Unacceptable... As I mentioned in my last blog entry, I decided that another bad race was unacceptable in my eyes. So, I didn’t have a “bad race”. I did however, have a “mediocre race” and that doesn’t exactly sit well with me either. Usually I start each season with a new outlook and, as a given, a great race. I have been improving year after year and I am “baffled” this season. I have heard of this happening to people, but never really expected that it would happen to me. Not yet anyway. Not after “training full time” and traveling to escape the cold and not working as much, so that I can rest my legs. So, what’s the deal? (Above left: 2007 awaiting my first triathlon as a pro. I finished 6th Overall...) "Dull”…that’s how I feel. I’ve felt that for a while now. I feel like I can go all day long at a “moderate pace” but it seems that I have lost my “edge”. I no longer have that “zip” that I usually have. Now, I am realizing in my races, that you cannot expect to perform at the top and put out PR times if you only put out “mediocre” training. I was actually contemplating “throwing in the towel” yesterday. I was frustrated for putting so much into this and finding that I am actually putting out slower times and not being in the mix of things at races. After talking it over with the people that I love most (OK I was probably going on and on and on), I decided (they helped me see the light) that it’s just too early to say “that’s it. So, I thought back to what I have done in the past and what I think I should be doing now.
I have put in a great amount of distance and volume this season. Some weeks I am putting in 18-20 hours alone on the bike! I’m doing all this extra riding, only to find that my bike times are getting slow and non-impressive. So thinking back I have realized (and have thought for a while now) that I am missing that crucial threshold work that Mike has had me do so often in the past. The very workouts that I absolutely hated are the workouts that I am missing now. It had me thinking before the Florida 70.3, after watching George complete 2 types of threshold workouts week after week after week. With these key workouts (torture sessions) I have watched him get stronger than ever without so much volume. In the back of my mind it had me thinking that maybe I should be completing workouts like this in addition to my long steady rides at Ironman and 70.3 pace. Then of course I would think “How could I not ride really fast? I bike ridiculous amounts!” Now, I am training for Ironman distance races, so of course volume is necessary, but (in hindsight, of course) I think it is a mistake to cut out the “bread and butter workouts” for the sake of putting in hours. Secretly I liked not doing those “torture sessions”, but now I wish I could complete them. The run training has been a bit “mediocre” as well, due to some injuries that I had sustained. A Lot of running between 6:45 and 7:25 pace with almost no high end work. So, I ran a 1:32 yesterday. Not terrible, not great…jut mediocre. In a way I feel a bit more positive now that I reassessed what I’ve been doing and what I haven’t been doing. I feel like I have another chance. I have a strong base and am very fit, now I just have to suck it up a bit and get back to the workouts that I would secretly curse Mike for giving me!
So, for a brief Boise 70.3 race report: COLD! That’s the one word that comes to mind. The race wasn’t cold but the morning was. I got to the Lucky Peak Reservoir at 4:45 AM, walked off the bus and looked up to see the trees blowing like crazy! It was windy and cold. I had my wetsuit on to keep my legs warm, a base layer, ½ zip-pullover, sweatshirt, and garbage bag over my body. I also had my Craft hat and my gloves on as well. When the pro women lined up at the water’s edge, I was in disbelief that we were actually doing this! The water was FREEZING!!! The air was cold. I did not want to get in! Every one of us was shivering! The men went off and we were called to get in the water and wade out to the start buoy. It was a shock to the system. I was on autopilot. I just thought about being on the bike. The gun went off and so were we. I found that I was latched onto a nice group, but after a couple of minutes I found that I was gasping for breath and was staring to panic. I felt like I was hyperventilating. I was trying to breathe in but I wasn’t getting any air! I started to panic and I stopped (off went the group). I thought about calling over a kayak to get me out! Finally, I tried to regain my composure by doing breaststroke (and I’m supposed to be a professional?!) I knew that if I didn’t calm myself down mentally, that I would freak out and something bad would happen. Did I mention the chop? The windy morning made for VERY choppy conditions! I tried swimming again, but still I was gasping for breath without getting anything in! Finally I stopped again and loosened the neck on my wetsuit. After doing that I talked to myself to calm down and began swimming at a much slower pace to relax. Soon I got in a groove again and caught up to two women. I knew my swim was basically over. I lost the main pack and a lot of time.
