I jumped on the 70.3 bandwagon last August mostly in with mindset of seeing if I could "just finish." I could already swim, I cycled to improve my running and I am a runner. The race is coming to my town -- how could I pass up something where I can practice where I'll actually be competing! I spent the fall putting on what I now know are called base miles. My dad spent most of my youth telling me that prior preparation prevents poor performance and if out of earshot of my mom .. piss poor performance. You Squids out there will recognize the phrase. Come January I began a formalized training schedule complete with a Coach (@tribirdie). I decided early I did not want the pressure of having to figure out the training schedule, what I should be accomplishing and how to surmount hurdles other than the workout in front of me. What an ease to the brain! Just prior to that I was encouraged to put my name in the hat for Team Rev 3 - the amount of colour and underlying support this has added is beyond description - they are a tremendous group of people and give honour to the word team! I'm sure I'll have more to add as the weeks go by on that experience.
Swim roster |
So back to the premise... I've been in finance for over 15 years and it only just hit me last week that training for endurance events is lot like fiscal success - regular contributions to the overall objective - right down to any setbacks. Since January I have approached training with discipline and even in the moments where I think "I can run faster than this," I've stuck to the plan trusting in my coach to get me to the finish line. I got sick over President's day weekend in February and I'm still carrying a cough. For two weeks working out was a daily decision. I killed it at the end of week two and found myself bed-ridden for another weekend. At this point I'm losing my mind with worry ... the starting line date hasn't changed just because I"m sick. The hubris of inexperience ... I took with glee permission for one more day off and eased back in - smarter not harder and have been building up to this past weekend since.
Azalea Sprint Tri-Wilimington 2013 |
One decided highlight of the day is having teammates who have finished hours ahead of you hang out to yell support during transition - I think my favourite line was "drop the hammer Rachel!" :) Huge shout out to Tara Martine (http://
I think assuming anyone is interested in reading a blow-by-blow is alarming.. my biggest takeaways go back to the beginning -- putting in the incremental work leads to tremendous success, there are always setbacks and as the old adage goes you can't control what happens to you just how you respond to it. I read somewhere to practice your response to those setbacks. I need some more work there but life is full of opportunities to put that into play. As we say in the sailing community ... fair winds and following seas.
Nice guy putting on numbers asked me if I wanted a smiley face -- why not?! |
Flowers from Hubby for finishing |
Congrats on a stellar first tri! Hope we get to represent Rev3 together at a few more local NC races this year!
ReplyDeleteWould love to!!
DeleteWell done. Yep, that was me (the reformed cyclist turned triathlete who shouted "Drop the hammer!" an old cycling phrase.) Look forward to more posts and more tris to come!
ReplyDeleteIt made me smile - :)
DeleteGreat job on your first triathlon Rachel, you will continue to improve so many aspects of the event. That is the fun part, there is always something to learn and get better at...me, I'm still trying to not get sea-sick when I swim...yea that may take awhile
ReplyDeleteAs your friend I am BEYOND excited for you to have finished your first tri with such panche! You kicked butt out there girl!! As your coach, I just couldn't be prouder! Can't wait to tackle the next few months with you! Hugs!!
ReplyDeleteYou are the best!!
DeleteCongrats! Glad you had an awesome first race experience!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
DeleteWhoop whoop! Congrats!
ReplyDelete