My third 20K Olympic Trials

Olympic Trials 2021!  

The day is done and the race has been raced.  As is typical with any athlete after a race I have a ton of emotions going through my body and brain right now.  It'll take time to sort them all out, but for the most part I am content.  The race could have gone better and it could have gone worse.  I gave it what I had under the circumstances and I know (and preach to my athletes ALL THE TIME) that the only thing you can do is your best.  

The race was held in Springfield, a few miles from Hayward Field.  There's a strong Simpsons influence :) 

My goals going into the race were mainly process goals.  I wanted to race strong, which for me means a strong technique, not going out too fast, and finishing well.  I figured if I did that the place would take care of itself.  My outside place goal was 8th as that's the last place that has prize money, but I didn't know if that would be doable or not.  I went into the race seeded 13th of 15.  

The race started off and a few ladies took off.  Then there was a huge pack of about 8-10, of which I was a part.  I was at the back of the pack, but still there.  I was honestly confused because I wasn't expecting to be with a bunch of the ladies that had much faster qualifying times and had raced significantly faster than I had this season.   The race was on a 1K loop, and as far as I know the 500 wasn't marked, so I was walking blind in terms of pace.  But once I came around to the start/finish I saw my first K was about 5:35, which was just about perfect for what I wanted.  It was feeling easy, which was what I wanted.  So I settled in.  Well, most of that big pack in front of me saw that split and took off.  I'm sure it looked like I slowed down, but my second K was actually 5:31, so it really was them shooting forwards.  

My backstretch cheering section!  Apparently they were "assigned" to cheer for me, but after a quick google they were totally into it!  They made signs and cheered every lap!  Yay for new friends!

I stayed patient and it didn't take long before I picked someone off.  I was still feeling great.  Strong, but slightly off.  I got some bent knee paddles, but didn't get a card so didn't sweat about it too much.  (I did end up getting one card)  I felt a few times like I felt a bit uncoordinated, which sometimes means my SI joint is about to go out.  I didn't panic and just tried to focus and really engage the muscles I needed to engage to keep my hips stable.  Since I ended up with only the one card I'm not too worried, but I will go back to some hard-core technique work and lots of video.

One thing I thought about but didn't think about was the bottle situation.  I usually race with a reusable bottle and I know how much I drink out of it each time.  Well, they weren't allowing those to be chased after so I ended up losing a bottle.  My amazing aid station helper (thanks Katie Grimes!!!!!) sprung into motion and got some disposable water bottles and put my drinks in there.  I really think I drank way more than I usually do.  I'm not entirely sure this is what happened, but it's the best I can come up with.  My splits were spot on through 11K.  My race plan was to hit the second half harder.  But once I started to push I got a stitch just under my ribs.  Not just a normal stitch, a whopper of a stitch.  I couldn't breathe!  Once that happened, wham!  My pace hit the wall.  What was interesting though was that my HR data didn't change.  I dropped 20 seconds a K but my HR stayed the same.  It was nuts.  I stopped drinking my drinks and just got a smidge of water.  I was never thirsty and I had to pee after the race, so I didn't dehydrate myself.  I kept waiting for the stitch to go away.  Every time I thought it was going away I tried to push and it came right back.  It was so frustrating because I had more in my legs, but it just absolutely hurt to breathe!    Finally with about 2.5-3K left it loosened up enough I was able to push just a bit more.  

I know I pushed all I could but man is it frustrating to not be able to push how you want to.  My time ended up at 1:54:48.  I think the stitch cost me about 2 minutes, maybe more.  So frustrating.  

I accomplished what I wanted to.  As far as I know I'm the oldest woman to be competing in the 2021 Trials in Eugene.  I'm really proud of that.  I've qualified for three 20K Olympic Trials AFTER I broke 6 bones in my neck.  

So now it's on to new goals.  I've got big ones and I'm not afraid.  First up is a big distance block and some massive work in the gym getting ready for Paris-Alsace the end of August.  That is going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!   

I don't know what I'd do without the constant support from Dave.  He always believes in me and it means the world to me.  My chiropractor is not only the best chiropractor I could wish for, but also someone I consider a friend.  I wouldn't be able to do what I do if it wasn't for her keeping my body sorted out.

Soon I'll post more about Paris-Alsace.  It's a race I'm REALLY excited to race this year.  And with the different format I think it's going to be really great for me.  But for now it's train, train, train and fix up house, sell house, move!  

Outside the Whole Foods

Stretching on a bridge over the river.

Motivation

Post race fuel!