Monday, August 14, 2017

STEELHEAD 70.3

Sport and competition most definitely satisfies my deep desire to push until exhaustion.  I can't recall exactly when it started - maybe it was always there: the thrill and adrenaline rush from pushing as hard as I can, experiencing lactic acid in my legs and gasping for air. I know, I know.... it's not for everyone but I love it!

In 2015 I was suffering from over- racing and deep adrenal fatigue.  I lost the ability to dig as deep as I wanted in training and in racing. And that made me deeply sad.  Not to mention the recovery was beyond frusterating. I wasn't sure when I would crawl myself out of this hole and all I could do was rest a bit more and wait.


Let's face it: I am a workhorse and I love to suffer so it was extra hard to take a bit more rest, err easy on my workouts and put the BIG races on hold. In 2016 I got my groove back. And then I crashed.  I was talking about the crash to someone the other day when they had mentioned how disappointing it must have been. I explained to them that the crash was actually the opposite of disappointing. When I crashed at Ironman Lake Placid I new in my hearts of hearts that I was back. My desire to make a comeback at Ironman Mont Tremblant 2 weeks later was STRONG. My mental game was back.  ON top of that the way my body responded and healed in 2 weeks showed me that it was just a matter of time before I was my best self yet.  Setbacks can move you forward.


I have been racing a lot but apparently not blogging! During the month of May and June I raced a few 5Ks and 5 milers to work on my run skills as well as some Mountain Races.  I raced to 5th place at Mount Washington Road Race and 5th place at Ironman Mont Tremblant 70.3.  I was pleased with the efforts and how I recovered from each of those races.  I plan to race Ironman Louisville and Ironman Arizona with a few potential 70.3's depending on how the longer races go.


And most recently I raced STEELHEAD 70.3!
Laughing because I missed the front swim pack and had my work cut out for me. When I say "laughing" I mean CRYYYYYING.

I had a character building day on the bike. A day my legs did NOT want to push WATTS
Me: Come on legs, GO!
Legs: No.
Me: PLEASE!? I'll feed you pizza and icecream after the race.
Legs: No.
Me: You know, I AM THE BOSS HERE.
Legs: zzzzzz, good night.
Me: :(

I got off the bike in 12th and left transition n 15th. Oops.

I have been racing long enough and I trust my run. I started the run in 15th and went ON THE HUNT.

I went from 15th to 9th. The sad part of the story was that I was convinced I was in 8th. (They paid 8 deep). Doh.

But when you give EVERYTHING YOU have...there is nothing to be upset about.

As always a HUGE thank you and hug to my sponsors. I am beyond grateful to be racing around the world and making lasting memories and frienships.
TOM RAFFIO of Delta Dental
Velocio Apparal 
Runner's Alley of Concord NH
Infinit Nutrition
Rudy Project
MC Cycle and Sport
Juice Performer

1 comment:

Greetings!
Thank you for reading Amber's blog and considering posting a comment. Please know that if you write rude, negative, or just plain crazy comments, I will remove them and Amber will not get a chance to read them. For everyone else, comment away!

-Blog moderator