Sunday, September 13, 2009

Tugaloo Oly Race Report

aka "The Day I Quit Triathlon Forever".

I think Chris Cornell says it the best "I fell on black days".

Although, I am pretty sure he's not talking about triathlon.

Yeah...so not a great race for me. And by not great, I mean awful, horrible, no good kind of race. It was such a bad day for me, I don't really even want to remember it again to write this. But, I should....so I can (hopefully) learn from it.

It was basically as follows, a swim I was proud of, a bike that wasn't embarrassing, and a run that was.

And it is not necessarily my times that I am embarrassed by, it is how I dealt with them that I am not proud of. I just fell apart out there. Wanted to be home with my girls and husband not suffering out on this hillier than hell run course. The only thing that kept me from quitting was the fact that I didn't know how to get back to transition. Honestly. That is the ONLY reason for me not DNFing.

Oh my, was I in a dark place on that run course.

Throwing up a few times didn't seem to brighten my mood any either. ;)

I quit triathlon.

More than once.

I quit training for anything.

Multiple times.

I questioned what is wrong with me that I insist on doing painful things to my body, like this.

On every damn hill.

I walked on the run.

I never walk on the run.

I talked it over with Jen afterward...I needed some perspective. I was bummed. (Very helpful...thanks, Coach.)

I have worked hard this season. And it just didn't come together for me out there today. It took a little bit of time to realize that it was a "bad race" and I am not a "bad racer" or ill prepared.

I was ready to race...and excited. But, apparently my body was not. I've been sick the past two weeks with first a stomach flu, then a cold. I think my body was just not ready to go hard for over two and a half hours. My body gave up starting on the bike, then my mind, on the run.

That is what I am so disappointed about. That I was so ready to quit.

Oh well, something to work on. I am not quite ready to quit racing. Nope. Not just yet. That was just the pain talking. :) One more tri this season in a few weeks and I am already psyched to go, go, go.

That is what is so frustrating, difficult, annoying and ultimately rewarding about triathlon. That you always, always have something to improve upon and the days that it all comes together for you are so rare and the result of so much hard work.

Much to my dismay, you cannot PR every race.

My splits....I ended up 3rd in my age group, which funnily enough is my best AG finish at Tugaloo.

Kate Parker 33 Roswell GA 4 25:26 2.2 1:56 3 1:20:46 19.4 0:54 5 50:48 8:12 2:39:48

7 comments:

Rebecca DeWire said...

So sorry to hear that this was a race where you just didn't have the fight in you. But seriously, 3rd in your AG is awesome!!!! Considering that you have been sick, your body probably just wasn't able to push hard. I am sure that you got some great advice from your great coach and hopefully you can just brush this race off and focus on the future...and please don't quit triathlon :)

Michelle Simmons said...

Oh Kate, I'm sorry to hear that! I think we've ALL been there. I distinctly remember walking on the run of a race and thinking to myself, "I hate this. I'm going to get married and have babies and live a 'normal' life that does not involve torturing myself for this long..."
Take a break, let yourself get healthy, and your drive will eventually return. :)

Angela and David said...

Like Michelle said, I think we've all been there. You survived and in the end it will make you stronger. I can think of a couple of races where I've quit the sport, and one of those I quit the sport on the bike. But we keep coming back. We must be gluttons for punishment.

Kate Parker said...

Thanks, guys. Nice to know I am not alone!

Allison Chapple said...

I agree - we've all been out there, swearing off racing forever - but you've hit the nail on the head. It was a bad race, not that you're a bad racer. (and holy cow, 3rd AG for a "bad" race? Amazing!). :)

Now, go take care of yourself!

Meghan said...

if it makes you feel any better the fact that you did a race after 2 weeks of being sick makes you super woman in my eyes!!!

busyrunningmama said...

Great job getting out there after being sick and finishing! Every race will not be your best, chock it up to an experience and a training for the next triathlon! Glad you are feeling better and hope you rock the next one!!!