Win Some, Lose Some

What a day it was!

I couldn’t have asked for better conditions; being someone who loves racing in high temperatures, the 90 odd thermostat reading as the gun went off to start the race on Sunday made for an ideal race day set up.

While the later start time, 11:46 am, was new to me (US triathlon starts are typically always first thing in the morning), it proved to be a nonissue; I simply staged my week leading up to it to be on a slightly later bedtime and awakening time in the morning.

I had a great swim, a satisfactory bike and a really disappointing run.

I write all this based solely on the goals I had set for myself and nothing else.  

My finish time of 5:15 is less than I am capable of, and that’s the one thing under my control.  

At the same time, finishing in 13th place, though a lower ranking than what the usual outcome of working my tail off is, is not in my control, only in the sense that one never knows who else might show up to tow the line by your side on race day.

I’d be fibbing if I were to write that I can simply shrug my shoulders and brush off what feels to me like an overall ‘less than’ performance, but I can honestly say that it is all part of the game.

As the saying goes, it’s true that you win some and you lose some, and it is from the races that don’t go as planned that the others which do are so much sweeter.

What went wrong, you might wonder?

Nothing in particular and even if it had, I’d hesitate to go on moaning about this or that.   The bottom line is that it wasn’t my day, there’s nothing or no one in particular to lay blame on…I just didn’t have what it took on that one day.

My preparation was great, I had no jet lag after being in Europe for over a week, my nutrition leading up to the race was on point… there is nothing to write about could’ve, would’ve, should’ve.

It was an honor to race at Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Austria, nonetheless, amongst some amazing athletes from around the globe and it has truly been a wonderful European holiday with my husband to finish off the summer.

Watch out for my next race; I’ll be fired up more than ever!