First Weekend, Traffic, & Photo Dump

Well, I have survived the first 2 nights in the new apartment! It feels so great to be back at school. I am still missing a desk and dresser in my room, so I am currently living out of 4 different suitcases. However, I built the dresser drawers and the  actual dresser itself. Now I just have to put it together. I am quite proud of myself for building it all by myself and using a drill!! Though I'm sure I will put clothes in it and it will fall over, but I really hope that doesn't happen.

I got to ride Friday. I forgot how many hills were in Harrisonburg. My Garmin is dead... guess where my charger is. In my kitchen, with my delicious Penny Cluse granola. Not happy. So I just rode from noonish until 1:45. I'm not particularly sure how far I went, but my legs were definitely jello-like after. 

I ran 50 minutes on Saturday and felt like a boss. It started raining midways into my run which made it that much better. I definitely am ready for the final kick of the season. 

Today I did a long ride, about 2.5 hours out toward Reddish Knob. Definitely one of my favorite places to ride in Harrisonburg, though it is super sketchy. I hate going out there alone, I feel like I should be carrying a gun or pepper spray when I go out there. It started sprinkling a bit after I turned around. Then all of a sudden cop cars and firetrucks were flying past me toward the mountain. I have not a clue what was going on, but I was very happy to be going the opposite direction. I dropped the hammer and got myself to civilization quick.

Just got stuck in some church traffic while trying to add on.
I would so much rather run into these than the cars back at home.

OH! AND I QUALIFIED FOR WORLDS! Here are some more pics from Nationals from the race photographer.

Nationals Part 3- Race Recap

Hey there! Typing this up while I am sitting at my last day of work. Where the heck did this summer go? I can't believe I go back to school in 3 days!

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So on to Nationals! I woke up at 5:30am bright eyed and bushy tailed. I went to sleep with a positive attitude and it carried through the next morning. I got up brushed my teeth, grabbed my Gatorade(s) and headed on down to breakfast. I couldn't help but laugh when I was walking down the hall and it seemed like the entire hotel was  up with me heading down to breakfast. Luckily the hotel had stocked up on instant oatmeal and bananas, there was plenty left for me when I got downstairs.

We left around 6 to get to transition at 6:30 so I could set my stuff up and get a little warm up in. Apparently I missed the memo that we couldn't take our bikes out of transition that morning so we could have slept in another half hour....  After setting up transition, I met up with mom and Sue to drop off my transition bag. They were able to walk down to the dock with me and take some last minute pictures.

So excited to race!! In my AWESOME wetsuit!
Thanks Grannie and Papa... promise I'm gonna get the
"powered by G&P" tattoo... eventually...

SWIM

While looking out on the water and talking with some other athletes, I had determined that this swim was going to be rather difficult. The waves were huge-like 3-4 feet!!- (mind you we are in a LAKE) and the sun would be directly in our eyes after the turn around. What I did not expect though was how mean 24&under women could be! Holy cow, that swim start was the roughest I have ever been in. I'm lucky that I came out of the water with all my teeth and without a bloody nose! Oy vey. 

Other than that, the swim went pretty well. I just stayed focus on what I had to do and not worry about the other girls. I kept my strokes long and swam my heart out. The water was about 74 degrees, so borderline for a wetsuit in my book. By the time I had gotten about 1000m into the race, my legs were so hot and I was ready to be out of that water.

Not any good pictures from the swim...
so here we are leaving transition...off we go! 

Bike

The bike was so much fun!! Aside from the first part of the race being a steady climb, the bike was pretty easy and included some nice rollers. I actually did like having the men behind me because I would get passed by one and push it a little bit to catch up. The course was very well marked and the pavement was pretty close to perfect. The wind was the most obnoxious part of the whole race.  Once we made the turn around the wind definitely picked up. Since my suit was still wet, the wind was extra cold. However, I saw the wind as an opportunity to crank it out while everyone else was fighting to stay in the game. I knew I had strength there and it wouldn't burn me out for the run.

Hopefully better pictures to come. My mom didn't realize it was
 me biking toward her because she wasn't paying attention I was going so fast! 

Run

I am not sure how I feel about the run. It started with the HUGE hill right out of transition. A hill so treacherous that I probably would have been faster walking up the hill than running. I knew though that once I got to the top it would be all down hill... literally! It took me a little bit to get my pace down once I got to flat land! I saw my mom around this time which definitely made things a little easier. She was screaming out the window to stay strong. She also played my favorite workout song really loud and rolled down all the windows in the minivan, Dance (Ass, Ass, Ass). Side note: this song is awesome for training because it has such a fast beat that it matches my bike and run cadence! 

