Mt Blanc race report

So this week I'll not tackle the wonderful topic of women's differences regarding training, as we leave tomorrow to go to Budapest so I can race at the Olympic Distance World Championships. It is 6 weeks since I raced in Immenstadt at the Long Course Worlds. I am only just getting my tiggerishness (bounce) back so the time between the two has been good. I am looking forward to the opportunity to race in a big field of fantastic athletes from around the world, including a big contingent from Australia.

I have only raced once between the two world champs, at the Mont Blanc Tri in Passy 10 days ago. That was a really beautiful olympic distance race in the Chamonix Valley with Mt Blanc at 4,808m providing a perfect snow capped backdrop.

Although I would have only given myself about a 6/10 for my race performance, it was great fun as it was a stunning place and day, there were lots of Team Mermillod Triathlon (my French club) folk there, as well as the one and only Crew Chief (my husband, Rob) who had his first Northern Hemisphere race experience, and my parents who were visiting from Oz so they had a chance to see what racing here was all about and hang out with the boys in the great playgrounds by the lake on a warm summer's afternoon.

So I guess my thought for this week is about fun vs performance in racing. I love racing as it is a chance to push myself harder than in training and see what comes out against a field of peers and my own expectations. I love the atmosphere of race day and the challenge it provides everyone which drives that great individual feeling of achievement and the comraderie afterwards when everyone has overcome whatever challenges they faced on the day, and mostly feel good about their efforts.

But what if you have a bad race, or like I did, just a so so one? Do you let it ruin your day, or worse threaten your enjoyment of your next block of training or the sport more generally? I hope not.

Rudyard Kipling had a great quote my grandfather loved from the poem "If" about this

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same

I read this to mean, it is good to dream big, aim high and set challenging goals for yourself, but not lose the enjoyment of what you do either to achieve success, or as a result if you fail to achieve it. Triathlon is an excuse for a great journey and the outcome that it provides, good, indifferent or bad is very much secondary to the fun of getting there. Let's be real, very few athletes in this sport make a real living out of it, so the outcome is more about personal satisfaction and validation of the effort than anything else.
So, in practice... I really had a pretty average race at Passy, going off course in the swim and not really hitting rhythm in it anyway, having a solid bike (finally strong on the descents where I outpaced the guys around me as well as on the one steep climb each lap) and an ok but not great run given I had been having some knee trouble leading up to it. But it didn't really matter all that much as I was happy coming 4th overall given I wasn't feeling ready to race again in the week leading up to it. I still won the veteran femme category and although it would have been nice to be in top 3 which was my goal, I really admire all three athletes who beat me and they well earned their place in front that day.

So performance vs fun. An ex coach of mine used to sneer at the "fun" word regarding training or racing. I disagree. I love triathlon because it is fun for me, even when I am hitting the red zone at the end of a race, I enjoy the challenge and the atmosphere. That is why I do it. I loved that Rob got to race with me that day and excelled himself in it. He had a fantastic race on far more limited training time than I get. He loved the opportunity to be out there amongst it again. His race report is linked here if your are interested.

http://thecrewchief.blogspot.com/

I meanwhile had to manage my head after a poor swim to reset and enjoy tackling the field as usual from behind. I am not as strong a swimmer as bike / runner so tend to do this every race anyway. I joke that I am like Pharlap, the famous Australian racehorse that raced better when held back at the start of the race to then fly through the field from the back. Well, ok, I am just not a very good swimmer so don't really hold back by choice, but riding and running through the field is kinda fun! I just gave myself a bit more of a starting handicap that day. Not getting frustrated by what has already past is a necessity in enjoying racing. This is particularly true in longer courses where there is more time for stuff to happen, lulls, flat tyres, cramps ...

Enjoying the run

So I reset the head after my swim and by the end of the first descent on the bike, was loving being on course and taking my usual approach which is, if I can keep up with the majority of the guys I am racing with, and overtake more overall than I let pass me, then I will find the girls up there in front. It worked and I slowly moved through the field from 12th to 4th through the bike and run. I often try and find someone to pace with on the run, going just a bit faster than I comfortably would go by myself. I did for just over a lap at Passy. A lovely guy who chatted amiably in French to me when he had the spare breath, some of which I understood and much of which, in my tired and focussed race state, I missed. Apologies! The lead on the first three strong girls was too much to close though. So, 4th and and ok race, but plenty to enjoy and learn from.

I managed to win some flowers that I could give
to Mum for being, well, my Mum!

After the race I really enjoyed the time with Rob, the other girls I knew from previous races, TMT club members, my boys and parents. Triathlon is really just a great excuse for bringing together lovely people. We relaxed for a few hours by the lake and by then I was ready for some more. So I took the option to ride the 50k home via Megeve and Col de Aravis and enjoyed the early evening in the mountains.

So lots of learning to take to the next race at the World Champs this weekend to be even better mentally and physically prepared and of course, enjoy even more!

So, enjoy your day too, whatever the outcome.
A bientot!
Christine