thinking of cancelling out on the olympic distance tri

[Brina]

I am scheduled to run the Accenture tri at the end of August and it is giving me major stress. I loved the sprint that I did, but immediately after I had to get my whole family packed and across the country for a wedding. While we were away I only ran once, although I did a lot of walking. Since we are home I have been in major funk and I threw my neck out for a few days. So, since the sprint that, have run once, swum once and spent a day at the gym doing cardio and weights. I am really afraid that I will not be able to build up sufficient endurance in just 5 weeks to complete the olympic distance event. A year ago I was 50 lbs overweight and a complete slug. Today I am 25 lbs overweight and in much better, but still not ideal shape. I have a number of orthopedic issues that make it not a good idea to increase distances too quickly.

Tell me the truth, am I just making excuses? A part of me feels like a wimp for wanting to cancel doing this event, but a part of me feels like a giant weight has been lifted. I can sign up for a sprint event the weekend before and work on improving my time versus earlier this month.

[Lise]

Brina, sorry to hear this month has been so rough for training. I believe you can get into sufficient shape to do Accenture, if you want to. An Oly tri is hard, no doubt. I'm not even near where I wish I were with training for the Pleasant Prairie tri 8/20. But I'm going to do it. I have the experience of doing Lake Zurich for the first time, back in 2003, and coming in dead last with my friend Nicole. We were so undertrained! Yet it was a moment of incredible triumph.

Now, I really doubt you'd come in last as Nic and I did. Will you come in toward the end? Probably. You'd need to go somewhat slowly, to not injure yourself. But who cares? It's such a powerful experience to finish a triathlon, and Accenture is the biggest in the world. I go down just to cheer. The energy will carry you in ways no one else can imagine.

On the other hand, do what feels right to you. Would you need to actually cancel? A sprint the week before would also be a triumphant experience, and probably a lot more sane. ("is this sane?" is not always one of my top questions...) Which sprint tri are you thinking of doing?

Hang in there, and remember that you can restart at any time. Today looks gorgeous. I haven't been in the pool for waaaay too long. Some days I tell myself I'm a faker because I don't swim train nearly enough. Well, getting to the pool is hard, the hours for lap swim don't match up with my life very well, etc. But I've got a month until I swim .9 miles in Lake Andrea, so it would behoove me to swim some more! Tonight I swim train at the park district. This morning I'm riding my bike downtown to celebrate my niece's 3rd birthday with my family at Millenium Park. We meet at the Bean!

What ever decision you make, it will be the best decision for you at the time. Trust that. L.

[Tri Girl]

Chin up, Brina! Sometimes life gets so hectic and it's impossible to fit in all the training we need (or think we need).

I think 5 weeks is a good amount of time to train for your oly. You really only need to taper the few days before, so that still leaves you lots of time to work on each sport. If you weren't planning on placing high in your AG (or overall), then just do it for the fun/experience of it. That tri is amazing from what I've heard, and I think come race day you'll be pushed on by all the people and the excitement of the race.

I wouldn't give up on yourself so quickly. How about training the next 3 weeks and see where you're at. If 2 weeks out from the event you really FEEL physically that it's not possible, then do the sprint instead. My last oly I wasn't in top form (I'm IM training and that means pacing myself slower, and most everyone there was moving much faster). I didn't care tho, and did it for the enjoyment of racing. I was one of the last 10 people to finish, but I got so many cheers.

I say to start your training today (or tomorrow) and see where you're at in 3 weeks. I know you can complete the distance (so what if you have to walk some/all of the run or not be as fast on the bike). Fact of the matter is- you're out there doing it and for that you should be very proud.

Good luck in your decision (sorry if I was a little preachy/rambly).
Hugs!

[Brina]

thanks, guys. I am going to follow your advice and keep training and then make a decision a week or two before the race. I am actually feeling a lot better after running yesterday and doing a brick this morning. I will keep you up to date.