Well, where do I start? I guess I’ll start off with the positives from this past weekend in Boulder racing a 5150 race because there always has to be something positive out of everything …. Boulder is pretty awesome! The moment I got there I got a really good vibe from it. It’s a mecca of active, healthy and friendly people and it seemed very organic and environmentally conscious, which is cool. And it being warm and sunny and surrounded by mountains with plenty of places to ride and run is also pretty sweet. I can definitely see why people go there to train!
I homestayed with a super cool, fellow Mechanical Engineer who did ironmans and made me feel very welcome, so thank you Emilie! Her place was a block a way from a Caper’s like Whole Foods, bike and run shop so it was perfect!
Also, there was this cool café that had Acai served with granola, banana and honey, just like in Brazil. It definitely brought back some good memories with Lisa and Sil and our adventures in Rio : )
Oh ya other positives from the race was that I think I got a tan and I didn’t have to worry about legs cramping on the flight back … wait I’m not sure those last one’s are suppose to be positives, hehe ….
So, as some have asked or some have wanted to, but haven’t I am not sure I even know what to say about the race. Something was just off…
The only data that I have that kind of puts me at a little bit of ease was my power output on the bike. Having known my average power in Monroe, past bike races, training, etc this race had me well below those averages and what I was expecting to go … my legs/effort just wasn’t there. Even as people rode by me I couldn’t respond. I tried to go hard at times, but it just didn’t last. And cycling’s been the one sport that has been pretty consistent for me … and I felt like this similarly on the swim and run.
This will sound bad, but by the end of my bike I kind of wished I had a flat and didn’t have to run 10km! Bad, eh!? and kind of funny … my mom laughed when I told her this and then she called me a slowpoke and I laughed in return, she gets me! : ) … Anyways, when I finished I was kind of happy just to be done with it. And that was it.
Joking aside, it was pretty tough to swallow. A part of me wanted to throw everything out the window and go for a ‘very, very long walk’ for a while, but the other part of me wanted to get back on the saddle, figure out what happened and move forward cause I know I am faster than that! And that’s just the way sports is sometimes.
Anyways, I guess I should have taken a hint when I arrived and saw this at the airport everywhere …
and walked out into pouring rain, like seriously pouring rain and was told to be careful of the flash flooding and find under cover if I heard the Tornado sirens go off!! yikes : S It was definitely an interesting and eery drive to Boulder!
Anyways, back to work! : )
