Race

The word “race” gets inverted comma’s because its a term usually reserved for going as fast as you can over the distance. This wasn’t that.

Over the last 6 months or so my knees got shit. That sent me into a yo-yo. Try harder, followed by give up, followed by try hard again. That wasn’t a great place to be. I had lost all confidence.

Recently I had a reset. I gave myself 2 weeks off. I needed to treat it like an actual injury and not only let the body heal a bit but also my head. This had the desired result. I could now think clearly.

I stepped back in gradually. Easy walks and then a couple of easy spins on the trainer. One strength session a week. Things were progressing.

Last week I finally got my bike back after having a cracked fork. Then I toyed with the idea of going around up at Hawks Nest. Only T2 I promised myself. So I signed up. I also kept it to myself. Racing was about getting confidence back within myself that I could do it. It was a personal thing.

So I raced and I loved it. The swim went well. The run up the sand was hard. The bike was fun. Then the run was easy. I went T3 all day, not T2. Always coaxing myself to slow down. I took my time in transitions. I just wanted to finish without any problems.

And that I did. No issues. Could have kept going in fact and that’s the exact outcome I wanted.

Faster will come maybe, possibly even longer …. but it all starts with slower and shorter.

To race slower you have to be humbled. To understand where things are and know exactly what you want.

I don’t care who you are or how fast you are there is always a time when you doubt your body’s ability to do what you are asking it to.

You just have to start where you are. Be where your feet hit the ground. Not where you were or where you want to be. Just where you are.

And that’s okay.

Cheers
Coach