Bay St Louis Sprint Triathlon July 2021

After Crawfishman Tri, I was eager to start racing a bit again.   I was signed up for a 10 mile trail race in June, Run for the Hills, that I did in 2020.  I thought SURELY I would do better this year...after all I was an entire year further out from having a baby and must be more fit!  

And all I did was suffer out there.  I suffered the painful death of an out of shape runner, trying to get her body up and down little hills, and trying to be competitive but not really having the tools or fitness to do so.  I started off super slow (or so I thought), but even my slow wasn't slow enough.  I was just so painfully slow that I don't think it even registered for me that I needed to back down more.  It was so odd. Last year I just felt better and better as the race went on.  This year my pace was much slower and it just continued to get slower as the miles passed.  I caught what I thought was 3rd place woman around the halfway point, thinking she had gone out too fast as she had been well ahead of me early on. But know what?  She passed me back a mile later.  That has so rarely happened to me, all I could do was encourage her on and just keep suffering by myself.  I finished 4th OA female, which would start to become a theme... and never felt good the entire race.  

This was clearly before the race, when I was happy.  Post race, I was so grumpy that Dave, "Mr. I hate running," just went out there and ran like it was easy.  I was feeling all of the feelings after this race...trying to balance my gratitude with also having a pity party.

Last year Dave beat me by 5 minutes (8 months postpartum) and this time he beat me by 13 minutes (16 months postpartum.). WTF you might ask?  Me too.  

One of my athletes, Emily, ran her first race EVER in her whole life and won 3rd place in the 5 miler.  I was so stoked for her! 

So I turned my focus to the Bay St Louis Spring Triathlon a few weeks later in July and my second of the year.  

Swim (10th woman):  Beach area walk  swim, where everyone came out of the water in almost the same time because you couldn't really swim.  

Bike (4th women's bike split):  Finally- I felt like I was getting somewhere.  I saw my friend Casey up the road and found I was bridging a little bit, and at least not losing time to her.  A woman rode by me at about 60rpm just gobbling up the course, so that was notable.  (And I would later watch her fly past me every single race...oh and she can run too).  But otherwise, everything was good.  I put an aero bottle on the front of my bike, but the straw kept falling over, so I had to hold that in place most of the ride.  It was just one more thing to fix.  

Run (10th women's run):  I knew if I could catch Casey and put some time into her, I could maybe beat her as it was a time trial start.  Yay!  I love this!  I love to run!  Wait....why am I so slow.  Um, why is my pace not getting any faster?  Ummm...  My big plan to unleash my run was just not happening.  

So, you are telling me I can no longer really run?

It was hot.  I caught Casey and we were both suffering but encouraging each other.  All of the other women were just bouncing through the course.  I tried to push and put time into Casey, but within the last quarter mile, I just had a feeling it wasn't enough.   I didn't have enough and didn't have the well to go to.  In the end, she got me by 10 seconds for the overall Master's spot.  But really that didn't matter.  What did is that I was even slower than I was at the last race, and now I couldn't even run an 8:30 min mile!  I ran a 26:xx for a 5k, which was my slowest 5k ever in a triathlon.  

I don't know why I was smiling here.  I should have been trying to find 10 extra seconds of suffering.  ;). Also, this is the only picture where my skin is not sagging everywhere.

In the end, I was 1st AG 40-44 and 7th OA female.  I was disappointed in my run, but happy that my bike seemed to be coming along a bit.  

I left the race thinking I needed to:

1.  Get a bike fit since I had never been fit on my bike.  

2.  Fix the straw problem

3.  Run in some different shoes since I had massive blisters after wearing these again.

4.  Run?  What in the world is going on with it?  Is it the prolapse issues? (Yes, I still massively pee on myself all day and night, no matter what, and my stomach is stretched).   Is it keeping me from biomechanically getting distance per stride?  Is is the stretched out core?  No strength?  What is it???

On to the next race....

 

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

Spring Racing- Come and Gone! Recap.

2021 got underway quickly, whether I was ready or not!  The overall plan for this year was geared towards helping me get back to triathlon.  This was no small task it seemed, as I haven't been able to execute this plan for the 5 years prior. 

Dudley Stadler 5k:  This was a very small, local parish 5k.  Dave won the whole thing and I just felt like I had a terrible race.  I am pretty stuck at this random low 8 min pace when I race.  I can usually gut out a mid 7s last mile, but I  just struggle to get any turnover going.  This is after time on the track, strides, hill work, etc.  I think the years off and loss of muscle have just really hurt my overall speed and pace.  

