Chinook was a tough race for me this year. I was not, feeling it, leading up to the race.
Here is the reality of working as a labour and delivery nurse and a nurse in general. I love my job. I love helping people. I love connecting with people. I'm really good at my job and I give 110% when I'm there. I love the adrenaline of being in a delivery or when I have to deal with an emergency. My favorite part is when a mom thinks she can't go on one more second and I can lock eyes with her and tell her she can, she is strong and she can do this. She believes those words and births her baby. Most days at work I get to experience one of the happiest days in a couples life. Every so often, I am part of the saddest day of a couples life. The day they lose their baby. Some days I come home from work emotionally, mentally and physically drained. Some shifts I hardly have time to drink a cup of water. Never mind the shift work. Going 24 hours without sleep, sleeping during the day then flipping back to sleeping at night. Worst of all is the time I miss with my family, with my young adults children, with my married girls, grandkids and with Jody. I miss family meals, parties and get togethers. Despite all the hard parts I wouldn't give up this crazy life for one second. Sometimes it just hits me harder than other.
The week leading up to Chinook was like that. Add to that the unexpected loss of a friend, the tragic loss of a friends husband. My heart hurt.
The weather leading up to chinook wasn't great and the forecast for race day was cold and rainy. The weather matched my mood.
All these things were a perfect storm for me. There wasn't one part of me that wanted to race Saturday morning. If my coach hadn't been doing the race too, I don't think I would have made it to the start line. But Jenna Caer was going to be there so I couldn't bail.
Any one who has been racing for very long will tell you, "race how you train" in other words, don't change anything on race day. I was torn. I knew these words of wisdom but I needed warmer, waterproof clothes if I wanted any chance of staying warm on the bike. So, two days before race day I was out buying some biking pants, shoe covers, gloves, jacket and vest. I had also tweeked my nutrtion a bit in the weeks leading up to Chinook but didn't really get a chance to work with it enough to feel good about it. I added way more nutrtion to my bike leg and planned to only use what was provided on the run course.
Race morning I was up at 430 to eat and add the finishing touches to my gear. On the way to the race I told Jody my stomach was bothering me. He asked if it was nerves. It wasn't.
Swim
It was pretty cold waiting for the swim to start. Luckily there was a building we could get ready in. I got in my wet suit and headed into the lake for a warm up. The water was cold. I've been into the lakes here in Calgary this spring. They just aren't warming up. The warm up felt good and I was ready to go. Jody, Emily and her family came to the start to see me off. It was nice to have someone there to keep me distracted.
Finally it was time to get going. Off into the water. The course is two laps. It felt like forever to get to the first buoy. I struggled trying to catch my breath and get the panicky feeling under control. I had to give a thumbs up to the paddle board people once to let them know I was fine. Part of me wondered if I was going to have to quit, maybe I couldn't do it. That thought made me mad and I determined I was going to make it around this course no matter what. I didn't care how long it was going to take me. I finally settled in and made it around the course two times.
T1
I came out of the water and ran the short distance to my bike. I tried to dry off as best I could and started putting on my layers. Jody and Emily were right on the other side of the fence from me. One of the shirts I was putting on had a little half zipper up the front. I forgot to unzip it and struggled so hard to get it over my head and on to my damp body. It didn't help that my fingers were cold and weren't really working. I finally got it on and all my other layers. I brought one extra jacket and wasn't sure if I should wear it. I asked Jody and he said no so I left it behind. I was glad I did. It would have been too much. Later that night Jody told me it was so painful watching me struggle to get my shirt on. He worried all day about telling me not to wear my jacket. He thought I might be cold and then blame him.
Bike
I've worked a lot on my biking this winter and spring. I've made a lot of progress and was hoping for a pretty good bike at chinook especially coming off some stronger bike legs at other races. It didn't go down that way though. I'm not sure of the reason. Maybe multiple reasons.
-third week in a row of racing
-poor mindset going in
-weather
-burned through a lot of energy on the swim
-wearing different clothes
I mostly like Chinook but one thing I don't like about it is how lonely I feel I the bike portion. There are not many people registered for the race and I end up back of the pack. I pretty much ride the course alone. It was especially discouraging this year when I got back to the main highway and they were taking down the barriers and markers.
By the end of the bike I had pretty much convinced myself I was not going to do the run. I was just over this race. The last thing I wanted to do was run for a couple hours.
T2
I pulled into T2, hopped off my bike and walked over to my set up area. I racked my bike, sat down on the wet pavement and took a deep breath. I pulled off my bike shoes and soaked socks. I put on my dry socks and a switch flipped. I had dry warm feet again. Maybe I would walk the whole run course. I could do that right? I started off walking for about 10 steps, then started running and felt great!
Run
For how awful the bike was for me the run was the exact opposite. I was able to run from aid station to aid station. The route is two loops with a huge hill that you have to go up twice. I was able to run up the hill both times this year. The weather was the perfect temperature for running. On my second loop I saw my coach coming towards me. She was the second female. I yelled out to her to keep going she wasn't far behind the leader.
It didn't seem like long before I was coming up the hill for the second time and the finish line was close. most of my family and my coach were there to cheer me through. It was a good feeling to cross the finish line considering how close I was to quitting. A good reminder to never give up.
