“Never in my life did I think I would show up to a race & not compete.  Coming from a competitive gymnast background, every event is always seen as an opportunity to ‘give it your all’.  When Michelle became my triathlon coach in January, one of my concerns was not being ‘ready’ for the Nampa Indoor Triathlon on Feb. 1st.  Coach Michelle’s response was, ‘You won’t, but you will have a plan & you will gain experience.  That is what is important.’

At first, this was comforting…until I realized that my race plan looked just like my training plan – intervals of intensity & rest on the bike followed by running AND walking.  Wait?!  WHAT!?!  The plan is that I WON’T be giving it my all?  I WON’T just go for it!??  I WON’T be ‘racing’??!!  But what if I’m in last place??!!!

The week before the race I had a nice long talk with Coach Michelle about a couple of new concepts:

1. Training Races vs Goal Races

I learned that one can have different approaches to races.  In other words, all races are not created equally.  Training races are just that – training events that better prep me for my goal race.  These are races for trying out strategy, experimenting with equipment & figuring out what nutrition/hydration combinations work well.  (On that note, I learned that eating a chocolate GU on the bike is a bad idea!  I literally thought I was going to puke it up when I started the run!)  My target race, on the other hand, is my goal race…the race that all my training is focused on.  It’s the race that I really care about doing well in & so all details need to be ironed out ahead of time.

2. Following a Race Plan

I also learned that, to do my best in a race, I need to have a race plan/strategy.  And more importantly, I need to stick to that plan no matter what.  Since my goal race is longer in distance (Ironman 70.3 Boise), it becomes even more critical that I follow my race plan.  And, just like everything else, executing a race plan requires practice.  What better place to practice this than in a training race!

With this new-found perspective, I was prepared to put my race plan into action.

I went into the race mostly calm, which was a completely different feeling for me.  Normally I would be jittery & nauseous!  This time, however, I knew that I wasn’t there to exhaust myself.  I wasn’t there to ‘catch’ every person in front of me.  I could just be me & concentrate on my plan.

I felt pretty good through the swim & kept up a nice comfortable pace.  Because I wasn’t exhausted from the swim, my bike felt really strong!  I hopped off the bike & for once my legs did not feel like Jello!  Truthfully though, I will admit that it was hard watching people run past me during my walk breaks.  But I kept telling myself that I have bigger plans in the future!

I came away from the race feeling really good about myself & the progress I’ve made.  The best part was that I was barely sore the following week & was able to jump right back into training.  And don’t worry…I wasn’t last place! 😉”