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<\/p>\nTo know pain is to really know pleasure.<\/p>\n
To know disappointment is to really know triumph.<\/p>\n
To have some “meh” races is to really appreciate the good ones.<\/p>\n
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There is no real dramatic story here. \u00a0I didn’t spectacularly fail. \u00a0I didn’t injure something. \u00a0I didn’t crawl across a finish line. \u00a0I’ve never done a July race before, and maybe it’s just not my month. \u00a0Maybe you just have a limit of races you can crush per year, and I’m saving mine for later. \u00a0Couples was race 13 for the year, and maybe it was just unlucky 13.<\/p>\n
Going into Couples, I was both excited and sorta …eh… \u00a0The exciting part was I got to race with my Zliten (triathlons are usually split in age and gender specific waves – this one was by what sort of couple you were so we started together with all the married under 70 combined couples), and I was going to get up mother fucking carnage hill this time. \u00a0Meh, because it was at Decker Lake, which is not my fave, and double meh at the run course on grass and sticks and yuck.<\/p>\n
We never really got the race woogies. \u00a0We just kinda did our thing. \u00a0Set up the gear. \u00a0Practice transitions the night before. \u00a0Pack all the things. \u00a0Neither of us could sleep, and then finally when we DID fall asleep, it started pouring which woke us up. \u00a0I was working off ~4 hours of sleep which was NOT working for me. \u00a0The normal tea late in the AM made me functional, not amped like normal.<\/p>\n
We got there, racked our bike as close to bike in\/out as possible, hit the portas, got the rest of the stuff out of the car, and set up transition. \u00a0What was going right was the early morning forecast said 70-85% chance of rain, but as the sun came up it was apparent that wasn’t going to be the case. \u00a0Sunny, and almost no clouds in the sky. \u00a0Yay, no rain. \u00a0Boo, no clouds, so it would be hotter.<\/p>\n
We did our normal run warmup, slow out, race striders back, and went to finalize transition and I realized – CRAP. \u00a0My shoes were muddy (*%&$ sticks and grass course!!), so I couldn’t do my norm of shoes on top of my visor and race belt. \u00a0I spent about 5 minutes mucking with different configurations and finally extended my towel a bit and placed things a little differently. \u00a0Zliten was laughing at my neuroses, but I have a plan for a reason, dammit!<\/p>\n
We headed down and got a practice swim. \u00a0OMG bathwater!!! \u00a0I don’t mind it so much (gimme 85 degree lakes over under 70) but for some reason I associate Decker with cold because Rookie is always frigid. \u00a0We got out, walked around, found our tri friend Brian and our friend’s friend Elle and said hi, and then things were about to kick off.<\/p>\n
We had discussed how weird it was going to be for both of us. \u00a0Zliten usually starts in one of the first waves (it usually goes open, under 29, then him), and I’m anywhere from slightly after halfway through, and in Pfluger, I was actually second to last. \u00a0He is used to, on the bike, getting passed by all the people. \u00a0I am used to maybe 2-3 gals with Project Rudy helmets and 10k$ bikes passing me and me passing all the rest of the people. \u00a0Our wave was just about smack dab in the middle, so it would probably be a combo of both.<\/p>\n
Then, we were on double deck, then deck, then in the water, gave each other a kiss and hug, and got our swim on. \u00a0My focus this year is slowly increasing my swim intensity, to find the line between paddling along and redlining and blowing up, as well as being more aggressive around other swimmers. \u00a0I think I did well at the latter, at least, as I didn’t break my stroke every time I was jostled or touched. \u00a0I swam over a few people that were being obnoxious and backstroking or breaststroking in my way. I concentrated on being long and big and confident, and came out of the water feeling like I kicked ass at the swim. \u00a0I picked up my sandals and then I heard Zliten say something right behind me. \u00a0Holy crap! \u00a0I expected to beat him by a bit on the swim.<\/p>\n