I just love this picture... obviously I am looking at my van blasting  music.
LOL WTF MOTHER?! 

I don't know how it happened, but I paced the run perfectly. Every time my watch vibrated to signify a mile, I looked down and noticed that it was between 7:10 and 7:17. Holy hell, I was staying consistent and keeping a quick pace! By the time I hit the turn around by the water, I knew it was time to kick. Kick I did. Everything hurt. My stomach, my chest, my hamstrings, my shoulders. I had between 18-22 minutes left. I can hurt for 20 minutes. Hint: to  make the time go by faster, find out how many water stations will be along the course beforehand. Then when you are running It was also helpful that there were some cyclists speaking a different language on the bike course that were cheering me on and rode down the road with us a bit. Also, people were playing music on the course, super motivating! 

Best part of the day. I LOVE RACING! 

POST RACE
I definitely pushed myself throughout that race. I stumbled across crossed the finish line with nothing left in the tank. My eyes went blurry and sort of blacked out. I was extremely nauseous and the smell of the Moe's post race food was awful (though I was eventually able to eat it). I got my bike as soon as transition opened and we went back to the hotel for a shower. However, we were not leaving the race site without ice cream! I ended up getting the chocolate milkshake I had been craving, though I wish it had been a little thicker. My favorite post workout drink is chocolate milk, therefore, a chocolate milkshake is like chocolate milk on steroids, right?! Chocolate milkshakes >> chocolate milk. 'Nuff said. 

We got back to the hotel, showered and packed up. We were trying to decide where we wanted to go get food before we hit the road. Obviously I suggested Penny Cluse, but figured it would probably be packed after the race. I called and they said the wait was only 15 minute! So you bet your bottom dollar we sped up the packing/showering process and made it down to there within 30 minutes. And how bout it that we walked in and there were 3 seats at the bar... AGAIN! We'll take it! This time I had a scrambled eggs with Vermont cheddar (delish), turkey sausage, and the granola. This time I got it with cold milk instead of hot. Luckily they served it with milk on the side... I couldn't eat it all so I took the rest home... and added it to the pound package I bought the day before! After we ate it was time to say goodbye to Vermont and an awesome race!

Overall, I had an AMAZING experience. I had so much fun with my mom and Sue. It was a nice little getaway before heading back to school. I wish I had been able to spend more time in Burlington after the race...especially if I were 21. I  hope I get another opportunity to compete at AGNC in the future. So many rumors going around that it will be somewhere in Colorado and San Diego next time! Going to have to start saving soon if I want to go!

Stats: 

No Structure?

I am loving this week without structure. Last night I ran about 20 minutes at 8 minute pace when I got home. It was a very painful 8 minute pace, I was draggin'. I then proceeded to eat a bowl of cereal with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas, a spoonful of peanut butter, 4 scoops of ice cream (2 rocky road, 2 oreo birthday celebration), and 3 pieces of pizza. POST RACE BINGE BABY. 

Today, I slept in until about 9:45, ate some breakfast, made pancakes for my brother, got a good bit of packing and organizing done, went on a 90 minute easy bike ride, and just ate some Mexican for lunch. Yum. 

I have so much to get done this evening. I completely forgot that I need to get a shower curtain and all that good stuff for my new apartment along with everything else I need. I also have a pedicure on the agenda too :) 

I promise the race recap is coming soon...but right now I need to go get dressed and get shopping! 

Nationals- Part 2

FINALLY ALMOST HOME!!! 

Last night we stopped in Morristown, NJ for some dinner.  The town was bumpin'! I guess there was a concert or something. Just as we were going to turn around and get back on the highway and find something else to eat on the road, we found a parking spot right outside the Japanese restaurant we had our eyes on. That’s good, clean livin’ as my dad would say!! Mom and I split a Spicy Tuna Roll to start and it was definitely one of the best rolls I have ever had. We each got teriyaki chicken and vegetables for dinner. Unfortunately our server was pretty rude. Otherwise it was awesome!

