USAT Long Course National Championships ~ my qualification for the World Championships

All it takes is a lot of patience, practice, smart preparation, a good strategy, a good nutrition plan, an intelligent coach and an athlete who listens and executes.

Patience: 3 1/2 years since I completed a major race (4th at the Collegiate Nationals in 2012) without any pain in my abdominal muscles (see: New 2015 season. Shaping up, building up and racing pain-free) 

Practice: I never stopped working out during the past 3 years. I couldn't run for two years but I biked a lot and worked religiously on my swim!

Smart preparation: We only had 8 weeks. I lacked running volume and we increased the mileage very slowly but steadily up to one week before the race. Because we did not do any running intervals, all the intensities (endurance threshold, aerobic/anaerobic and VO2 max workouts) were done in the water (swimming). 

Good strategy: My racing plan was very specific: do your best in the swim, take it out a little slower and negative split on the bike. Save for the run and maintain a steady pace.

Good nutrition plan: I had tried all of my nutrition on the long training days. I knew what works and what doesn't. I stuck with simple foods two days before the race: I was eating oatmeal for breakfast and rice with chicken or tuna or turkey and a little broccoli for lunch/dinner. I stayed away from heavy dairy and fiber-rich foods and fruit. Banana is the DIVINE food. For my race, I relied on First Endurance EFS Pro with EFS pre-race powder, EFS liquid shot and water. Supreme quality, simple and efficient.

Intelligent coach: My husband, Dave Williams is also my coach. This man, not only has he studied human performance and served as a pro-triathlete for over a decade but he has also a proven record of XC and swimming All-Americans, World Champs and Olympians. The most important thing: He pays attention to the training plan and the athlete's mood, reactions, feelings and adaptations. 

He is THE MAN behind everything.

Athlete who listens and executes: I do not always agree with what Dave believes we should do. In fact, I may have to argue at times. But I learned to respect and follow the plan without major disagreements. Simply because it works.  I am a proud cyclist and during the race, it was SO HEARTBREAKING to let so many girls zip-through me during the first half ~ but I had to remind myself to stick to the plan: HOLD BACK during the first half so I can finish the run strong!

Final Thoughts: I finished in 5hrs and 31min. Not bad for a first half distance tri but certainly not my best time. I bonked at the last half a mile of the run and stopped for 4min without being able to even walk. Dehydration due to extreme heat (and some nutritional pitfalls on the correct caloric concentration per liter) made my stomach upset. I eventually jogged to the finish line but I had lost nearly 4 positions. I finished 14th and got the qualification for the 2016 ITU long course national championships. My goal was to execute the plan without any abdominal pain and get the qualification without any expectations of the placing. I completed everything and achieved the goals!

Stocked by the results so far and grateful to:

Coach and husband Dave Williams, the best nutritional company on earth First Endurance, CycleOps and PowerTap that have me as a grassroots athlete this year, all of my supporters, Peachtree Bikes, Rudy Project, Defeet, Finis and Altra running.

The season has just begun! 

Races coming up: Powerman Alabama and Powerman USA Championships!