When I got out of the water, I saw that one of the women exiting with me was Desiree Ficker. Great! I thought! I’ve put out similar bike splits to her in the past. I’ll try and get out on the bike with her and keep myself in the race. No chance. Her transition time KILLED mine! She was out of transition WAY before me (something I absolutely have to practice! Again…I’m supposed to be a professional at this, right?) So off I went on the bike. Exiting the reservoir, I dropped my salt tablets. I was worried at first (I never race without them) but it was a chilly, cloudy day. I didn’t think it would make that big of a difference. Then I looked down and realized that my powertap was not reading properly. It was reading MUCH higher than I could ever hold (around 300 watts). “I know how to ride hard”, I said to myself, so off I went. I was completely alone for the rest of the race, except for the second lap of the run when age groupers started entering the run course on their first loop. I knew my bike wasn’t great, I knew I was in tenth. I expected that I would pass some women on the run, but I was basically alone. Sure, I got passed on the bike, and I passed some women on the bike as well. Also, I got passed on the run, but for 90+% of the race, I was solo. This is not exactly easy. In fact, I think that it is the most difficult thing about racing pro: Trying to push as hard as you can with no one in sight, being alone while trying to “race”. Even the top girls are alone. Sure they know who is chasing them, or who they want to chase down and that is definitely more motivating than being where I was (in no-man’s land) but the effort is largely solo. Sure there are races where you will have a pack of women together on the bike, but many times it’s a solo effort. I remember being an amateur, and even if I was out in front by a lot, there were always people around me. Men encouraging me, other women from other waves to pass, excitement, noise. Now it’s silence. It’s myself and my bike and my thoughts. It’s not easy!
The race ended OK. I got passed by a girl in the run and found myself in 11th place up until the very end where I ran down the 10th place girl to finish 10th. I ran like I was trying to win the race, and I passed her with less than a mile to go. “Hey, at least I still have that competitive drive in me”, I thought! In all, Boise is a great place to have a race. The town is really quaint and everything was within walking distance. The bike-to-run transition was located just in fr
ont of the Capitol building and the run was on the Greenbelt trail. The city really embraced the race. My two friends Jess and Seth were there as well, and I must say, it was the 3rd race that we all did together and it was really fun having them there! Seth set a PR just missing breaking 5 hours (by 20 seconds) and getting a spot to the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, and Jess finished 10th in her age-group despite having an “OK” race for her. As for me, I am going to rest up (I’m pretty tired) and reassess my training and my race season. I’ll try my best to be positive, and not to let 2 races get to me too much. It’s part of being an athlete, I think, trying to self-motivate after disappointments. It’s very easy to be down and give up. Picking yourself back up and having confidence in your abilities after a disappointment (or two) is definitely the hard part.
I have put in a great amount of distance and volume this season. Some weeks I am putting in 18-20 hours alone on the bike! I’m doing all this extra riding, only to find that my bike times are getting slow and non-impressive. So thinking back I have realized (and have thought for a while now) that I am missing that crucial threshold work that Mike has had me do so often in the past. The very workouts that I absolutely hated are the workouts that I am missing now. It had me thinking before the Florida 70.3, after watching George complete 2 types of threshold workouts week after week after week. With these key workouts (torture sessions) I have watched him get stronger than ever without so much volume. In the back of my mind it had me thinking that maybe I should be completing workouts like this in addition to my long steady rides at Ironman and 70.3 pace. Then of course I would think “How could I not ride really fast? I bike ridiculous amounts!” Now, I am training for Ironman distance races, so of course volume is necessary, but (in hindsight, of course) I think it is a mistake to cut out the “bread and butter workouts” for the sake of putting in hours. Secretly I liked not doing those “torture sessions”, but now I wish I could complete them. The run training has been a bit “mediocre” as well, due to some injuries that I had sustained. A Lot of running between 6:45 and 7:25 pace with almost no high end work. So, I ran a 1:32 yesterday. Not terrible, not great…jut mediocre. In a way I feel a bit more positive now that I reassessed what I’ve been doing and what I haven’t been doing. I feel like I have another chance. I have a strong base and am very fit, now I just have to suck it up a bit and get back to the workouts that I would secretly curse Mike for giving me!
