Well it is truly good to be home. I have had a day of travel today and it has gone pretty smoothly, so I have got home without a hitch. Although I haven't unpacked my bike yet, so I should possible do that before I declare the trip hitch free.
So I have had a bit more time to reflect on the race from yesterday (wow was it only yesterday). I am determined to give it some analysis and then put it behind me. I will put together a race report this week, but after that it isn't an experience I want to linger on.
On further reflection I am becoming more happy with my decision to pull the pin. At the end of the ride I was sitting somewhere around 3rd in my age group. I will be completely honest, at the time I thought I was further back. If I had known I was around third I might have been a bit more determined to head out on the run, after all you never know what can happen on the run. I guess in itself there is a lesson there, don't base decisions on perceptions.
However, at the time I was doing a bit of a cost benefit analysis and the answer I came up with was that what I would gain from finishing wasn't worth what it was going to cost. Even if I ended up on the podium, I was pretty sure that I was going to be so far back from the winners that it probably wasn't going to be helping me towards my goals. That is of course assuming that I was capable of running well enough to end up on the podium, which is a pretty big if.
The last time I raced feeling like I did yesterday was Cairns 70.3 and by far the worst part of that race was the run leg. I got to the end of that bike leg feeling a lot better than I did yesterday and the run still fell in a bit of a hole. I obviously can't say for certain that if I had run yesterday it would have been a messy experience, but I think there is a reasonable chance that it would have been.
Anyway, so for those reasons and a few others, I am feeling better about my decision. Lots of things to take away from the experience and I am hoping I can learn from them, but overall I can live with the call I made.
The biggest downside is that motivationally pulling out of a race is a bit of a kick in the guts. I have to get myself going for Melbourne Ironman in 6 weeks time and this hasn't helped that cause. I won't lie, I am pretty mentally tired. After Melbourne, I will be racing at Busselton 70.3 and then I will be having a bit of a rest and I am quite looking forward to it. I have struggled a bit with focus and motivation since the Busselton Ironman. So my challenge for the next 6 weeks it to regain some of that. I need to regain some determination, confidence, focus, passion, all those things that are vital for training properly and then racing hard.
Training starts again tomorrow, and for me the next training block is going to be at least as much about mental preparation as it will be about physical.
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