We stopped off in Wilmington, DE last night to spend the night. We had planned on driving right on through to Richmond, but we wouldn’t have gotten home until almost 4am! The hotel we stayed at was actually right near the hospital where I was born. Wilmington was so much fun. We went to my mom’s favorite little Italian bakery, Serpe’s, to get Italian cookies… and then half a sheet of pizza… and then some cannolis! They also had brownie samples…. I had three :) NOM NOM NOM. We got a suggestion to try Crossroads Café for breakfast. It wasn’t Penny Cluse (more on this below!), but it was a solid breakfast. THEN we had to go to our sub place, Capriotti’s to get subs to bring home to the family.

And the cutest bottle of ketchup I've ever seen...
just turn your head. I can't figure out how to rotate. 

So Friday morning, we slept in just a little bit. Last time I slept in before a race was Culpepper and I couldn’t fall asleep until well after midnight. We ended up going to get some breakfast at Penny Cluse Café in Burlington. OH. MY. GOSH. It was so, so, so good. I didn’t want to eat anything out of the ordinary the day before the race, so I opted for a fruit plate, homemade turkey sausage, and a hot granola. There are no words to describe either. The turkey sausage was amazing, I have never had anything to compare. And the granola…. My goodness… The granola had Vermont maple syrup, butter, oats, pecans, almonds, and raisins. It tasted like Christmas in a bowl. I may or may not have bought a pound bag on the way out… My goal this week is to get myself packed for college recreate the granola..

I dug into the sausage as soon as it hit the table!! 

And the delicious granola! My mouth is watering just looking at it! 

Next, we walked around Church Street for a little bit. It’s a pedestrian street with shops and restaurants. There is also a mall…. I finally got the right size dress from the Loft… it was only 12 dolla!  Then it was time to get a full view of the run course by bike. My mom tried to follow me, but got lost? It was a short 30 minute spin out and felt really good. This is about the time I gained confidence for the run. We then drove down to the beach so I could test the waters. Mom got tons of pictures of this, like I said… photo shoot. I was pleasantly surprised when the water was totally comfortable and actually a little bit warm. I considered not wearing my wetsuit for the race, but ultimately decided that I should.

Post swim photo shoot

Side note: I actually was a bit hesitant to get in the water. Last time I tested the water before a race was at Collegiate Nationals in 2011 and the water was 62 degrees! I seriously almost backed out of the race after trying the water… it was so COLD. But really I was just so nervous for my first OLY distance.

Next order of business after was to head to the Sheraton to get a new wristband and double check my brakes! They were SO squeaky, but apparently they were just fine.

We headed back to our hotel to shower up and clean Trevor. We went back down to transition to put my bike up (turns out I seriously had the best spot for my bike!), have another photo shoot, and then get some dinner. 

I wish I actually finished like this. 

Trevor all protected from the rain... in our awesome
"end of rack" spot 

Mother and me

We got a recommendation for Sweetwater on Church St. It was very good AND they had a gluten free menu! COURTNEY FTW. There was about a 20-minute wait so we sat at the bar and had drinks, I opted for a lovely water on the rocks. We started with sweet potato fries and I ended up getting a salad, grilled chicken with Vermont cheddar on a gluten free roll, and Vermont cheddar mashed potatoes. Mom and Sue got a Vermont Maple Crème Brulee (that I sampled) and I got a small kids vanilla ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce and some whipped cream. 

Dinner... the lighting was off but still delicious 

At this point it was time to go home, get tattooed up, shave, and hit the sack! We had a very important 5:30 AM wake up call!! 

Nationals Part 1- The Day Before the Day Before

Alright, this is my THIRD try. I am typing this in a word document so there is NO WAY I am going to lose this post.

Triathlon Nationals = photoshoot in my mother's eyes.
Upon arriving at packet pickup

Nationals is over and done with now. I would do a race recap, but right now I am just too tired. I have been so lazy that all of my texts have been short, sweet, and too the point, aside from a few. Anyway, I had a great time at Nationals. It was such a great experience and I learned so much. It was satisfying and fulfilling but a disappointing experience at the same time. I will elaborate more on this later.

So on to the trip! We left Wednesday afternoon and picked up one of our very good family friends to accompany us. My mom needed a “Sherpa buddy" if you will. She also needed another driver… I am no good to drive the day after a race. No bueno. On the way we had SO MUCH FUN. The most eventful part was probably when mom was telling the famous story of how she accidentally got in the EZ Pass lane and couldn’t get back over to pay cash on a toll road… AND THEN SHE DID IT AGAIN as she was telling the tory. Anyone who knows my mom probably understands how hilarious this was. Definitely one of those "had to be there" moments. We stayed the night in Basking Ridge, NJ. It was a quick trip and we were out the door by 9am. Though we made sure to get some gas and breakfast on the way out!