Los Islenos 5 miler: Same kind of thing going on...incredibly small race with only a small handful of people really racing in the field.  I felt the same way....  just couldn't get myself faster than an 8 minute pace going out, but then found a way to push it to a slightly faster speed  coming back in but still just hanging around the same overall pace.  I executed great racing tactics, nice tangents, when to pass and drop people, etc.  This was actually the first race I ever did where I was racing a guy to the finish line and he asked if we could tie.  I didn't even know how to respond!  I said sure, because what was I supposed to say?  Aren't we supposed to race to the finish line?  I felt great and was ready to race him in!  Well, whatever, I let us tie.  The results never got posted anyway.  

Pelican Man Duathlon:  First time racing my bike in 5 years.  I kept it conservative on the first run.  (But honestly, how fast am I right now running anyway?  Not very.).  I let the 2 women in front of me get about 10-20 seconds on me, but then I passed them with my apparently still good T1 execution.  Within the first mile, one woman passed me back on the bike.  I had my first bike mechanical of the year and could not get my bike to shift.  It went into the small chain ring and then I never got it back out.  GREATTTTTT...  Nothing like mechanical stress to welcome me back.  So, small chain ring ride it was.  I kept fiddling with the barrel adjuster thinking I could move the derailleur to get it to shift, but at some point I realized I was wasting time and energy when I just needed to focus on the ride.  It was tough mentally to let it go, but also good practice.  The race was only a 10 mile bike, so it made no sense to continue to focus on the shifting.  Overall I was fine on the ride.  Not great.  Not bad.  Avg was 20.4 ish (no chip timing), which is pretty darn slow for me, but also I felt like it was probably good for where I am as an athlete now.  I came into T2 a bit behind my competitor, had a slower transition because for the first time since I was a true beginner, I didn't leave my shoes on the bike.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Yes I do.  I was thinking I am old and need to be safe because I haven't done this in a while.  Anyways, leaving shoes on the bike is still the way to go. 

The 2nd run was interesting.  I was at the same speed as my first run, which was nice.  And I just watched body language of the woman about 15 seconds in front of me, and she didn't seem as fluid as the first run.  I thought I could maybe bridge to her, and I did at about 1.25 miles.  From there, I just sat on her back until I was ready to make my move.  I dropped probably 45 seconds on that last mile, which was a good closing mile.  Mostly I remember two thoughts:  1.  I really wanted to win this for my kids, in a way I never felt before.  They never got to see me when I raced well, and I am sad that time has passed without their part in it.  I wanted to come home with a trophy.  and 2.  I just really wanted to win.  It has been so long.  But, it really hit me that the other woman wanted to win too.  Only one of us could.  

I took the win.  It was a great feeling, but honestly it was only from having a great competitor in front of me on the day that I was able to pull that out of myself. 

And you know what?  The kids could have cared less that I won, so I guess I can't use that emotion to dig deep anymore.  

Xterra Oak Mountain 20k:  This was a hard race for me.  I signed up last year and it got postponed to this year.  It was a gorgeous course in Birmingham, and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful venue.   But, on the 5.5 hour drive there with Isla, I realized that my sinus infection was actually really bad.  I was miserable.   I holed up at my in-laws home for the next day, with 40$ worth of Walgreens over the counter meds, trying to see if I could make the race happen.  I really knew not to race, but I made this huge trip and felt pretty disappointed.  Dave told me to try, and his exact words were "your legs aren't sick."  I kind of disagreed because my whole body felt sick, but whatever.  I did get out there and gave it my all, but it just felt terrible the whole time.  I am always grateful for my adventures, and certainly this had some silver linings just like all of the races do, but I probably could have and should have walked away from this one. But you never know until you know.  

So, here we are.  It is May in New Orleans.  It is hot and humid.  I have my first triathlon in 1.5 weeks.  Mostly I need the sinus infection to clear up, but also I am just a bit nervous about doing triathlon again.  I don't feel prepared.  I am not seeing any objective progress in any of the 3 sports.  So, I am working hard to find my purpose in being out there, especially if I am struggling to quantify my racing based on pace or time.  I think these are hard questions we ask ourselves as athletes if we leave a sport on one level and then return at a much lower level.  I am not sure what my ceiling of improvement is this time around.  Have I already hit it?  It is just a decline from here on out?  That reality doesn't seem too fun to me.  So, I going to have to keep an open mind when I get out there as to what this is all about for me.  

Peace out!  Hopefully a positive race report to come in a couple of weeks.