Go for Broke: Folsom Olympic Distance Race

I had no goals for this race other than some glorified speed work in prep for IM Canada. Driving to the race, my teammate and I were discussing what little we did or how much too much we did leading up to this race. I turned to Peter and said, "Regardless of what we've done or haven't done, let's just race with whatever we have on this day." And now, my stream of consciousness throughout the race:

Warm-up: Wow, my legs feel great, I must be fit; I feel no fatigue from the 4-hour ride yesterday.

Swim (21:31): How did it get so crowded all of a sudden. Dude, give me some space and stop kicking me in the stomach. He doesn't look fast at all, why is he lining himself at the very front. Be good Kiet, just let your swimming do the talking. Alright, let's build this. Sure enough, 10 strokes in and I've already dropped that guy. Wow, where is everyone? I feel great, I can totally feel the benefit from all of the open water swim sesh's in Hawaii. Both my kick and stroke are there, am totally in the groove. Man, this swim is feeling long for 1.5K, but the longer the better. Alright, rounding the last buoy, I'll ease up. No, GO FOR BROKE KIET! Don't ease up, you've got a big lead, now swim hard to even build more time on that lead. GO FOR BROKE! Right on, first out the water and not a guy in sight. Don't worry about the time, don't look at your watch, race on feel, RACE!

T1 (:42): I must be fit, I'm not dizzy standing up and my legs feel light and fast, right on!

Bike (1:05:33): Where is Pete? Why hasn't he come up on me yet. Wow, I must have had a good swim. La di da, di da, di da. La la di da di da. Dang, this guy flew by me, damn, he's in my age group. There's Peter. Damn, Peter looks so smooth and he looks like he's going at 80% and still pulling away from me very fast. I should have known I was going too slow, it felt way too easy. Alright, let's pick it up and see if you can keep them in sight. No way, those guys are hammering. La di da, di da, di da. La la di da di da. Oh crap, those guys are hunting me down. Another guy in my age group, damn! Kiet, unless you want to get passed all day long, you best GO FOR BROKE! Now this is racing! You've got this wind Kiet, you trained in this for the past two weeks, this wind is nothing. Now you're racing, remember how you rode when that Radio Shack guy went by you and Michelle from Hawi. Do it just like that. Man, this is starting to hurt, legs are getting fried. Alright 5 min left, back off a bit and spin the legs in prep for run. NO! GO FOR BROKE! You can drop another 30 seconds, just keep going.

T2 (:30): I must be fit, my legs are turning over! Wow, I'm not dizzy and I'm actually moving quite fluid and fast.

Run (39:51): Wow, my legs feel great, I feel like a runner, the turnover is fast. I love me those 170 cranks! Just run the fastest 10K you can Kiet, don't worry about the time, just run. Is this too fast, this feels too fast, can I hold this? Just run and take care of yourself nutritionally. Wow, Pete isn't as far up as he usually is. And there's the second place guy, I've made up some time on him. Oh, it's Robin. [Robin shouts, "Don't ease up Kiet! Get that second place guy!"] Will do Robin. Oh, there's third and I can tell he is trying to hunt me down. Whoa, was that a twitch in the hammie? Okay, take deep breaths, run relaxed on the risers and gun it at the crest and through the flats and downhills. Keep taking deep breaths and make sure you get lots of fluids at the next aid station. C'mon Kiet, don't let those guys from behind catch you. Wait a minute, don't focus on the guys behind you, focus on the guy in front of you and work on catching him. Wait, I can see him, I'm pulling him in, but I'm running out of real estate. C'mon Kiet, just GO FOR BROKE even though you may not catch him. There's the finish, I see people cheering me on, I see ya Jay, I hear you Nick, thanks for all of the shout outs.

Finish (2:08.07, 8th OA, 3rd AG): Finally, I raced this season! It wasn't my fastest time but I think I got my race mojo back.

I didn't embark on this season thinking that I would lose my race mojo; it just happened. Racing is so mental and sometimes, you just lose your mojo. I lost my mojo during the bike leg at Wildflower Long Course. Then at San Jose Long Course, I blew up again on the bike leg, and more mojo slipped away. IM CDA was no different, and I started to race with fear, fear of blowing up. During each leg of the swim, bike, run portion of Folsom, I found myself wanting to ease up for fear of blowing up. And for some reason, each time, GO FOR BROKE entered my mind. I had no intentions to go for broke, it just happened, just like losing my race mojo just happened. But as quickly as I lost it, it was equally sudden in coming back. I can't think of better timing.