Getting our gas pumped in NJ!

Panera Round 2 of the trip. Blueberry and granola oatmeal with
peanut butter and banana! NOM NOM NOM. Totally recommend
oatmeal from Panera!!! Not disappointed at all.

I actually got to drive about 4 or 5 hours of the trip. We arrived in Burlington around 3:30pm. We stopped at our hotel in Shelburne, about 10 minutes away from the race site. I went ahead and did all the check in and packet pickup on Thursday. I knew it would definitely get busy on Friday. After check in and picking up course maps, I went ahead and did about 3.5 miles easy running of the run course. It’s a good thing I did because I totally went the wrong way for about half a mile… Woops! After I got done, we decided to go drive the bike course. Mom wanted to make sure she knew where she wanted to watch.

Reppin' TN after my shakeout run. Sorry bout it VA.
Staying true to my roots :) 

Turn around point for the bike! Going back to Shelburne!

We got back to the hotel around 7:30 and got dressed for a nice dinner, turns out the “nice dinner” was located in a Best Western. So we put Plan B in action and went to Outback…. Which was less than stellar. I just got the grilled chicken, baked potato and salad.

We went back to the hotel and went to sleep. And now this post has gotten quite long, so I will end it hear and talk about Friday a little later. I am going to go shut my eyes for a bit.  

BEAUTIFUL sunset on the water Thursday night

New Jersey

The eagles have landed in Basking Ridge, NJ.

Hopefully on the road by 9 tomorrow!

Getting pumped :)

Just About That Time

Time to leave for Nationals that is!!!!!

I rode about 50 minutes this morning with some 30 second accelerations. However, my IT bands were a little tight. Hmph... that just meant some foam rolling action when I got home. 

I had grand plans of going to the pool for a few hours, but the clouds just rolled right on in. So instead, I made a playlist for the car. 

Just a snap shot of the playlist... gonna be a good one.
("I Bleed Purple and Gold" SHOUT OUT to my DUUUUKES!!)

It took about 12 CD's!! 

I am very excited about this playlist. It should definitely be a good one. Lots of good party music, mashups, Matt Kearney/The Script, and a bit of country. 

And I brought a book....

And some clean, quality reading... that is apparently upside down?
Sorry I'm not sorry?

The cooler is packed with lots of snacks... dry oatmeal (for breakfast on race day obviously),  almonds, fruit, celery, carrots, hummus (ew), ranch dressing (YUM), peanut butter, and LOTS of water and gatorade. 

For the record, Kroger Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter is the best of all the peanut butters I have tried. 

Last night, I got the bike blessing from Les, aka the best bike mechanic in the whole world. It turns out I had like NOTHING wrong with my bike. That's the first time in awhile. Although he did tell me that I needed to get a new chain... apparently you're supposed to replace it every 1500 miles or so. Oopsie. I will get around to that after Nationals, along with a new saddle. This one in particular: 

Cobb V-Flow Max... It matches my bike... So adorable

In addition to packing, I also watched another 2 episodes of Weeds... I am on to season 3 now. I also paid the rent and security deposit for my new apartment! Sweet.

And now I am totally panicking that I didn't bring my watch... So I am going to go double check on that and do the final walk through to make sure I have it all! I hate this feeling!! 

See ya in New Jersey!! 

Technology

This post includes all things technology and how I am NOT good with it. 

First things first: YESTERDAY
I got off work early and went to  my final chiropractor appointment before Nationals. WAHOO! I still feel pretty good,  no IT band issues and no other hip pain to report. Went straight to the gym to do a quick 2000 yd workout which included some 100s, some 50s, and 25s fast! but with lots of rest. Then I jumped in the car to go over to the track... I guess it's kind of like transition? Did 1 mile at all out effort. I am still technologically inept and somehow managed to not start my watch and didn't realize it until I was 200m in to the mile. ARGH. So my 1400m was 5:48, but my Garmin said my average pace was 6:02... so about that-ish. My legs felt strong and my feet were light. 

I had planned  on going to Yoga after the run, but when I got home and saw my computer... I knew I had more important business to take care of. What is more important than a good stretch-sesh? Watching WEEDS. However, it literally took me like 3 un-installations, 4 downloads, and 2 computer restarts to get the stupid Microsoft Siverlight to work on my computer which is THE ONLY WAY you can watch Netflix on your computer. It was so obnoxious and needless to say I was quite frustrated. But after watching 4 episodes, I had forgotten about all the issues and it was TOTALLY worth it. 