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Swim Time: 21:57 for 800m<\/strong> (for contrast, see my 750m swim + transition below – something was WAY off)<\/p>\n We jogged to T1 together and I had to wait on him just a little, but really quickly we were off on the bike. \u00a0All went as planned.<\/p>\n T1 time: 3:58<\/strong> (a little slower than normal)<\/p>\n This is where we started to realize that triathlon is really an individual sport and it was challenging racing every step of the way with someone. \u00a0He was off like a rocket on the bike, I took a while to clip in and get my legs going, so he slowed. \u00a0Then, a mile in, I’m off like a rocket charging up the hills and passing all the people, and I had to take it easier after a while because I was losing him. \u00a0This was the theme of the bike. \u00a0One of us would get ahead (usually me charging a hill but sometimes Z) and then slow down waiting for the other to catch up. \u00a0It really effed up the mojo. \u00a0I race my ass off on the bike, get to redline huffing and puffing, take a second to recover, and then do it all again. \u00a0It was weird to hit recovery, be ready to go, and then have to wait.<\/p>\n Six miles in was carnage. \u00a0After last weekend’s torture ride, I was certain I could do it. \u00a0I turned the corner as fast as I dared, and shouted my battle cry of ” CARNAGE IS MY BITCH!!!!” (yes, out loud, I’m sure my mother is proud) and got out of my seat and tore that hill a new one. \u00a0My proudest moment this race was not walking up this stupid effing hill.<\/p>\n However, as I’m going, I see Zliten slip off his bike. \u00a0I was not able to see to what extent. \u00a0I couldn’t deal with it, so I got up the hill, and unclipped, expecting the worst, having to go back down the hill and wait for him to recover. \u00a0As soon as I unclipped I hear GOGOGO! \u00a0That badass fell on a steep ass hill, his first wreck (his paint job has some major road rash), got back on the bike from a standstill, and got up it. \u00a0Yeah. \u00a0That rocked.<\/p>\n I remembered the second half of the course was rough, but I overestimated (I thought it was hill, hill, double hill, but it was only hill, double hill), so I got up the last hill and thought I had one more to go and was pleasantly surprised to be done and in good shape. \u00a0And then I coasted. \u00a0And coasted more. \u00a0….and coasted more. \u00a0No Zliten. Then Zliten zoomed past me, and I took it easy to the finish like normal where he was pushing and wondering why I dropped back.<\/p>\n Bike time: 42:11 for 11.2 hilly miles- 15.9 mph<\/strong> (4 seconds faster than Rookie – LOL)<\/p>\n We got into transition and I had issues racking my bike, and he had to wait as I did the shoe switch. \u00a0“Do we really have to do this run now?” I said? \u00a0For some reason, I was just ready to be done. \u00a0I swam strong. \u00a0I got up carnage. \u00a0Isn’t that enough for a workday? \u00a0I guess not, because he said, “No, go go go…” and off we went.<\/p>\n T2 time: 1:46<\/strong> (not too bad)<\/p>\n The run was equally awkward going together. \u00a0I get my legs a little faster than he does. \u00a0After the initial shuffle getting my race belt and visor on, I was ready to start cruising under 10s. \u00a0Zliten was not. \u00a0He kept talking about staying under 12s and I was like NONONO under 10s but it was not to be. \u00a0I stayed just a little in front holding my pace back. \u00a0Then we hit a hill and the “under 12s” became 9:30s. \u00a0YOU DON’T ACCELERATE UP A HILL DAMMIT. \u00a0He flew ahead, and then what goes up, must come down, and I flew past him because he had…slowed? \u00a0I mentally just got mad at the day, at the course, at not being able to run my pace, at Decker, at hills, at sticks, at the hot, sticky day.