What next? Ironman WA Busselton

My Hawaii race was not a true reflection of my fitness level. I believe I suffered from low sodium levels through the second half of my bike and through much of my run. The large amount of fluid I consumed on the bike (13-14 bottles) because on the hot day caused me to lose more salt than I would normally expected to.

I do take in salt but in that race I believe I didn’t take in enough. Being in the top ten of my age group  in my sport is something I don’t take lightly. I am grateful to be able to do what I’m doing. I love it. But I have come away dissatisfied.

I do like to get things right, I feel I didn’t get things right enough. I can do better. Besides if I’m going to be in Kona next year supporting my athletes, I might as well be racing. What else would I be doing in October?

We had a fantastic time before, during and after the race. The race is what gets us there, I’m convinced that we put far too much weight on the outcome. I’ve seen athletes, including myself with all sorts of strains, muscle knots, muscular tension in the weeks leading into major races. Then they all disappear as soon as the race is over.

I really think we need to rediscover the joy of just doing what we love. The friendships we develop all over the world through this sport make us one big crazy family. We are competitive people, we love to do our best against each other. We laugh a lot, we sweat a lot, we spend a lot of money chasing this great lifestyle.

The entries close tomorrow for the WA Ironman. Last year I had a fantastic time over there. Busselton is a great little town. The course is flat and fast. Don’t be fooled by the flatness, flat does not mean easy. My fastest times have been done on undulating courses. On the flat, there’s no place to take your foot off the accelerator, you have to keep the pressure  on or you stop.

I was going to be in Busselton supporting my squad anyway, so today I entered the race. It’ll be just as easy to support them while racing as it would be from the sideline. Even if it’s only by setting an example. Most of the support the squad needs is before and after the race.

This means I’ll be backing up again eight weeks after Hawaii. I have had two weeks of very little of anything as far as training goes. I will start back cautiously building my distances. I have kept good health leading into Hawaii and since the race. Staying healthy is good for the confidence. It’s always better to do one hour less training and stay well than to make the diary look good with a few more hours.