Galveston: My Nemesis

I'm still shaking my head that I agreed to race the 5150 in Galveston. I mean come on....my luck there stinks. And not just my racing luck. I remember back in high school I was down at the Redneck Riviera (aka Galveston), getting my flirt on with some boy. I thought I was looking pretty cute in my white (yes white in the dirty waters of G-Town) swimsuit. We were sitting on the steps of the building on Stewart Beach and he asked for my digits. "Oh golly, I don't have a pen but I can write my phone number on your arm in lipstick". Wow, can you say cheese? Of course he agreed so I went to reach for my lipstick when I felt something hit my head. Weird, what was that? I brushed the spot with the back of my hand and as I noticed something wet on it, the boy was yelling, "Ewwwwww, gross". A bird had crapped on my head. It was really hard finishing writing my number on his arm as he started to run away. I'm confident those last few numbers must've been blurred and that's why he never called. Stupid bird.

After the 70.3 in April, I was adamant I would not be visiting Galveston again. After a few days, I changed my tune and knew I would be back but didn't think I'd be back in the same calendar year. And definitely not two weeks before OilMan. So why go? Well, I need to learn to race. Period. I know it sounds silly but the fact is, I rarely push myself in races. After this past Sunday, I know it's mental. On the run, I kept telling myself I was going as hard as I could and I was pushing and couldn't push more. When I looked at my run splits (oh yeah, I descended EVERY mile), I noticed my HR never really made it out of zone 2. Umm, that's not racing. So it would seem that while my head was telling me I was done, my body didn't agree. I know I've got a (not so) hidden fear of blowing up. I think part of what my coach wants me to see is that I can push myself to be uncomfortable and finish a race. I know she also wants me focusing on race strategy. Trust me, if I'm not pushing myself, I'm definitely not strategizing much. Oh, I tried to strategize at this past race by getting to transition early to rack my bike in a good spot but then someone moved my bike so that didn't really work out very well. Shenanigans!!!!!!!! I'm actually not too upset about the bike thing any more. It was a good excuse to bust out my voodoo doll and spell encyclopedia when I got home. :)

So there you have it. I have 23 days to prepare and then on race day, all I have to do is execute. I've been told if I execute, the faster times will follow. My coach is SUPER wise.

Happy Thursday!!!!