So, for a brief Boise 70.3 race report: COLD! That’s the one word that comes to mind. The race wasn’t cold but the morning was. I got to the Lucky Peak Reservoir at 4:45 AM, walked off the bus and looked up to see the trees blowing like crazy! It was windy and cold. I had my wetsuit on to keep my legs warm, a base layer, ½ zip-pullover, sweatshirt, and garbage bag over my body. I also had my Craft hat and my gloves on as well. When the pro women lined up at the water’s edge, I was in disbelief that we were actually doing this! The water was FREEZING!!! The air was cold. I did not want to get in! Every one of us was shivering! The men went off and we were called to get in the water and wade out to the start buoy. It was a shock to the system. I was on autopilot. I just thought about being on the bike. The gun went off and so were we. I found that I was latched onto a nice group, but after a couple of minutes I found that I was gasping for breath and was staring to panic. I felt like I was hyperventilating. I was trying to breathe in but I wasn’t getting any air! I started to panic and I stopped (off went the group). I thought about calling over a kayak to get me out! Finally, I tried to regain my composure by doing breaststroke (and I’m supposed to be a professional?!) I knew that if I didn’t calm myself down mentally, that I would freak out and something bad would happen. Did I mention the chop? The windy morning made for VERY choppy conditions! I tried swimming again, but still I was gasping for breath without getting anything in! Finally I stopped again and loosened the neck on my wetsuit. After doing that I talked to myself to calm down and began swimming at a much slower pace to relax. Soon I got in a groove again and caught up to two women. I knew my swim was basically over. I lost the main pack and a lot of time.
When I got out of the water, I saw that one of the women exiting with me was Desiree Ficker. Great! I thought! I’ve put out similar bike splits to her in the past. I’ll try and get out on the bike with her and keep myself in the race. No chance. Her transition time KILLED mine! She was out of transition WAY before me (something I absolutely have to practice! Again…I’m supposed to be a professional at this, right?) So off I went on the bike. Exiting the reservoir, I dropped my salt tablets. I was worried at first (I never race without them) but it was a chilly, cloudy day. I didn’t think it would make that big of a difference. Then I looked down and realized that my powertap was not reading properly. It was reading MUCH higher than I could ever hold (around 300 watts). “I know how to ride hard”, I said to myself, so off I went. I was completely alone for the rest of the race, except for the second lap of the run when age groupers started entering the run course on their first loop. I knew my bike wasn’t great, I knew I was in tenth. I expected that I would pass some women on the run, but I was basically alone. Sure, I got passed on the bike, and I passed some women on the bike as well. Also, I got passed on the run, but for 90+% of the race, I was solo. This is not exactly easy. In fact, I think that it is the most difficult thing about racing pro: Trying to push as hard as you can with no one in sight, being alone while trying to “race”. Even the top girls are alone. Sure they know who is chasing them, or who they want to chase down and that is definitely more motivating than being where I was (in no-man’s land) but the effort is largely solo. Sure there are races where you will have a pack of women together on the bike, but many times it’s a solo effort. I remember being an amateur, and even if I was out in front by a lot, there were always people around me. Men encouraging me, other women from other waves to pass, excitement, noise. Now it’s silence. It’s myself and my bike and my thoughts. It’s not easy!
The race ended OK. I got passed by a girl in the run and found myself in 11th place up until the very end where I ran down the 10th place girl to finish 10th. I ran like I was trying to win the race, and I passed her with less than a mile to go. “Hey, at least I still have that competitive drive in me”, I thought! In all, Boise is a great place to have a race. The town is really quaint and everything was within walking distance. The bike-to-run transition was located just in fr
ont of the Capitol building and the run was on the Greenbelt trail. The city really embraced the race. My two friends Jess and Seth were there as well, and I must say, it was the 3rd race that we all did together and it was really fun having them there! Seth set a PR just missing breaking 5 hours (by 20 seconds) and getting a spot to the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, and Jess finished 10th in her age-group despite having an “OK” race for her. As for me, I am going to rest up (I’m pretty tired) and reassess my training and my race season. I’ll try my best to be positive, and not to let 2 races get to me too much. It’s part of being an athlete, I think, trying to self-motivate after disappointments. It’s very easy to be down and give up. Picking yourself back up and having confidence in your abilities after a disappointment (or two) is definitely the hard part.*Picture above and to the right: Jess and I at Eagleman 2006.
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