Mental Battles

Doesn't working on your weaknesses stink? It's so hard!! It’s much easier sticking with what you know and what you're good at. It can be quite the mental battle. 

For the past three years I spent the months of Jan-Mar prepping for a marathon. And it paid off in a HUGE way. I got my time down from 3:58:05 (9:04/mile pace) to 3:00:06 (6:53/mile pace), PR'd in each race, won back to back marathons, and my confidence level skyrocketed. But then....my heart became invested in another sport - a sport that doesn't come natural to me or feel easy. In fact, it feels more like an uphill battle. Is this why I feel so drawn to it? Because it's a challenge??

Yep. Pretty much.

And so it began...
...the focus on a different sport - triathlon. After my last race (Ironman 70.3 North Carolina in October) it was obvious that the only way I could be remotely competitive is if I became a decent cyclist. I'm not even talking about a 'great' cyclist. When you're as slow as me on the bike, a little goes a longgggg way. The difference in my bike times compared to the other women is massive (frustrating, embarrassing...you get the point).

Top 10 Women at Ironman 70.3 North Carolina. Peep the bike splits.

Lucky for me, the first half of my problem has been solved - equipment and fitting. The second part - becoming a better runner triathlete, well, I'm working on that. And let me tell you, it has not been easy! I'm going to call it "Project: Turn Sika Pro". It's pretty much a situation where you take an average person, with a full time corporate job, and some athletic background, and figure out how to turn them into a very good triathlete.

New coach, new training plan, new focus
One of the first things my coach and I decided was that I would NOT do a marathon this year. So while I'd usually be putting in 60 miles of running a week around this time of year, I'm only doing about 25. Long runs are 10-12 miles. In fact, I had to beg to do a 16-mile group run a few weeks ago. Of all the things I could beg for I never thought a 16-miler would be one of them smh. I'm also riding 4-6 days a week - this has been the hardest adjustment for me. It's not even so much the training, it's the mental side of things. The mind is so complex.

Most recent race: the Maritime 8K

Getting comfortable, being uncomfortable

I thought about naming this blog post "Coming in 4th Place Sucks" (in reference to the 8K I just did). But as I began writing I realized that it's not the place that upset me, but the speed I've lost. I think everyone wants to PR at every race they do (I think this applies to all areas in life). You want to know that you are getting faster. That all the hard work is paying off. And the best measurement for that is time. When your times aren't as fast as they were a mere 9 months ago it can feel like you're going backwards. But this is when perspective helps ;-)

Let's take my last race as an example, the Maritime 8K, where I came in 4th and only managed a 31:13 (6:16 mile/pace...ughhhh). All three women ahead of me and the one behind me were former Division I long distance collegiate runners that still race competitively and focus on ...you guessed it...the run. Now I'm not trying to make excuses but when 50% of your training is on a bike, and you are running under 30 miles a week it's super hard to just go out there and drop 5:50s. You know what I mean? Of course I couldn't see it this way at the time. In fact, after the race I had my usual phone chat with my Dad. I wondered out loud what I was doing, why I was doing this and maybe I needed a break… a long break. I believe I said something to the effect of “maybe I should be doing something else with my life”.

Dad: Like what?

Me: I don’t know? Get married and have babies.

Dad: You have the rest of your life to be miserable. Chase your dreams first.
Me: no words, just lots of laughing and promises that I would not share this convo with my Mom. Oops! Mom - don’t be made at Dad ;-)

My Parents (Valentine's Day weekend)...it can't be all bad, right :-)

Back to the race..
You know what's interesting? I went through the 5-mile mark of a 10K I did a few weeks ago in nearly the same time I crossed the finish line of the 8K.

Exhibit A (10K splits to the left, 8K results to the right)

I think this shows that I have fitness, just lacking the speed (10K splits: 6:05, 6:11, 6:36 - OMG the headwind, 6:12, 6:04). I felt like if I slowed down a touch I could have kept running and running and running at a steady pace. As my friend Crystal said “You’re too much of an endurance athlete for an 8K. In order to run an 8K at your true potential you’d need to ditch the multiple hour bike rides and get on the track”. Touché! Plus, this is what really matters...

Here is a look at my bike power this year versus last year (courtesy of TrainerRoad). As you can see my power (y-axis) has improved a lot over every time interval (x-axis) this year versus last. I still have a long way to go, but this is positive feedback that I'm at least heading in the right direction. Keeping hope alive!!

Saving the best part for last
Even though it was super strange not racing the 4th Annual One City Marathon (I did it the first 3 years), it was pretty sweet not having to deal with the pre-race anxiety and post marathon body aches! After I finished the 8K I got to sit around in the VIP tent and track my friend Ali (we've known each other since we were kids) who came in from New Jersey to race and try to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials. Of course I sat there nervously refreshing the athlete tracker every 5 seconds to see where she was at and if she was on pace. Just a bit of background on her, she was coming in with a 2:45 marathon PR. But a string of unfortunate events (passing of coach Tom Fleming, stress fracture, etc) kept her out of the marathon for awhile. I knew when she went through the half in 1:18 that she was going to win, PR, and qualify for the Olympic Trials. So I made my way up to the finish line, stared and waited. Then this happened...

