Rev3 Quassy

"Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance." ~unknown

I received the quote above in my daily "Tiny Buddha" email when I was at the airport flying back to California after Rev3 Quassy. It was appropriate given my feelings about my race on Sunday. It is no secret that my biking is one of the more challenging aspects of triathlon for me. It frustrates me to come off the bike 15+ minutes behind. However, I do not shy away from putting myself in situations where I could (and usually do) end up WAY behind the leaders after a challenging 56 mile bike. In the end, I believe it will make me figure out how to get better. I may never bike as fast as some, but I know I can be faster than I am now. However, I need to remember to revel in this journey and while some work may come to fruition quickly, other things may take awhile to mature. Here in Napa wine sits in barrels for a long time before it is ready to drink so maybe my vintage is still fermenting :) 

New England Colonial...my homestay!

The quick version of the race: swim was flat (physically), I biked average and then I rallied and had a fairly solid run. I think the more interesting part of the day were the thoughts going through my head at some points during the bike ride. I told Andy that swimming races were nice because in a 1 minute race you don't have any time to think, you just swim. This is not so true during a 5 hour race. There is plenty of time to think and some of those thoughts can drive you crazy! Now, I am just being completely honest here. While negative thoughts did go through my head I deal with them by acknowledging they exist and then letting them go. I don't give myself some huge pep talk about how great everything is because then I am actually thinking about the negative thoughts more by trying to "fend" them off.

There were times I thought about quitting (more honesty), moments where it seemed like all the hard work was just a big waste of time. A lot of people might not even pay attention to my results, or give any thought to how I raced, but there were times on Sunday where I felt exposed. I felt like I was running around with my hopes and dreams right out there in the open for everyone to see. For some reason I felt like I was failing (at least on the bike) and everyone could see how badly it was going.

The Bike Course. A bit of shade, lots of hills.

More of the bike course. Beautiful.

I made it to the run and reveled in a new challenge on the day---conquering more hills and trying to run my way back into the race. I passed three girls early on and was kept honest the remainder of the run by Charisa who was running fast from behind. In the end, I moved up to 11th...about 1 minute out of 10th and just 3:39 behind 7th place. When I look at it like that, my result, even with its disappointments, was not too bad. I do hate being 11th place. You are the first out of the money and not listed post race articles.

All done!

After the race I was a bit down, slightly annoyed and frustrated. Luckily, Rev3 held the race at a small amusement park. Maik Twelsiek and I decided to get on the roller coaster for a little post race fun. The last time I was on a roller coaster was 15 years ago and I forgot what a blast it is. Riding that roller coaster put an instant smile on my face and was even more humorous with a German accented scream next to me!

Dinner with a former housemate from UM, Vanessa.

One of my favorites and right over the hill, Vineman 70.3, is next. More hard work to come...and I would not have it any other way.