After a nine hour drive, we have arrived home from Chattanooga. The bags are unloaded from the car and ready to be unpacked.  Those nine hours in the car, gave me a good amount of time to think. I was able reflect on my first ever ‘Did Not Finish’.  My initial post race thoughts are outlined below.

I think the most significant thing from the weekend, is how satisfied I am with myself. Choosing to stop in the middle of the race, is big thing for me.  I am not, by nature, a quitter.  Making the choice to sacrifice this race, so that I do not suffer a set back for my next race, is a very smart decision.  If you had asked me before the race on Sunday, if I would quit during the race, I would have said ‘no way’.  I actually did quit and I am proud of it.

I am also quite pleased with my performance in the parts of the race that I did complete.  Even with difficulty breathing, I had a fairly good swim for me. Also, my time on the bike, was close to my time from the race a couple of years ago.  This tells me my base fitness is high and I am making progress in the sport.

The final big thought about the weekend, was about my ‘limiters’.  What is limiting me from achieving my ultimate potential?  I have concluded it is not swimming, biking or running.  It is my general health.  I need to get control over my acid reflux once and for all.  Figuring out a diet, that doesn’t give me gout flare ups, is important too.  I also need to work more on looking after my body and reducing the number of niggles and injuries I have.

I still need to refine these post race thoughts, but for now, I think my analysis is sound and gives me a focus moving forward.