Big Finale: Race 4 of 5 - Labor Day Triathlon

After finishing third at Bonney Lake, a spot that was a few steps further down the podium than I preferred, I just needed a big hug, priceless  :)

*Fleet Feet asked if they could post this on their Facebook, sure why not?

This is a unique post, there are things about elite athletes (which I am not, ha ha) that most people don't get to be privy to. This race report is more about the mental challenges I faced before the race, than the actual race itself.  I have said before that if you put yourself in a position to win good things will happen.  The challenge of getting to that position is the hard part.

There is a fine line between pushing yourself to your limits, and pushing yourself into a downward spiral of exhaustion.   For me the signs of overtraining usually show up first in my mental attitude. I was definitely getting worn thin from the amount of racing and hard training I was doing. My body is well trained and it is hard to take it to the exhaustive level that I need for super-compensation.  I need to get to this level of fatigue to breakthrough, but it was tough to push my body and mind to get to this level.  Going into this triathlon I knew I was right there, I just needed to push this last bit.

*It's not a crime to have a sweet kit, lime green!

I felt very anxious right before this race and felt myself starting to build up with anxiety about 2 hours before the race.  My body and mind were tired, I failed to defend my title at Bonney Lake, and I was alone and a long way from home.  I have an eccentric, high-energy personality so I'm not a stranger to anxiety. This was high anxiety though, I could feel that I was getting wound up pretty tightly with anxiety.  Then two great things happened.

The first was Jodi called me.  I told her how I was feeling and she talked with me for a little while saying that she supported me and she knew I would do great.  I instantly felt better as soon as she called.  The second thing that happened was I saw my friend, Will, and his wife, Marie.  In a span of 15 minutes my anxiety was gone.  I was no longer apprehensive about being alone (because I wasn't) and I was ready rip.

*So glad my friend, Will, showed up.

My challenges were before the race, once the race started I went into race-machine mode and started grinding my quickly tiring body and mind.  It was a great feeling to know I had the tenacity to say "I am going to get through this."  It very much helped to know I had some very special people thinking of me.  Will and Marie provided some great cheers and pictures (I am so thankful Marie was generous enough to be my photographer) to keep me going, and keep me pushing.

*It's go time

*Headed to transition one

I said this race report was different, and the majority of my challenge was in the night and hours before the race, so I will try and keep the race report short.  Once I got started I took off in the swim and had a good gap to the strong riders in chase.

I rode hard, but steady on the bike and held the gaps to the chase group.  I hit transition number two with a great opportunity to see what I was made of.  I pride myself on "doing the things that other people don't want to do," this was the time to do those things. 

My tired legs held strong to the run turnaround, but it wasn't pretty.  My legs were tired from the races and training I had completed the two weeks leading up to this moment, but I stayed somewhat smooth.  I took  a few seconds at the turnaround to bend over and stretch my tiring legs.  On the way back I was able to cheer on some of the chasers, cheer on Will (it was great to see him on the course, he darn near won the mid distance tri only getting passed in the final mile), and soak in my accomplishment of simply being a hard, tough individual at this race.

*Sick kit!

*Just keep pushing

I kept it together until the finish line.  After all the anxiety pre race, I was able to convince myself to "just stay here, and keep pushing." I cruised across the line winning and lowering my course record by over  minute.  Last year I felt indestructible, this year I felt anything but, yet I still went faster, so who knows.

*Plodding along :)

A very big thank you to Jodi for calling me at the perfect moment. Thank you to Will and Marie for cheering me on and taking pictures, and to my friends and family for their unwavering support.  This was a challenge that was won before the race even started.  "You can learn a lot about life from sports."

*The bike accents matched the kit accents, that's skill.

I am one tired boy, after a few days of rest my body and mind will recover and be stronger after facing this mental and physical challenge. This was part of "the plan" in building up to the final race stretch.  This is was dreams are made of.