T0 : The Team In Training spring season with its staff, coaches, and regular participants/honorees has become such a way of life for me the past 3 years that when the end of 2011 came around I couldn't imagine myself doing anything BUT signing up to be a training captain again. Only this time they changed the name to "Summer" season. I'm not really sure why, since the season ends before the official start of summer. But the choice to staff again was an easy one for me. I'd had such a great time last year with the team even knowing that I'd miss racing because of my trip to Nepal. The first two years of TNT I felt the need to race, to accomplish something. But the last two have been more about the season itself, going on the bike rides, hanging with the team at the track work outs, being there at first time open water swims. Just falling in a rhythm of life. Oh yeah, plus being home at like 1 pm with a Safeway sandwich and a frappucino on Saturday knowing you can just nap the rest of the day away.
So back in February, things got pretty hectic. I was pulling 60 hour work weeks including weekends, trying to manage some minor wedding duties for a friend, trying to plan a dream trip to Tanzania in Africa, and still trying to keep up with the TNT workouts/captain duties. On one ride I even found myself getting a fifth flat tire for the day about 20 miles from home. Something was going to give. And I'm grown up "enough" to realize that yeah.... work's gotta come first. So I backed off TNT. I still made the workouts and team practices, and worked on the fundraising, but had no thoughts of racing. Just a very slow, stressful process sort of just trying to keep up what I needed to do with the commitments I'd made.
Things got a little better. Work started going through cycles of up and down time. A "plan" for Africa has come together for now. Turns out I didn't need to play guitar for my friend's wedding but being an usher was fine. My friends and family were generous enough to continue donating. Not smooth yet, but a little more manageable. So I started to think about a week before Wildflower, "Well, I'm in shape as I've been working out all season, I did the fundraising, I don't have any plans WF weekend, as staff I SHOULD be down there anyway. And if I go, I'm going to want to race." So I pulled a Matt, and a few days later headed down with Leslie and found myself registering a day before the Olympic race. I took in the Long Course day and cheered on our TNTers, then rested up and camp, and rode the next morning down to transition! Things were already better than my 2009 WF, I didn't crash and jam my rear derailleur on the way down. I ran into Guru from last year and caught up with him in transition. I got to watch Macca come out of the water, and then it was time for me to enter!
Swim : Pretty routine. Cut 2 minutes off my WF 2009 time. Still want to break 30 min one day, but I'll settle for 30:30 for now. Still gotta credit my swim progress to coach Caroline. By now I just enjoy the swim.
T1: Pretty smooth. Got transitions down to putting bike stuff on the left side and run on the right side of my area. Only I take my bike out of transition, clip in, and realize, man, my bike isn't going anywhere! Whatttt? I THINK this was due to the rear brake pad rubbing against the wheel. After some minor adjusting I got going.
Bike: I'd forgotten the layout of Lynch hill, but managed to get up. The whole ride I did not feel my hill climbing legs though. Annoying. Maybe my seat was a little lower, maybe I didn't have enough Taaffe repeats in me, maybe by following the Long Course schedule I'd trained endurance not strength and speed, who knows. Anyway, I got through the ride. Slower than 2009, but honestly I held back a little more this time remembering how I'd died on the run.
T2: 1:30 ish? Bike up, helmet off, shoe switch, GO. Legs were with me, moreso than 2009, but would they last???? I'd decided at some point on the bike that my focus this race would be to run the whole way. More of a mental challenge if nothing else, running hills isn't always the quickest way to the finish.
Run: I broke it down into thirds. The first two miles I told myself to keep a quick cadence and short strides while my legs got used to running. Not bad, I got passed at my pace, but figured this was definitely a tortoise and hare thing so hopefully I'd pass people back. I prepared myself for two "hell miles" and oh boy were they. I was determined to run the whole way up the pit, so I did. I just had forgotten how damn long it was. And how hot it was. Thus started a headache that stayed a good three days. But yeah. Mile five was "keep it up" mile, and then mile six was "take it home" mile. I crossed the line and I had managed to run the whole way. 3:10, 8 minutes off 2009 time.
T3: At the finish line. This was somewhat of a "sweet, PR!" moment. But also somewhat of a "meh, just another tri" moment. A far cry from finishing 2009 with the whole crew of tri noobs: Eric, Vijay, Anita, Lindy, Victoria, Andrea and relishing the moment. But it was that moment for other first time TNTers: Andrew, Andy, Marios. And you can't help but smile a bit when you see that :) Even if you have to tell them "Man, I'm beat, and the adrenaline from finishing your first tri isn't with me!" But it was with them.
Why did I sign up last minute for WF? Is it time to take a break from TNT and pursue career stuff and I wanted to go out racing? Was it even the right choice? Something that sorta came to me the last week was, "Matt, why are you racing?" and the answer was "Because I can." And not everyone can. Life's not too bad when you have the health and opportunity to go on silly little biking, running, and swimming adventures. Even if Macca beats you by a solid 1:10.
Oh if you haven't noticed, I love to write essays about tris. I promise more about pigus next time.
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