After a disappointing end to my triathlon season in mid-September, I
decided to take some time off. I usually have a hard time being inactive, but this
time it was easy. I was mentally drained, physically exhausted and I had a busy
two weeks of traveling planned: Kansas City for work and an amazing trip to the
Bahamas with my family the week after.
During this time, I was able to reflect on the season as a whole. After
sulking and feeling sorry for myself initially, I compared last year’s results
to this year’s. And you know what? I improved by leaps and bounds. It’s so easy to get caught up on one bad
race. Last year I never made it on the podium. Not even an age group award.
This year I qualified for the US Triathlon National Championships (I opted to
do another race instead…expenses made the ultimate decision). I also placed in every race I competed in, including a 2nd place overall finish at the Queen of the Crest Tri at the Jersey Shore and a surprising 4th place finish at Quantico. And I had the fastest female run split in the last four triathlons I did {including a 19:37 5K at the end of a sprint tri in
Hampton}.
I’m not saying all this to brag….I have a longggg way to go before I
earn bragging rights. But it paints a much larger picture. It shows how far you
can come in a year with focus, motivation and consistent training. So although
my last race pretty much sucked and I nearly dropped out a hundred times, I’m
proud of the season I had. All the hours spent in the pool (staring at that
black line), the countless brick (bike-run) workouts … they were all worth it!
Note to self – always look at the bigger picture.
With the season behind me, I recently started focusing on road racing again.
I hadn’t done a road race since April! In
the past I would usually do a few 5ks/10ks and a half marathon during the
summer. I was much more of a “running is my priority, swimming and biking is secondary”
kind of athlete. This year (after the marathon) I decided to focus solely on
triathlons: cut back run mileage and spend more time in the pool and on the
bike. Since I mostly focus on Sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, there’s
no need for me to do super long runs. In fact, I think my longest run this
summer was around 10 miles…that’s probably about all I could’ve handled with
the heat/humidity anyway.
There were days when training felt unbearable!
With a half marathon (13.1 miles) on the schedule for October 18th,
I had to kick my butt into gear. Last week (a few days before the race) I was
extremely nervous; more nervous than usual. For once, I felt completely
under trained. I worried that if I went out too fast I might end up walking, or
worse, not finish. I decided to put a plan in place and adjust my expectations
to something reasonable.
A look back at last year
I trained hard for this race and broke the 1 hour 30 minute mark for
the first time.
Went out at 6 min 52 sec per mile pace and held it for 13.1 miles.
9th woman.
This year I decided to go out with the 1:35 pace group (7:15 mile pace) for the first two miles and then get faster with each mile. {I would have been okay with a 1:30:xx and ecstatic with a time faster than last year (1:29:56)}
Splits
mile 1 7:17.... "slow down. don't go out too fast." ~my thoughts
mile 2 6:58
mile 3 6:55 ... I think I was in 8th (for women) at this point in the race
mile 4 6:47
mile 5 6:33 ....I felt good so I decided to pick up the pace and pass a few women
mile 6 6:44
mile 7 6:36 ....Spotted the 5th female (with a group of men). Decided to catch up and run with them
mile 8 6:40
mile 9 6:46....At this point in the race I was completely satisfied with 5th and what looked to be a sub 1:30 half marathon
mile 10 6:37....But I still felt great so I decided to run the last 5k as hard as I could.
mile 11 6:46....and then there was a hill and a direct head wind :( I began to hurt...really bad.
mile 12 6:40.....I spotted the 4th place woman (and another hill). I put my head down and went for it.
mile 13 6:20.....My last mile happened to be my fastest mile.
This Year
Over a minute faster than last year.
4th woman.
I was ecstatic with my time and place. I feel like with proper preparation I can go a lot faster. Next up... a 5k on Halloween and then another half marathon in November.
Daily Press (local newspaper) Article on the race :)
