by Coach Sarah

Time Trialing. The sequence of thoughts seems to consistently go like this, no matter if the race is indoors, or outdoors:

First quarter in, “Wow! This is SO much easier then I told myself it would feel! I can totally hold this pace the whole race, and then some!!” (Ha! Gotta love that out-of-the-gates adrenaline rush that hits EVERY time!!!!)

Second quarter in, “Crap, my legs are going into total jelly mode! How are they gonna last another half of a race??!! Maybe I should’ve done one more sprint in my warmup!”

Third quarter in, “OUCH! This hurts like a son-of-a-bleep-bleep! Can I just quit now and call it a day?? What the HECK was I thinking to do this again??! Why didn’t I eat more Lucky Charms before the race?? I’m hungry!!”

Fourth quarter in, “Are these final few minutes EVER going to end?? Where’s that darn finish line? HELP!!!!”

And the last half-mile, always, “Aaaahh shoot!! I need to step it up BIG TIME if I’m going to meet my time goal!!!! Stop, time, stop!! Freeze the clock for another minute so I can cover some more distance!! PUSH, SARAH, PUSH!! Don’t you DARE give up now! Count your pedal strokes and KEEP pushing!! Right foot down, left heel up. Left foot down, right heel up. Keep going keep going keep going keep going keep going!!”

Then.

It’s.

Finished.

Like a strange, out-of-body, hyperventilating, hell-on-wheels, emotionally exhausting, vomit-inducing (almost, anyhow), crazy insane experience.

Oh, and I can’t forget the best adjective – the one that actually remains in my brain for weeks and months afterwards. An inexplicably EXHILARATING experience!

Ready to join me on the next one?? I promise you’ll never be the same.

Sarah Farsalas is a USA Cycling Level III certified coach and Licensed Massage Therapist with Experience Triathlon.   Learn more about Coach Sarah, Experience Triathlon and Experience Massage at www.experiencetriathlon.com