Pre-race

I want to be clear here...this is a "do as I say not as I do" kind of post. It's almost embarrassing to put this out there as a coach, but it is what it is and the truth doesn't change just because you don't say it outloud.

I did NOT train for this race. I didn't honestly think I would do it until about 4 weeks ago. When we all signed up (my husband and his brother) it was my intention to train. I did a little bit but every time I really got into a groove I would be beaten down with autoimmune fatigue. That fatigue is unlike any other fatigue. It's bone-weary soul-crushing exhaustion that is all-encompassing (mental, emotional and physical). 

Then COVID postponed our race from last May until August. I never believed it was actually going to happen, and I was right. Then it was postponed until May. At the end of last year I had some "flares" of symptoms that actually had me talking to my neurologist about going on a round of IV steroids. We decided to wait because I had just switched thyroid hormone so maybe the symptoms were from that and not actually AE related.

My daughter and I were signed up for a trail race in February, but we planned from the start to hike it so I didn't train for that. And then there was McKay Hollow in March. I thought I had PLENTY of time for that one, but then realized the day before the race that the first cutoff might be tight for me to make...I did it but it was about a 20 minute pace. I knew I wouldn't have that kind of time at the 70.3.

Then in mid April I started eating Juice Plus. I had heard all kinds of success stories from several people saying they gained all this wonderful energy from it...and that was certainly my experience. But I knew I didn't have time to train, so I just kept doing what I had been doing: running/walking sporadically, "swimming" a few yards once or twice a week, and teaching Spin classes 2-3 times a week.

My plan for the race was to start and see what happened.

I don't remember EVER being that nervous before a race. But I've never been THAT undertrained, especially not for that kind of distance. I was so glad to have friends and family there to encourage me. 

We got to Chattanooga on Friday, got checked in at the race, spent some money in Athlete Village, got checked in to our AirBnB, and went to dinner. Saturday we spent some more money at Athlete Village, got our bikes checked in and then drove the course. I truly felt sick to my stomach. I didn't remember the course being THAT hilly when I did the full in 2015 (or in any of the training rides I had done there leading up to that race). My one saving grace was that I was certain the river current would make my swim super fast which would give me more time on the bike course. If I made it off the bike course within the cutoff I had calculated I would need to have about a 15 minute pace on the run to make the final cutoff. 

I got to bed fairly early that night and then woke up bright and early race morning. We all ate and packed up our bags and headed to transition to get set up. Because they had dynamic bib assignment this year we were able to be together-that was a real treat! We laid out our stuff, pumped our tires, visited the portapotties and started the 1.75 mile walk to the start line. It was super organized leaving transition-they had pace sign holders/escorts that walked the various groups down to the start...and then at the start it was PURE CHAOS!!!! It took an hour from the actual start for us to get in the water-and there were A LOT of people behind us!

Walking out to where we jumped in the water the only thing I was anxious about was the water temperature. I wasn't wearing a wetsuit (only my "floaty pants"-wetsuit shorts) because mine doesn't fit, I didn't want to buy or borrow one and I was convinced it wouldn't make that big of a difference.

I just kept telling myself "just start, give your best effort, and see what happens"....and then I jumped in....

I'll write up more race details later but I figured I'd post my Strava data for what it's worth. When I say I didn't train...I mean I REALLY didn't train...

My swim data:

My bike data:

My run data: 

((The last time I rode my real bike on the road was September 13th of 2019! Well...I did ride for 20 minutes Thursday before the race because we had just picked up the bike from the shop and needed to make sure everything was working well!))

If you are an athlete...re-read the first sentence of my post...do as I SAY not as I DO! (And, for the record, I will NOT be doing it like THAT every again!)

Thanks for stopping by and sticking around!