RACE REPORT: 2012 Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon

[Susan Otcenas]

OH my gosh, I can't believe I almost forgot the biggest positive of all:

7) MY IT BAND HELD UP! I've been in PT every week since January. I've foam rolled so much that I've worn a major dent into the roller. Lots of stretching. And it's paid off. The IT band is not 100% (it's still a little tweaked today from the weekend's effort) but it gave me ZERO trouble during the race. I forgot all about it, in fact. Yay!

[GLC1968]

Great job, Susan! Cherish the experience...you could be on the sidelines, right? I did really enjoy reading this report though because it almost felt like I was there with you.

It may be worth noting that I have heard a lot of people here at work complaining about allergies and how, for some reason, symptoms skyrocketed this weekend in particular. You may have been experiencing the same issue...

Now, about that running... If you want to feel better about your overall performance, spend some time on BT and read the threads from all those fast runners who get so frustrated that they can't bike at all. You are so not alone! And really, if you were to look at the last 10 years of your life, what % was spent on a bike and what % was spent running? Some of those fast runners have been running their whole lives (similar to how many of us have been biking), so it makes sense. If you were willing to take a couple of years to train for some ultra run (the PBP equivalent), then I'd bet dollars to donuts that you'd see drastic improvements in your run times even for shorter races. But you (and most of us here), love to bike. That's complete acceptable! Don't beat yourself up over your run performances though, ok?

[Susan Otcenas]

And really, if you were to look at the last 10 years of your life, what % was spent on a bike and what % was spent running? Some of those fast runners have been running their whole lives (similar to how many of us have been biking), so it makes sense. If you were willing to take a couple of years to train for some ultra run (the PBP equivalent), then I'd bet dollars to donuts that you'd see drastic improvements in your run times even for shorter races.

Did someone say donuts??

Yes, I know you are right. I'm fortunate to have the huge cycling base that I do. My coach has pointed out to me that the bike is a big issue for many of her athletes; the distance is daunting, the aero position requires lots of adjustments, their butts hurt and they can't find a chamois and/or saddle that works for them, they don't know how to manage their nutrition for that many hours in the saddle... I have all of that really dialed and don't need much work there. In fact, I'm riding waaaaaaay less than I have in the past 2-3 years, spending the time in the pool and in my run shoes, training my weaknesses. This time last year I had ~4000 miles in my legs already. This year? ~1500, which seems shockingly low to me, but I don't seem to have lost any fitness in that area.

I wonder what the PBP equivalent of ultra running is. Probably Western States or something like that. Now *those* people are nuts.