We learn early on the importance of keeping count, of marking our progress, keeping tabs on how close we are to the goals we set out for ourselves to accomplish. We do this in all arenas – athletics, careers, relationships. Whether it’s that first 5K under a certain mark, a top ten finish in an Ironman, an anniversary with a loved one, that coveted promotion well earned, we know our numbers. Some of my all-time favorite swim workouts I can recall with perfect clarity, and I can list out all of my PRs from all of my swim events over the years, including the year and the meet that I achieved them at (well except for the breaststroke events, I’d rather forget those, hahaha!). Perhaps the better question is why are we keeping count, does it serve a purpose, are all of these details really relevant to our journey as a whole? Of course it is. Everything that we do builds on what we have done previously, every goal, every dream chased, every end result, leads us ultimately to who we are meant to be. And when we unapologetically lean into who we are meant to be, it gives others permission to do the same.
Athletes I have coached over the years have asked that question, why does this workout matter, who cares about the time, the pace, etc. I have asked myself as an athlete (and coach) those questions too. Obviously every workout is not going to be your best ever, most will be average, and you’ll have some really phenomenal ones, and some really awful ones too. But keeping track of the numbers, best T3000 time in the pool, best set of 12x400s on the track, allows for that growth as you continue to push the pace. The same applies to races too - you'll have some good, some bad, and some in between. But you have to know where you came from in order to lay the groundwork for where you are going. Again, I could rattle off key workouts and races in all things swim without hesitation, a sport I have been in all my life and it has without a doubt laid the foundation for not only my future profession, but for other endurance endeavors as well. The details matter. The numbers don’t lie. I guess that’s what I’ve always loved about sports like swimming, running, triathlon – the clock never lies. You get what you put into it, full stop. And to chase down those goals you need to keep track of the numbers, celebrate them as they come along. Be proud of your progress, and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. For me a week and a half ago the magic number was 10. Galveston was my 10th half-ironman. This double digit milestone is significant in my story because I've done 4 of those half-iron races before my hip replacement, and 6 after. I am blown away by what my body can still do. I think many of us do not really know what we are capable of, our default becomes limiting ourselves. If you would have told me that I would add more half-iron races to my repertoire post hip than before, I wouldn’t have believed you. And yet here I am, celebrating my 7th hipaversary racing in my 10th half-ironman. Numbers are not the end all be all (of course that is the process as a whole), but they matter, and continue to empower us along the way in our journeys. Know your numbers, know their significance, and know what they mean to you. Own it, and lean all the way into your story.
SWIM
This was the FIRST time I have ever been able to rack my bike next to familiar faces! Saturday afternoon I met up with my tri teamies before check in, and by all of us checking in together, we all received numbers right next to each other, so we would be all in the same place in transition. I had been fortunate enough to train with this group on some rides before this race, which certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone, they were beasts on the bike, I soaked up all I could from all of those sessions. I was so grateful that I was getting the chance to race with them at this event, appreciated all the cheers out on the course (even though I might have not looked so enthused on the run – we’ll get to that fun leg in a bit, hahaha!), and was so pumped for them that they totally crushed it out there! What a privilege it was to have them out there in full force!!!
So awesome to see friendly faces race day morning as we were getting our bikes ready and setting out all of our gear – great conversation, took some fun pics, then headed to the swim start. Last year the fam and I got to transition later than anticipated so I was racing to get as close to the front as I could; this year we got there a bit earlier, and I hustled in transition, so plenty of time to head to the swim start. I wanted to seed myself around the 30ish mark, and I got there with time to spare this year. Water temp was low 70’s like last year, and like last year, I went sans wetsuit. My ultimate goal in the swim is always to break 30 minutes (28 minutes and change at Buffalo Springs in 2017 doesn’t count since the swim was short), but anywhere in that range I am usually pleased with, in the vicinity of 30-32 minutes. Last year I was 31:49, so I would have been ecstatic to hit that number again, but no dice this year. I did sight right on target pretty much the whole way, but I just couldn’t find a great rhythm most of the swim. Competing in the Highland Lakes Challenge this past fall just reiterated my love for distances 5K and farther – this 1.2 swim confirmed that. It is ironic that when I first got into triathlon a couple of decades ago, I bemoaned how short the swim was, and couldn’t they shorten the bike portion instead?? And now, I am pumped to get onto the bike leg. I don’t dislike the swim of course, I’m just not crazy about the shorter distance. Give me miles and miles of water, swimming long is my favorite. So I finally turn at the last buoy and can see the finish in my sights, pick up the pace as much as I can into the finish, and as soon as I pop up and glance at my watch I groan. I knew it would be slower than my pace last year, I could feel it, but I was hoping for a 32+/33 low. Numbers don’t lie, and while it wasn’t my best, it’s also not my worst, and it was now over, so I needed to focus on what was in front of me, T1, and the 56-mile bike that lay ahead of us.
