HITS Half-IM and other Grand Junction Adventures!

What's this? A race report? From moi? I know, it's been FOREVER since I have done one, but... I just had a really fun weekend (with loads of fun peeps and picts), so I thought I would share.

The adventures began Friday with a little trip out to western Colorado. Now, Ross had never been west Beaver Creek, so it was fun driving with him and seeing how the scenery changed and showing him my favorite part of that side of the state - Glenwood Canyon.

This picture doesn't begin to do it justice.

So, we scurried on over to Highline State Park in Loma (where the race would be happening) and drove the bike course. Now, if you are unaware of this course, you know you have gone too far when you get to Utah.

We went too far.

After that, it was a quick bike and swim (man that wetsuit feels weird) and off to dinner and check out the sights of Grand Junction.

Apparently, they really like their sculptures in Grand Junction.

I was advised not to climb up on this buffalo for fear of a ticket (I really wanted to).

Going into this race. Everyone has different thoughts, expectations, etc. of what they want from a race. For me, this was a "training race" as its purpose was (more or less) to prepare me for my "A" race in July. Regardless of it's "training race" status,  I was a little more anxious and felt like a little more rode on this one. I have been training hard and I felt like I needed to see improvement in my times. I wanted to be assured that my hard work was paying off somehow... and that is what I was looking for from this race.
 

Fast forward: Race Day!
Surrounded by some of my tri friend favorites!

What's a tri without Tyler and Keith?

World's BEST spectators (minus Joey)

I guess it is time to swim, huh?

Kelly's smile is infectious!

Feeling strong before the swim... or just convincing myself I am.

This picture is beyond awkward - which is why it makes me laugh so hard.

Ladies in the water.

The swim start was a mass swim and a little brutal at the beginning. I got anxiety about 150 yards out, but recovered ok. Spent the rest of the time trying to go fast, but really just re-learning how to swim in my wetsuit (first open water swim of the year). 1.2 miles and I was done and ready to come out of the water!

Not sure how I feel about this photo. 

 And then it was off to transition and onto the bike.

Now the bike course WAS beautiful. I guess I am a sucker for good views and you could see forever out there, so that was nice.

Just pretty wherever you looked.

Kelly on the bike!

Me coming up a hill.

Someone needs to teach me how to put on my helmet correctly.

The second half of the bike, you are climbing for a bit. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a big deal, but the wind had picked up MAJORLY and made it kind of brutal out there. This is where I caught Kelly and we leap-frogged a little bit. Overall, the field of athletes was very cool and friendly and there was a lot of chit-chat, support, nice comments as you would pass other bikers - this made it even more enjoyable and fun for me.

After we turned, it was downhill with a tailwind and - as Tyler would say - BOO YAH!!! This part of the ride was my favorite... till I ran out of gears. I was pedaling in my hardest gear, without my heartrate being elevated and unable to go any faster. So I got left behind as Kelly whizzed on down ahead of me. :) That is ok, cuz I kept leap-frogging with some of my other "new friends" on the course.

As we got near-ish the end, I was calculating my time... thinking "I'm gonna pr by, like, l0 minutes"... then there was some climbing involved so it turned into "I'm gonna pr my bike by about 7 minutes"... then my Garmin clicked over to 56 miles and I was nowhere near the end and it turned into "I don't really think I am gonna pr this bike course...". But, fear not, the end was near and I was happy to be done. :)

Riding into the end - no aero in the park!

Off the bike and onto the run. Now here is where things fell apart. I won't dwell on it, I will just say I didn't have the best run ever (or even close). My back cramped, by legs felt like lead and the wind was just unbearable. The good thing(s) about the course were (again) more support from other runners and the fact that it was an out-and-back allowed you to see everyone.

As I hit mile 4-5ish I was able to pull myself up out of a dark place and into a happy place for the second half of it. So, that was a good thing. :) And it gave me a number of things to work on for the future. Tra la la la laaa.

Yes, the wind was so hard that I had to wear my visor backwards so it wouldn't blow off.

And, I'M DONE!!!!

So, put it all together and what do you got? Exactly what I was looking for. I didn't have the best race in the world, but by the times, it was better than my best race in the past -- which was an indicator that I was improving -- and that is what I needed.

On top of that, I had a great weekend.

I learned a lot - like what was working and what I need to work on.

Kelly and I got 1 & 2 in our age group.

Did a little wine tasting.

Wineries - my new favorite part of western Colorado!

Got in a little recovery ride with some great scenery and my favorite bike partner.

Went hiking in the Colorado National Monument

And felt like a kid in a canyon!

Yea... this weekend is what I needed to rejuvenate my soul ... for triathlon and for life!

Comfort zone. And why I need to extend it.

I saw this diagram a few weeks ago somewhere. It was probably on someone's facebook page, so I apologize if I 'stole' it and am not giving you credit.

The reason I don't remember where I saw it is because I dismissed it thinking it was all too similar to a diagram I would have seen in ad/grad school.  You know "think outside the box", "push your limits", etc. etc.

Coming back from DR, though,  I was feeling a bit behind and bit unsure about my current IM training and I knew I wanted to change that. I thought back to my first IM training and tried to figure out what really made me feel confident and sure and ready of my abilities the first time around. I concluded that I needed to do more of that, whatever that was.

After thinking and thinking, I realized it was stepping outside of my comfort zone that gave me confidence. Doing things I wasn't sure I could do, but hoped I could do. You know, things I was maybe capable of doing, but wasn't certain I could do... I did that over and over (and over) the first time I trained, but for some reason, not this time... I have been getting my workouts in and not really pushing my boundaries. And I figured out that THAT is what needed to change. So I did so this week.

Turned my plain, old century into a climbing century!
(And convinced Heather to do it with me as well!)

Rode Shadow Mountain Loop all BY MYSELF. I am not sure if I am more proud of the fact
that I didn't get lost or that I did it in under 4 hours.

But, in thinking about all this biz, I came to another conclusion and formed my own diagram about comfort zones. One that I hope will motivate me more.

By extending my comfort zone, I am hoping there won't be quite so much distance to travel to "where the magic" happens come race day!

New Year. New Vision.

Last year, I did my very first vision board. It was a fun and enlightening experience and it helped me more than I imagined. Knowing this, it has been on my "to-do" list forever. Don't believe me?

 

Can you find the ONE AND ONLY thing not crossed off? Not to mention, all of the other tasks are pre-Christmas. This struck me the other day as I went to remove it (the post-it) and I reminded myself of what I still needed to do.

I am not entirely sure why I have been avoiding making my board. I know how it helped last year. So what was I avoiding? I think it was because I didn't believe my vision was clear. But I was wrong.

I started sifting through magazines and cutting any and every thing out that appealed to me. Once I had a plethora of images, sayings, etc. It was really easy to decipher what was important (and not important) to me this year in completing my goals.

First off, I guess I felt I had to remind myself what I was doing.

 

 To get to IMCDA, I figured out what was going to be important to me in getting there.

In this process, I identified that my goals were different this time for training and racing. Unlike my first Ironman, instead of just completing it, I want to focus on it and train to the best of my ability -- embrace it and love it. Not just get through it.

And, of course, there will be races to get there

The whole right side of the board, I dedicated to the actual race itself. To reminding me of my goals in completing and how I wanted to race it.

So, you put it all together and here is what you get:

 A constant reminder of what I am shooting for, and how I am going to get there.

It's hanging in my home office, where I will see it every day from now till June 24th. I am counting on it to be my affirmation as I move along these next few months and my motivation when times are rough to remind me of what I am working for. It worked last year and I am hoping it will work again!