TWU... Ouch

I did the TWU Pioneer Power Sprint yesterday - It was the first tri I ever completed more than three years ago, and this was my fourth time to go back. This was also possibly my most painful experience there.

With Beijing only 6 weeks away, I thought it would be a good idea to go as fast as I possibly could on the bike, and then see how well I could run after that. The answer? Not so well. For the first time since 2008, I had to WALK during the run. Ouch. I was over-heated, wearing a jersey that probably wasn't a great choice for performance (I was wearing it for a charitable group, however, so no real regrets there), and pushing way harder than normal. I was doing great until about halfway through mile 2, and then I just stopped. I don't even know the last time I felt like that. I had to walk two more times before I reached the finish - not one of my proudest days.

None of this is to mention that my swim barely broke 6:00, and my "super hard" bike definitely wasn't "super fast." Kind of a wake up call. Not to say that I hadn't already realized my training and, even more so, my recovery was taking a hit. Nothing has really been dialed in since the new performance center opened, and, being a coach, I know the toll that takes on performance. But somehow in my head I was thinking I was going to keep improving at the rate I was earlier in the year when life was still sane.

WRONG.

So here I am, the most important race of my life up to this point less than 6 weeks away and I am FREAKING OUT. Now first, let me stop and say - this was a tough race. Even with my horrid performance, I still won my division and was 7th OA woman, so the conditions were difficult for everyone, but the point is that I still wasn't living up to my potential by any means. So I'm freaking out and trying to figure out how to make myself world championship material in the next 6 weeks. Can it be done? We'll find out... I've got a decent base and I think if I am incredibly smart and committed from now until September 10th, I've still got a chance of placing in the top half.

Everyone, please keep your fingers crossed. Thanks.

Happy training everybody!