TODAY
I was up and at 'em at 6 this morning to ride with my neighbor. I wanted to get my ride in before work so I could take my bike to the shop today and get the "race ready blessing". Easy, semi-short, nothing too exciting. Since we are leaving for Nationals tomorrow (OMG) and I trust very, very few people with my bike, I wanted to get things sorted out today. Therefore, I am rockin' the mom-mobile today (aka the minivan). 

As you can tell, I have updated the blog just a bit. I added my races and a new "Thank You" page. I had some issues with things clicking and working, but it should be fixed now. And if anyone out there is a blog expert, feel free to help a girl out.

And I leave you with a verse regarding trust in God. It seems appropriate for a day like today. 
"Trust in the Lord with  all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

Have a terrific Tuesday :)

And it is...

NATIONALS WEEK!!!!! I am SO pumped. A little nervous but mostly excited.

My workouts went pretty well this weekend and my legs are feeling pretty darn good. Still a teensy bit heavy but nothing like a few weeks ago. I am still trying to figure out my new 910. It is still a ton of fun to use, but somehow I got it stuck on the multisport setting while I was riding yesterday. I rode for about 90 minutes and with 5x3 minutes after I was good and warmed up, so every time I "lapped" my watch, it switched sports! Argh. I finally got off the bike and switched it to bike only. I figured that trying to play with the watch while riding was a poor decision, especially a week out from my A race! 

In other news, I am an idiot. I was super frustrated because I couldn't get my watch to pick up my speed/cadence sensor even though I had applied the settings to my watch. Turns out you have to sync it to the ANT+ USB Stick and then it will work. AWESOME. 

I think I mentioned that my mom and siblings were going to Chattanooga for the weekend and I opted to stay home with my dad for personal reasons and for training. I hung out with some friends on Friday night and was just going to veg, maybe go to dinner with my dad on Saturday, but he had to run into work. So, what did I do? I ran over to Whole Foods to get sushi which was perfect came home, pulled up Netflix, and turned on Weeds. I have heard people rave about this show, but I had never seen it. I don't know if I should be proud or ashamed to say that I watched ALL of season 1, plus the first episode of season 2 on Saturday... in a row... from 7pm-1am. And when I woke up and had to wait for the storm to pass to workout... watched another 2 episodes. And throughout the afternoon I  managed to squeeze another 3 episodes in. So I am on season 2, episode 6... there goes the rest of my free time.

I am working today and tomorrow since I am leaving Wednesday morning/afternoon/evening-ish? Still haven't really decided or talked to my mom about plans. I suppose we should probably get that figured out. I think I am just going to let that fall into place.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.- Deuteronomy 31:6
I really like this bible verse as I approach nationals. Of course I am not terrified or afraid, but I definitely am nervous and will surely be intimidated by the competition in Vermont. I have to trust my training, Connie, and myself to leave it all on the course. Sometimes though, I forget God is there, too. He was there in EVERY training session, even when I forgot He was there. He has been there when things got tough in training and racing this summer. He is there for us always. I have so many supporters and awesome people rooting for me this weekend and were rooting for me all summer, but I also have to remember that even when I don't physically see Him cheering for me... He's there. 

*Also, I apologize for the lack of pictures and excessive text*

New Toys!!!!

Exciting news! I got myself a new toy... two new toys actually. I am going to do a full review of them soon, but for right now I am still trying to figure out how to use them. I am kind of slow when it comes to technology. So instead of pressing buttons and pretending to know what I am doing, I went ahead and read the owner's manual! Shocking... I know! 

BRAND. NEW. GARMIN. 910XT! 

It is so much fun though I am still trying to figure it all out. I have never really run with pace so it is definitely something I will have to get used to. I really don't want to get obsessed with numbers though. Pace/speed are not good indicators of fitness/intensity in my book, unless of course you are on a track... but even then you have to factor in the wind... okay maybe that's a long shot. But really, unless you are running on a course that is fairly consistent. 

I really only use cadence when I am on the bike and usually just go by feel on the run, although sometimes I do use heart rate for both. But now that I have the gear to use numbers, maybe it will be something that I enjoy using as a fitness gauge. Who knows.

