This month’s training log is going to be a tad different. The big headline of the month is that Tiffany, Caitlin, and I raced Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico as a relay team. It was my first time doing a triathlon relay, of any distance. I wrote a full race report about how the day went for us.
TLDR: It was sweaty.
What I wanted to talk about here was how, weirdly, this relay also provided an opportunity for me to catch my breath from 2024.
It was not even three months ago that I was in Haines City, doing my fifth 70.3 of the year. Five races in a year and the last being a week before Christmas made for some fun photos.
But behind these smiles, I was mentally drained because I made a mistake throughout 2024.
Getting to go to Worlds in 2023 was such an incredible experience. Before I’d even gotten back home, I knew I wanted to qualify again in 2024. Long story short, it didn’t happen for me.
In 2024, I had three different 70.3 PRs. I kept getting faster times as the year went on. But I didn’t let myself celebrate that, because too much of my focus was on that I missed out on Worlds.
It makes no logical sense, because if given the choice, I think most people would rather be faster year-over-year from 2023 to 2024 than to regress, but stumble into Worlds through a deep rolldown.
Four of my five races in 2024 were faster than my qualifying race from 2023. I should be really proud of that. But I felt disappointed in myself. Looking back, I’m embarrassed by my reaction. I'll never let this happen again.
Having a relay where I was just the runner gave me a break from the daily grind of swimming, biking, or running during the winter. It’s not like I never swam or biked, but the workouts were much easier and focused on running. It gave me a chance to clear my head and remember why I like this sport.
With the Puerto Rico relay behind me, it’s now officially triathlon season again. I feel rested and ready for long swims and long rides. Let’s go!
