The King’s Trail race in Maui has a beast of a hill. I just learned the hill’s elevation goes up 270 feet over one mile. Ouch. Lately, we have been practicing hill workouts in The Colony, Tex. The Windhaven hill is a 110 ft. rise in elevation over a half-mile stretch of road.

Today, I did the math. The Maui hill is equal to more than two Windhaven hills in a row. That sounds painful. Yesterday, Somer, and I did the big loop at Austin Ranch and rode the Windhaven hill twice. We even took a little break in between attempts. Next week, our plan is to completely assault the hill with three repeats of two climbs- without any breaks between climbs. I think we can do it.

Also, I plan to train on Loving and the other hills of White Rock Lake on Wednesday. Perhaps do four or five sets of those hills to build up some strength in my legs. I just have to remember to pull with my calves, and I know I can handle any hill. I just might be crawling up it at 5mph.

I did it! I beat my projected time of 1:30:00, barely. I finished the Old College (sprint) Triathlon in 1:28:43. That is slow. The winner in my age group category finished in 1:08:50. That is almost 20 minutes faster than me. Wow. It really puts things into perspective. So, I have been thinking a lot about what I can do to improve my speed and efficiency. I have analyzed my performance and this is what I noticed-

I am out of shape.

It might be more easily explained as a breakdown of the race on Saturday, so here goes:

I got to Southlake High School at 6:15 am. I loaded up all my gear, put air in my bike tires, and headed to transition. I got my body markings, at which time I realized I had the second-to-last race number. I was No. 498 of 500 athletes. Uh oh.

Panic initiates.

I headed into transition and set up my area, which looked perfect by the way. If the race director gave out an award for best transition area, I think I might win every time. Plus Tom really likes my Olympic towel (thanks Nanny!).

I started asking questions to the men in the area around my spot and suddenly realized, I must not have listed a swim time on my race entry. I cannot tell you how reassuring it was to know I was not the second-slowest swimmer out of five hundred people!

Panic subsides.

I made my way to the chip-timer station and got my chip. Then I found a few other Team in Training people who were also ready for the race. We made our way into the pool building, after a stop at the PortaJohns (I cannot believe how used to them I am after this many races and trainings. Uck!). The pool areas was packed with race participants, race officials, and really nice people who woke up at 5am to come cheer on their friends/family/neighbors.

I did not even bother getting in line, because as No. 498, I did not even enter the water until one hour and ten minutes after the official race start. I sat with some other TNT participants who were either back at the pack with me or had simply decided to swim out of turn to alleviate stress.

Finally, it was my turn to jump into the pool and swim. And swim I did! I passed five people who had entered ahead of me and got out of the water in 07:22. It is off my last year’s swim time by 58 seconds, but still better than I thought it would be. I just need to spend more time in the water. Once a week, every other week or so is really not cutting it.

Out of the pool and into T1. I had a quick transition (1:35) and was on to the bike. My bike computer reported my average speed as 18 mph, which for me is very fast. I usually average 15 mph. It felt like my fastest bike race ever, but still somehow my time (44:59) was much slower than the winners in my age group. Ugh. I need to figure out what I am doing wrong on the bike.

T2 was even faster than T1, which is nothing out of the ordinary. I was happy with my transition.

The run. It was awful. I should have been at least seven minutes faster. SEVEN minutes! That is four placements higher on the scoreboard. I still would not have gotten an award, but that was not my goal. I just wanted to have decent times. And 33:05 for a 5k is NOT a decent time.

I guess I know where I really need to focus. The run. I will be honest, since my Nike+ sensor broke, I have really slacked off on my running. I keep using the excuse that running without it is just not fulfilling enough. Well, I either need to get that idea out of my head, or pony up the $20 for a new sensor. I need to run. And I need to run fast. I can do it. I did it last year. For an entire year, I was running faster than I am now. I ran over 250 miles last year. The least I can do is get back to a 25 minute 5k.

That is my new goal. Run a consistent 8 minute/mile 5k. Hopefully I can do it by next week Check back soon for updates.

Saturday is our practice race. We are doing The Old College Tri in Southlake. It is a sprint- 300 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run. I am both excited and nervous. My training has not been up to par lately. The weather has been bad, I have been out of town, and a plethora of other excuses. It is just a sprint race though. Ha! Just a sprint. This time last year, the idea of doing any kind of triathlon was terrifying.

I am pretty accustomed to the way a sprint race works. The distances all seem about perfect. The swim is quick (I am slow and I can do it in 06:30), the bike is about the same as a loop around White Rock Lake plus Loving, and the run is my main training distance.

So, even though I am not feeling ready, I know that I am ready. I did four sprint races last year. I think I can handle this one. Plus, NO NEGATIVE SELF TALK! I can do it, hopefully in less than 01:30:00.

Only 53 days remain until my Olympic-distance triathlon in Maui, Hawaii. I am currently wrestling with feelings of readiness (or better, un-readiness), nervousness, and anticipation. There are times when I feel like there is no way I will be ready for the race by June. I start to doubt my endurance, and I believe that certainly has an adverse effect on my training.

Coach Claire always says, “NO negative self-talk!” Her mantra is fundamentally correct. The more I allow myself to think I am not ready, or will not be ready, or even cannot be ready for the race, the more difficult each practice becomes. If I really sit down and think about this season, I am not too far off from where I was last year. This year I have the benefit of four triathlons, two half-marathons, and a dozen 5k’s under my belt. I just need to convince the small part of me that is holding onto doubt that I can do this race in June.

This week I have really amped up my workouts in hopes of getting my mind to the point I feel my body has already reached. I did a great open-water swim workout on Saturday. I went hiking over the weekend. On Monday, I ran four miles. On Tuesday, I rode 13 miles including some hills. Tomorrow I will be running and swimming. I am certainly getting in enough workouts to prepare me for a race in 53 days.

The uncertainty is in my mind. My current battle is fighting off the nervous feelings and doubt. Hopefully, I will overcome the negative self-talk sooner rather than later. I am ready to feel prepared.