As 2014 is wrapping up, and a new year is quickly approaching, I have been thinking a lot about this year and season. Here are some of those thoughts....
FAVORITE RACE: I will have to say this was probably Age Group Nationals. Even though it wasn't a great race for me, I loved doing it and having a whole vacation planned around this race. I loved swimming in Lake Michigan, I loved the run, and the bike course was great too, even though it was probably my worse bike performance EVER in a race. It was also humbling, but it was a great experience.
LEAST FAVORITE RACE: I think I am still having PTSD from IM StG 70.3. I still shake my head at that whole thing. I have such a score to settle with that bike course, I will definitely go back, but not in 2015 as it is only two weeks before IMTX. But I WILL go back.
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A RACE: Hands down Icebreaker Sprint Tri. Loved this race. I podiumed in my first race in my new age group (35-39), and it is the race that qualified me for AG Nationals. Though my run was a little slower than I would have liked, I hammered the bike and the swim, and had a great day. And, it was also a new PR for me :)
BIGGEST ARSE HANDLING IN A RACE: The Triple Bypass. That ride hurt A LOT. I was not prepared for it for a variety of reasons. It also killed any and every desire I have ever had to do the whole LOTOJA by myself. My butt was not made to be in a saddle that long, and as much as I like riding, I suck at and don't particularly enjoy climbing.
MOST MEMORABLE TRAINING RUN OF 2014: A trail run I had just a few weeks ago. It was perfect. It was beautiful. It was just me and I loved the solo time. There wasn't anything particularly critical about this run, it was just one of those "all is right with the world moments."
MOST MEMORABLE SWIM: This is a tie between swimming in Lake Michigan at Nationals or the swim at Sand Hollow for IM StG 70.3. Even though both of those were tough races for me, the swim portions were awesome, and I loved every second of them for different reasons. The swim at StG was simply gorgeous. Perfect water temps, perfect weather, perfect scenery. It was also a 5 minute swim PR for me for that distance. I loved it. The swim at Nationals was by far the most challenging as far as it had the dishwasher effect like I had never experienced before. As much as it was challenging, I loved it. And it was cool to say I swam in Lake Michigan :)
MOST MEMORABLE RIDE OF 2014: The Triple Bypass. As hard as this was for so many reasons, I will never forget it for many more. It was beyond breathtaking. It was a challenge, and I did it with my Dad. I have always been a Daddy's girl, so to do this ride with him was amazing.
WHAT I DID RIGHT THIS YEAR: My off season. I really did nail every thing I wanted to do leading up to my IM Training plan starting. It was a perfect balance of maintaining a base, working on my weakness (running) and enjoying some down time.
WHAT I DIDN'T DO RIGHT: My consistency was not great this year. It went in spurts and then got derailed. I think the root of the problem is that I set myself up for failure in biting off more than I can chew, and when I couldn't do it all, I got frustrated and gave up. I also had some burn out and attitude issues this year. I wasn't always as positive as I could have been. I struggled with motivation.
WHAT AM I MOST PROUD OF: Registering for my first Ironman. I finally took the leap and I am so excited I can't stand it!
I will do another post later in the week about my goals for 2015. I know some of them, but I need to nail down a few more. In the meantime, Happy training and racing!
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