Tami Ritchie: June 2013

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Pigman Sprint Race Report

The race was on June 2nd, but it felt like April 2nd. Cold, cloudy, and very windy. My race did not go well. The swim went ok, though I was faster two years ago. The water was 64 degrees, it a great temperature if you like wetsuits. I was leading the swim and out of T1. After exiting T1 I had trouble getting my feet in my shoes because my hands were so cold they didn't work quite right. For the first quarter of the bike I felt alright, felt like I could actually race. The last three quarters of the race I just felt flat and tired- I'm working on changing my bike position and a few other things to try and get this straightened all out-hopefully very soon! One very important thing to factor into racing and training is life stress. I had underestimated life stress that kept building throughout the month of May, and by race day I was spent. It was so evident on the bike with inability to even feel like I could find 'race gear'. Never underestimate the impact life stress has on you. Many endurance athletes are type A and want to complete all their scheduled workouts. This may look good on paper to see you successfully completed all your workouts, but it may co

me at a cost to your body if you are not listening to it. And, like happened to me in this race, it will become glaringly obvious at exactly the wrong time.

By the end of the bike I was in 6th place, but thankfully, no longer cold. My flat and tired feelings continued on the run. There was really no one super close to me to really race (try to catch or stay ahead of) either, so I didn't really feel pushed, nor like I needed to push as I knew it was going to be an all-around slow race for me. It was a very bad race for me but has reminded me that I must do something about my bike fit, rest and recuperate.

I had planned on doing Kansas 70.3 the next weekend, but by Thursday before decided not to go and take the long weekend to rest and re-energize. It turned out to be an awesome decision. I got plenty of sleep, did not feel stressed, and even had some great training.

Thanks to all my sponsors who make this all possible!

Next is a local sprint race, Copper Creek on June 23. Then Racine 70.3 in July.

Something I was able to work on my days off!

St. Croix Race (if you can call it a race!) Report

St. Croix wasn't much of a race for me. There were torrential downpours the evening and all through the night before. This left gravel all over the road. Not just a little gravel, I mean 10 feet long of thick rough grave every few miles. Many people were either fixing flats or had to drop out from flats or other mechanical problems. I did not get a flat, but had other issues. The biggest one was probably rocks. A blister started to form about the middle of the ride. It ended up causing me to run (well, hobble really) with my shoe half on. I just wasn't going to go all the way down to the island to not finish the race, with the exception of my heel I was healthy and decided to slowly enjoy the rest of the course simply because I could.

Practice swim

The water is crystal clear and beautiful. During the swim I saw fish, turtles, and a small stingray. St. Croix is my favorite swim course. The bike is hilly. Hilly the entire 56 miles. It rained on us. Some of the roads weren't in the best conditions to begin with, add in the damage from the night before, plus some new downpours during the race, and it became is crazy bike course. I think I personally really struggle coming from the trainer to outside, especially on hills or technical courses. I need an adjustment period, especially if there are hills involved, and just did not get any biking time in outside prior here in the lovely Iowa never-ending winter. In the two weeks I've been back and riding outside I already feel tremendously strong and more confident on my bike. The run was hot. As I said I had a blister so by this time it was not longer a race for me. Just time to enjoy being happy, healthy, and on a beautiful island. We stayed a few days after the race to do vacationy type things and had a blast, it was hard to come back.