<\/p>\n My mouth became not of me, but of a sailor. \u00a0When I race by myself, I often mutter a lot of cuss words under my breath. \u00a0Well, racing with someone who is trying to talk with me, I started saying a lot of them louder than I should. \u00a0“Fuck fuck fuck fuck this course, fuck the sticks, fuck the hills FUCK THIS MOTHERFUCKING COURSE”. \u00a0Yeah, I did that as some random dude ran by and giggled at me. \u00a0Then \u00a0I looked at Zliten and said “TALKY TIME IS DONE” and shut up and ran. \u00a0I am a JOY to run with, let me tell you.<\/p>\n My ankles started hurting as we got ass deep in the sticks and twigs and rocks part from landing unevenly. \u00a0I cruised on the downhills and chugged on the uphills and made it a goal to just stay within sight distance of Z instead of running with him as we continued the passing dance. \u00a0About mile 2.25 it turned, and it was sticks and twigs and rocks and uphill as far as the eye could see. \u00a0I knew the hill lasted pretty much until the last quarter mile of pavement, which was still uphill.<\/p>\n I just lost it. \u00a0On a fucking sprint tri 5k, I started walking. \u00a0In my head, our run time was already just awful, so fuck it, why bother chugging up that hill? \u00a0 I walked a bit, then ran, then I saw Zliten ahead of me walking so I ran to catch up with him, and then he starting running and I said “fuck that, I’m walking” and we walked up the stupid hill. \u00a0He tried to get me going again sooner, but I was done. \u00a0We had already screwed the run. \u00a0I made us walk to the aide station, and got water, and saw the pavement.<\/p>\n In MY HEAD, that was time to make the shit up and I took off running like a bat out of hell to the finish, but Zliten asked me to slow down (apparently he was not ready to run Olympian paces), and we cruised into the finish line.<\/p>\n Run time: 33:27 for 3.2 miles<\/strong> (10:26 pace) UGH UGH UGH UGH.<\/p>\n Total time: 1:43:19.<\/strong> \u00a0Double UGH UGH UGH UGH UGH.<\/p>\n Ten minutes slower than Pf for BOTH of us. \u00a0We both had really underestimated how rough it would be to essentially have to account for both of our weaknesses together on the tri. \u00a0I’ve cruised the Rookie run both years at 9:30-ish and really didn’t think that adding an extra mile would screw with my mojo as much as it did.<\/p>\n Mentally, I am happy with how I handled it. \u00a0I didn’t need the win that bad that day. \u00a0No bawling in the bathtub. \u00a0I’ve been hitting my run paces well off the bike in training, so I can write that off as just a sucky course and a weird day. \u00a0I beat carnage. \u00a0I still have no idea how my swim was that slow, but it is what it is. \u00a0I improved my bike pace (by seconds), even with the oddity of trying to stay with someone, and while it wasn’t magic like Pf, it was a solid day at the races. \u00a0We showed up and got it done. \u00a0They can’t all be unicorns and rainbows. \u00a0And, I got to do it every step of the way with Zliten – even though we both agreed we may have been able to eek out some extra minutes solo – it was super fun to keep him in my sights all morning! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Then, around 6am that morning, I figured out that I had wrecked something in my shoulder, as I woke up IN PAIIIIIN. \u00a0Four hours of sleep Saturday plus less than 6 hours of sleep Sunday = UNHAPPY grumpy melodramatic Quix.<\/p>\n I posted things to social media like:<\/p>\n “Tired at the core of my soul today. And my shoulder and neck are out of whack. I want so badly to take painkillers and sleep.”<\/p>\n To which some tweeps gave some some undeserved sympathy, as some lunch and less than half a cup of regular octane Earl Grey tea fixed me. \u00a0I don’t usually bend to the will of caffeine, but I had a very important work meeting, and I realized how out of it I was when I got on the microphone in front of the whole company(200 employees) like I do each Monday and rambled and lost my train of thought. \u00a0I recovered, but I knew I had to do SOMETHING to fix my leaky brain.<\/p>\n Even though I felt better, I knew that I shouldn’t use my chemically fueled awakeness, and decided to bail on my 2000 yd swim and weights anyway and just rest. \u00a0Zliten was awesome and rubbed my shoulder and cooked me dinner and I zonked on the couch and relaxed and got great sleep last night.