Pre-Worlds Prep

Wow….. the difference a few weeks brings. A month ago I was in a state of panic, depression, worry, fear, the list goes on. I couldn’t run to save my life. Really, if aliens were landing, I would have keeled over and died of heart failure trying to run a sub- 9 minute mile. I don’t yet have an explanation for why my running when from reasonable to garbage for about 6 weeks. Perhaps my body was fighting a cold, fatigue, stress, or a combo but it was beginning to scare me. Any intensity or incline would jack my heart rate up to uncomfortable, not-normal levels and it would feel like my legs were bricks and someone pulled the plug, draining the energy out of my body. It is at this time I was thankful to have a good coach, Sergio Borges. “Keep going, don’t worry about the intensity, just do the workout at whatever pace feels comfortable. The speed will come back” he’d tell me… day, after day, after day. I worked on my nutrition, began to take my multies again, broke out the fish oil, tried to get a nap in on weekends, get to bed earlier and drink more water.

I raced the Solana Beach Triathlon July 25th with complete trepidation. Would I be able to run? Being that I only had 2 more training races before Worlds, I wanted to be sure to make the most of my time racing and decided that since I screwed up my transitions in Iowa, I would concentrate on them here. I also decided to make some changes to my race routine. I changed my breakfast from yoghurt, honey & granola to a Nut Natural Powerbar in an attempt to reduce the puke fest. Sounds gross, but the sprint distance is so intense you’re on the limit for an entire race, which is a fine line when it comes to food. Maybe I just didn’t need as much. And I changed little tiny details which can be a huge time saver, like racing without sunglasses (which are a pain when you need to put a Giro aero helmet on in a hurry) and attempt a flying dismount (taught by fellow bella DeeAnn). Sounds kind of pathetic I’ve need had the balls to try it racing before. Oh well, always a first!

Stacy Dietrich was also racing, but unlike me, she was running really well. So, just as expected, halfway into the run she passed me. The question was, would I get ditched, or could I at least hang? Good news, I hung and the plug didn’t give out. I finished a mere 9 seconds behind Stacy. She deserved the 2nd place finish, only 8 months after her first child. I was delighted with 3rd.
Then it happened. A week later during a Tuesday morning workout, I began to run. Well. My training mates turned to me and asked, “and what’s up with you??!?” I don’t know, but it’s about time! I wasn’t just off before, I was minutes off. Now I was on and each breath felt like it put energy in my legs. So here’s my advice, when you feel like ass, trust your coach…

Then came today, the Camp Pendleton Triathlon, and no taper per coach. I love it when marines run events. The Hardcore race series is awesome. TC, race director extraordinaire, puts on races that rock. If you ever get the chance to race at Camp Pendleton.. it’s a must do. You get to race in areas you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get near and see machinery that only exists in movies. The marines park everyone with such order that each car is exactly 4 feet from each other, straight and perfect. You don’t even have to wait for a port-a-potty. And there’s a place to wash your hands. Setting up in T1 was a reminder at how many people join the sport with it being a lesson on how-to-rack-your-bike-and-set-up-transition. The beach start was scary as usual. Large sets rolled in and the strong north current sent you scurrying 50 meters south down the beach… just so you could reach the first buoy. The good news was I didn’t drown and while it still wasn’t pretty, it could have been uglier. I imagine I finished somewhere mid pack coming out of the water. The rough sea managed to easily remove my new age, technologically advanced, waterproof, idiot proof bandage covering the wound created when I tried to unsuccessfully remove my heel on a closet door the previous Sunday. (That was Sergio’s theory on why running had improved, the sore heel meant I had to stay on my forefoot while running.) Through the sand, into T1, a quick spritz of water on the heel to remove the sand from the wound and off I went on le biciclette. It felt ok, a nice 30K out & back, but not fresh. May have been due to the 2 hr ride I took yesterday in my non-taper race format. The run however…..

Felt like wings on a prayer. I ordered a new pair of bright pink Newton racers from Trisports.com and by golly, they arrived and have been partner to happy feet. I finished the run in a pinch over 21 minutes… minutes better than I had been doing in the past. The best part, I felt like there was more in there. The finish ended on a hover craft. You know, the ones you see in movies, and this wasn’t a set, or a toy.. it was real. I ended up winning my division and snapped a with race director TC. Congrats to coach Sergio who won his division & his many athletes that placed in the top in just about every division.

So the next step is Budapest. I’m beginning to get excited….