In formulating my plans and goals for 2017, my primary focus for the year was to be on growing my business, supporting my husband and his ultra goals, supporting my 13 year old daughter in her cycling and triathlon racing ventures and ultimately supporting my athletes that I coach at specific races and along their journeys.
My personal goals as far as training and racing were to maintain my fitness at a level prepared to embrace the 70.3 distance at any time, work on closing in on the 5-5 ½ hour 70.3 and focus on repair/rebuild of the primary muscle groups while embarking on a nutrition experiment. I did not have particular races that I planned on and was prepared to sign up as time and schedule allowed throughout the year.
The beginning part of the year was following this plan primarily to a T. My daily routine involved mindset training in the form of reading and journaling, followed by the introduction of a 10 minute meditation session (thanks Team Poppy’s February Challenge). Upon completion of the mindset piece, the 2017 Fitness Challenge Group introduced the 7 Minute App and the streak goals began. I personally hit 88 days before missing one and have built several extended streaks since… I also accepted a 30 day change to complete a program called Primal Play thanks to Darryl Edwards and incorporated Foundation Training. My hamstrings and posterior chain were greatly embracing all of the challenges and I was feeling strong and healthy. I continued to bike, swim and run but not following a very specific schedule mostly for fun and fitness.
In March, the other side of racing showed its head. A car ride to Boulder to see a former Olympian speak about her new book lead to the following conversation. Melanie and Lori mentioned that they had been ready to race Galveston 70.3 in April but cancelled the trip last minute due to life conflicts. The conversation continued, we are prepared for a 70.3, let’s go to St. George. We’ll make it a road trip. We all know others racing. It is a bucket list race for some of us. Let’s do it. We came home with a plan in mind.
Fast forward to the next morning. I woke with my head wrapped around St. George - excited that I would have the opportunity to race and to be there with so many of my friends and community racing. Little did I know that this plan was about to change again. There was a group ride in Boulder to check out the new IM Boulder Bike course with Team Colorado and 303Triathlon. Some of the car participants went to this ride. The afternoon conversation when everyone returned from various activities went like this. We know the course, why not Boulder? Forget St. George - we are all doing the full on June 11th… The conversation went “you’re in, right??” And with that conversation, the Team Poppy Ironman Boulder 2017 team came to be. We ended up with 5 participating members and one member who we were racing on behalf of. For 3 of the 5, this would be their first 140.6!
The commitment was made, although I held off on signing up for the race (you will see how long I waited, based on the fact that my name was not printed on any of the merchandise!) The coach hat came out and I devised the plan of what the next weeks approaching the race would look like. Typically, when I coach athletes to the 140.6 distance I follow a 30 week plan. Nothing like taking the base plan and cutting off the first 19 weeks… Walking out the door for the first week of training, I faced a 50 mile ride and a 9 mile run. This could get ugly. Pretty sure the last time that I had really run was the Disney Marathon in January… I settled back into a full training regimen. I established my goals which I was forced to keep in mind throughout my journey. The race day mindset had a new perspective this time. Goals: Finish, Finish healthy - without injury, Continue to work on my 2017 goals in business and life and Finish with the ability to continue on my journey without regretting the decision to throw a 140.6 into the mix all while supporting Team Poppy and sharing in milestones on their journeys.
I checked off the workouts one day at a time. Some days were definitely better than others and some days definitely reminded me that this was happening very quickly and some days I was forced to listen to my body and take a break keeping my ultimate goals in mind. I took time to enjoy the journey to send messages to our team member sharing my journey along the way. She did not know it, but she was my accountability partner. The days that I woke up and didn’t want to go, I reminded myself and made sure that I checked in with her afterwards. I am grateful that she is doing better, also pursuing her own goals and embracing the journey. She was a big part of this for me.
We definitely faced obstacles during the training. One being outdoor water temperatures. There were many days that I said to myself, I will take the risk of no open water prior to race day before getting in water that cold. Low 50’s a few weeks out… We were actually hearing murmurs of the swim being cancelled, the swim being shortened and more due to the cold water. We were considering the need to pack hand warmers and long gloves for the bike so our bodies had a chance to recover after the cold water. Keeping controlling the controllables in mind but not what we had planned to be dealing with!
The days were busy to say the least. Sleep was valued even more than normal and nutrition and recovery were at the forefront. My nutrition experiment at that point was at an interesting place and I was slowly making the necessary adjustments to be able to proceed. I did my best to keep up with family, business and training. I was fortunate as always to have lots of training partners along the way - who I am eternally grateful for. Every day was a step closer. My daily affirmations keeping my head in the game - One Day...One Step. Courage to Start. Strength to Endure. Resolve to Finish. Manage the fear, take the next step. I am surrounded by opportunity. And added on Control the Controllables.
Fast forward again to race week. Here it is. Ready or not! Race week including plenty of life obstacles - juggling family activities and practices, a business conference and more. Living an hour from Boulder and deciding I would sleep better in my own bed, I opted to commute back and forth for pre-race and race day activities. Thursday morning I was in Boulder for race registration, Saturday morning for bike and gear drops and the athlete meeting. Dave Downey reminded us to keep the following in mind - DQDSDGU - something new to remember - Don’t Quit, Don’t Stop, Don’t Give Up!!
There are definite advantages to racing home versus destination races. Advantages to racing out of town. 1. Your whole life is focused on the race, most other things come to a stop since you are away from them. 2. Shipping your bike and gear with a transport company requires you to prepare ahead of time. With Boulder, the rest of life kept right on going and scrambling to organize with last minute trips to the store for nutrition is much more stressful than a nice packed bag! I am pretty sure I was still digging shoes etc out of the back of my car on Saturday morning! Advantages of racing in town - every step of the way there are people that you know. Family for support. Familiar with the course. No added stress from travel.
One more sleep Saturday night at home before waking early for race day! It’s go time! Ready or not - it’s race day!
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