Day 10...Ouch, No time for complacency.

So today I learnt a valuable lesson.  Preparation is king.  You (me) just can't afford to get complacent.

I didn't get my nutrition plan or hydration plan right as I was out there a little longer than expected and only took enough for the original plan.

BIG BIG MISTAKE

During the efforts on the bike, I simply had nothing.  I remember similar things happening last year, having doubts during the training and questioning my ability.

But that is the Queen K.  And it is true, women play mind games!  And today I went through it all and again, as I will for the next few weeks.  As fatigued grows and the sessions do, I know that I will have the same thoughts regularly.  But as times showed last year and what I am a big believer in is that it only matters what times you produce on race day.

I remember clearly last year sending Andrew (Coach) emails about what our race plan of riding sub 5hrs was a joke and that if I rode 6hrs, it would be a good day.  Well, I had those exact thoughts again today, questioning if I could ride near that 4hr 43min that I rode last year.  I know over the next few weeks all I have to do is tick the boxes and whatever happens on race day, happens.

Now it doesn't take Einstein to work out that if you stuff you nutrition/hydration up on the bike, well your run is going to suffer.  Bingo, you guessed it.  Had a stinker of a run.  However....the good thing was that I got it done and due to the specific course training that I am doing, I did get a lot out of it even if my ave pace was a tick under 5min on a run that contained a 20min effort!

I know that I am lucky enough to have more good days than bad, however I am still a student of the sport and make many a mistake.  I also know that I won't make that same mistake again.

This sport is like gambling, you hear about every one's wins, but you never know how many losses they had before they won.  Today was a loss for me, am just hoping that race day rewards me with a win big enough to cover the losses I will have over the next few weeks.

People often talk about how they smashed (oh i hate that word) out this or that, but they rarely say that they were lazy and didn't out of bed, or when the going got tough, they pulled the pin early.  It is those situations and how you deal with them defines you as an athlete.  It is how you change yourself to better the result.

That sums up today....

What am I going to do to make sure that the same things doesn't happen again?

It is only you that can answer this question.  It is easy to deflect blame onto other things, however taking responsibility is the hardest thing and then changing it becomes easy.

I already know what I am going to do and can't wait to get back out there on Saturday to rectify my poor display today.  That's a promise!!

Being out here, training for "THE RACE" that we all aspires to often reminds us of the hard work and dedication that is takes.  One minor error and it all goes pear shaped!

All I can say is... Lesson learnt and I am so glad that I received that lesson today and not Race Day.

For now....it is time to move on, reload and strike again tomorrow.  Double swim day, massage and easy run, I just can't wait to get back out there.

X-Man.

PS. I may have lost the round, but I am a long way from losing the fight...That result is on race day.