Thursday, July 19, 2012

Best. Time Trial. Ever!

When I began my triathlon training my only goal was to do my best, beat my best, and then do it again.  As I have upped the ante on my training and have begun to see the vast improvements I've made I can't help but compare my race day performances to the other athletes in my age group.  While that may be the case with my shorter races, when it comes to Ironman the mission is simple: complete the race and do the best I can.

Yes, my run time trail route is boring, but there's nothing to slow me down!
My previous run time trials (May & June) left me a bit disappointed and I knew I could do better.  To be fair the first TT was hardly a week removed from a huge effort on the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, but last month I'm not sure why I didn't have a stronger showing.  This morning I made up for those weak TTs with one of the best runs I've ever had.  For the first time ever I sustained an average pace below 7 minutes (6:53 to be exact), running my final mile at a pace of 6:37.  Until today these were paces I'd only touched during speed workouts but this morning I just felt invincible.  The minor tightness in my calf eased up after my warmup and it was smooth sailing through the whole 5K.  Had this been a race it would have been my PR for a PR at 20:39. 


On another note: I just received my first email from the race director of Ironman Arizona.  I'm not gonna lie, seeing the subject line "Welcome to the 2012 IRONMAN Arizona!" gave me goosebumps.  In his letter he mentions the race seeming both "far too close and ...not soon enough,"  and I couldn't agree more.  I know I have a loooonnnngg way to go in my training but I am still so pumped for the race.  During my hours upon hours of training each week I can't help but take a trip to Arizona in my head.  I imagine what it will be like to be out there racing with almost 3,000 others and how it will feel to cross the finish line. 

For my final inspiration of the day, here's something that Tri Loco Gerardo posted on our Facebook page:


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