Surprise! The Augusta Candy Race!

SO WHERE WAS I???

The build to Clearwater…Day 14??

I will explain, but first, I really want to say...

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR GREAT MUSIC SUGGESTIONS, I was so amazed with all of your ideas and there were some great new songs in there. I have selected many and loaded them onto my Ipod that I took...on the road to the AUGUSTA 70.3.

What race? That wasn’t on the plan!

Well, let’s just say that at day 1, 2, 3 of training after Muskoka, I realized that I felt particularly good. With the last disappointing race in the back of my mind and good legs, it was going to get dangerous...

And, long story short...I GOT CARRIED AWAY..happens to me sometimes! I did my run practices a bit over pace last week and after I crossed the fictive finish line of my 2 hour run, I thought to myself how nice a real one would feel.

I was thinking: -No pressure, no matter what the outcome, I just REALLY WANT to race, I LOVE IT and I AM HUNGRY- Part of me knew I was not in the best shape ever YET and another part of me thought, that the feeling I had could make anything happen. So I gave it a shot.

On Wednesday, mom and I packed the tri-stuff and, of course, the weiner dogs and migrated south! I was a happy girl. It was the first time in my life, really, that I felt so free about going to a race. I just wanted to go down there, rip my legs and heart out no matter what.

Yes, we DROVE a LONG WAY . The plane tickets were crazy expensive at that point in time and we just figured we would drive and stop on the way to train. We turned it into a road trip and I got to study too! We had fun. Lance had me promise I wouldn’t drive that far to a race again....(I told him a bit late)

Mom is my hero, she didn’t want to let me drive! I really tried, I promise. I had it easy and we arrived in Georgia really relaxed. It actually felt much better than it would have felt getting off a plane. No kidding. It must have been our stop in Christiansburg on the first night. (Pretty funny considering my mom’s name is Christiane!).

THE RACE:

Time flew by and soon, I was standing at the start line. DIVE START! NO WETSUIT!!

Exciting! But not familiar at all! (Laura Bennett on the start line, one point for her? No, I had to fight that! I just had to concentrate and stay RELAXED! Just because I am the one who can dive and immerge without goggles with a silly grin after 20m of the 100m dive sprint sometimes, I had to prove to myself that I could do a good job!)

I am so proud of my race start (so funny, there is a picture of it in the paper and I got to check out my technique!). I knew my main problem was that I always go out too fast and tensed on the swim, and I never swim times like I can do in the pool. So the golden rule for me this time was to just relax and go for long strokes. And I did! It felt so good, almost too safe, but everything was lined up fine! Oh and my time is fast BUT...we were with the current, that helps you know??!!! AMAZING FEELING, try racing that one, one day, YOU WILL LOVE IT!

On to the bike, I still had to catch up with Pip Taylor and Laura Bennett and they had a head start. I got a visual very fast (I went out much too fast) and almost reached Pip when I started to fade. I came off the bike second, maybe one minute or so off Pip. During the bike ride, I thought it would be she, Laura and I for the win. But when I hopped off my bike, I had a bad surprise. All my magical feeling started drifting away slowly as I realized I didn’t have my legs, I thought they may come back and tried ...and got passed... and tried but the legs were gone....I felt like I was in one of those dreams where you run like crazy but go no where!

It was not easy getting passed like that after having been so certain that I was having a good race. I held on the run and ended up 5^th, I think five minutes or so down from the lead. A deception because my best training these days have been on the run and I was about 8 minutes off my goal time for that one.

THE WRAP-UP:

I left Georgia satisfied, in a way....This race is the key to the rest of the build up. First it allowed me to see that my harder last two races were not a result of being tired from the season. It is more that I need to bring my watts back up on the bike and get some fitness back from all those tapers I have been doing lately. I figure once my watts are up on the bike, I will get off a good bike split with legs left for the run. There is a week link I need to get rid of!

SO this is what I have to do. Now there will be no more races before the big one and that is a promise.

It was a nice day out there, a day I got to re-live some nice feelings of fast racing (well, until I started running that is!), and where I got to race along side people that put some sunshine in my day: My team mate and –big brother- Justin Parks was there ( no, he was far ahead, don't get me wrong!) Sara Gross, from Victoria was lots of fun to be around. I also really like Desiree Ficker, it seems like she is a great gal! I saw her cheering for a friend after the race, she has a great energy about her. And how can I forget the magic man, Travis (the one who helped me get all my sponsors!), who was there to support me before the race, it really felt great to have him there. He helped me feel reassured and confident just before the start.

SO WHAT'S NEXT???

Next week, I head out to Victoria to settle there for good!!!! Lance and I figured I should make my move now, so I can get the optimal training environment before Clearwater. I will be moving into my new place there on Monday! (I will be living on the beach! I really think I will like that!). More news about that plan a little later.

Once again, thank you to all for following and posting your comments. Your support has been so helpful...

CHeers guys!

Magali.

The build to Clearwater: DAY 1

I have recovered well from the race and am ready to go!
It feels like the race -woke me up- from a little shut down after my week off and some down time and I am back in business. We shall see!
We had a fun ride back home that helped me get some frustration off my mind. The best way to do so was to feel that I was back to work and starting to train for Clearwater.
Never look back, not only on the course.

