It's only been a month since my Ironman 70.3 race, but today, my wife and I decided to run the Westchester (Olympic Distance) Triathlon. It was.....not my best decision.
To recap the last month - I had a typical post-event recovery, in that I stopped exercising vigorously for a week, but continued to eat like I was working out hard every day. The few workouts I got in over the next two weeks were uninspiring, usually short and / or slow, and squeezed for time, so my head was never fully in the game. Add to that the stress of reorganizations at work, which meant a bit of extra effort required on my part, and it was an expectedly low-effort month. I justified it by saying I was trying to heal my foot, so I could get back to 'normal'.
But when my wife said she was registering, I was in. I mean, we were trained for a 70.3; this was only half that distance, so our 'leftover' training should be fine, right? I can get by and run a 3-plus hour race without any time or specific training.....
And the truth is, I could. Kristen had a mission to beat last year's race time, so she kept her training up, but I had nothing to prove, so I could just get out there and do my best, with no loss if I didn't. It was clear to me days ago that my time would not be good - if I kept up my paces from IM Maine, I would come in at 3:20; I'd be happy with 3:30, I figured.
Well, the race started, and I forgot to start my watch. During the swim, I managed to mis-sight a buoy, and had to get re-directed by a lifeguard (again). So I added some distance to the swim, adding a few minutes. transition went okay, but the hills on the bike seemed to sap all my energy, and about halfway through, I was ready to stop, and seriously considered not running the third leg. My speed was slow, and I was getting annoyed by every little obstacle, so this was not going to be my best race.
And that was before the run leg. That seemed to go bad from the start. I could *not* get my heart rate down to a normal level, and every time I ran, it would spike into the mid-160s (not a good place for me). Even walking, I struggled to get it below 140, and I prefer to get it below 130 before running again, as that helps me keep the spikes in check. After running the first hill (which my wife had said didn't exist), I knew this was not going to end well. After about 3 miles of a terrible run/walk, this became a walk/walk, and even that, I struggled to do.
But, I finished. That's the silver lining. I took over 3 1/2 hours to finish, but I got it done, set a benchmark for improvement, and learned *a lot* about myself. First, I am not recovering as well as I used to. Second: I have what it takes to do hard stuff. Third (and most important): I need to get myself back in shape. My stamina level is weak, my enthusiasm is low, and I'm putting more stress on my body than I need to.
It's time to change. I'm taking the next three months off of racing (ok, maybe a turkey trot 5K) and focusing on good nutrition, strength, and stamina. I'm going to try and get some speed back, while building up my long runs and rides again. My plan is to blog throughout this journey, but we'll see what happens.
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