Since I decided that my first post was going to be my race report, I thought I should make a post about what I did to get to the starting line and how I felt along my journey there, as well as where I am now, and what is coming up next!
Past: During 2013 I ran a The Glass City Marathon (3:36) in April prior to officially kicking off Triathlon season! Tri season started in May with an Olympic distance race. June had an half-ironman (5:52) and very busy and long weekends of training for Ironman Lake Placid (12:16) at the end of July. I was on such a high after IMLP that I decided to do 2 local triathlons that I had missed the previous year since my IM was in August. I raced Stonewall Jackson Tri taking 3rd overall female and surprising myself by qualifying for Best of the US. The following weekend I raced my first sprint distance triathlon and took 1st overall female.
Tri season was over but I wasn't done. I wanted to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon after surprising myself and coming so close in April. I dedicated the 3 months after IMLP to the Huntington Marathon. I haven't talked about it much to others, but I almost completely cut out meat from my diet. Other than eating fish/tuna a handful of times since August I have not had any red meat, poultry, pork, etc. I have switched to a plant-strong diet and it feels AMAZING! I feel lighter and leaner. Although, maybe by a few lbs or a smidgen of a percent. Those things don't matter, because I FEEL like I am in the best shape of my life! I incorporated more stretching and a stronger respect for recovery days into my plan. My coach and I were in constant communication over how I felt and I even {asked} for extra recovery one of the weeks leading up to the race. I no longer indulged in cake, cookies, or comfort foods based on "I train a lot so I can eat what I want". While at the same time, working with Marni Sumbal, RD I no longer have "off-limit" foods or times of feeling guilty. (I struggled with bulimia in college) I now view food as the fuel for my training and the last 3 months I was crossing off goals, and nailing {almost} all of my weekly workouts. It was an incredible journey to the Marshall Marathon...it just didn't have the ending I had hoped for.
Present: Right now is all about recovery. Allowing myself to heal mentally and physically from the last 11 months of training. Most of the focus of my off season will be toward swimming and biking. My swim efficiency and form need some work, and biking is no where close to where it needs to be. {No surprise since I didn't learn to ride a bike until I started triathlon, even though my parents attempted to teach me} I look forward to the off season. I'm ready to gain strength and power and watch myself improve.
Future: At the moment, I do not know if a marathon will happen next year. I like to think it will, but I still need to discuss it with my coach and decided if/where it fits into my race schedule. I will be racing an Olympic Distance tri in May, Raleigh 70.3 in June and IMLP in July. Other than those races, the rest is yet to be set!
I have had an amazing journey through 2013. Overall I had a spectacular season. Many ups and downs along the way, but it's my lifestyle and I enjoy every day of it. I think if I always had great races, then I would never appreciate the accomplishment. Sometimes it takes tough training/race days to make the great ones feel amazing! After all, it's the high I feel that keeps me going!
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