Other than that, things have been pretty mellow around here these past few days. My mom, sisters and brother are down in Chattanooga, TN with some friends. I opted not to go, so I am home with my dad. Sitting in the car for 16 hours this weekend to turn around and drive another 10 on Wednesday to go to NATIONALS just didn't seem that appealing. I am also quite stressed with going back to school, the apartment fiasco, etc. So my better judgement (and Connie's) decided to stay back and hang out with my friends here before we part ways and go back to school. And get myself ready to go back to school! I'm not really going to have time after National's, just a few days. So, I went ahead and packed up most of my nice clothes, some fall stuff, and my t-shirts! One step at a time baby! 

It's hard to believe that this summer is almost over! Where did it go?

Expectations

This is a rather long post, so bear with me. I have a point. 

We all have expectations, whether they are realistic or not. I am famous for building up these really elaborate, awesome ideas in my head, then something I was definitely not expecting happens. I am not saying that the reality is necessarily better or worse than the expected, just different. Sometimes it is better and others it is worse, much worse. Sometimes I learn lessons, other times I don't.  These expectations don't just appear in the triathlon aspect of my life either, they are everywhere. I promise I'm going somewhere with this! Stay with me. 

Scenario:
Rumpass in Bumpass Triathlon 2012 just finished. I am thrilled with myself because the outcome of the race was MUCH better than I expected!
Expectation: don't get hurt, stop if need be, don't be disappointed with a personally poor time, walk the water stations, tackle the run as 20 min on/2 min walk.
Reality: finished the race strong, had a relatively decent time, tackled the run as 10 min on/2 min walk and still managed a run time sub 50 minutes! I finished the race with a stupid smile on my face and Erin is right there at the finish. I look great, I feel great, I am high on life (well maybe endorphins). Actually, the "look great" is probably debatable too...

Rockin' the post race baggy shirt and lake/sweat hair. 

Fast forward to that evening and we are back on campus eating dinner. My stomach is a little bit off, but that is totally expected after a race and I don't even think twice about it. One of my best friends is in town visiting and I am so excited to go out that night and celebrate my age group win!!!! Erin, Meghan, and Maura-- you know where this one is going! HA.

Ready for a night out.... so we thought...

Expectation: Great night with great friends. Party all night. Dance. Celebrate a fantastic race!!
Reality: After we all get ready to go out, my tummy still doesn't feel good. I tell my friends that I am just going to go back to my dorm and sleept. I am nauseated at the thought of a sip of water or even eating just one Cheerio. Erin insists on driving me home and spending the night with me to make sure I am okay. By the time I get home and in bed its about midnight. Other friends are calling me to meet up, but all I want to do is sleep and make my stomach stop hurting. I call my mom and she thinks I need to go to the the hospital since I can't eat or drink and that I am probably severely dehydrated. I finally give in once 1:30ish rolls around and go to the hospital. Erin is the best and drives me there and sits with me while I am getting fluids and drugs pumped in via IV. Turns out I WAS severely dehydrated and had a mild case of rhabdo. Scary. 
Lesson learned: DRINK WATER! You better believe I will never be dehydrated again.  

As you can see, the realities of this day are completely different from my expectations. My triathlon reality was better than expected, while my "college girl" reality was much worse than expected.

So, where am I going with this? Well as it gets closer and closer to Nationals (and the start of a new year/new semester), I find myself thinking about the summer: what I could have done differently in training, in racing, in work experience, in my social life. I am getting more and more nervous about competing at Nationals. I know I can only really focus on one thing at a time. So Nationals it is until August 18 at approximately noon, then I go into full "figure out college" mode. I don't want to disappoint myself, my family, my friends, my training buddies, Connie, the list goes on at Nationals. I have some very big and important opportunities resting on my performance at Nationals. 

This summer of training has been FAR from what I expected. I expected not to have any injuries, I expected to run without pain, I expected to not get first in my age group in the races I did this summer, I expected my swim times to stay the same as they have for the past year. My expectations were very different from reality.

I hurt my hip during one of my first hill (run) workouts of the summer. I have no idea what happened but I felt a twinge, ran through it, came home and stretched, and the next day my hip was killing me. I had to take a few days off of running and suffered a little bit of pain for a few weeks, but now it is all better. Praise the Lord.

I hurt my IT Band after a race in the beginning of July and had to take the rest of the week off from running and biking! TERRIBLE. I was so upset that I had hurt myself, for what, one small race. I ruined Nationals. I ruined my training. But guess what, it was all better the following week! Courtney FTW. Yay!