Now two Montclair, NJ girls have won this race (hers was way better though) ;-)

She's so tough. She went nearly 5 minutes under the Olympic Trials standard. She could have practically jogged the last few miles and still qualified. Instead she pushed so hard that immediately after crossing the finish line (and giving me a hug) she puked all over the place. Then looked up at me and politely asked for some water. It was epic hahaha.

CONGRATS ALI!! So proud of you.

 

Up Next
3 weeks until I kick off my triathlon season. Why I thought a hilly, hot half ironman was a great way to start off the season I will never know. I do, however, think it will be a great prep race for Ironman 70.3 Eagleman in June. It will also be a good race to test my fitness and see where I'm at and what I need to work on.

I'll be reporting back in 3 weeks....

No Accomplishment Is Too Small

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~C.S. Lewis

(Speaking at Florida International University)

This is the longest I’ve gone without blogging in quite some time. Writer’s block? I believe my exact words to my Dad were “I feel uninspired. I haven’t accomplished anything worth writing about recently.” I think because I’ve become more engrossed in the sports world and seeing the extraordinary athletic accomplishments of others I’ve begun to belittle my own. I often tell friends not to compare their race times and training volume to others. And that they should be proud of THEIR OWN accomplishments. I should take my own advice! I’ve won the last three races I’ve entered – a half marathon, a 5K, and a 10K… they were only local races (again with the belittling) but I worked hard for those wins and I shouldn't take them for granted. I have a new coach (poor Jonny), a completely different training plan (very little running, mostly bike workouts), and a new focus (no marathons for me this year… focusing 100% on triathlon). 

Using local races for speed work.

Not only that, I was given the incredible opportunity to be a Keynote Speaker at the 2018 ERSL Conference hosted by Florida International University. Public speaking scares me to no end, however, when you are asked to speak to young minority students (from HBCUs around the country) about diversity and inclusion in sports, chasing dreams, and making connections matter....no brainer. Of course my answer was yes.

With Andrea Snead and Candice Douglas

The Speech

As usual I wanted to go hide in a closet before I got on stage. For real. So I knew I had to do an ice breaker to engage the audience keep from puking, fainting, all of the above. I began with a series of questions. Complete silence to the first question. Broke out my secret weapon, Amazon gift cards, and hands started going up ;-) Gotta give those kids credit though. They were pretty close to getting most of the answers correct - 75% of African Americans can't swim, there are only 0.5% of African Americans in triathlon (the winner guessed 2%), only 1 Pro African American Triathlete EVER.

The three topics were pretty easy to talk about since each are equally important to me...

Diversity and Inclusion

This picture doesn't look very "diverse", but organizations like BTA encourage minorities to participate in triathlons.

Chasing Dreams

I ended my 2017 season with a big half ironman PR (4:49...the bike is still a work in progress but that 1:31 half marathon at the end helped A TON)

Making Connections Matter

My "adopted Dad" Dan...can't you see the resemblance

My litmus test for how well I've done is always to ask if anyone has questions after I'm done with my "speech". Ok hands are up ... all over the room...yay I did good. They asked a lot of thought provoking questions. Everything from how to balance a full time job with training/racing (keeps me sane), how I motivate myself to workout daily (it ain't easy), and goals (being a positive role model, a good human being, and getting super fast!), to hair maintenance (go natural, no chemical relaxers) and diet (I like to cook).

Thank you FIU for hosting me, NIRSA (and Christina Reddick) for chosing me as your speaker, and All Sports International for sponsoring my travel. Oh and thank you to all the students in the audience who listened and were engaged. I figured everyone would pull out there cells and text or go on Instagram. Nope! There is hope for mankind.

Now onto my sports life....

Lots of changes! After my last big race of the year (Ironman 70.3 North Carolina) I decided to make a coaching change. Not that anything was wrong with my last coach. She was absolutely wonderful. I have nothing but love and gratitude for her. When we started working together in 2016 I had never even done a half ironman. By 2017 I qualified and raced at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, won the Tidewater Triathlon, ran a 3:00:06 marathon, and placed 9th (woman) at Ironman 70.3 North Carolina. She definitely laid the foundation for where I'm at athletically now. Thank you Suzanne <3

Memories (video cred to Preston Thomas). I love how you can hear my Dad and I's convo in the background. Dad: Did you do it? (asking if I hit my goal of going under 5 hours) Me: 4:49 Dad: Yeahhhhhhhhhh

Being someone who thrives off of routine and doesn't like change, switching coaches was NOT an easy decision. It was actually quite stressful - leaving someone who helped me make a lot of progress in a short span of time, without a single injury, not to mention the comfort and familiarity of speaking to the same person regularly. But sometimes you want to try something new and make a change. So after interviewing a ton of coaches I officially made a change in November. We established a few things right off the bat: I'd take some down time to recover, I wouldn't race a marathon in 2018, if I did a road race it would be used as a speed workout, and we would really focus on my weakness (the bike).