My first training after Muskoka was in this beautiful lake we found along the road!





I am writing on day 1 of training before CLearwater, ready to put my running shoes on and head out the door. I am so motivated I had a hard time finding sleep yesterday, I kept on thinking about how I wanted things to go in Clearwater and maybe I shouldn't have looked at my next four weeks of training and watched those Steve Prefontaine running clips on Youtube just before going to bed (bad idea)!
P.S: I never say this but thank you so much for your comments, they really help so much. Thank you particularly to one of you for reminding me about the angels on my right shoulder, the people that support me, cheer for me and follow. You are right, that energy is an amazing source of motivation.
Speaking of comments, I would love to know if you have any ideas of some great training music. I am looking into it. Need to find some new, powerful stuff.
CHEERS. And to those that are also in a final stretch, LET'S GET GOING AND MAKE IT COUNT! Yeaaahh!
Out the door now! Ciao!

The devil on my left shoulder...

These are the thoughts that make me feel good this morning:

How can you get strong without ever facing adversity?

Facing adversity has you face yourself.
Facing yourself is getting to know yourself.
Knowing yourself is what helps you grow.

Now I can even say that, in the long term, I am glad that I had a tough race yesterday. (?). No really!

Yesterday, at Muskoka 70.3. I faced myself.
I am making this look dramatic now. I shouldn't! It was not that bad, I didn't crash, get insured or feel sick. I just had a tough, disappointing day on a beautiful, sunny, race course.
I placed 4th but was a ways from the lead and my times were not at all representative of what I can do in either sport.

I learned so much yesterday though, it is always on those days that you learn the most. I am not happy about certain thoughts that crossed my mind from the moment I came seventh out of the water to the moment I crossed the finish line. I constantly had to re-focus because part of me was very disappointed. I wanted to win and did not want it to go any other way.
I feel I should have been fighting harder, looking ahead and never looking back.
That is the athlete that I want to become. And I do believe that I will be changed by races like yesterday's. I will become tougher.

Swim exit and 300m hill run up to transition.

Getting ready...

With team mate Brent Poulsen.

It is like everything at that race was pointing me in that direction. I was lucky to race along side Lisa Bentley, the greatest example of determination and mental strength. The woman who's strength and determination have never let anything stand in her way and a person who would fight against all odds. I am just getting to know Lisa and am very impressed.
Also competing was Laurel Wassner (Rebecca's twin sister), who overcame Lymphoma some years ago and is now back to racing pro and racing well. Our sport is made of people with such strong minds. It is a big inspiration, it is beautiful, and it makes it the perfect sport to help grow as a person.

To get back to yesterday,

Moments before the start of the race.

Before the race with sister Ariane and her husband Sean St-John.


Dave Cracknell, Husband of Lisa Bentley, was of great support and did a very good job with race organization.Coming out of the water.

Every race is a battle between the angel on your right shoulder and the demon on your left. The thing is, on some days, circumstances have the demon on your left get pretty excited!
Next time I have a day like this, I want to be re-focusing on the task, putting my head down, thinking about moving up, making every second count, believing in nothing else than the power of the effort. The most important thing in the long term.
The truth is, on a given day, as Justin (Parks) would say: - it is what it is- and now I know the real champion is the one who can just -suck it up- and keep on pushing AND keep on believing no matter what.

David McColm an amazing photographer (www.davidmccolm.com) and great guy!!! Sorry David, I didn't represent you in pictures as well as you did with me.


Starting today, I am going to do exactly that. I had a bad race so I will SUCK IT UP and keep on pushing. I am actually very motivated and hungry after yesterday. Hungry to race and train well and hungry to test not only my body but mostly my mind. I should have a great chance to do that very soon as I start my build up and another hard training bout before the big race.
A good race in Clearwater will taste that much better now. BACK TO WORK!!!!

On the road again!

On my way to another Canadian 70.3 and already having some fun in the forest!
Feeling happy, free and starting to be race ready!


The ice baths of nature do not only sooth the body....


There is nothing better for the mind.


The Ice bath was definitely a good idea. Training this week has been demanding since I was given a week off after Timberman. It is always scary when coach Lance takes me off the hook. It is always because he is preparing an evil plan for later. Friends, I did not get back into training this week, I was WHIPPED back into it! And now, I get to savour a little reward for a good week!

It takes at least two to tango. Mom is coming along on this one too , she was part of party number one, by the river somewhere along our 6 hour drive from St-Sauveur to Muskoka.


You can't keep mom away from her wiener dogs, it was clear the deal was that Simeon and Evita would not be left behind!


So yesterday was a day off training, a day of traveling, playing and getting the mind ready to race!

I am waking up this morning on site. Ready to go ride the run course, swim and discover the race site.

There is some good luck and good vibes in the air this morning! Linsey sent me this pic of her Kona Gecko for good luck. She is back to training hard in Hawaii, getting ready for the BIG RACE! GO LINSEY!


Stay tuned for more news from the Muskoka pre-race party!
CHEERS!
Magali.