It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish….

On the pain train......

Running into 3rd Place

It’s hard to believe it’s September and fall is right around the corner. As much as I love the summer, wearing shorts, and spending time at the beach, this summer’s weather has been brutal!! I can’t figure out if it’s hotter and more humid than past summers or if I’m just more aware of the weather because of the amount of hours I spend training and racing outdoors.

Since I focus on triathlons during the summer months, my shortest races last over an hour, with the majority of my races lasting around 2 ½ hours. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the fall and the cooler temps. Plus I can’t wait to get back on the roads again and do some 5Ks, half marathons, and a full marathon by the end of the year. And I’m REALLY looking forward to representing my favorite running store Point 2 Running Company and local race organizer Flat-Out Events for the 2016/17 season. I’ve developed a close relationship with both companies over the past two years and I’m honored to be sponsored by them and excited to (hopefully) run some fast times sporting their logos in the coming months.

But before I move on to road racing, I have one more BIG triathlon on the schedule: The Outer Banks Half Ironman, 70.3 miles of swimming, biking and running, on September 17^th. And what better way to prepare for it…look for the hilliest course you can find within driving distance, and race on it for ~3 hours in the heat and scorching sun. Yep! That’s what I did on Saturday. And boy did it test me.

Bike Course

Run Course

Immediately following the race I gave my coach a recap from start to finish - mostly negative ranting. She asked me to think about the positives before I blogged....Of course my first reaction was “Are you kidding me? There were no positives. I was miserable. I had a bad swim. Barely got through the bike course - literally almost unclipped and walked up the hills. And then had to run (more like shuffle) through a slew of women just to nab third place.”

The good, the bad, and the ugly....

The Swim:

It was a lake swim: perfect! No current, no waves, no chop. One loop...I got this. The Race Director, with mic in hand, went over the course: "Olympic Distance racers will be doing two loops on the swim". WHAT?!?!?! How did I misjudge that? It already looks 1500 meters long. It's funny how your mind can play tricks on you. I went from feeling like I was about to have a great, strong swim to absolutely dreading what was to come. Somehow in mind I felt like I had to swim twice the distance.

Wait...so you're telling me we have to swim TWO loops?!

Ok so I got out great. First 200 meters were perfect. And then it started to fall apart. I got passed by a pack of women around the second buoy. I think they put about a minute on me on the first loop and then another minute on the second loop. Thoughts...this is long. I don't want to do another loop. Why do I feel so tired. I wish I had tapered. This is going to be a really long day. At least the water is warm (it was 84 degrees). 

~7th Female out of the water

I exited the water and sprinted up the beach. Checked my Garmin. Somehow I managed to swim over a mile. Either the course was long or I did a horrible job sighting and swimming the tangents. I was already in ~7th place. Onto the bike....

I'm sorry .. but WTF. I guess I should have known the bike course was going to be challenging when I read about 'Quadzilla Hill'. The first hill was steep. I mean VERY steep. I couldn't even pedal at a reasonable cadence and I was standing up out of the saddle! The first 1.25 mile climb up and out of the park had me wondering if I'd be able to finish the race. But I got through the first challenge and was able to coast downhill and catch my breath. Unfortunately I had 23 more miles of climbs and descents. And with each climb I thought about dropping out. There was literally a point in the race where I was praying for a mechanical (i.e. flat tire), to my eternal shame. I thought about my upcoming Half Ironman and figured I just wasn't cut out for this sport. The rabbit hole of self doubt. And then something happened. Around mile 16, a female passed me and said "stay strong, we can do this." She was out of breath, exhausted, and clearly a better cyclist. But she was struggling too! It wasn't just me. I changed my mindset. I had made it that far. Everyone was in pain. I had to finish. 

"Your success demands that you continually move towards your physical and emotional limits. When you're tired and your body is screaming for mercy, you have to stay with the discomfort just a little more." 

And I did. I finished! One more challenge. A 6.2 mile run. The bad: by the time I got to transition and racked my bike, there were A LOT of bikes already racked AKA I was pretty far behind and had a lot of ground to make up. The good: once I get my sneakers on there's no stopping me ;-)

I had to run up the same 1.25 mile hill I previously rode (Quadzilla). I wanted to walk. My legs were aching. But I spotted two females and the competitor in me took over. I put my head down, pumped my arms, lifted my knees...by mile 2 I passed 3 females. Since it was an out and back run course I was able to get a good idea of what place I was in. There were two women that were completely out of reach and they looked strong. Then there were a string of runners that looked like they were struggling, some were even walking. But they had 1-2 miles on me and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to catch them in time.

It's funny....I'm conflicted. As bad as I want the finish line to be right around the corner, I'm also praying that I have more miles, more time to make up ground on the other competitors.

Freakin hilarious. Hot Mess!

Testing my limits

Never give up. With one mile to go I passed four more women and ran myself into 3rd place.

The more difficult something is, the more rewarding it is in the end!

Even he's pooped

This race taught me a lot about myself. It pushed me to my physical limits. And as difficult as it was I'm glad I did it. I'm more confident. Even through the agony and struggles, I not only finished, I placed! I love the Churchill quote "Never, never, never give up". Even now, days later, I still think about how close I was to giving up on the bike. And thank goodness I didn't! I won a bottle of wine, a wine glass, body glide (lol), but most importantly the confidence and belief that I can handle more than I realize.