Stats
Swim
46:44.3
16/20 women
3/4 age group
T1
6:35.2
16/20 women
3/4 age group
Bike
3:32:48.5
14/20 women
3/4 age group
T2
4:15.2
14/20 women
3/4 age group
Run
2:21:42.4
14/20 women
3/4 age group
Total 6:52:05.8
14/20 women
3/4 age group
Here is the reality of working as a labour and delivery nurse and a nurse in general. I love my job. I love helping people. I love connecting with people. I'm really good at my job and I give 110% when I'm there. I love the adrenaline of being in a delivery or when I have to deal with an emergency. My favorite part is when a mom thinks she can't go on one more second and I can lock eyes with her and tell her she can, she is strong and she can do this. She believes those words and births her baby. Most days at work I get to experience one of the happiest days in a couples life. Every so often, I am part of the saddest day of a couples life. The day they lose their baby. Some days I come home from work emotionally, mentally and physically drained. Some shifts I hardly have time to drink a cup of water. Never mind the shift work. Going 24 hours without sleep, sleeping during the day then flipping back to sleeping at night. Worst of all is the time I miss with my family, with my young adults children, with my married girls, grandkids and with Jody. I miss family meals, parties and get togethers. Despite all the hard parts I wouldn't give up this crazy life for one second. Sometimes it just hits me harder than other.
The week leading up to Chinook was like that. Add to that the unexpected loss of a friend, the tragic loss of a friends husband. My heart hurt.
The weather leading up to chinook wasn't great and the forecast for race day was cold and rainy. The weather matched my mood.
All these things were a perfect storm for me. There wasn't one part of me that wanted to race Saturday morning. If my coach hadn't been doing the race too, I don't think I would have made it to the start line. But Jenna Caer was going to be there so I couldn't bail.
Any one who has been racing for very long will tell you, "race how you train" in other words, don't change anything on race day. I was torn. I knew these words of wisdom but I needed warmer, waterproof clothes if I wanted any chance of staying warm on the bike. So, two days before race day I was out buying some biking pants, shoe covers, gloves, jacket and vest. I had also tweeked my nutrtion a bit in the weeks leading up to Chinook but didn't really get a chance to work with it enough to feel good about it. I added way more nutrtion to my bike leg and planned to only use what was provided on the run course.
Race morning I was up at 430 to eat and add the finishing touches to my gear. On the way to the race I told Jody my stomach was bothering me. He asked if it was nerves. It wasn't.
Swim
It was pretty cold waiting for the swim to start. Luckily there was a building we could get ready in. I got in my wet suit and headed into the lake for a warm up. The water was cold. I've been into the lakes here in Calgary this spring. They just aren't warming up. The warm up felt good and I was ready to go. Jody, Emily and her family came to the start to see me off. It was nice to have someone there to keep me distracted.
Finally it was time to get going. Off into the water. The course is two laps. It felt like forever to get to the first buoy. I struggled trying to catch my breath and get the panicky feeling under control. I had to give a thumbs up to the paddle board people once to let them know I was fine. Part of me wondered if I was going to have to quit, maybe I couldn't do it. That thought made me mad and I determined I was going to make it around this course no matter what. I didn't care how long it was going to take me. I finally settled in and made it around the course two times.
T1
I came out of the water and ran the short distance to my bike. I tried to dry off as best I could and started putting on my layers. Jody and Emily were right on the other side of the fence from me. One of the shirts I was putting on had a little half zipper up the front. I forgot to unzip it and struggled so hard to get it over my head and on to my damp body. It didn't help that my fingers were cold and weren't really working. I finally got it on and all my other layers. I brought one extra jacket and wasn't sure if I should wear it. I asked Jody and he said no so I left it behind. I was glad I did. It would have been too much. Later that night Jody told me it was so painful watching me struggle to get my shirt on. He worried all day about telling me not to wear my jacket. He thought I might be cold and then blame him.
Bike
I've worked a lot on my biking this winter and spring. I've made a lot of progress and was hoping for a pretty good bike at chinook especially coming off some stronger bike legs at other races. It didn't go down that way though. I'm not sure of the reason. Maybe multiple reasons.
-third week in a row of racing
-poor mindset going in
-weather
-burned through a lot of energy on the swim
-wearing different clothes
I mostly like Chinook but one thing I don't like about it is how lonely I feel I the bike portion. There are not many people registered for the race and I end up back of the pack. I pretty much ride the course alone. It was especially discouraging this year when I got back to the main highway and they were taking down the barriers and markers.
By the end of the bike I had pretty much convinced myself I was not going to do the run. I was just over this race. The last thing I wanted to do was run for a couple hours.
T2
I pulled into T2, hopped off my bike and walked over to my set up area. I racked my bike, sat down on the wet pavement and took a deep breath. I pulled off my bike shoes and soaked socks. I put on my dry socks and a switch flipped. I had dry warm feet again. Maybe I would walk the whole run course. I could do that right? I started off walking for about 10 steps, then started running and felt great!
Run
For how awful the bike was for me the run was the exact opposite. I was able to run from aid station to aid station. The route is two loops with a huge hill that you have to go up twice. I was able to run up the hill both times this year. The weather was the perfect temperature for running. On my second loop I saw my coach coming towards me. She was the second female. I yelled out to her to keep going she wasn't far behind the leader.
It didn't seem like long before I was coming up the hill for the second time and the finish line was close. most of my family and my coach were there to cheer me through. It was a good feeling to cross the finish line considering how close I was to quitting. A good reminder to never give up.
Stats
Swim
46:44.3
16/20 women
3/4 age group
T1
6:35.2
16/20 women
3/4 age group
Bike
3:32:48.5
14/20 women
3/4 age group
T2
4:15.2
14/20 women
3/4 age group
Run
2:21:42.4
14/20 women
3/4 age group
Total 6:52:05.8
14/20 women
3/4 age group