All good things must come to an end unfortunately. After two weeks in Lake Placid, we are heading out. The triathlon camp ended this morning, but not after a few last epic days. Two days ago was a great reverse loop of the IMLP course. This is almost a spin from the village down to Keene. That is probably what makes this course so challenging in general. The elevation loss taken over the six mile decent means you climb back up for a long time. Either way, it was a nice grinder and a different perspective on a course I have ridden so many times in the same direction.
Yesterday was really the peak work day for camp where we completed a 70.3. There were no transitions, but the rest of the efforts were the same as the IMLP race. What a great time. It has been over 9 months since I have been in a triathlon and doing two this week in training, especially a 70.3 was cool. I learned a few things and made a few mistakes, but that is why I normally do shake out races early in the season. Heading into a big race as the first time out for the year has never worked out well.
What did I learn? I have always taken nutrition very seriously. I go into my races with a plan, and it gives me something to focus on during the race. For this effort, I had no specific plan, and just was winging it. I paid for it on the run because of that. I also was trying out some new gear on the run, and it let me down. Another rule, don’t try something new when you want to do well or have to count on it. Lastly, I learned that I can still push through the pain when I need to. I wouldn’t say I was ever in trouble of not finishing, but when you are not actually in a race, and have been out in the sun for hours, taking a shortcut is easy to do. You are in charge of you, and your brain tells you to bail. Being able to push through that is hard to do, and it is good to revisit those situations from time to time.
Mistakes I made…for starters no nutrition plan. I did not set a schedule for consumption nor did I take enough calories with me. With no aid stations that was a key over site in covering the distance. Another thing to that point, because there was no lead up to the 70.3 I didn’t plan my dinners the nights before either. Even the day before I did not go with my standard pizza or pasta. This may or may not have made a difference, but I think it all adds up. Another mistake was not checking my goggles beforehand which resulted in one filling with water immediately. I decided to keep swimming since often when I adjust them in the water I don’t get a good seal on either eye. This really caused a lot of irritation for the rest of the day, and made sighting on the swim tricky.
All in all it was a great distance, is always a great course, and I set a few PR’s along the way. Camp finished this morning with a last swim in Mirror Lake, and now it’s time to rest up, and use this huge training block as a stepping stone for whatever is next.
Float. Spin. Walk. 