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Moab Triathlon Festival - Race Report



In this race, I was on a mission. I was going to execute Coach M's plan as best I could. Wanna know the plan? This is what it said:

Have a ball! Race all out. You should feel good from start to finish and be able to push the entire time.

That sounds like fun, does not it? Of course I am going to go all out and push the whole time. It's a race after all, right?

Well. Coach knows me better than that. She thinks I hold back every so slightly. She is right. I mean, if I did not hold back just a little, wouldn't that mean that I will either not make it to the finish line or collapse right after it?

This is what she told me a few days before the race:

Focus on visualizing going all out the whole time.
I know you push yourself but I want you to push even more.
I don't want you to do just enough to win.
The point of going all out is not to have the fastest race ever but it is knowing that you pushed to your limit and beyond.
You are strong and you need to feel that you can crush your competition. Not in a bad way. Just so that when you push really hard, you can dominate.
Don't be afraid to do it.

There you go. That was my pep talk from Coach. Yikes! Sounds like it is going to hurt! But if I want to have a great race at Boise 70.3, then I need to practice being in the pain cave a little more often. I was ready...

I saw that there were quite a few girls from Colorado that I had never heard of and some of them looked very intimidating but I am happy to say that it does not phase me anymore. It has taken a long time but I have finally come to the point where all I expect of myself is to give it my very best. If there are faster girls, great! Bring it on!

The Swim

Good

I did not mind the cold water. Below 60? I can handle it.
Although we started with the guys, it was pretty calm.
I exited 4th overall and 1st female.

Bad

I could not see the buoys! I have been having this problem a lot lately. After one lap it finally occurred to me that my 3-year-old goggles might be just too fogged up. I was really sick of having to do breast stroke half the time in order to see where I was going. So I stopped, dipped the goggles in the water and - voila! - everything was so clear that I about peed in my wetsuit I was so excited! It was smooth sailing from here...

The bike

Good

I thought I was going to hate the course but - to my surprise - I was loving it! All the cows miraculously stayed out of the road, the roads did not feel as bad as they looked, and there were more hills than I thought. There was probably only 1 flat mile. It was 10k downhill, 20k uphill and another 10k downhill. I sure like myself some hills!

As I was exiting the swim, Chris, the race director, yelled: "There is one ahead of you!" At least that is what I thought he said and later on he confirmed his statement. So, of course, I tried to catch her. She was nowhere in sight but I was going to catch her. Well, all I could see at the first turn-around was 3 guys. And they were all obviously men. So, instead of catching a girl in front of me, I tried to pick up as many guys as I could. I caught 2 but, in the end, was also caught by 2. Not too shabby.

Bad

I can't think of anything. Except that it must have been long 'cause I sure was going faster than 12 mph. But that might have actually been a good thing.

The run














Good

It was a super fun course! Definitely XTERRA worthy. Lots of sand, rocks, hills, and even a stream to cross on a wobbly little wooden bridge. Plenty of entertainment!

Bad

Although I love it, I have not been trail running in way too long. I could feel it for sure. I came off the bike in 3rd and was hoping to hold that position. But when #4 passed me I knew there was no way I could stick with him. I was trying hard. Really hard. My mantra was Crush the Competition. I know, not a very nice one. I was just following Coach's orders and I think it helped.


Karl (XTERRA) had started an hour before me and crossed the finish line about 5 minutes after me. It would have been fun to cross paths on the run but it was also nice to enjoy some post-race moments together before getting Noah ready for his race.

Thank you, TriUtah for putting on a great race, as usual. And thank you, HT Training for getting me to the starting line strong and ready.




Comments

jaredandgina said…
Great Job Sarah! You are all amazing!! I wish I had that competition drive!! Good luck with your big race!
May 24, 2011
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