Yes, that’s right. It’s another race weekend for me. How many is that now? I don’t want to think about it.
Sunday is the Iron Girl Columbia triathlon. After much concern over whether the race would be cancelled after the downfall of the Columbia Tri Association, it’s finally here. I have to admit, I’m nervous about this race for a few reasons.
1. It’s a time trial start, with no in-water warmup. Considering I’ve had OWS panic attacks before, the inability to get in and get wet has me nervous. I have a plan though. I’m going to bounce around and make sure my heart rate is already up before I hit the water, and I will very probably dump a bunch of really cold water on myself pre-race. It will help that the water should be slightly warmer than the air since I’m in an early wave, but I’m still nervous. As my coach told me, worst case, I pull off to the side if I feel panic coming on.
2. This is the first time I’ve “redone” a triathlon, so I can actually try to PR the course. I know some people will compare their times between races, but I find that especially tough during a triathlon because a course can be so very different. On sprints, even the distances can be different. My race this weekend is (I think) slightly longer than my race from two weeks ago. I know the run is longer and the swim is longer. So the race times aren’t really comparable.
Of course, during last year’s race, it rained, so that had an effect on my time. Probably for the better – I stayed cool the entire time and didn’t have to worry about the heat. Same thing for my race two weeks ago. But either way, I’d like to see some improvements to my race this year. And that makes me a little nervous.
I’m also really excited to get out there and race. This was my big race last year, and even though it’s not my big race this year, I’m still feeling the race jitters. Participant wise, it’s going to be my biggest race so far this year.
I’m just ready to get out there and get going!