It’s May and the season started for a few track, crit, TT, duathlon and some triathlon races. The temperature is rising, pool & lake swimming returned and you spend more time outside and itching to get back into the adrenaline filled racing scene.
Is that you?
OR you actually opted out or even cancelled / not turned up for the race you booked last or early this year when you were thinking, you cannot wait and must have something in the calendar to look forward to.
Although racing is not us anymore, it was part of our lives for many years and we feel it’s important to discuss how people are feeling about the upcoming race season. Even the most experienced, trained and prepared athletes have mixed feelings about racing season returning in 2021. Last year was a right-off, some managed one or two but generally, there was absolutely no racing. Not just racing but working out in the gym, swimming and even cycling outdoors (not as much as athletes usually do). The scene might have changed a bit this year with no limit on outdoor exercise but gyms, pools and lakes only just opened up a couple of weeks ago and only now we are getting back to some, very vague and still distant ‘normality’. We are nowhere near where we were pre-pandemic so training for most people, or generally exercising, is definitely not the same.
While we are no experts in training for races any longer, we have some amazing customers, ambassadors and friends who are working hard to get back into racing and agreed to help us writing a blog about race jitters, vibes and everything related to turning up to races with not the same fitness as one would hope for.
Sophie found us early on, bought many things from us and after a year of following each others’ journey, we managed to meet up for our most liked activity, drinking coffee, eating cakes and chat. Sophie is also an amazing triathlete who normally spends her winters in Thailand training and racing in Asia with summers in the UK/Europe but has been stuck in the UK like the rest of us for the past year. She recently entered her first race after over a year but not without hesitation. Let’s hear it from her:
So I did a race, after 14 months of no racing. Two achilles injuries and an ongoing foot niggle. And it wasn’t as scary as I thought!
I was supposed to do Outlaw X last September but pulled out the week before for several reasons. I know a few others who did the same, but here are my reasons why (no disrespect to those who did it!):
I couldn’t get my head in the game - The thought of racing filled me with dread. I never sleep before races anyway and with a long summer of no racing I had forgotten all the good parts and could only remember the bad - no sleep, nervousness and stress!
I didn’t feel comfortable to be around so many other people - I had spent the prior few months living in the middle of nowhere. A far cry from life in London during lockdown, avoiding people was normal and the idea of hundreds of athletes coming together for a race just didn’t fill me with glee.
I simply wasn’t as fit as I have been - that coupled with the two reasons above really created a serious mental issue for me. I was pretty much crying to anyone who would listen about how stressed I was about the whole thing. Sorry friends!
So for me, pulling out of the race, and logging out of social media for race weekend was the right thing to do! It also helped when I heard how cold the weather was, after one year in the UK I am proud to still not have acclimatised to the UK weather ;)
However I now had a new problem, do I actually want to race anymore - at all? I always thought I was one of those people who dealt with pre race nerves quite well and that I LOVED racing. But turns out the thought of being nervous in the day preceding the race was now becoming my biggest roadblock. Why would I want to enter a race knowing I wouldn’t sleep before it? And I'm not as fit as I was so what's the point anyway?
So entering a 10 mile TT last month was a BIG DEAL (for me!). And a chance to finally put the race demons behind me. It might have only been the local Tuesday night TT, but to me I was pretty nervous checking the weather all day.
I needn't of bothered because we all got soaked during the warm up. But it was still OK, and I made it to the start line. Once on the start line something clicked, I forgot all about those pre race nerves, which had been building for a year, and I was back loving life on the race course once more.
And I can confirm. I still like racing. PHEW! And turns out I’m not bad at it either, I had zero expectations for the time trial as I had never done one before. I think maybe this helped as I was able to just enjoy the event for what it was, with all its muddy puddles too!
Now I am feeling way better about getting back onto the triathlon scene after months training solo. I think we all need a little race, if nothing else but to catch up with friends!!
My top tips for returning the startline:
Enter a race - something small and not too expensive, guaranteed there’s a local TT near you too!
Warm up properly - it allows you to get your head in the game, and you also forget about your nerves a little bit.
Have fun - why not enter a race with friends, or a relay option to ease yourself back in.
Think back to a great training session you did - maybe one of the dreaded turbo sessions where you surprised yourself and hit all the numbers confidently, it will remind you that you can do this.
Reminder to all to take the plunge even if you are super scared (like me!) about coming back, you CAN only TRY.
We could not agree more. You may think everyone else is fitter, better, faster but it's hardly the case and they are all in the same shoes as you are. Don't take these races as a 'do or die' but try to soak up the atmosphere, turn nerves into excitement and enjoy the race which is really a 'welcome back to normality' and not 'must have a PB' event.
