practice makes perfect

me at last years finish line

Count down to race day....Yesterday I had my last track/swim Tuesday, and this past weekend I did a timed run through at the beach with the team. This is where we set up all our stuff and go through the entire race start to finish without stopping. Boy was it different. Normally after each leg during practice, I change clothes, drink some water, eat a Gu (slimy sugary stuff that has all kinds of highly technical athletic nutrition and such) and then head off to the next leg. Here's how it went:

Day before I made the mistake of drinking what I fondly refer to as; crack coffee, which is a Starbucks pre-made iced coffee mixture you make at home. I was staring at the clock every hour on the hour the entire night before the run though.

Day of the run through, miraculously I felt fine. I got to the beach set up my gear on the bike rack with everyone else and we got to it. There were about thirty or so team mates there. So the race start was actually pretty similar to an actual race start where you feel like you are swimming upstream with salmon, bumping into each other while getting out past the waves.

My swim went great. Sixteen minutes again. It was very different though getting out past the waves, not resting and waiting like we normally do. It was game on from the second we hit that water, no looking back. I ran all the way up the beach to the transition area and ripped off my wetsuit when we hit the beach again. I was focused and had no issues getting going.

My bike also went well. I kept my strong lead and rode neck and neck with one of the more advanced women on the team that I admire, and felt great about my ride. I tried to take a drink of my water and lost the bottle (which I did not report to Husband since he is on a need to know basis after he lectured me the first time I lost a bottle off my bike). Even with the fumble, I felt like I finished strong.

My run, well that's another story. I was feeling tired. Not like 'I can't do this' tired, but more like 'I'm dragging' tired. I was also very thirsty. I didn't get forty steps, let alone four miles in before I got a major side cramp. It was so bad that I had to walk. Desperate to beat my time from last year (2:12) I tried running again after thirty seconds of walking, only to double over again with the stupid cramp. There was nothing I could do but walk and watch as my great lead dwindled away while people passed me. I don't know about you, but my inner monologue persona is Lafayette from True blood. 





So each step that I took walking I heard in my head: "Hooker you better run, this is no time to walk bitch, get your ass moving!" By the time I had reached the halfway point I had been limping along trying to run for about two miles when I started crying from rage. I had been working on my run all season, my legs weren't even tired, this damn side cramp was killing me! That's when I started to hyperventilate. Tears streaming down my face and unable to breathe I realized I was gonna pass out if I didn't get control of myself. "Bitch you need to calm yourself, why you cryin? This ain't rocket science get a hold of your damn self before you pass the fuck out".... and so with those wise Lafayette words verbally bitch slapping me, I took deep breathes while walking until I was able to run again.

I later talked to my coach and other teammates and realized I was not drinking enough water. All that rushing through my transitions eliminated any water intake time I had been doing before. I was going to have to relearn how to hydrate and get nutrition while racing. 

What I also realized was that even if my body could tackle the endurance of a triathlon, I had to stay mentally strong also. After finally conquering my ocean swim fear, I made the mistake of assuming all the mental work was over, but it's not. I have to be ready for anything, and I have to forgive myself if I can't physically do it. It was a wake up call to this Hooker for sure.