TriMonroe EDR Race Report "Race with Passion!"

    It has been a few days since my race, but after catching up in my calculus class this week, I finally have time to write my race report!
    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!

    Right before my swim warm up, I did something which I don't normally do at that time, but it helped a ton. I closed my eyes, then opened them; with a new perspective I really studied the swim course. I imagined myself starting the swim strong, committing 100% and swimming a straight line. I then imagined myself exiting with others, and having a pack on the bike. That was it, I wouldn't allow myself to see anything different. This was the last image in my head so I had that feeling inside me at the race start that I was going to swim my heart out and exit with others. My friend, who is a professional XTerra Triathlete, Kim Baugh, wrote me before the race to "race with passion." I really took this in and told myself to "race with passion" and then no matter what I couldn't be disappointed. If you never give up, if you always fight, there is nothing to be disappointed about; this is my attitude in just about everything in my life. I often tell myself in Hungarian"legy eros" meaning "be strong."

     I had probably one of the best swim starts I have had, and my swim went just as I had seen it. I exited the water with two girls, and we went into the bike together. We caught two other girls on the way and worked really well as a pack of five. I am really glad my Coach Ken had us do all of the paceline drills because it felt natural during the race, and for once I was one of the people communicating with the pack. I felt really strong on the bike. They were calling times on the side "1min...40 sec...20 sec.." I was confused because I thought they meant 1 min from getting lapped. Typical me! They meant 1 minute from the leaders! We really made some ground on the bike, and I had the fastest U25 bike split, which was exciting, since last year I couldn't even stay with one girl who tried to work with me.

  I saw the leaders just ahead. I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to podium, but I didn't care. I wanted to do the best I could possibly do. I came off the bike last out of our pack, but caught most of the girls, except one girl in the first lap of the two lap run course. I was in fifth place, fighting to catch the girl in fourth, who was in the 25-29 category. I almost caught her at one point! In the second lap, I heard Coach Ken's voice yelling "go go keep it up catch her!" from the water. I find it amazing how Coach Ken really sacrificed his race for his athletes. He was cheering for me during his swim warm-up; made me laugh a bit. I put my head down and made some ground on the girl running with her for a while, but into the last straight away I lost my kick a bit and my legs weren't as strong. The run course was a little longer (around 3.3 miles)' maybe if it was exactly a 5k I would've caught her; need to get stronger! I crossed the finish line in fifth place, which I was pretty proud about. I really surprised myself in this race, and it showed me how much I have improved in a year! I realize that a lot of the time, my worries are irrational; they are completely in my mind, and this demonstrates just how important the mental toughness side of sports are and how important confidence is in athletics. I feel that this race helped me build the confidence to continue to improve; it also gave me the confidence to know that I am capable of doing well in draft legal racing. The goal is to get my swim stronger, which I am working on!
    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!