There a was an eerie amount of familiarity in the air. Driving over the beautiful Melbourne causeway, entering transition to a friendly voice on a megaphone, getting thrashed by the rougher oceanic waves that feed the river that hosted the swim course. However, this race was much different than the one I did 2 years ago.
Two years ago, this race was my first of the Olympic distance, and my 3rd triathlon ever. I wore a sports bra and spandex, rode my Trek 1000 road bike, and entered transition as a ball of nerves. I doubted that I would even complete the race. But I did, with a decent time, I might add. I crossed the finish line thinking that it was the hardest thing I had ever done. This time, I woke up race morning as the TriGator president, unloaded my Speed Concept from my car, and sported my Kiwami tri-suit. I've lost count of how many triathlons I've raced, and an Olympic distance race is routine. But that doesn't mean that I wasn't a ball of nerves. I have a feeling that no matter how long I race, I will always have those pre-race butterflies. There's nothing wrong with a little case of the wiggles when you're about to lay it all on the line.
The air was humid but tolerable from the large volume of rain the area received the night before. I chatted with the other college triathletes after I set up my transition area, which I can practically do on cruise control now. I love the atmosphere of the FCTC races; all of the teams know each other ans support each other (nowhere near the hostility displayed on the football field). I'm always in awe of the camaraderie of college triathlon. We made our way down to the water for the start, and after doing 2 Gator cheers (we just had to, we had beaten LSU in football the day before)it was time to press our watch buttons and dive into the water.
The water was rough, just as I had remembered. I found myself Tarzan swimming over waves in order to get a glimpse of the buoys. Swimming the course correctly is always an issue for me. I know so because while my pool times have improved, my triathlon times have not. Open water swimming is just one of those things you have to practice; unfortunately it isn't easy to do so. Swimming is still a huge source of frustration for me. I've gone as far as blaming my body type for my poor swimming--which I'll admit is stooping pretty low. Work in=results out, in everything.
After cursing under my breath and taking a very ugly run-in-to-T1 picture (thank you, race photographers for catching me in my element) I hopped on my bike and gutted out a decent bike split. I went by some volunteers with a radio at one point, and one of my favorite songs (Paradise, by Coldplay) was playing. I instantly started singing and pounding my pedals a little harder. It really pumped me up!
The run is what I'm most ashamed of in this race. I'm aware that I'm not in very good run shape, but at the same time I had a stretch where I felt pretty darn good (mile 2-4), and then there was the bridge. The course had up run up an enormous bridge, run a quarter mile after descending, and then turning right back around and up the bridge again. What torture. It is here that I started to hurt. Some poor hydration on the bike led to the debilitating ab cramps that I'm famous for. I stood doubled over on the top of the bridge, grimacing in pain. I knew there was only a mile left, but it was so hard to even get my body upright so that I could run. I ran for a while with almost a 90 degree bend at my hips; I was doing anything to keep moving. As the finish line came in view, I was able to hold up for a bit so that I could look decent in front of the crowds of people towards the finish (a shallow thought, I know). I finished with a Gator chomp and a fist pump.
Overall, I'm not incredibly happy with this race. It has nothing to do with the splits, place, or race difficulty. I hated how I felt. I know I'm undertrained, and I definitely feel it. My legs felt heavy, I was breathing hard, and I felt like I was merely surviving, not racing. I was spoiled with a really good spring season, where I was able to split off a 10K as if I hadn't ridden my bike 25 mile prior. I want that back. Really bad. My competitiveness is gone. I've decided it's a negative part of my personality that I was to rid myself of. I just want the feeling back. Place doesn't matter, and neither does time. I just want to feel like Kacy again, running as if I was floating. I'll get there, I just have to be patient.
No comments:
Post a Comment