<\/p>\n However, one of my worst race day fears was realized as I woke up this morning, and it was that one day of the month I want to curl up in a ball and die. \u00a0And instead of that, I was to have a hectic and mentally challenging day at work, and then RACE right after. \u00a0Yeah, I was really into that idea retaining water, completely fatigued and run down, and rife with CRAAAAAMPS. \u00a0Plus, my shoulder was still a little owie. \u00a0Then the weather said it should be around 96. \u00a0Yeah, please, anything but a splash and dash….<\/p>\n I got through the day aight, but felt the ache pretty bad this afternoon. \u00a0I decided my attitude going into it was going to be that since I was already in pain, I’d be used to pain, so the extra pain wouldn’t matter, right? \u00a0That was to be my silver lining.<\/p>\n We got there, got our chips, set up transition, did a very short warmup run in which I felt pretty bleh, and then got in the water and warmed up the arms. \u00a0The good news of the day was I felt AWESOME in the water and my shoulder had decided to play nice. \u00a0I decided that I wasn’t going to let myself off, and my goal was 38:11, at least one second faster than I did last month.<\/p>\n The dudes were off, and then 3 mins later, so were we. \u00a0I decided since I felt great in the water, I wanted to really push the swim. \u00a0I focused on drafting off ladies that were going about my pace, but sprinting past them when I felt like I had it. \u00a0I felt more confident and strong in the water today than I ever have. \u00a0When ladies got near me, I didn’t get flustered, but I either got around them, or swam over them (whichever was appropriate). \u00a0I kept a really strong (for me) pace and worked on getting ahead of people.<\/p>\n On the way back to shore, my kryptonite happened again. \u00a0Two girls were both slightly ahead of me, and squeezing me. \u00a0Last time, \u00a0I dropped back. \u00a0This time, I held my space and started sprinting and got ahead of them instead.<\/p>\n Not going to lie, I was more out of breath at the end of this swim than the last, but I felt great about it, and while my run was slower (yeah spoiler alert, whatever), I don’t think it was because of what I did in the water.<\/p>\n Swim+ transition: 18:56 (19:09 last month)<\/strong><\/p>\n I got out, transitioned, and got running. \u00a0Last month, I was mentally in each step, pushing, looking at my garmin all the time, trying to keep my pace at a certain point. \u00a0This time, I just didn’t quite have *that*. \u00a0I more ran by feel, trying to keep my pace as low as I could, but I wasn’t doing the math and calculating and digging each and every second – I really zoned out a lot of the run and tried to keep the pain and tireds at a manageable level. \u00a0I can remember what I was thinking almost every step of the last run. \u00a0This one was sort of a haze, following one girl who was running just about my pace and just getting through the 3 laps.<\/p>\n Run: 19:37 for 2.05 miles (19:03 last month)<\/strong><\/p>\n 750m swim + 2.05 mile run – 38:34 total (38:12 last month)<\/strong><\/p>\n I finished about 20 seconds slower than last month (my swim+ transition was 13 seconds faster, but my run was 35 seconds slower). \u00a0Considering I could have described my mood and attitude as tired, shitty, exhaused to my core, crampy, bloated, braindead, pissy, dramatic, and NOT WANTING to do anything but curl up on my couch, I’ll call that a freakin’ win even though it wasn’t.<\/p>\n Tonight – one more great night of sleep and sleeping in, and a mellow 40 on the trainer tomorrow, and then Thursday resumes normal badassery and ramping up for the half IM.<\/p>\n They can’t all be winners. \u00a0But now the eggs are all in the Kerrville basket, and the rest of these are just playtime. \u00a0So onward and upward (in amount of miles, certainly).<\/p>\n What is your worst race day (or work out day) fear?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net\/hphotos-ash3\/564047_10151041115504450_126496801_n.jpg\")
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