Mastering the Chill: Tips for Swimming in Cold Water
September 22, 2023Juggling Act: Strategies for Athletes Navigating a Hectic Family Schedule
January 11, 2024I still can’t believe I’m a freaking IRONMAN! By far my greatest athletic accomplishment to date! Anyway… It was a great challenge bouncing back from having a baby, but I did it! In the week leading up to race day I felt so much uncertainty. There were many times I felt that I had rushed myself into getting back into racing. My mantra has always been, you can do hard things so I knew I had to try my best.
Most of my stress came from the fact that I was traveling with a 5-month-old and making sure that she had everything that she needed. Aside from that, it was the stress of flying with Roo, my bike. I was worried that she would get damaged or something would end up missing. But it all went just fine!
One thing I will be doing before my next race is learning how to change a flat! I felt good about my last few workouts other than my lack of having any long runs under my belt due to my janky hip. But December 7th came quick and we were on our way to Florida!
After seeing my bike at the airport and Teags being great on the flight, I knew things were shaping up to be fantastic for me! My biggest weakness has been nutrition during races and even leading up to them. So I knew I had to be smart about what I put in my body… I made a list and stuck to it! I was hydrating as if I was going to be roaming the desert for days. I like to scout out the race area, so I made Justin and my sister go to Ironman village twice with me to navigate the area and get a good feel of it. Also to help calm my nerves! I felt really good once we got my bike altogether and nothing was missing! I did realize that I did not bring my tire pump, but my brother assured me there would be a ton in transition, he was correct! Saturday came and it was time to drop rue off for her sleepover in transition period I did something that I’m not sure too many people do… I was preparing to race with no knowledge or kit to change a flat… Here we are, the eve of my first 70.3! Teagan had not been sleeping the best at the Airbnb, so I knew it would be a really early morning. We all went to bed early and as I drifted to sleep it began… the nightmares of all that could go wrong…
Race Day
Here it was, race day! The day I have thought about for over a year was finally here! I hydrated and ate and we were out the door! I made it to Roo, checked the tires, they felt hard so I left them. I set my stuff out the way I do with every tri and made my way back out of transition. My sister came early with me so I met back up with her and continued to hydrate, stress, and visit the restroom. I wanted to make sure that I saw Justin and Teagan before I went into the swim, so I seated myself in the back of the pack. Some time went by and I finally saw him, of course he did not hear me yelling for him, so I chased after him. I got to say hi to him and by doing that I seeded myself a little higher than I thought I could do. But i was already in the chute! GO TIME!!
Swim
I did another thing that most don’t do… I wore new goggles on the swim. They worked perfectly! My wet suit was fitting perfectly and only took me about 15 minutes to achieve that fit. I was worried about being swam over due to my seeding but it was achieve that fit. I was worried about being swam over due to my seeding, but it is what it was at that point. Into the water I went… I felt like I crushed the swim!!