Time Trial

Today my team did a time trial. A short one, just a 500 yard swim and 2 mile run, but challenging nonetheless. Time trials are one of the most valuable things we do because they are a test of our commitment, improvement, and guts. They're also a great place to see teamwork in action: team members cheering each other on and being competitive in a positive way. To boot, our coach wasn't even there this morning, so the effort was all on us - and I didn't notice a single slacker. ;)

I knew it would be a good morning before I even left the apartment because my roommate Hilary was coming with me to do the TT. It's SO much easier to wake up at 7 am on a Sunday when someone else is groggily getting ready with you. Hilary's had a stress fracture and been unable to run since the summer, so this morning's 2 mile was her first run in months. I was proud of her for getting through it and never complaining, especially on 3 hours of sleep!

My heat jumped into the cold, uninviting Comp Pool at about 8:15. Way too early. The swim is always the most difficult for me, so I definitely wasn't looking forward to it. The 500 yd TT is the shortest one we do, so it's not as intimidating as an 800 or 1600 - but because it's short, it's also fast. Today, I worked hard and finished in 8:01. Not amazing, but satisfying enough. My biggest accomplishment was doing flipturns for the whole distance - lame, I know, but it's the first time flipturns haven't seemed too scary in a time trial, and I'm proud of that. :)

Since my swim is always weak in comparison to the rest of the team, I always feel pressure to make up for lost time during the run. Luckily, I have two teammates who are my perfect pace-setters: Tess and Courtney. We started together this morning, and they pushed me through the whole thing. I led for the first mile, then Courtney pulled ahead. I chased her to the finish, ending just a step or two behind her, and Tess came in a few seconds later. The best thing about "races" like this is that no matter the results, we're never negative - we're just thankful for the healthy competition. Honestly, without people to push me, I would be so much slower than I am now. It's the same for Courtney and Tess in the water - for the past two swim TTs, they have been neck-and-neck for the whole thing and finished in a tie, depending on each other to swim their absolute fastest.

Team breakfast at the Walnut Cafe was the perfect end to a rewarding morning. High on endorphins, we ate at a big outside table in our coats, not caring about the cold. The food was delicious, and Julianna entertained us all by adding massive amounts of caffeine to her already crazy self. Our annual retreat at Winter Park is coming up next weekend, and I can't wait for the dance parties, snowshoe adventures, and crucial team bonding that will ensue. We have another TT a couple weeks later, and then it's the countdown to Havasu. I'm loving it.

I'll end with an email that Tess sent out to everyone after this morning's effort. I think it embodies our team's attitude pretty well:

"I just wanted to say good job to everyone who came out to the time trial. I know it is not always easy to get up early on a Sunday morning to go swim/run as hard as you can, but everyone that came did a great job. It is so inspiring to see everyone out there giving it all they have and so good job today everyone!"
Yayyy team :)
- Tess

Give and take.

Caryn

Team

I've been home in Maryland for almost three weeks now. I think I can actually hear Boulder calling my name. I fly back out west tomorrow, and I couldn't be more ready. After finals week, all I wanted to do was come home, relax in my own bed, and work out on my own time. Now, though, I miss having a schedule, being busy, and most of all, training with my team. I have some of the best teammates in the world. They keep me motivated and accountable, and they give me a positive boost when I'm having an off-day. It's much easier to get through the last yards of a swim workout while listening to Rihanna's pep talks than it is to do it alone. It's a lot more fun to run 12 hilly miles while Bobka is by your side saying ridiculous things like, "I just love working hard on a beautiful day!" And it's 10 times more enjoyable to ride bikes outside with Morgan and talk about boys than it is to suffer through a spin class that starts before the sun is up.

Triathlon is not usually a team sport, but those of us on the CU Tri Team know how great it is to have a group of people to practice with and someone to race for other than yourself. Even if we only saw each other at practice, we would be spending an average of 1-4 hours together every day. But that's usually not enough for us. We have team potlucks every week, we hang out together on the weekends, some of us even live together. We see each other at our absolute best and absolute worst, when we feel triumphant after doing well in a race or when we want to die in the middle of a hard workout. My teammate Morgan, who's also part of a sorority, told me her brother bet her once that she was closer with her teammates than with her sorority sisters. When she asked why, he said that the kind of person who can be this dedicated to a sport must be a dedicated friend. I think that's true, and it describes people on our team really well. It takes a certain kind of commitment (and, okay, insanity) to be a triathlete, and that quality also makes us close with each other as friends. That helps explain why I train and race so much better when I'm with my team than when I'm alone.

So, bottom line, I've had enough of this training alone thing. I miss my motivators and friends. And after a well-deserved and fully enjoyed rest, I'm ready to get back to the grind with my team as we start the countdown to Havasu. See ya later, Annapolis!

Give and take.
Caryn