After taking a few weeks off (getting lazy, 'fat', and slow) I did the Virginia Running Festival Half Marathon. I had simple instructions: run around 1:30 and negative split (run the second half faster than the first). Lucky for me all the speed demons raced at the Richmond Half Marathon AND there was a 1:30 pace group. I honestly thought I'd run around 1:40, but after a few miles I felt comfortable and joined in on the conversation with the little group I was running with. Around mile 9 I made a move and went out on my own. I ran myself into first place (for the women) with 5K to go and tried to work on closing hard. It felt like a....... 19 minute 5K! It was not haha. I crossed the finish line in 1:28:XX (I can't find the results). Nothing extraordinary. No PR. I just did as my coach instructed. Splits: First 5K: 21:15, Second 5K: 21:15, Third 5K: 20:50, Last 5K: 20:15

I won :-)

After the race I began gradually adapting to a new training plan. It was definitely an adjustment. It still is! I miss the frequency of running. I miss the mileage. I don't like getting up at 4:30 am for Master's swim practice, I don't like VO2 max sessions on the bike or trying to hold 200 watts. I miss the speed I once had in running. But I love seeing the small improvements week after week in other areas where I was lacking. I trust the process and I can't wait to see where it gets me this year.

Putting TrainerRoad to good use this year and paying closer attention to my power output. 

Speaking of missing speed...
I did a 5K last month. I was worried about not breaking 20 minutes. Honestly. I was dreading it. My coach loaded my hardest workouts at the front half of the week, then it was 2 easy days. The 5K was meant to be a hard tempo run. Talk about painful. The first 2 miles weren't so bad and then it was like..."please just make this sh*t end." Am I the only one that finds 5Ks particularly painful?? Over the last mile I was promising God that I'd stop cursing if he got me across the finish line sooner. I crossed the finish line in 18:55. Better than I thought but wayyyyyyy slower than last year. I was super bummed.

Tucking in with the men (1st female across the finish line). Weather conditions were miserable.

Of course I texted my coach right away....What have YOU done to ME? I'm way slower. Coach's feedback: I'm slowly putting the pressure on you with more and more riding and intervals and pushing you. In the last 10 days you rode 6 times. So I knew you were going into this 5K in less than optimal condition to post a fast time. But I also think you're doing the best thing for your future in triathlon. Good point Coach! I'll shut up.

Ugly pain face

After another solid month of training I had one more race speed session, a 10K. That entire week I absolutely killed it on the bike. My watts were higher than they had ever been. I was getting through workouts that I didn't think were possible. I was pumped. And then I remembered I had a 10K and so did my coach. Oh I feel so bad for you. That race is going to hurt. Are coaches supposed to say stuff like that?!? haha Hey, at least he was honest.

It was actually a very interesting race. I ran the first two miles with a group of girls and then I had one locked on my heels through mile three. She was breathing down my neck...actually more like my back because I'm so friggin tall. I was so tired. I figured she'd hang on and sprint by me at the end. Usually I have good finishing speed but I knew it wasn't in me that day because of all the biking I had done during the week. I decided to make a move at mile 4 into a strong head wind. It worked. By mile 5 I was on my own and by 6 the gap grew by ~40 seconds.

Not an easy course. 5 out and backs.

My splits

As you can see I got slower and slower...and slower blah

 Before, During, The Aftermath

Grateful for another win

My run isn't where it was last year. I'm not as quick and I can't run as far. But my coach made a good point. When it comes to triathlon who cares if you are 2 minutes slower on the run if you can bike 10 minutes faster.

Next up
For the first time I won't be doing the One City Marathon next weekend. Instead I'll be doing the 8K and trying my hardest to get in the top 3 so I can win some money! And then....drumroll (because everyone cares sarcasm)...I start my triathlon season April 8th at Ironman 70.3 Florida. This will be my first time doing a triathlon this early in the year. It's not an A race or anything. But it will be a good time to kick things off and test my fitness as I build towards Ironman 70.3 Eagleman in June (my focus).

And now that I've brought up my first race, I don't have a clue what I'll be racing in this year. I'm a "free agent". You might see me in a bathing suit! However, I'm excited to announce that I'll be partnering with FinisherPix this year as they capture images of me at various races this season.

Look familiar?

USA Triathlon Magazine...thank you FinisherPix for capturing this moment.

Good luck to everyone doing the One City Marathon next weekend! May your journey to the finish line feel like this...

My best win to date.