I have gotten first in my age group in every single race this summer, except for Jamestown when I got 3rd overall, even better. This was not something I was expecting. People at my mom's work told to her to prepare me because I was "moving up an age group and things were going to be a lot more competitive and much harder to win." Guess what, I didn't let it get to me and have done great!

Now swimming, this has been the biggest shocker of all. I had actually been talking to some friends about my swim toward the end of the semester... I didn't see the point of training because I felt like I was just at a plateau and I was the fastest I would be. I hadn't seen any significant gains, so shouldn't I just focus on my bike and getting my run time down. Everyone knows the bike is probably the most critical part of the race anyway, it is the leg you spend the most time on. You can definitely win or lose a race on the bike, you can only really lose a race on the swim. I know I am a solid front of pack swimmer. However, I was very wrong. This summer I have dropped my swim down by about FIVE seconds per 100! I am swimming just about as fast as I was in high school if not faster! 

However, my run still isn't where I expected it to be. I expected myself to be running just as fast as I was last summer. I expected myself to be throwing down 2:45-2:50 800s for my first track workout. That did not happen, I was more in the 3:00-3:08 range. I was disappointed, angry with myself. Why had I not just taken care of myself? Why did I even run? Its a stupid sport that just makes you hurt everywhere anyway. And don't they say its bad for your joints anyway? But I had to keep telling myself that my legs would/will come back. Running is where I started as a triathlete! I have been a runner since I was 13!!!! I love running, and I knew I couldn't let some times bring me down. It was my first track workout in over 6 months anyway! Low and behold, I have gotten faster, last week I put down a 2:56 800. It isn't perfect, but it is something to be proud of. I have worked hard this summer to get my running legs to come back. 

Back to Nationals... My dad has always enforced the rule "Hope for the best, prepare (or expect) for the worst." I think I am going to change that quote around in preparation for Nationals. I want to expect the best. If I expect the best, I may be setting myself up for failure. But I have seen incredible gains this summer, and am really thinking I will surprise myself. I have to keep a positive attitude. A positive mindset. With that said, regardless of the outcome, I am competing with some of the Nation's fastest Age Group Triathletes. That is something else to be proud of.

I am going to expect the best.

"But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure." Psalm 8:25

Culpepper International 2012- Some Seriously Sweet Pics

MY FAVORITE PART OF RACES, aside from the frozen coffee I get after:

This is obviously a picture coming out of the water and into T1. I am not totally sure of what this facial expression is. I am pretty sure my Dad, Uncle Matt, and cousin Miranda were there. I was probably trying not to look at them because I would just start to laugh. I do remember having a little bit of a tight chest coming out of the water since the water was so warm and then the air was so humid. Please note though the chin rolls. 

This is the hill out of transition. This is also the hill my  Dad commented on  when we got to the race site. Awesome. I am SO glad I warmed up on the course and decided to throw myself into a very light gear, or I probably would have fallen off my bike trying to get up the hill.

This is definitely one of the most intense faces I have ever seen on myself. I am working hard up the hill and getting myself ready to recover back down. Just like Connie said :) 

I 

Coming out of T2. I am NOT looking forward  to this run ... AT ALL.

Eh that form's pretty good. Arms not crossing the mid line, hips are even, head is straight. 

And  yes, I am that tool wearing the visor I won at the last VTS race. I don't have any other ones and it keeps the sweat out of my eyes! I am famous for lifting my shirt when I run to wipe the sweat off my face. I should really invest in wrist sweat bands.

There you have it, another race in the books, pictures included.

Waiting...

I am so impatient. I hate waiting. I especially hate waiting to do a workout. I also hate that indoor pools clothes if it thunders/lightnings. What gives? Hopefully the storm will pass quickly. I do love that this is the first day of my taper for nationals!

I want to make sure I document this taper and how I am feeling throughout.

Today I had a 60 minute ride with 20 minutes of hammer time in the middle. I felt awesome and wanted to keep going fast! I also have a 3000 yd swim with 15x100 on 1:45 as the main set. The goal is to hit each 100 on 1:15-1:20. Definitely doable.

I lied!

I lied, my max speed was actually can't stop grinning. This is such a huge step for me. I swore I would never, ever go 40 mph. CRAZY! So proud of myself, so happy.

 Yeah look at that elevation map. Ick, though very similar to what I will find in Burlington.

Race Recap: Culpepper International Triathlon 2012

Last night before I went to sleep I told my parents "I am going to feel like I got hit by a bus when I wake up tomorrow." Guess who was right? This girl. My shoulder and hamstrings are killin'  me. Luckily, I have a relatively easy but long-ish bike ride today. Gonna get to that.... eventually, probably this afternoon. I know I need to do it, but I want to relax this morning. 

