Maybe you think I am using a strong name for a person because I didn't take first place today. Not so. Me--I just didn't have it, even though I gave it the old college try, and I was bested by a worthy competitor. I am chalking it up to still getting less than optimal amounts of sleep and a crazy workout/racing schedule that has been making it difficult for me to recover. Oh well, my choice (except for the sleep thing)!
Two weeks ago I thought I had spotted my nemesis, and I was right, but today we got to be up close and personal, racing in the same wave. I am positive she knew who I was (#2, we tri harder, right?) and she commenced scowling at me from the get-go. Geez, lady, lighten up a bit! I know I am damn competitive, but that has never stopped me from wishing my fellow competitors good luck, thanking the volunteers (today my man was Ken, who had lost his wife to MS just 2 years ago-- the race proceeds go towards MS, so it was very poignant), and doing at least one thing to make the day fun, even in the midst of a hard effort.
Today I wore a hot pink/black zebra stripe bra top and my lowest of low-cut black Desoto tri shorts. NOTE TO ANONYMOUS: YEAH I LIKE SHOWING OFF MY ABS AND YOU CAN KISS MY NEAR BUTT CRACK THAT WAS SHOWING TODAY. And I looked damn good in the outfit. So SBH is glaring at me, perhaps because of how I'm dressed (tough shit, bitch I have aged better than you--just ask all the men taking a gander), or perhaps that's her way of getting her "game on" (I may get serious looking, but I don't think I've ever scowled at a competitor), and she knows we are closely matched in speed, and we are probably both out for blood today. No smiles for her, though! I am smiling, trying to be relaxed (as relaxed as I can be at the start of a race), SO thankful that Ken is my guy, encouraging the woman I am sharing a swim lane with (who I can tell is a poor swimmer--she ended up doing some combination of pretend backstroke/treading water, but hey, she's here, right? Better than 99% of the people out there) and frankly, as is the case with every race I do, just incredibly grateful that I can DO this shit, you know?
There was no snow to shovel today. I stretched for 20' at home and got a nice pre-race massage. The pool was a bit warm for my tastes, but I should be able to swim OK today, and I did. Still not quite as hard as I would have liked, and I may have even equalled SBH (who is at least 4" taller than me and quite the swimmer, but she was breaststroking there at the end).
Nice, quick shower, change out of my swimsuit bottom (I wore a black swimsuit bottom because I don't like swimming in the tri shorts and we have TEN WHOLE MINUTES FOR COSTUME CHANGE), and on to the bikes. I know SBH and I are pretty equally matched here, as I complete the first mile first in the wave. As we bike, there's a white board where volunteers move a little bike next to your bike number each time you hit a mile, so you know who is on which bike, and me and SBH were scoping one another out. She did complete 1 of 6 miles before me, but I was first on all the rest. So we had to have finished the bike leg neck and neck in terms of mileage completed.
Get off the bike, nearly puke, change shoes (I wear trail shoes on the bikes because they are stiffer than running shoes, and since the bikes don't have clipless pedals, this allows for a bit more power transfer), and head upstairs to run. About 5 other women in my wave, including SBH are at the front of the line. My thought is they can't all be that fast--and I was right--since the entire lot took off like stuntmen who had been shot out of a cannon. I thought to most of them, "I'll see you in a few laps," and I was right. I am certain some of them were surprised to be passed by me, but hey, I think I know what I'm doing.
I didn't even look at my watch or bother with splits, as I thought I was running well enough, but when I hit 1 mile I did look and it was uh-oh, I suck today. I did manage to pick it up for the remainder, but it just wasn't good enough today. SBH may have gone 3/4 lap more than me on the day. Even once when she passed me, I said to her, "Nice run," and I meant it. What did she do? She made some waving hand gesture like "WTF are you doing talking to ME?" Oh well, I tried anyway. When someone says that to me in a race, I try and at least make a thumbs up sign to show that I heard them and I appreciate it, since I may not feel like talking. When I would pass other girls, we invariably exchanged words of encouragement like, "Nice job," "Good pace," and mutual, "Thank you's," even as we are barely able to breathe!
As competitive as I am, hey, it's called COMPETITION for a reason. The word is derived from the Latin word competere, meaning, "to strive together." If there are no other people, it ain't no competition, and I am grateful for others out there pushing for their best and also pushing me to do my best.
So when it's over (after nearly puking, so I did give it my best), I see SBH, and come on, she knows who I am. I extend a hand to congratulate her and she puts her hand out like it was some big inconvenience! I think she only did it because there were other people watching. And of course, she didn't smile. I should have said the big, "Fuck You" right then and there. But I didn't. I said to her, "Great race!" with a smile on my face, and I meant it. But seeing that woman continue to grimace, you can imagine what I was thinking. I feel sorry for her if she couldn't get a bit of good feelings from doing what she did, especially since she won!
And next, I needed to run 1:30, but I couldn't use the treadmills at the race facility, so I gathered up some takeout snacks (they had pizza and pretty good guacamole and chips, YUM!), and drove home to run at my Y. I could have run outdoors, but I just wanted to control my effort and I did NOT want to run hills, and that's all there is from my house.
I had a pretty good run, considering, and I am pretty fucking beat up right now. Tomorrow I have to put on my happy face and give 2 presentations at a conference. Too bad I won't be wearing shorts, because I love to show off my numbers! If anyone tells me I look tired, I will be more than happy to roll up my left sleeve and display the evidence!
All in all, I really can't complain about my performance--it's my own damn fault that I am stacking these nasty fucker workouts over the last 6 weeks, but thankfully only 2 more to go and then hey, a 4 hour ride sounds like a piece of cake! I mean really! So that's the beauty of what I'm doing right now--it's all about making the next stage of training as well as the Desoto American Triple T go well, although let me tell you that will be no cakewalk.
No news on the new bike yet--stay tuned, this shall be done!
Weekly Totals 03/05/2007-03/11/2007
Swim: 5735 yards (3.25 miles) in 2 hours; 16% of weekly workout time; approx. 700 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 89.06 miles in 5.08 hours; 40% of weekly workout time; approx. 2388 calories burned
Run: Approx. 26.91 miles in 4.08 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 1850 calories burned
Strength: 1.43 hours; 11% of weekly workout time; approx. 358 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 119.22 miles in 12.59 hours; approx. 5296 calories burned
Sleep: 8.14 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.6 hours.
Massage: 2 hours
Goals from Last Week:
- Finalize bike frame and component: Well, I have the parts list together...waiting on some details.
- Kick ASS at the next race on Sunday 3/11. I gave it my best, and it was only good for 2nd place, but I'm good with it.
- Kick down the coffee one more notch. DONE.
- Enjoy the fact that I'm on MAINTENANCE STRENGTH TRAINING!!!! Yeah, baby!
Increase the sleep. Did better than the week before, but still needs work. - Lose that last stupid pound of weight that is hanging around (although I suppose it could be muscle, so it's not really a concern). DONE.
- Hope that nothing weird or strange happens and nobody close to me or any wild animals die in front of me or bite me. It was a good week.
- Enjoy the heck out of my next week of life. DONE.
Goals for Next Week:
- Improve sleep to over 8 hours per night.
- Less alcohol (hey, I couldn't eat pizza without a beer after a race, could I???)
- RECOVER!
1 comment:
Nice job! I can't imagine pushing myself like that right now.
We are on the same page with road bikes, although I doubt I'll have my for TTT - bummer.
Oh yeah, I didn't get into the HH ride, but I tried for about an hour! It was easier to get into IMLP!!! I did sign up for Dairyland Dare though. I can ride the road bike there.
Post a Comment