TriMonroe marks my first year training and competing full time in the sport of triathlon. I felt a bit emotional in the process of preparing for this race and even during the whole race experience, because it really just hit me how far I have come as a person this year and how my life has drastically changed. This year was not only a transition in my academics and athletics, but it was a transformation of my identity in a way. I like this new identity better though, so it was all worth it I think.
I usually only get nervous the day before a race after packet pick-up and pre-race briefing; However, I was nervous on the Wednesday night before leaving Thursday. Woke up at 3:40am bright-eyed and bushy tailed (not really I was exhausted!) I really tried to stay relaxed, even though I was already having trouble maintaining my cool-calm composure, which I try to do in public. I tried to sleep on the plane, which helped me catch up on sleep. We arrived in Seattle, and played tourist for a couple hours, going to explore the Pikes Market. I love traveling because we get to see so many new places, and honestly it is really fun people watching and feeling out the energies of new places. We went back to the hotel and assembled the bikes; Funny thing is, it took me probably twice as long as my teammates! I need to get better at this. I am a mechanical engineer for goodness sake!We went for dinner at this really good Italian restaurant, but we were all pretty tired so we went to bed early. I finally got a good night sleep; noticed that I sleep so much better at low altitude. I woke up in the morning refreshed. We went to the venue, Lake Tye Park, and did all of our pre-race rituals. I felt pretty good, better than I had felt in a while. I think with all of the hard training and efforts you put in mentally and physically into training you become tired; when you have the few recovery/taper days before races you really build back up and come race day the plan is to be energized and ready to race. I definitely felt energized and recovered, but mentally I was not in the right place. I was really doubting myself and my nerves were getting the best of me for sure. My teammate Kathrine Warren (we call her "Moose") helped me a lot during this race; she kept telling me to loosten up all the time, which is what I needed. "It's just a race," she said. She was absolutely right; it was just a race, like any other race. She said I looked like I was really freaking out, which I was! Sometimes when you feel like you are panicking the best thing to do is accept it and acknowledge this feeling. That is exactly what I did, and it helped with some of my nerves.
Everyone is probably wondering why I was so much more nervous for this race than any other races. This race last year was my first race on my team, PEAK Multisport, and I had just started working with Ken Axford, my current coach. I was not a strong swimmer last year; I almost got lapped out on the bike (made it by 15 seconds!). I have always been a decent runner, so I made up for it on the run, but last year I had no idea what I was doing. It was a terrifying experience! Naturally, one would feel a little nervous going into the same experience the following year. In draft legal racing the swim is that much more important; my main goal for this race was to exit the water with others.
Race morning I woke up nervous, but my race wasn't until 2:15 so I knew I had a lot of time before I had to be ready to race. I paced around in the parking lot and at the venue all morning, trying to stay relaxed, but struggled. I finally went into a shady spot on my own, listened to some soft music, and tried to relax, which helped. My dad and my sister Alexa arrived at the venue (my dad was visiting Alexa because she is working at Boeing). It was nice to spend some time with them and have them watch me race. Everyone told me before the race that I was going to do great and that I was a new person and athlete this year, but I still doubted myself. I felt that Greeley Triathlon was maybe just luck (that I just had a good day), and I really wanted to prove to myself that I CAN repeat with another good race. Coach Ken asked me "you nervous?" before my swim warm-up. Typically he asks me this when he can tell I'm nervous. I was nervous, excited, and freaking out at the same time!
I have said this so many times, but I truly feel blessed to be on this team, and to have such an organized, methodical, and thoughtful coach. I also feel lucky that I had the support of my sister and my dad at this race. I love my family so much, and it means the world to me having their support.
Over time, I will build a base in training and with that I will build confidence to know going into races that I can do well. I am excited to keep training and racing this summer, and to enjoy the process of trying to be the best athlete and person I can be. Go PEAK!
