[Forked from the entire race report for ease of reading]
Previous: [Part I of Race journal: Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa, July 2019] The off-season, the buildup and the rise (Sep 2018- Apr 2019)
Lesson: There are so many ways to measure progress, make sure you find the ones that appeal to you or else someone else will give you theirs and you might be miserable forever! The race journey is long and brutal, might as well enjoy your own created victories and milestones while you're at it :D
I had noticed some fogging in my left eye a day before the race and a burning sensation. There was minor swelling. The next morning I wore my contacts and ran the race and the swelling was gone. The rest of the week was uneventful. I landed in California, worked for half a day and took a nap. By the time I woke up, my eyelid had swollen again. The first appointment wasn't until the next week but I could still see so I thought that was ok. Besides, I didn't want to miss open water swim for yet another weekend!
This was a bad idea. On Saturday morning, I went to Gull park knowing that I will likely not go into the water. Coach Char took one look and confirmed that it was a bad idea. I waited it out and was thinking about the bike ride the next morning.
This was also not meant to be. I woke up the next day with an even bigger eyelid and a cold. I found the first eye doctor I could and was diagnosed with a case of internal hordoleum (swelling inside the eyelid) which I was told made swimming a bad idea. I started meds and had to go back to the doctor every two days. I also had to stop all workouts because presumably it wasn't healing fast enough (and the cold didn't help).
I wish I could say I handled this phase gracefully, but that would be a big lie. I pinged the coaches, ranted to Coach Shashi on a long call about how it felt over because I was so close to the race and had already missed three weeks of training and how I'll never get to Kona (okay that last one didn't happen, but you get the over-dramatization here). All the coaches were extremely chill and told me to take my time to recover and Shashi stressed that after that, its their job to help me get to that finish line- that was such an amazing gesture for someone running around like a headless chicken. My eye made it look like I had gotten into a fist fight, so I couldn't really go to work, which meant lots of hours alone at home with a lot of time to doubt.
Looking back, maybe this was the time I actually became convinced about the race. It also jolted me to the reality that there was no telling this won't happen again and I actively looked for prescription sunglasses for the bike/run and polarized prescription swim goggles as a backup.
Lesson: If you wear glasses, there are a lot of small things you can do to be prepared for things that can go wrong! I cover this elsewhere but be prepared to use prescription sunglasses, and for wearing contacts when your hands are dirty after the swim etc.
I was still not cleared for swim but by third week of May, I decided to go for the weekend ride. As luck would have it, it rained on Sunday morning. So James and I did a double brick: I did a spin workout, followed by treadmill run, followed by another spin workout and another brick workout. It was hard, but it felt so good to be able to use my body again and I truly started to understand what people meant when they said you have to push yourself. I got back to swimming the following week and got some great tips from Shashi. It was really hard to go back to the pool after 5 weeks because my muscle memory of all the small tweaks I had built up in the first half and my endurance- both seemed to have disappeared.
All this made me realize the importance of having your mental sanity, looking back it was such a small thing but I learnt the hard way that I can't let my own idea of how things should be get in the way of appreciating how things are.
In early June, some of us also did a mock ride at Santa Rosa, it was a crazy experience for me! I was on the bike for over 5 hours and the temperature had soared to close to 100! And then at mile 42 I got lost, and then at mile 42.1, I got a flat. I also ran out of water and had to ask a random Santa Rosa resident to fill my bottles. It was such a horrible performance but it was so funny and ironical. I had never seen what the front wheel of my new bike needed for a flat (kids, don't do this!) so when I got a flat in the front tube in the scorching heat, I easily wasted some 5 minutes just staring at the though-axle in disbelief. Anyway, I learnt so much in that ride.
Lesson: Practice flat fixing and if possible, under stressful conditions when you are tired. It'll tell you where all you can mess up!
By end of June, I knew that I had to push more since taper would officially start mid July. In this time, I gained a new appreciation for what my body was capable of- every morning I would be tired and feel like I couldn't do anymore. But then I would start the workout and it would all be fine. Throughout the season I also had several episodes related to periods since they were amazingly timed to always show up during one of the longer training rides so I also got some practice of working with that. This part was super helpful because I learnt that even though I would complain to no end, my body was capable of handling the activities just fine - something that was absolutely important for me to know during the race day. By the time we reached taper, I was decently satisfied with whatever I had done.
Next: [Part III of Race journal: Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa, July 2019] Taper and the race day!
Previous: [Part I of Race journal: Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa, July 2019] The off-season, the buildup and the rise (Sep 2018- Apr 2019)
May 2019
At the end of April, I was travelling to the east coast for ten days. I was nervous about missing training but I was confident I could manage based on how much things had improved since Feb. During my travel, I ran on a treadmill wherever possible and walked out for longer distances if not. I couldn't get access to a pool or bike but it was a great break! I also ran as part of a marathon relay team at Pittsburgh Marathon which will always be special since that was my first long race 7 years ago. I ran at a slow pace but didn't have to stop and walk and to me, that meant so much.Lesson: There are so many ways to measure progress, make sure you find the ones that appeal to you or else someone else will give you theirs and you might be miserable forever! The race journey is long and brutal, might as well enjoy your own created victories and milestones while you're at it :D
I had noticed some fogging in my left eye a day before the race and a burning sensation. There was minor swelling. The next morning I wore my contacts and ran the race and the swelling was gone. The rest of the week was uneventful. I landed in California, worked for half a day and took a nap. By the time I woke up, my eyelid had swollen again. The first appointment wasn't until the next week but I could still see so I thought that was ok. Besides, I didn't want to miss open water swim for yet another weekend!
