What do you do when you’re not 100% physically or mentally prepared to
race? It’s tough not having that
confidence when you feel you’re giving good effort in training, but it’s just
not clicking. One of the downfalls of
having a Type A personality is that competitive drive to always succeed and
worried about failing. The other side to
this is that competitive drive also drives us to challenge ourselves and see
what we’re made of. The past few months I’ve
had ups and downs with getting sick, shin splints and other issues which has caused
me to question whether I’m capable of competing at the level I would like. I recently raced the Smithfield and Richmond
Triathlon Club sprints triathlons, the week of I had considered pulling out,
but the day before each something clicked and I knew I had to race. I knew that even if I wasn’t feeling great or
compete at the level I would like, I decided to go out there and give it my all
for the joy of racing.
During each race I struggled with several things, but the one thing that
stayed true and kept me motivated was the support of my teammates and
friends. There’s nothing better than
your body hurting and not thinking you can go any faster until you hear and see
a teammate yelling to give you that extra boost you didn’t think you had. The last couple months I haven’t been able to
run more than a mile or two without my shins hurting and enjoying a nice long
walk home throwing self-pity parties wondering why this is happening. During the run at Smithfield and RTC I went
about .25 mile and already ready to start walking from shin pain, but almost
every time I felt like that I would see a teammate yelling in support to where I
had to keep going. I don’t know what it
is whether it’s pride, adrenaline or knowing that your friends are trying to
help as they know that you’re capable of more.
I remember somebody telling me that it’s more fun racing sprints now
that they’re improving in which I can understand, but also disagree. These two races I didn’t have anywhere near
my best swim, bike or especially run as a matter a fact these were my worst
runs in years if not the worst. Was I happy
with my times or how I felt? No. After I
completed the race even though my times weren’t great, I had a great time
pushing my body as hard as it would go seeing what I’m made of. I don’t think I could’ve pushed myself this
hard if it weren’t for my girlfriend Ashley Gibbs, Coach Kyle and the rest of
my teammates and friends.
The season is still young and I’m not giving up on getting well and
rockin 2014!
