Change, I'm finding, is a process rather than singular decision or action. To make meaningful progress I've had to be truly honest with myself. I've needed to examine my worst habits and characteristics in order to address them properly. I've had to listen and take criticism and advice where, in the past, I would have been dismissive and defensive. The results, though, have started to develop making me a more complete athlete and a more well-rounded person. My primary network of support - Eileen and Kat - have helped me to change the way I do business. Physically, I have transformed my body. I'm eating better, training differently, and making more time to rest. While these things have undoubtedly had an impact on my ability to train and race, it is the mental aspect of the sport (and life) that has needed the most work. Eliminating unnecessary sources of stress and pressure surrounding the sport has been a central focus of mine this year. No longer do I want to fall victim to negative self talk; no more will I be allowing myself to engage in a cycle of obsessing over things outside of my control. Of course, these things are easy to say and difficult to do especially when you've allowed them to exist for so long. Pirate Tri 2014 was my first opportunity to put into action all the things I've been working so hard to change.
In the past, the day or two leading up to a race typically consisted of me claiming to be calm and in control of my mind while quietly putting myself through hell. I'd obsess over past results of my competition with the results falling into two categories: 1. they're too talented and I no change to succeed (win); or 2. I have a clear advantage and anything other than winning is a failure and embarrassment. Clearly, this is as far from the optimal state of mind as one can get. This week, though, I did things differently. I didn't look at who was in the race. I didn't spend time combing through results. I didn't check the weather. I didn't look at the water temperature. I didn't give much thought at all to anything I couldn't control. It's not that I've lost my sense of competitiveness or focus. In fact, I'd say that both are at an all time high. Instead, I' entered the week knowing that I had a finite amour of energy to spend thinking about the race. This being the case, it made little sense to spend any amount of time or energy on things outside of my sphere of influence. If I couldn't control it, I didn't think about it. If I could control it, I identified my plan of action, set a goal, and then moved on to other things. Wasting energy obsessing over those things I'd already decided on seemed equally as detrimental as consuming myself with the uncontrollable. Focus, to me, has come to mean purposeful and productive thought. What it isn't is spending days thinking of nothing other than triathlon.
So what did this look like in practice? Well, for starters I got up and immediately did my pre-race training on Saturday. I was focused for an hour. I thought through everything that needed attention, but checked out after I reentered the house. I filled the rest of the day by going with Eileen to buy flowers and vegetables for our gardens, hanging out at Tucker's first birthday party, and - brace yourselves - watching reruns of Laguna Beach with Eileen. And it wasn't even reruns on tv - we went out of our way to pull out the DVD set. (don't judge me, it's a decent show!). What wasn't I thinking about during any of this: the race.
Race day was all about execution. Physically, I have the ability to produce the results I desire. Converting that into actual finishes is more involved. Essentially, I was looking for to achieve four things throughout the race: build through the swim. I have a tendency to burn my matches too quickly on the swim and it's not the ideal way to race. After the initial surge at the start, I wanted to slowly turn the screws on my competition as the swim progressed. The second goal was error free transitions. It's a goal at every race, but it was particularly important to me given that my next race is Challenge St. Andrews and it will be a highlight of my season. Third, I wanted to manage the hills on the challenging bike course. In the past I have struggled to climb sensibly on this course and suffered as a result. I wanted to average 4 watts/kg, but without throwing my race away while climbing. And, finally, I wanted to build into the run. Kat has forced me to rethink my approach to running and I wanted to put those lessons into action. Rather than running hard for the first half of the run and then just limping home, I wanted to run more steadily and increase the pace as I went. I knew that if I remained focused on these aspects of the race that the results would take care of themselves.
When the gun went off, I immediately made my way to the front of the field. I was not, however, driving the pace originally. I settled in with three others for the first 100 meters as I assessed the situation. Halfway to the first turn buoy I made a slight move and increased the tempo as we hit the back of the previous wave. The timing of the move was twofold. First, it fit with my goal of building through the swim and second, I knew that the guys on my feet might get lost in the shuffle of the slower swimmers from the earlier waves. The move worked as I was on my own within 10 seconds, leaving a small pack behind me. Now on the front, I made a similar adjustment as I rounded the second buoy, though this time I was forced 10 meters wide. I gave up time by doing so, but the inside line was a disaster. It was completely full of breaststrokers, backstrokers, and people swimming less than half my speed. Rather than try to navigate that minefield, I chose to swing wide as I upped the pace. With 100 meters to go in the swim, I increased the pace one last time as I tried to create even more separation prior to hitting T1. I swam a super clean leg and executed perfectly.
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| Mission One: Accomplished. |
I was in and out of transition without any issues. For once, my wetsuit came off easily (perhaps because I tore it accidentally before the race). Having a good transition - something I struggled with in a few races last year - was a huge confidence boost going into the year.
