Last week I posted about the importance of training through the colder months in my "W is for Winter... & WORK" post. I believe 100% that you HAVE to take advantage of the winter months if you want to see real, sustainable improvements in your overall athletic performance.
Sure, you can take a break when it's cold and gear up for those summer races when the weather is more cheery, but if you cycle through race seasons in this continual pattern, you will constantly be playing catch up. You will loose fitness from the end of one season to the beginning of another, so not only are you trying to improve from last season, but you're trying to get back to where you were AND improve. Any performance gains you see from year to year will be very modest compared to what you COULD have if you were to train consistently.
Training is one source for improvement, but there's another, equally important source that needs to be tapped into: RACING.
I've been training consistently for the past year and a half, and last summer I graduated from being a "knowledgeable" age grouper to a "seasoned" triathlete. It was towards the end of the 12-race season that I realized the transformation was taking place. With every race, I was gaining more EXPERIENCE as a racer. Experience that carried me from race-to-race and would lead me through the off season and into 2014.
Unfortunately my experience as a triathlete is lacking in each individual discipline, and my readers will know that this goes against my "Swim like a swimmer, bike like a biker, & run like a runner" philosophy. I have no problem being inwardly mean and pushing myself through all three sports. The run, though more painful, seems to bother me less than a stand-alone road race. I can put a mediocre swim, bike, and run (by the standards of each individual sport) together to be a pretty decent triathlete. BUT, when the 16-year-old cross country runner beats you by :06 at the local 5K, the aging ex-collegiate swimmer slights you by :02 in the 400m free, and that same swimmer comes back and hits the wall first in the 200y free at the following swim meet, there's a glaring weakness, and it's not lack of grit, determination, or athletic ability.
The problem - lack of EXPERIENCE.
The solution- take advantage if opportunities to race.
This Saturday Kyle and I were working at the shop when a visting customer told us he was thinking about going to New Orleans (Metairie) to run the Elmwood Classic 10K. I part of me jumped for joy. I have known for a few weeks now that I need to race a 10K, but despite the 100+ 5K's in Hattiesburg, 10Ks are few and far between. Not to mention, I need to RACE a 10K- someone other than my training buddies. There are a few quick girls (triathletes) that I know of in the New Orleans/ Gulf Coast region, so this was an opportunity to travel a short distance and hopefully have some girls to run against. We hit the road Saturday evening and arrived in Metairie with enough time to wind down with some Sherlock Holmes and Suzy-B.
I awoke feeling fresh and ready. We arrived at the race site with plenty of time to register and warm-up, especially since they started the 10K about 15 minutes late (seriously, late races are no good! Some of us time our warm-ups perfectly, and late races make us cold, especially when the temperature is in the 50s!).
I was hovering around the starting area trying to walk briskly to stay warm when I noticed a crowd of people appearing to line up. I hadn't heard an announcement, but I started heading towards the crowd to wait for some instruction. I realized they were about to start the race, so I stripped off my pants and jacket and ran to the starting line. I jumped into the second row just in time before the gun went off.
Fast. Too fast. The pace felt comfortably hard, but how long would it feel comfortable? I hit the first mile marker at 6:44... oops! Strategy was to not look at my watch; I was only wearing it so that I could go back and analyze later. Don't think about the pain. Focus on what I'm doing - form, forward lean, pump the arms and USE them for muscle elasticity. Focus on the race- run hard and actually race!
Finish- 43:29, 2nd Female overall
Definitely not first class, but a PR by several minutes (last 10k- May 2010 48+, pr 10k at Dallas tri 46:17). Avg pace 7:00. I feel my time could have been A LOT better had I not gone out so fast in the first mile, but we learn by experience and I won't be making that mistake again. The course was FLAT. I would recommend this one to anyone shooting for a PR, and I would come back to track progress. Definitely happy about the results and feeling optimistic about continual improvement.
Results HERE
Results HERE
This was one of the funner races I've been to in a while. New Orleans knows how to party. Made some new friends, chowed down on delicious jambalaya, enjoyed the live band, and made $100. It was a great day!