This was a bad idea. On Saturday morning, I went to Gull park knowing that I will likely not go into the water. Coach Char took one look and confirmed that it was a bad idea. I waited it out and was thinking about the bike ride the next morning.
This was also not meant to be. I woke up the next day with an even bigger eyelid and a cold. I found the first eye doctor I could and was diagnosed with a case of internal hordoleum (swelling inside the eyelid) which I was told made swimming a bad idea. I started meds and had to go back to the doctor every two days. I also had to stop all workouts because presumably it wasn't healing fast enough (and the cold didn't help).
I wish I could say I handled this phase gracefully, but that would be a big lie. I pinged the coaches, ranted to Coach Shashi on a long call about how it felt over because I was so close to the race and had already missed three weeks of training and how I'll never get to Kona (okay that last one didn't happen, but you get the over-dramatization here). All the coaches were extremely chill and told me to take my time to recover and Shashi stressed that after that, its their job to help me get to that finish line- that was such an amazing gesture for someone running around like a headless chicken. My eye made it look like I had gotten into a fist fight, so I couldn't really go to work, which meant lots of hours alone at home with a lot of time to doubt.
Looking back, maybe this was the time I actually became convinced about the race. It also jolted me to the reality that there was no telling this won't happen again and I actively looked for prescription sunglasses for the bike/run and polarized prescription swim goggles as a backup.
Lesson: If you wear glasses, there are a lot of small things you can do to be prepared for things that can go wrong! I cover this elsewhere but be prepared to use prescription sunglasses, and for wearing contacts when your hands are dirty after the swim etc.
I was still not cleared for swim but by third week of May, I decided to go for the weekend ride. As luck would have it, it rained on Sunday morning. So James and I did a double brick: I did a spin workout, followed by treadmill run, followed by another spin workout and another brick workout. It was hard, but it felt so good to be able to use my body again and I truly started to understand what people meant when they said you have to push yourself. I got back to swimming the following week and got some great tips from Shashi. It was really hard to go back to the pool after 5 weeks because my muscle memory of all the small tweaks I had built up in the first half and my endurance- both seemed to have disappeared.
All this made me realize the importance of having your mental sanity, looking back it was such a small thing but I learnt the hard way that I can't let my own idea of how things should be get in the way of appreciating how things are.
June - July 2019: The revival
I had used the down time to get my bike fitted- I still had shoulder and arm pain post ride but slowly the ride itself became more comfortable. I did take time to adjust to the new bike and the new position. It was frustrating to get back to things and find myself not where I thought I should be but that too passed. I actually learnt a lot about letting go and incremental steps during this time which has also helped me deal with similar challenges at work.
Missing training because of the travel/eye/cold did mean that I had to readjust my plans. I decided to drop HIIT for a semester, it was already physically too taxing to manage it with the triathlon schedule. I performed with my improv troupe in the beginning of June (which was great in terms of timing!) and had to mentally put it aside until the race. I said no to so many things because I knew the peak training phase will take all effort. I also decided to not travel outside until the race.
Lesson: In general, as your race gets closer, overestimate the time and effort everything else will take and ruthlessly prioritize. When you're not training, you'll be thinking about the training- account for that.
I picked up all three disciplines again, this time not skimping on the runs and slowly built up to the target mileage. I was still not hitting bike cutoffs in any of my bike rides. I also had a problem of not being able to eat/drink on the bike while riding so I got a hydroblade which helped! We had a mock tri in Gull park around third week of June where I experimented with wearing prescription swim goggles in the water, then changing into contacts, and using hydroblade on the bike- it went decently well.
Lesson: Try out every single thing you plan to use on race day, including whatever you have as a backup, if any. This includes wearing (or not) arm warmers under your wetsuit or calf sleeves under your wetsuit, or eating a gel before swim, or eating a gel before run etc.
In early June, some of us also did a mock ride at Santa Rosa, it was a crazy experience for me! I was on the bike for over 5 hours and the temperature had soared to close to 100! And then at mile 42 I got lost, and then at mile 42.1, I got a flat. I also ran out of water and had to ask a random Santa Rosa resident to fill my bottles. It was such a horrible performance but it was so funny and ironical. I had never seen what the front wheel of my new bike needed for a flat (kids, don't do this!) so when I got a flat in the front tube in the scorching heat, I easily wasted some 5 minutes just staring at the though-axle in disbelief. Anyway, I learnt so much in that ride.
Lesson: Practice flat fixing and if possible, under stressful conditions when you are tired. It'll tell you where all you can mess up!
By end of June, I knew that I had to push more since taper would officially start mid July. In this time, I gained a new appreciation for what my body was capable of- every morning I would be tired and feel like I couldn't do anymore. But then I would start the workout and it would all be fine. Throughout the season I also had several episodes related to periods since they were amazingly timed to always show up during one of the longer training rides so I also got some practice of working with that. This part was super helpful because I learnt that even though I would complain to no end, my body was capable of handling the activities just fine - something that was absolutely important for me to know during the race day. By the time we reached taper, I was decently satisfied with whatever I had done.
Next: [Part III of Race journal: Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa, July 2019] Taper and the race day!
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