SWIM =
34:27
T1 = 6:38
BIKE
My transition time was about the same as last year, a few minutes slower, but in the same ballpark. I would still like to get that sucker under 5 minutes, plenty of work to do in that arena. As I raced for the exit out of transition I was sure to take a package of my skratch chews, as well as some of my skratch drink on my way out. The usual twists and turns out of the park I wasn’t crazy about as per usual, but once I got out on the main road I hit it. My bike training had been so much more substantial than the bike training leading up to this event last year, so I was super pumped to chase my bike PR which I got on this exact course in 2018! Good news for us was that we got crosswinds this year instead of the direct tailwind/headwind that we got last year, so the return trip was much more pleasant, lol! Little bit of a cross tailwind going out, overall I felt good, kept pushing the pace, still got passed by plenty of stronger cyclists – I was pretty sure my teamies would be chasing me down - I kept my cadence up, and my legs moving! We had overcast skies and as we headed over the bridge onto the island, some fog joined us as well. Although not something I would normally want to ride in during a training ride, the fog out on this race course was soothing somehow, I just felt so calm riding in it, and was really enjoying the day! After the turnaround I took another package of skratch chews, and of course had been drinking water/skratch all along the route, so I felt like my nutrition was pretty on point. When we made the turnaround last year, we were blasted with a brutal headwind all the way back. This year the return trip was a headwind crosswind, and it was glorious! Felt solid on the island and back over the bridge, and all the way up until about mile 45. At that point I was doing some sitting up out of aero to stretch my back, and trying to stay focused for those last 10 miles, I was going to be really close to a bike PR! Somewhere in here my teammate passed me, and that gave me a boost, and figured the rest of the crew was not far behind. I fought really hard those back half miles, and I watched my mph go down, then back up, such a seesaw at the very end. As we turned onto the road that would take us back into the park I never gave up hope that the PR was up for grabs, kept pushing as hard as I could all the way in! It wasn’t quite enough for the PR (so close!), but it was a solid bike split for me, and the leg that I was most pleased with all day!!!
Bike =
3:02:02
T2 = 4:53
RUN
Super pumped about the T2 transition, finally under 5!!! Last year’s T2 was almost 8 minutes, yuck!! Super proud of the hustle, headed out on the run course feeling pretty good, we still had some cloud cover, unlike the full sun we had last year, but this year it was definitely more humid. As I knocked out the first few miles of the first loop I was doing ok, had my carry bottle with me this year with the skratch drink, and I had eaten another bag of skratch chews out of T2 as I headed onto the run. This year the fam let me know where they would be, so I saw them pretty quickly, gave high fives, hugs, and kisses, and continued on my way. As I was heading into the back half of the first loop I saw my teamies heading the other direction, and it was so awesome to be able to shout words of encouragement to one another! By the end of the first loop I knew I was in a bit of trouble. My pace had slowed down pretty substantially, but I was still optimistic that even at a slower pace, I might not PR, but I could still make that 6 hour mark. I was staying on top of my hydration, and taking the gels every 30 minutes, but by about midway through the second loop I could feel the implosion coming on. I had briskly walked through previous aid stations, now I took my time walking through them. In fact, I would tell myself, just keep running to the next aid station, then you can walk. By the back half of the second loop I was throwing in some 20-30 second walk breaks, and then running to the next aid station, mile marker, the fam – whatever I could focus on. I was coming undone fast, and I was pretty sure I might just be walking the entire 3rd loop, not sure I had anything left in the tank. It was disappointing since last year I negative split the sucker and my last mile was the fastest mile of the whole thing. There would be no negative splits this year, I was deep in the pain cave and just wanted to be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Loop 3 was such a sufferfest, I willed my body forward, more quick walk breaks, taking my time through the aid stations, and coke became my staple. Every single aid station on that third loop I would grab ice and coke, throw some ice in the coke, and chug it. It tasted so good, and was a must have on that loop! By mile 12 I was just trying to keep it all together, it was so much fun as I headed for the finish seeing my fam and tri teamies cheering loudly for me on that homestretch! I made it!!! It was one of the slowest half marathons I have done in a half iron, but I was so proud of how hard I fought in the run leg, especially the back half when all I wanted to do was walk it in. Pretty gnarly headache post-race told me my nutrition may not have been as on point as I thought, or the humidity just did me in, or a combo of both. As I debriefed with Coach Hillary later, she pointed out some important numbers, my barely there run mileage leading up to this race this year. After Houston I had been dealing with some foot pain, and had backed way off the running, was nervous it was a stress fracture, fortunately just a nasty case of bursitis, and by the time it was on the flip side I managed to get in a couple of longer runs that I had felt good about, but still wasn’t enough to sustain the legs this go round. The numbers don’t lie, and at the end of the day it does come down to what you put into it. I was still pleased that my foot did finally come around and I was still able to close out lucky #10!
RUN =
2:26:26
TOTAL = 6:14:23
So
incredibly grateful to get the chance to do these races!!! So grateful the fam was out there in full
force cheering me on all day, and so grateful for all of my tri team’s cheers
too, and enjoyed getting the chance to race with my badass teamies out there
this year!!! Super pumped to be able to
mark down #10 in the books, and so proud of my progress getting to this point
in my journey! Looking forward to all of
the adventures ahead! Obviously the
marathon PR is still on my radar to chase, and it may be about time to put another
marathon swim on the docket! Super stoked
to keep chasing it all!!! Let’s
goooooo!!!
