Those who know me well know that I’ll be the first one to jump into a race if there’s the option to. I race not because I want to get a pay check – well, that too – but because I love the thrill of a competition, I love being surrounded by people that are going through those motions prior to an IM and, above all, I love to try and beat other fast dudes.
After Kona I was happy with the result but felt eager to get more out of my current fitness. In a way I felt like I was too conservative during a big portion of the race and while it resulted on a fast marathon and the best placing ever from a Portuguese pro at the IM World Championship, I felt like I could have done more. It didn’t come as a surprise to coach Jesse that I wanted to jump right into training and sign in for my now hometown race: Ironman Arizona. I’ve raced Ironman Arizona a handful of times already, some with great turn outs some not so much and the highlight of my races in AZ came two years ago when two weeks after going 08h08 at IM Florida, I raced IMAZ and finished in 08h11.
2013 was in fact a great year for me. I won IM Sweden, Challenge Vitoria and had two Top 5 in both IMFL and IMAZ. But it was also the year I raced 7 full distance IM, because I felt fit and wanted to squeeze everything out of me, and that eventually led me into losing more than half of 2014 with a tibia stress fracture. That stress fracture was an eye opener. I clearly remember the pain I was going thru on every single session before I was finally “forced” into getting the dreadful CT scan, MRI and diagnose of a 2 cm fracture.
The process of healing a stress fracture is boring and long. I couldn’t do much other than sitting around and feeling helpless. I thought of moving on to other things in life and got more into web work. But I felt far from done with Triathlon and got back on the horse just in time for a 3rd place finish at IM Wisconsin with barely any running.
So what was the biggest lesson out of all this?
The lesson is to be smart. Weight the risk/reward out of every race decision I make. Be patient, persevere and committed in training but always listen to the body first. You may even get away with jumping into races by impulse for a while but that will hurt you in the long term. I guess I’ve also learned this the hard way.
Since Kona this year I’ve been dealing with a foot injury that just didn’t go away. For 20 days I tried everything, R.I.C.E, massage, elastics, etc. But it wouldn’t go away without proper rest. I will save you the details of the injury but I did need, after some thought and deliberation, to put an end to my 2015 season and so I will not be racing IM Arizona. This was probably my body’s way of saying he’s done. A triathlete’s will is often much tougher than his body and that’s the way it goes.
I had a good 2015. I fractured my collarbone early in the year which conditioned my early winter training (and swimming) but I really can’t complain with what I’ve accomplished this year. I finished the World Championship in the Top 20 and while I think I’m worth more, I also know I have time to get there. And this is the time to be patient, take time off, spend time with Carolina and recover properly so I can come back stronger in 2016.
For those who followed my race season, I’m truly thankful for your support and remote (or live) cheers. If you are racing IM Arizona, best of luck and enjoy the great weather, volunteers (which are likely to be athletes next year too) and please do say hi if we cross paths this upcoming weekend!