***I wrote this, but then forgot to publish it. Late...but done.
After triathlon #3, I jumped into another trail race to see if I was making any progress from last year. Same race- same course- different year for the Bleau Moon Trail 10 miler night time race. Of course I was hoping to just utterly smash my result from last year.
I finished a tiny bit faster- about 4.5 minutes faster- than last year. But, I still just didn't feel great out there. I knew I had to be grateful fo be a little faster, but only 25 or so seconds per mile faster after a whole extra year postpartum just didn't seem all that great. I finished 4th OA (again), so still fighting to be up there with the contenders, but really just not even close to competing. I worked on being grateful, but did feel a bit disappointed. Why has it been exponentially harder for me to run this postpartum journey?
On to the next triathlon: Cultivation Nation.
This was a sprint triathlon that just happened to be held the weekend of Hurricane Ida. So, because it just made so much sense, I drove out of town in the middle of evacuations to race a triathlon...and then came back to the city to hunker down for a hurricane. I guess once I plan to do something, I don't deviate. I am not sure it was the smartest thing to be doing the day before a hurricane, and I definitely felt a little extra stress with my decision.
Swim: I finally got in an awesome warm up. I never get to warm up the swim, but I was ready to rock and roll this time. And then, as I left the warm up to the start line, my goggles broke in half at the nose piece.
WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE: Notified the race director, run to transition which was a fair distance away and gotten a new pair, and then started last.
WHAT I DID: I borrowed duct tape from the starting line guy's van and taped my goggles at the nosepiece and hoped they would hold.
Of course, 10 yards into the swim, my goggles broke for good and fell to the bottom of the lake. It was my first race to ever swim without goggles, and no lie, it sucked. Yes, you can swim without seeing. But you can't sight or navigate around others easily. It is stressful. I got out of the swim grumpy- I did my best, but that was not the start I wanted.
Bike: "I am going to keep up with those strong girls today. I am going to work super hard and keep it as close as possible." Nope, no I am not. 2 girls blew by me and put minutes in on me. Another one was already up the road. So while I am still working hard in training, I am just not seeing the results on the bike.
Run: I want to go fast- I have worked hard. But man, I am just not running well. The other girls are running at least 1 minute per mile faster than I am running. Within the first 1/2 mile, a girl I finished ahead of in the last race passes me with authority and I never see her again. I resign myself to telling everyone great job, and I mean it...because they look great! I probably look as terrible as I feel. And man if I try not to feel disappointed, but I know I am a better runner than this.
Cultivation Nation Run Finish
So, I finish 1st Masters and 5th OA female. I worked hard, but I didn't see the results I was hoping to see. I get ready to head home...back to the hurricane...and my car is dead. O.M.G. Not what I need. So, I meet a new friend named Chris, and we realize that we have about 100 mutual friends and can't figure out how we have never met. He was a really friendly guy, and we had an awesome time hanging out. He gives me a jump and I realize I cannot turn my car off for any reason if I want to get home. I then proceed to slam my thumb in the door and I am pretty sure I broke it as it turned immediately purple and blue (and it still is 2 months later). I call Dave, cry about my thumb, and wonder why this day has gone so sideways. I make it back in time to watch Hurricane Ida settle in. And overall, life is good- I love my family and I am so grateful I get to race.
Gorgeous sunset after Hurricane Ida left the area
But just a side note to end this post. A few weeks after this race, I found out the same guy, Chris, died in the swim portion of a triathlon. I felt so fortunate I had a chance to meet him, and so sad that such a great guy that clearly loves our sport met such a tragic fate. Life is short- be friendly to everyone you meet.
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