I learned a lot in my 2nd professional race and I am still pondering over the take-home lessons.  I’m disappointed in the outcome and in hind site; there wasn’t much I could have done to avoid it.  About 21 days before the race I got sick and stayed that way, unable to train, for the next 14 days (it seemed that many people who had this cold stayed sick for an extended period of time).  So I was left with one week to prepare for the race.  I felt good enough; at least I did not feel the immediate symptoms anymore.  While trying to maintain a positive attitude, there just wasn’t that extra zip you would expect a week before a big race.

It was still amazing and an outstanding experience.  I was racing alongside the best triathletes in the world and although they made me feel slow…I’ll have better days and be more competitive down the road.

We lined up for the beach start and after several minutes of thinking we could go in the next 10 seconds the horn went off and I was less than aggressive getting into the water.  My first attempt at swimming was in shallow water and knocked my goggles loose in the process.  I stood up and fixed them.  Those 2 – 3 seconds allowed the whole field to get in front of me.  From there it was hard to swim through the pack and it was not until we rounded the last buoy that I got into my groove.  I passed several swimmers and noticed the lead group way ahead and out of reach.  I lead the second group in and although my T1 was quick, I was behind my group as we ran with our bikes out of the transition area.

At this point, I felt I could still have a great race, the swim was not tough and the plan was to use some saved energy on the bike.  However, the energy levels were far from what I am used to in a big race.  My legs just didn’t have the power and stamina.  It was hard to see the group of bikers pull away from me, especially as the pace was nothing fantastic.  Then for the next several miles I saw most of the racers, save the 10 leaders, pass me on the bike.  Not one of them could I keep up with.  Ooouch!  Needless to say my thought process was not the most positive at this point.  I went from competing, to trying to finish, and focused on doing my best!  

The bike was brutal for me, not because of the wind, although it added insult to injury, it was mostly a lack of having that extra zone to tap into - the power you expect on race day.  It makes you appreciate being 100 percent healthy and yearning for another race when this will be the case.

Starting the run I was peeved to notice some pain in my right hip (from a tight IT Band).  With the adreniline and excitement I did not expect to feel this in the race.  But after a couple miles of warming up, it felt OK.  And the run felt good, I thought that I might have a good 10k split, maybe even a PR which would be sub 35 minutes.  But feeling good in the run may not be the best sign as my split was slow.  It was really slow.  A 38:40 just tells me that it wasn’t my day and that the cold took more out of me than I had hoped, or possibly, did not allow me to capitalize on some important training.

Results for St Anthony Triathlon