Race Report Catch up! Crawfishman May 2021

Race day- Crawfishman 2021- hanging out with Keith post race.

I last left off in the spring.  My new bike had been assembled.  I raced one duathlon and did decently enough that I thought I could jump into a triathlon.  It was time to rip the 5-years-off, crusty bandaid.  

I analyzed the 6 weeks leading up to Crawfishman Triathlon just to give you an idea of where I was.   My averages for the highest 6 weeks of training right before the race were:

.6 swims a week (not even 1 full swim a week!)

40 miles per week avg bike (lowest 18 miles per week and highest 54 miles per week)

18.6 miles per week avg run (lowest 3 miles per week and highest 29 miles per week)

Needless to say, I was NOT race ready.  Some of this was just that I didn't have the resources such as the pool being closed for months and months.  Other things played into this like being off of the bike for 2 years.  I just couldn't jump in and do workouts.  I had to just do some weeks of spinning for an hour, especially since after all of the time off I returned to find myself on a new bike...without a fitting!  I just had to make do.  But also, it was just that between having a baby and Covid and all of the years of not racing, I just didn't have a system in place that fostered consistency with training.  I was the mom that made sure everyone got what they needed, even if it meant I didn't get to work out that day.  

My new trisuit barely fit me.  My old trisuit didn't even fit up over my hips.  And come race day?  My wetsuit didn't really fit me either.  I just continued to view the race as an opportunity to see the following:

1.  Did I still love racing triathlon?  Did I want to be out there?

2.  What equipment did I need to replace or acquire?

3.  Where was I truly fitness-wise?

When it comes to racing, there are two ways you can look at the challenge in front of you:  

-  what do I stand to gain? 

-what do I stand to lose?

The best mindset is always what do I stand to gain.  In this case, even though I knew by reviewing my 6 weeks of training I was not ready to race, I knew I could gain a little fire for racing and some knowledge to just help me get set back up going forward.  

Race day!

Swim:   21st female.  I barely got my wetsuit on over me, but I really enjoyed being back in the water.  I have always loved swimming, even if I am not the fastest swimmer.  This was pretty non-eventful, with the exception that I could not get my wetsuit off in transition.  My time is easily a minute slower than everyone else's T1, simply because I had to sit down and really, really work to get the wetsuit off.  My postpartum body just didn't fit in it anymore.  Oops. 

Bike:  8th female.  So, I moved up a few spots.  It showed some promise that the new bike may work for me and that I still know how to mechanically do my best on the bike.  I do remember feeling really weak out there.  I wanted to push and roll those smooth pedal strokes I used to have, but it just wasn't available. And then at the end of the bike, I had a sincere thought that I probably over-biked given my fitness.

Run:  15th female.  Well, I probably did over-bike.  I also probably just have a lot more work to do in the run.  I literally could not go faster than a 9-10 minute mile for the first mile.  I was like sludge.  I got my last mile down to 7:45, but everything before that was really slow.  I think I averaged over 8:30s for the 4 miles.  It was humbling.  

There were some really terrible pictures of me at the finish line.  It isn't the photographers fault that I was still overweight!  This is the only one I wasn't embarrassed to publish.  The others I texted to my friends with an OMG, I can't believe this is me.  But, it was, and that is also just a part of the beginning of a journey.  :)

Finish:  3rd AG.  Solidly beaten by many women ahead of me.  Not satisfied with my placing, but absolutely happy to be back out there.  I felt the fire back in me to return to racing triathlon, and I felt ready to train again.  I also had a baseline for the start of the season.  

The other interesting part of the day for me was knowing NO ONE!  I had a total of 3 friends a this whole, big race.  Cynthia, pictured above, was one of them.  It really helped me to realize how long I had been out of the sport and how important engaging in this new community would be for me going forward.  

What I took away from this race:

1.  I needed to get fit on my bike-  I needed to start riding consistently, doing workouts, and up my miles.  I also needed a bike fit.  As well, I needed a way to drink on the bike, which was something I neglected to address prior to this race and just had to use the down tube bottle cage.

2.  I needed to join a Master's group, if I could.  Even if it was just 1 x week.  

3.  I needed to try on all of my outfits prior to racing the next race.  As well, I needed to make sure I used Pam spray or something like that if I had to squeeze into the wetsuit again.  

Onward I went~ 

D