 2 more laps (a little over 8 miles). I felt bad for the athletes just getting off their bikes in the thick of it! The run was interesting. I never felt down about my result. I just forged ahead and I actually felt like I had a good rhythm going for the last 6 miles or so! I thought of some of my friends that have had bad days and gutted it out, like Bob Cook in IM Louisville last year. Despite a bad day in oppressive heat, he finished the race. I thought of what my friend Wolf said to me after IM Arizona this year-that he and Nicole had an understanding that they would never drop out of a race. I thought of my friend Tara Norton, who continued to race IM Lanzorote after getting a dislocated shoulder in the swim and stomach troubles on the run (she still finished 2nd!) I thought of George back home who got into a crash at Bear Mtn. last weekend, then got a flat tire and waited for a new wheel for 10 minutes and continued to get back on his bike and hammer solo with the group way ahead without so much of a thought of dropping out at that minute. These are the things that ran through my mind during the run and I must say they helped me get through the race. I finally finished without even glancing at my time. I finished one spot away from last place. This would have devastated me last year. I was OK with it this year. I thought back to the two weeks before this race, and the days before and realized that I had been unusually tired, but I tried to ignore it. Tried to forge ahead and figured that I would of course be ready to rock on race day. I always am. This is one of the most valuable lessons that I can learn. One that George always tries to drill into me. If I’m tired I should listen to my body. It’s trying to tell me something. Perhaps a nap would be more beneficial than the prescribed workout, maybe it would benefit me more to sleep in and not swim one morning when I am feeling fatigued. It’s a tough thing to do. Probably the toughest lesson because I am constantly pushing myself past a barrier of pain and suffering during my training. Constantly overcoming mental battles and constantly self-motivating myself. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the days feel effortless and easy, but many times it takes a mental push to complete them to the best of my ability. One thing I know for sure, I will rest up before leaving for Boise next Thursday. I am hungrier than ever for a dynamite race and I feel a little more educated as an athlete after Sunday’s race.
As for the rest of the day, my athlete that I was coaching for the event Anne Bolton, finished in 6:07. She had a smile the entire race and she told me yesterday that she felt great! Had she not taken the 15+ minutes in transition she would have gone under 6 hours (she told me that there was so much going on-like a horse eating food out of someone’s bag- that she stayed around in transition longer than she thought)! It was awesome to see her race and finish so strong. What an accomplishment for someone who hadn’t done any formal swim training and hadn’t ridden a road bike before January! It made my day to see her have such a great day. As for me, I will be resting and getting ready for a spectacular race in Boise next weekend. I cannot wait!
2 comments:
Danielle, sorry to hear you had such a rough time of it on your 1st race of the season, but I love your attitude! You're a real inspiration to me (& to many others!)! I've no doubt that you will ROCK Boise! Can't wait to read about your adventures there! Take care! Brian
Thanks Brian! Hope all is well...
Danielle
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