But, now its time to talk race.

Day/Night before:

I knew that it was going to be a HOT, HOT race. The pre race report said that he water was 86 degrees! WOOWEE...I knew swimming in that nasty hot pool at school wasn't a total waste. I knew I was going to have to hydrate like crazy. I went on a 45 minut easy bike ride Friday morning and was sure to drink a full water bottle. I went to the pool and laid out for a bit. I drank a sport bottle of gatorade and alternated with water, I think was 20 oz? I learned it is very important to alternate between water and gatorade to keep the electrolytes in balance! 

For dinner, I had a little more than half a breast of rotisserie chicken with a small salad and mashed red potatoes... lots of mashed red potatoes. And a small bowl of cereal right before I went to bed. I make sure the label says "Gluten Free" if it is the day before a race. 

Unfortunately, I could not fall asleep for the life of me. I got in bed around 10:30, but didn't fall asleep till well after midnight. Around 12, I went downstairs and told my parents I couldn't sleep and that there was no way it would be safe for me to drive two hours to the race in the morning. My mom responded, "Can you just blow off the race?" WOMAN ARE YOU CRAZY?! NO!  I woke my dad up at 4 and he said he could go with me! FOR THE WIN. I slept the whole way to the race. 

Pre Race 

I was up at 4:05, put on my tri suit and wrote down my bible verses to help get me through what I knew would be a tough race,

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper
 you and not harm you, plans for hope and a future.'"

made my oatmeal, and poured my cup of coffee. I also prepared all of my hydration for the race.

2 white bottles for the bike (1 water and 1 Gatorade), 1 water and the rest of the
Gatorade for the ride up, and of course my coffee. I drink about half of that cup before races. 

I ended up getting to the race so early, Google Maps said the race site was 1:46 away, so I just told myself 2 hours to give myself extra time to get lost and for lines. I wanted to be at the race at 6:30-6:45 since it was an 8 am start. Well, It only took us an hour and a half. I was at the race site at 6:15. To be honest, it was awesome getting to the race early, I racked my bike where I wanted it had time to do a thorough warm up (10 min ez bike, find out gearing I need to be in out of transition and 5 minute run + drills and stretching), and had time to clean off my wheels since transition was in wet, freshly cut grass. 

Bad news: I forgot scissors to cut my bike number

Good news: I remembered to take a picture of transition! 

Gotta love Blackberry pictures! Look how much room I had, my rack was so empty! 

Swim.

Now, I don't have any pictures yet of the swim, but I can tell you it was definitely one of the most memorable swims I have had. This girl was such a jerk. I know open water swims are tough and people are mean, but I have never had someone deliberately try and push me down and get me out of the way. I'm already getting angry just thinking about it. SHE PUNCHED ME! What the heck. We swam together the whole way. I think she ended up getting 3rd overall, so I guess she is a good athlete. I was so frustrated though. Nothing much else to document on the swim. It was hot and slow. ick. 

Bike. 

This is where the race got interesting. I had a different goal for this race than I usually do. The idea was not to kill the race, but to spin hard and fast up the hills and recover the downhills. It was hard to let people pass me down the hills, but I knew I needed the recovery after pushing the hills. It was a freakin' hard bike, but I did hit about 40 mph going down hill! That is definitely new for me and am super proud of myself. Time to face my fears and have some fun! Confession: I am slowly but surely becoming an adrenaline junkie. 

Run.

Holy cow. This run was intense. Huge hill out of transition and rollers the rest of the way. Same mentality/strategy as the bike. Power up hill, recover down hill. I passed people during this race on the run. That is such a huge step for me after the stress fracture. I had zero pain in my hip during the run, just a little IT Band tightness. However, I don't feel too tight this morning. Awesome. I love running without pain. The number one problem with the run was how hard it was to pace because of the hills. My times were all over the place.... seriously 6:34 one mile, 8:30 for another! 

All in all, a good race, a hot race, a tired legs race, a tough race, and ready for a taper.

Poor quality blackberry photo. The girl who got second was a
stupid fast runner! 

Split break down: 

Swim- 25:36 

T1- 1:05

Bike- 1:15:31<< like I said, tough bike

T2- 0:46

Run- 47:23<< OUCH

First in Age Group.
Eighth Woman overall.
Not too shabby.