The Pirate bike course doesn't really begin until the halfway point. The climbing starts there and it's typically where big moves come. I led the way up the most difficult of the climbs and powered over the top feeling very in control - something that I haven't been able to say in the past at this point on the course. I was eventually passed on the downhill, but I didn't panic. Apparently weighing in at 137.5 pounds is only an advantage on the uphills! Even at speeds reaching 45 mph on the downhill, the new race leader - Zev - was pulling away. I was riding my race and I was confident in my ability to execute the final 2.5 miles of the bike well enough to run for the win. Zev and I have raced together in the past and I knew that if I got off the bike within 45 seconds of him that I would be fine.
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| Dismounting prior to T2. Coaching moment: Notice that I do NOT step through with my inside leg. That's a surefire way to cause problems for yourself so never do it! |
I entered the second transition about 25 seconds down to Zev. I could still see him running out of T2 when I was racking my bike. I was in and out of transition in less than 30 seconds. Again, it was a perfectly executed transition which is more than I can say about 75% of my transitions last year.
Even though I was running in second place out of transition, I knew it was important to stick to my game plan. I'd planned to build into the run and that's exactly what I needed to do. Rather than run super hard and chase down the leader in the first half mile, I was confident in my ability to reel him in more slowly. I'd make my move eventually, but it didn't need to happen in the first mile. There are no awards handed out to those who reach the mile one marker first. I was excited to race Zev. He's a good guy and a talented athlete. I was looking forward to dueling with him later in the race, but I knew that it wasn't necessary to do anything drastic in the early stages of the run.
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| Locked in and running strong |
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| On my way to the fastest run split of the day. |
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| Trying to get time gaps to the lead from Eileen |
By the first aid station I had closed the gap to about 10 seconds. Things at that point, I knew, were in my control. By the turnaround a half mile later, I had run myself onto Zev's shoulder. As I made my final approach I considered two different approaches. The first was to make a move immediately and see if he could go with me. The second was to sit on his shoulder, take a few seconds to set up a move and then make it at a more optimal spot. As we were on a slight downhill, I quickly ruled out the first option. It made no sense to move immediately when the terrain would assist Zev in staying with me. I knew I had better run legs than he did at that point in that point so I had the ability to sit and wait. For about 30 seconds I let Zev dictate the pace. It was slower than I'd been running, but that was fine with me. I knew we were clear of the field and there was no harm in taking a few deep breaths prior to making a move. Composed and ready to strike, I spotted the perfect location to surge a few meters ahead. There was a turn that was followed by a short uphill section. I thought I could cause Zev some difficulty by going on a relatively challenging portion of the course. I cut to the inside of the corner and put in 20 or 25 hard strides. As I expected, Zev followed, but I could hear his breathing rate increasing steadily. I felt like one more move would be all I needed to secure the win. Near the top of the hill we approached an aid station. I expected him to reach for a drink as he'd hit every other aid station on the course, so I surged again and skipped the station myself. The move forced him to skip the drink he'd been looking for as he tried to remain on my shoulder. The elastic snapped, though, and I went clear immediately. Not only had I gained the separation I wanted with one mile left on the run, but I'd also forced him to skip an aid station. In short course racing that's not a huge deal, but it can be a psychological blow if you're anticipating refreshment and end up without it - especially if you're already in some difficulty.
The remainder of the run I continued to build, though I didn't attempt to break any records. I had great legs, but I knew that pushing too hard could lead me to blow up late in the game and lose out on a certain win. That in mind, I kept the pace set to moderately hard. Every time I rounded a corner I would take 10 hard strides just to keep things honest (plus it's a good way to create separation from anyone chasing). The final mile flew by. I felt great and could have kept running at that pace had the course been longer.
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| Just steps from the finish. Despite the look on my face, I felt great. |
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| A mini celebration as I crossed the line. |
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| Happy with myself and my race. Something that has been a rarity in my racing career. |
I was happy after the race. Very few times in my career has that been true. And I wasn't happy only with the fact that I won - though that was certainly a bonus - but I was thrilled with everything that went into the race. I had executed my race plan perfectly and done so in a more positive and productive way than ever before. The result - both the win and the way in which it was achieved - put a smile on my face and a positive outlook for the future in my mind.
I owe thanks to a number of people. My support network his huge and I am grateful to have so many supportive people behind my efforts. First, of course, is Eileen who is with me every step of this journey. She's there for me every day during training, but is also there to keep me balanced and well-rounded. Kat, my coach and friend, is also deserving of many thanks. She's revolutionized my approach to triathlon and as a result I'm ready to take the next step in my career. And, lastly, thank you to my sponsors: Honey Stinger, Nootca, Fit Werx 2, and Rudy Project. The support these companies (and more importantly, the people behind the companies) provide helps me more than I can even express.
Tomorrow it's back to work as I make my final preparations for Challenge St. Andrews. Given the many successes I achieved this weekend, I'm more motivated than ever to put in the work, keep myself grounded, and prepare myself for a great weekend in Canada next month.
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