Monday, January 29, 2018

Is It Race Season Yet???

Here we are. Mid January. The time of year that every triathlete dreads. (Or maybe its just me. But I have a feeling I am not alone in this thought.)

It's freezing cold out. The days feel like they are 5 hours long. And getting into a pool at 5 am feels like what I would imagine walking the Green Mile to certain death feels like. However instead of lethal injection, it's sets of 100s, 200s, and enough kick sets to make your hips pop out of their sockets. Plus running outside is like a really sick game of "don't slip on ice and break your face" every time you step out the door. So that is challenging in it's own right.

However I probably shouldn't complain. After Ironman I took an epic trip to Costa Rica as a reward for all my hard work. And let me tell you, some days I really think I could have stayed there forever. It also turns out that surfing is great cross training for triathlon! Even if you spend 70 percent of the time wiping out!
I found that the vacation was a much needed mental break after the intense stress of 2017, and it set me up to tackle 2018 with a clear mind and open heart. Plus, I learned how to open a coconut with a machete, so that's pretty cool too.


My favorite winter running partners, The Nicoles!!



As I came back to the frozen tundra, I adjusted back to reality. Where as we near the end of winter, it becomes that weird time in an athlete's season where training is just starting to ramp up, but there is still a small lull before the real work happens. As I am sure my coach can attest, it's also the time of year where I become ultra neurotic and manifest all sorts of annoying quirks I never thought I had before. I think my Training Peak logs for workouts this time of year are the most detailed, and probably the most angry as well. I have all this energy and all this drive, but it's base building time. And I am going bonkers.

And for me, this year's training couldn't be any more different than what it was a year ago. I was told by my brother/coach that I am actually going to have some free time in between training and real life this year, which is so foreign to me. Say whaaaaaa???? I don't even know what to do with that. Like, what do people with free time even do? Other than eat. Because I also have to remember that I am not eating like an Ironman this year. Unfortunately.

Santa Theresa, Costa Rica. 
Swoon. 



My first day there I went on an 8 mile beach run. This was my view. And it did not suck.



So back to what this year looks like for me. After training and completing my very first Ironman race last season, I have decided to shift gears for 2018 and go back to Olympic distance races. But not just any Olympic distance races. I have my sights set on USAT Nationals in the majestic city of Cleveland, Ohio in August. I plan on racing both Olympic as well as Sprint distance that weekend. Because let's be honest, why the hell not?

And as much as I loved training for an Ironman, I am looking forward to a year of short, intense training, and fast and furious racing. Being at threshold for two and a half hours at a time sounds like a brand new, albeit super gross challenge. Don't get me wrong, eventually I will be back doing another Ironman, hopefully in the next year or so.

And that brings me to my big, sweeping declarations for my 2018 season.

I have a theory that if I verbalize the goals that I want to achieve, and actually admit that they are real, then I am going to have a better chance of having them come to fruition. That's basically what I did for Ironman Madison. I visualized the finish line every single day for 365 days. Every workout I did, I pictured myself crossing that timing mat, and ultimately that is exactly what happened. So who is to say that I can't prescribe to that very same theory for short course training as well, right?

So here it is. Strangers of the internet, here is my super scary, holy shit, I am now a big ball of vulnerability, goal for this race season:
I am going to get faster than I have ever been. I am going to qualify to race Elite at the Lifetime Olympic Distance race in July. And then I am going to race at Nationals in August and qualify to go to worlds for 2019.


I'll be back to #rockthew with my Wattie crew this season again. 
Our kits are fire. Literally. Sickest ones I've seen yet. 


Yikes. Seeing that on paper made my stomach do flips and my palms start to sweat a bit. So, historically, these feelings are leading me to believe that my goals are juuuuuust big enough. And I know that I will achieve greatness this year in one way or another. I just have to keep my positive mental resolve throughout every single race. And oh boy do I plan on racing a lot. That's the best part about this distance, is that I can go out and do what I love, and literally race all the time to practice and hone my skills.

So I will survive the January slump. I will get my nutrition back on track. (Apparently Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Fig Newtons are not helping me get back to race weight as fast as I had hoped.)
Then I will attack every bike ride with tenacity, and I will pedal until my legs can no longer move. After that I will run, and get out of my comfort zone, and push to find that limit. Then I will suck it up, take a deep breath, and break through that bullshit barrier that doesn't exist. Because that is what people who succeed do. They stop believing that failure is a bad thing. They embrace the fear and unknown. And I have found that learning to fail is what is going to make me succeed in the end.

Every season I keep a constant mantra in the back of my mind as a motivator. Last year it was "You can do hard things."

 However, this years mantra is brought to you by the very smart and very talented coaches of Final K Coaching Services. "Be better." That's it. No excuses, no what ifs. Just be better than I was the day before.

And then I am going to conquer the world. One mile at a time.