After taking a little over 20 months off racing, first from burnout and then from injury, I have my first “race” coming up in a little over a week. (My least favorite distance too! The Olympic!) I have been reflecting lately, over both my absence from racing and my return to the sport and have come up with a top ten list of what I miss most (both good and bad) about racing! In no specific order:

10. Gagging down the “Applesauce Breakfast” race morning when you really don’t feel like eating anything, because you’re nervous as Hell.

9. The Ritual of Ironman Gear Bag and Bike Check In the day before the race and those final moments in your condo of being sure over and over again, that you have everything you need for 140.6 miles.

8. Getting body marked race morning full of nerves, excitement and wonder as to how the day will unfold.

7. That feeling at the finish line of a sprint or Olympic when you want to puke and your legs are seized up but you have to stop long enough for them to unpin and take your timing chip off of your ankle.

6. The Pre-Race Warm up swim, when you swim out from shore and look back at the sun rising and all the athletes on shore and warming up and knowing that each one had a journey and a story to get to this day. Realizing how blessed and fortunate we are to be healthy and strong enough to “get to do this.”

5. The cold sand in your toes, heart racing and your finger on your Garmin waiting for the starting cannon/gun/airhorn to go off.

4. The feeling of the sun on your back and face, feeling yourself heat up and figuring ways to keep yourself cool enough to keep moving forward.

3. When you have 2-4 miles left and people are telling you, “You’re almost there!” And, you ARE SO NOT ALMOST THERE!

2. Those last few miles of pain and then how the pain magically disappears for just a few moments, when you are in the finish chute.

1. That first cold beer with friends post-race when you are sunburned, exhausted but on top of the world!

Follow along on Coach Jackie Miller's journey BACK to racing, after taking a long lay off. Read the first part in the blog series HERE!

~Jackie Miller - ORR and QT2 Coach and Team Manager