The great thing about triathlons is that you are always schooling yourself. Experiential learning. So here are the top 10 things I learned from my 2008 season.
1. NEVER, never, ever eat 3 Ghirardelli double chocolate brownies at 8pm the night before your first season race. No matter how seducing they look coming out of the oven all hot and gooey waiting to be eaten as a post race celebration...it just is not a smart idea. (I was up all night, and I mean all night, I slept from 4am-5am, a whopping 1 hour from the sugar, caffeine, and pre-race nerves.
2. You CAN complete a sprint triathlon on 1 hour sleep. By no means is it fun or PR breaker but completing it is doable. One foot in front of the other.
3. Do NOT ride with your hard-core mountain biker friend (who you haven't seen in a year and was hoping to impress with your new riding skillz) 2 days before race day, zone out ("oh it's so pretty out here, hey look there's a cow, blah, blah, more mental chatter...) and CRASH on the side of the road. OUCH!!! (Tom, thanks for pushing me!)
4. Do NOT try new gear race day. How many articles, books, advice columns, coaches, friends have told you this???!!! Clearly, not enough!!!! I tried my new aero water bottle on race day and since I didn't install it correctly or try it out before the race, I spent the entire bike ride trying to prevent my ONLY source of hydration from being roadkill. ( I placed 4th in AG...hmmm could I have taken 3rd if I wasn't fussing with my water bottle the entire ride??!!)
5. DO have really funny (gross) conversations with your training partners on the tail end of a very hot Brick workout to get you through it. Topic of choice: When/How many times you pooped a little (or prevented an even bigger accident) while racing. (M and J, you know who you are!)
6. DO remember to bring the keys to the bike rack when traveling to a different town for a training ride. (Good times, M!)
7. Do NOT have your children (who, you found out didn't understand what mommy was doing and why everyone was yelling so were scared to death and started crying) waiting to see you mile 4 on the run of an Olympic Distance that you were killing and feeling good....just to completely lose your composure and bomb the last 2 miles. Note: Post coming soon about "composure" with pictures for dramatic effect.
8. Do CHOOSE to share a pool lane with the absolute worst swimmer you have ever come across, no matter how chaotic things get (splashing, kicking, zigzagging in every direction). It is great practice for any wrestle-mania triathlon swim start.
9. DO find a really great training partner. Maybe someone who is a little bit better than you in all 3 sports but is equally as nutty...which makes for a great combination of fun and friendly competition. (Molly, we had quite a season!)
10. DO celebrate all your hard work with all your family, friends and an ice cold beer. Thanks to all for your support and encouragement!!!!!
Here's to a successful 2009 Season!!!
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