Set and Met

Yesterday I did a little race in a little town in Oklahoma. It didn't seem so silly when I added the race to my schedule back in November, but the day before we left town, I seriously started to consider not doing the race at all. I mean, who drives six hours to do a teeny-tiny little race with less than a couple hundred people? There are plenty of races here - under a 60 minute drive!!

I still thought that the morning of the race. This is stupid. I drove all this way for a little race. RDJr. (who came along - of course) helped me put it in perspective ... "Do you love this sport? Do you really truly love this sport?" to which I answered "Yes". He then said, "well then it isn't stupid. Anything that makes you happy is not stupid."

He is so wise.

This was my "A" race and my goal was to qualify for USAT AG Nationals. I chose this race because it was a special qualifier. You can qualify at any USAT race, but you have to win your AG, and I'm not quite there yet. At special qualifiers, they take the top 5 AG winners or the top 33%, which ever is greater. THAT, I could do.

The race really was tiny. There were only 46-47 women total. Not in my AG - in total. It was so small that there was one mass start - men and women. When they told us this, we all looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. What can you do? It's not ideal, but ...

It was kinda crazy at first. I had no idea how to position myself. Normally I would be up front in a women's only wave, but today I took the second line and hoped that worked out. The lake was shallow and we ran for a long time before diving in. I remember laughing to myself thinking "this is crazy!!" Good thing I am so good at head-high drill!!! I don't think I put my face in the water until the turn buoy! Just kidding but it was pretty crazy. Oh, and two loops with a beach run!! I actually kind of like that because it breaks up the swim and it broke up the group and gave me some clean water to swim in.

I actually had no idea where I was at in the swim. I saw a couple of pink caps (women) but honestly thought I might be in the top 15 or so. I also started to consider a new career as a duathlete because swimming is just so ... anxiety ridden!! But then I reminded myself that some of my best swims have been where I just chilled out and swim like I was at the pool.

I ran into the worlds smallest transition and out on to the bike. RDJr. was there ...

"Hey babe? Babe?"
"Yeah?"
"You're like 2nd or 3rd woman out of the water!"
"Nooooo"

I couldn't believe it. Surely he was wrong. There is no way! Huh. Maybe I should stick with triathlon after all. My swim time ended up being 26:02, which I think is my best Oly swim to date.

Out on the bike and the course was very flat with winds out of the southwest at about 12-15. This should have been a course that I would really excel at, but I got fatigued really fast. Two loops again for the bike, so I took one gel on the first loop, and another on the second, as well as a full bottle of sport drink with two scoops of carbo pro and some nuun. My legs just felt tired and I started to get worried and down as everyone passed me. I could see the shadow before they passed and each time I prayed it wasn't a female ... but a couple got by me and that made me mad, but really, more sad. What the heck? I am a great cyclist! What gives? I kept the cadence a little higher than usual and hoped it would pay off on the run.

Into T2 and I thought I was at least in the top 10, maybe 8th? I looked at the clock which was at the dismount line and it said 1:43 and I started cursing at myself and calling myself names and just being really mean. Then, as I racked my bike and put on my shoes, I talked out loud and said, "No. We are not going to talk like that today. Only positive thoughts. Stop being so mean to yourself."

And with that, I ran out of T2 and on to the very flat, but very sunny and hot course. Because of the wind, it didn't feel THAT bad ... except when you had the wind at your back and there was no breeze on your face. But those moments were short and I got through them. The first loop (two loops on the run!) was fast and I was surprised at how good I felt. I just kept telling myself to keep it light and loose. On the second lap, I started to struggle. I just wanted to be done already! I started to swear off Oly's and only do sprints from now on. But I made it through by setting little goals along the way - just run to that tree ... now run to that person ... now to that sign. Finally, I crossed the finish line at 2:35:54 and in 7th place overall.

The absolute best, beyond any award, is having RDJr. there at the finish and seeing his beaming face. He was just so happy and that makes me happy, because I did something that made him happy. :)

We thought I had 2nd AG, but I ended up placing 3rd because they did not take out the overall winners from the AG placing. I don't know if that was because this was an AG qualifier and a BOUS qualifier, or if it's just a Oklahoma thing, but it doesn't really matter. I met my goal of qualifying and that was all that mattered.

I know I am still really far from being fast, so I hold on to the fact that with each race, I continue to improve. Even though it is in small ways, the small improvements will make for a big one some day. I have to hold on to that.

Not sure yet if I'm going to race Nationals or not. There is a lot going on in August. But I would like to go. We'll see. :)