 Hey Everyone, I know I have been a bit under the radar recently, choosing to just put the work in with my head down. I figured it would be a good time to fill you in on what I have been doing and on my plans for next year. Recently, I underwent a big race block with IM Wisconsin and the PAM-American Xterra championships only six days apart. Wisconsin, was first, where I had a pretty solid day. I had my best IM swim in terms of management of effort, time, and being ready for the bike. I unfortunately suffered on the bike and had a hard time maintaining power. It was honestly the first time, I have ever not had a good bike split for myself. I am personally blaming it on my poor decision (not my coach’s) to ride 200 miles two weeks before at a solid intensity. My hip flexors and glutes were unable to fire for the duration of the ride. Thankfully, I felt quite good on the run and ran 3:04 for my best marathon time yet. When the hell will I break the 3-hour mark??!! The day truly was a great celebration of hard training and perseverance. I was happy to end up 8th in a very competitive field. After the race, I did my best to recover and get ready for my next race in just six days. I essentially did active recovery the whole week with my longest “workout” being 50 minutes. I mostly swam and did yoga. I then flew to Ogden on Friday. My pre-race ride was a complete disaster with a flat tire and two wipeouts—the second of which was somewhat serious. I banged my hip up bad and experienced substantial swelling. At this point I really questioned my decision to race and went to bed that night thinking I wouldn’t race. After waking up and still feeling sore in my hip, I decided I would go through the morning routine and at least start. I figured the swim would be good experience for me and that I could at least race that part. I then figured I could start the bike and see how it went. If I felt bad I could at least just enjoy the bike ride and call it a day in T2. Of course, I ended up doing the whole thing. I had a decent swim and I think would have swam with the second group had I not gotten pummeled and had my goggles fill with water 100 meters in. I had to stop to fix them and then found myself in the third group. O well. My bike was strong. I felt better than I had the week before. I came into T2 in 6th and figured I would start the run. Knowing my hip would seize up from my fall a couple miles in I pushed the first part hard. The investable then happened and my hip started seized up. I finished with only losing one position on the run. I wonder what I would have done had I not fallen the day before? It’s funny, racing Ogden almost made the IM disappear in terms of fatigue. My mind was so determined to get strong again that I think it played a beneficial role in my recovery. This last week, I did very little training-- taking time to rest from both races. It was quite nice to live a normal college life for the first week in a long time. I am now gearing up for my final push of the season. I am feeling strong, sturdy, healthy, and motivated. All great signs for this late in the season. It’s nice and it’s because I eased into things in the spring and took time to build the proper foundation. Up next for me is 70.3 New Orleans, 70.3 Austin, and then IM Cozumel (I may only do one of those 70.3’s). I am excited for the rest of the season and to continue making my progress through the ranks. I will release the second part to this in the next few days which will cover my plans for next year.  |
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