2015 was
a memorable year, and I actually mean that! This year I moved cities, started
my first “real” job (besides swim coaching and retail), and it was my first full year out of college. In my third
year of calling myself a triathlete, I completed my first stand-alone half
marathon and completed my third Half Ironman, breaking 5 hours at Buffalo
Springs. I’m living with my wonderful (also triathlete) boyfriend and our two
rescue kittens. I have made some amazing, genuine friends during this new
journey. Needless to say, I have had a huge support system from all angles.
On the
triathlon side of things, I accomplished a few goals that I had set my sights
on last year. I broke the 5-hour mark in my third Half Ironman (placing 5th
amateur overall); I placed 1st overall in our local “extended” Half Ironman
(76.3) in a time of 5:03-15 minutes faster than my first Half Ironman; I competed
at the ITU World Championships in Chicago in both the sprint and Olympic distances
and placed in the top 5 of my age group in both events and had one of the
fastest swims in both distances out of all age groups; and I managed to rank 1st
overall female in the South Midwest Triathlon Region for the second time. One
of the coolest things I got to experience was watching my boyfriend finish his
first full Ironman in Boulder (and he rocked it). After watching his experience
at this race, I’m thinking that Boulder 2017 will be my first full Ironman as
well. Overall, I completed 9 triathlons this year (along with my first
duathlon). The end of this year was not as exciting as the first part of the
year as I prepare for 2016…but we’ll get to that story later. And while I had
some amazing experiences this year traveling and competing, I know that next
year will be even better.
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| ITU Worlds |
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| Tri Waco |
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| Ironman Boulder |
Not only
did I have many successful triathlons throughout the year, but I also got into
a little road racing! The first time I even got on a road bike, it was in my
first cycling race. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but very
different! At my first stage race, I was able to get third in the individual
time trial, first place in my first crit race ever, and finished in the pack in
the road race, earning first place GC (overall) for the Cat 4 women. I enjoyed
riding with my fellow female racers, and I actually LOVED the crit racing. I
would end the year with another local road race, one more crit, and the Texas
state time trials-both the individual and team. I was more than excited to be
able to call myself a State Champion in the team time trial (cat 4 women)
alongside my Fresh ladies: Ashley, Christy, and Lora. This coming year I look
forward to more cycling adventures with my amazing team!
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| State TT-Team |
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| Cat 4 State Champs |
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| GC Tour of Corsicana |
And while this year seems like a
wonderful year, I did learn a lot and I have a little insight of this year that
will, and already has, changed my thinking going into 2016. This year started
out strong right off the bat in terms of training. In fact, after looking back,
I went out just a little too strong at the beginning of the year…okay…maybe a
little more than too strong. At the time, I loved it. I was training hard and
fast on all my workouts and I enjoyed
it. I rarely took full rest days. At first, the hard training was doing me good
and I was getting stronger and faster. But halfway through the year, I didn’t
realize I had begun to slide back down. I burnt myself out in a matter of 7
months. My training up to Worlds was spotty and I struggled to stay motivated
and energized. After Worlds I had planned on racing Oilman, a half ironman
distance in Conroe, Texas, but I shut everything down. I had dwindled myself
down to zero motivation, overwhelming mental and physical exhaustion, and a
building level of stress. And on top of that, I started gaining weight, and no,
not the muscle kind of weight. My workouts suffered, and for the life of me I could
not train at my previous level. At this point I took a big step back and re-evaluated
my year and what I wanted to accomplish for 2016. I vowed to make sure I wouldn’t
throw myself back into hard training and to trust my body to get where I need
to be. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I’m glad I learned from it. I have an
amazing team of people to help me successfully train up to the races I have
planned in 2016 without blowing myself out. All in all, I learned a lot in
2015-from training to nutrition to the cycling industry-and I gained a bigger
training base and more experience to come back even stronger for next year.
Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
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| Tri Tyler Finish |
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| Biggest Fan-My mom |
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