There I Go... Turn The Page...

My 2010 season officially opened at the XTERRA West Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 25th. After the worst winter in my lifetime here in Maryland with record snowfall, I was apprehensive about my form entering a new season a a Professional. 2009 was my worst year ever for racing only competing four times, and breaking my collarbone on the last day of August and missing my 2009 goal race Ironman Arizona. I had finally decided to get back to racing shorter distance events, and building back my intensity. Needless to day the winter was not very helpful!

The 2010 Las Vegas venue was one of the nicest I have ever seen at the Loews Resort 15 miles outside of the city. During my pre ride of the bike course I realized it was going to be HOT! The course was mostly hilly, sandy double track with a few fun sections of trail by the water. Unfortunately the swim course was closed to competitors which turned out to be my downfall. I had done one swim in my wetsuit since my injury which was really not smart on my part, and during the race I had some problems with spasms. I ended up having to take it very easy and my day was basically over before it really began. I did have an OK bike split, but by the end I was definitely not motivated. I had Metallica's cover of Turn The Page playing over and over in my head as I rode down the dusty, sandy trails. The run was uneventful, and I was poised to finish my opener on a low note. Then, while running across the ridge nearing the finish I had the best view of the lake and surrounding mountains under blue skies. Suddenly my thoughts drifted to better days ahead, and started hearing Colin Hay's Beautiful World playing in my head:

My my my its a beautiful world

I like swimming in the sea

I like to go out beyond the white breakers

Where a man can still be free

Or a woman if you are one

I like swimming in the sea...

After the event was over, and I thought about it a while I started to come up with a plan. The main way I deal with a disappointing finish is to map out a way to overcome my challenges. First I have to get my shoulder straight, then I have to spend more time on my MTB and trail running. Specificity is very important when it comes to XTERRA and MTB racing. The other thing I have learned is to put the race behind you; if you worry about a bad day all it will do is get in the way of your progress toward your season goals. Every athlete has bad days, and the key to being successful is to analyze what happened and come up with a plan and learn from your challenges. Most of the time the stresses of a bad day aren't from yourself at all, but of expectations of others. It is very easy to feel like you let someone down; your sponsors, your spouse and family, your friends... the truth is that the bad days actually make those good days that much better. Racing is a very personal thing, and if you try to remember the reasons you compete in the first place it usually makes it easier to move on. For now I will just remember that if racing was easy it wouldn't be exciting. There is always something to work on, improve, or sustain. I will just remember the experience and hope I can have better days ahead:

...And you don't feel much like ridin'

You just wish the trip was through

Here I am, on the road again,

There I am, up on the stage

There I go, playin' star again,

There I go, Turn The Page

Thanks for reading and I hope the 2010 season has started well for you! Thanks for reading!