I’ve been putting this post off much longer than I should mostly because I felt I needed a few days to get into a more positive mindset before writing. I’m not sure it worked…
Collegiate Nationals. Where to begin?
I’ve already written about the conditions leading up to the race: flood warnings, standing water on the course, cold, wind, etc.
Luckily, it stopped raining the night before the race. For the most part, the water receded off the course. However, it was still cold, with highs in the low 50’s and windy (30 mph winds) the morning of the race.
USAT announced that the swim course would be shortened to 500m due to cold air temps, which is probably the best thing that could have happened to me short of the entire race being canceled. I haven’t made it to the pool much this semester and was concerned about finishing a 1500m swim in below 60 degree water.
Swim: I was in the 6th swim wave, going off at 9:25. I was expecting to be one of the slower swimmers in the race so I started towards the back of the group. This was definitely a mistake as I spent the majority of the very short swim trying to swim around a bunch of girls floundering around in the water. It was impossible to get into any sort of rhythm.
T1: I was cold and disoriented by the time I made it to the swim finish. Thank goodness there were volunteers to pull me out of the water. I struggled with my wetsuit; definitely something I’m going to have to re-practice before my next race. I was shivering by the time I got to my spot; I struggled to put on a windbreaker and long fingered gloves. I don’t fare well in cold weather and I knew it would be worth the time to put on a few extra layers. There is a hill immediately outside of transition so no flying mount for this race either. My T1 time was 3:03 – almost long enough to take a power nap!
Bike: This is my strongest event and where I should have put the most time on my competitors. However, 30 mph crosswinds when you weight 115 pounds make maintaining aero position on the bike nearly impossible. The bike portion was not only a struggle to go forward, but also to stay upright. Exhausting and disheartening. My bike split was 1:25:17, the slowest of my career (1:03:00 is my PR).
T2: Despite being cold and disoriented, I managed a flying dismount. Running to my spot, I could tell I didn’t have any feeling in my feet or toes. I stripped off the wind jacket, slipped on my Brooks Launches, strapped on my race belt and was off.
Run: I felt okay for the first mile of the run, until we had to run through a puddle of ankle deep water that covered the entire run course. At that point, wet shoes and clothes combined with cold air really took their toll. I was also pretty psychologically shot by this point as well. It was all I could do to keep going and not walk. I tried to use my usual trick of telling myself that I’d forget the pain after the race but even then I knew that this was one time that the suffering wouldn’t be wiped out by the joy of finishing. As if things weren’t bad enough, the run course was almost 1/2 mile long. Nothing like prolonging the suffering!
This is part of the puddle we had to run through during the race:
I crossed the finish line and was immediately hit with how cold my body temperature was. I started shivering so badly I couldn’t walk. One of the volunteers was nice enough to escort me to the medical tent. There I was layered with warm blankets and my leg muscles were rubbed down in an effort to warm me up. It took nearly 30 minutes in front of a heat fan before my teeth stopped chattering.
I ended up finishing in the top 1/3 of female competitors. 24th female in the grad division. Two of my teammates, Summer and Kelley Hess had very strong performances and we managed to place 9th in the team competition. Most of the teams in front of us were either military, had no true winter to contend with, or were located at altitude.
The male and female winners of the race were both professional triathletes. This is something unique about triathlons and cycling. Having a pro license doesn’t exclude you from competing for amateur titles!
I don’t think I’ll recover psychologically from this race until I do another triathlon. I really have a lot to prove to myself right now and I need to regain a lot of confidence that I lost this weekend. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to compete again.
I have a lot of really big things coming up in the next few weeks: Collegiate Cycling Regionals, Collegiate Cycling Nationals, my 25th birthday (Friday!) and of course my last block of my first year of medical school exams. I can’t wait for summer!
Sean in DC says
Hey “Running Blonde,”
STOP THAT CRAZY TALK! I don’t want to waste anyone’s time reminding you about the extraordinary conditions you competed in b/c deep down I’m sure you realize how big a role that played in your results.
You are a phenomenal athlete who has not only grown accustomed to, but expects to perform at a certain, albeit very high level. Every experience you have in the pool, on the bike and in your running shoes serves as a stepping stone in your progression, both mentally and physically. Forget telling yourself that you will forget the pain after the race. You can now say to yourself that if you were able to persevere through 30 mph winds, low 50-degree temps and ankle deep water that THIS should be nothing.
I want to leave you with a quote from Michael Jordan that encapsulate the way he approaches his idea of “failure”…
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
RunningBlonde says
Hey Sean – Thanks so much for the kind words…and the perspective!