Triathlon season is among us. I did my first race of the season the first week of January. It was an indoor triathlon and got the season started. I have just about figured out the rest of the of my schedule but more about that later.
Leading up to my first official triathlon of the year I admit I've been cramming a bit. I caught a bad cold that my MS kept me from kicking in January into February. Then I had a couple of good weeks of training and then threw my back out and was on super low impact activities for almost three weeks (even swimming was painful). I finally got myself back in business again and had a bit of a panic in mid April when I looked at my original training plan and was way off. Once I realized the plan was designed before I dropped two runs from my list of races I regrouped and my coach confirmed I was right where I needed to be although I needed to get some focused bike rides in and a start adding runs.
I did manage to put in one or two rides each week after that but had more than one lack luster run. I threw in a few challenges like a 4.5 mile trail run through the beautiful bluffs and forest north of Decorah. Add a 25 mile bike ride in 20 mph gusts and we call that a hill workout. Whew! Love the challenges of spring in Iowa. Anyway I was feeling like finishing my first race of the year was going to be no problem, and then I saw the weather forcast for the weekend. Race start temp of 45 degrees and water temps in the low 60s if I was lucky.
Now I had done several races in the fall and had some colder water temps so had an idea of what to expect, but it left me wondering how many layers I was going to need. Joe and I did a Goodwill run in Kansas City and found some potentially "disposable" sweats in case we needed to have some layers right before the swim start to keep from hypothermia. I also wasn't sure what I would need for layers during the bike and run so I was throwing all sorts of things in my gear back at the last minute. As a result I forgot to bring my sandals and breakfast stuff.
With a plan in hand I had some time to think about what the rest of my season should look like. I am supposed to do four races as part of the Women's Pearl Izumi Tri Champion team. I front loaded my schedule with my big races, the KC Olympic Triathlon and a new half Ironman called Milkman in Madison Wisconsin on Father's Day weekend. I'm also hoping to race Bluff Creek which is a long time favorite of mine (Twister Hill) at the end of July as well as the ISU Cyman Tri in September. In August I am taking a break from training to go backpacking in Isle Royal with my cousin so it is shaping up to look like a great summer.
In between racing I plan to help coach the youth tri clinic over a series of Saturday in a neighboring town with my tri club, and volunteer at three triathlons as well. I also plan to do one or two family 5k runs just for fun as well as ride the 50 mile MS bike ride with my dad again the weekend after my half Ironman race. I am ever grateful to be able to keep up my activities and have been fortunate my body has cooperated so far. Looking forward to a great summer of sport, which even includes at least three Major League Baseball games. Stay tuned for my official KC Triathlon race report.
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