Wilmington Race Recap and a Surprise!!!!!

I'm not sure how this week could have gotten any better. I am so happy and thrilled about how this week has turned out.

First of all, I had one of the most exciting races of my career on Saturday. I went down to Wilmington, NC for one of the collegiate series races. It was a sprint distance, but had a 1500m swim.

Swim:
The swim actually went with the current. I was pretty excited because I thought that would mean the swim would be very fast. I was wrong. My stupid goggles got really foggy so I had some trouble sighting. There were a few times toward the end of the race that I had to stop and lift my goggles up to see where the finish was. I wish the finish of the swim had been marked better. My time overall was 21:09.

T1 was a SUPER far run. I'd almost be willing to say about half a mile. It was pretty tough running that far barefoot and over the concrete. I actually got a rock stuck in my foot :( Shoutout to MEGAN B or taking that baby out that night! SAVED MY LIFE.

Bike:
The bike was super awesome. I was rocking a Reynolds disc wheel set courtesy of Cherie! (YOU ROCK!) This lady is actually so awesome that she is letting me borrow her 404s for Half Full! Such a sweetheart! Anyway, the bike course was very bumpy, but thats how a lot of the roads are in Wilmington. Also, we had to bike over a drawbridge, but they made it a "one lane no passing zone" for probably the first half (probably longer) mile of the bike and the last part. It was really annoying because I felt like I could only coast during that time. But, it was very flat!!!!
31:56

Run:
Only positive reviews on the run! I love this 5k course. I did a turkey trot a few years ago on this course. It is so pretty going over the channel on the way out and the way back. It is fairly flat but has a few bumps along the way.
20:38

I got 2nd overall and 1st in the collegiate category and my age group! Very exciting stuff. Overall time of 1:15:46
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Next awesome thing, I got a bid for the new Alpha Delta Pi chapter at JMU! I am literally beyond excited. I found out today and could not be happier. I know its going to be tough balancing training, job, school, AND a sorority... but this is exactly what I wanted... I just didn't realize it. My roommate and I actually both got bids. We have a retreat all day tomorrow starting at 10 until 6, so I'm going to need to get to sleepy sleepy since I'm going to be getting up early for a brick. I can't wait to meet all my new beautiful sisters. I love you all already :)

Me and the roommate with our doors signs!

WOO HOO! LAST HARD WEEKEND OF THE SEASON!

Then its just short but intense for this next week and then last race of the season on Sunday. I am definitely pretty sad to see the season wrap up. I feel like it went so fast. But I am ready to take a little bit of a break and go hiking and mountain biking! Definitely going to be doing a lot more trail running over the winter.


Anyway, its been quite a busy week and I am exhausted!

I am so happy to be where I am today and I know I couldn't do it without God. He's planned out this beautiful life for me and I couldn't be happier.

Race Recap- Patriot's Sprint

Well, I've known I needed to do a race recap of Patriot's. I was just kind of putting it off because I have been so busy with school and work and I know that school comes first.... I guess. So, I just got back to campus from tutoring and I have about an hour to kill before my macro class. I thought I was super prepared by packing my backpack last night before I went to sleep so I would be sure to have my computer and everything else I needed to work on some school work between my classes. I am all about making the most of my time these days! I sat down, opened my backpack, and the ONE book I need for my assignment isn't there! Ugh how frustrating. So I'm sitting down putsin around on facebook because I have nothing else to do, then I'm like brain blast! Blog post. And now that is what I am doing.

And for your reading pleasure, I give you, the story of Courtney and Patriot's Sprint Triathlon.

Many of you know that I am by no means a sprinter or short distance athlete. I guess a sprint triathlon is still considered by a lot of people to be an endurance event since it lasts about an hour. While most people are like Yes! Sprint Triathlon! I can do that, when I think sprint triathlon, I have very little desire to participate. For me a sprint triathlon is just pretty much going balls to the wall for an hour. I would so much rather put out a hard effort for 2.5 hours. Anyway, since Patriot's was part of the MACTC series, I knew I had to do it. Plus it was on the same course as Jamestown, and I loved that race!!!!!!!! 

Pre Race

I worked packet pickup on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning before the race. Since this race was a team race, I ended up traveling with my girl Erin (SHOUTOUT TO MY NAVIGATOR/DJ/BEST FRIEND) since she was racing too. We left on Saturday morning after a night full of sober driving, froyo, and Gossip Girl. We ended up hanging out at my house for a little bit before we had to drive to packet pickup. My mom needed us to clean out the fridge for her, NO PROBLEM! So we feasted. It was great. 

I actually didn't ride or spin or anything on Saturday, even though thats what I usually do before races. I just wasn't feeling it for some reason. I guess my legs were still a bit tired and I didn't want to push it too far. So we ended up spending the night at my house. We went to bed at 11 and had to get up at 3:30. UGH. Good thing I don't need sleep to function.

I got to the race in the morning, set up transition, and went on  a short warm up right before transition closed. I got super nervous because I did NOT feel good. My legs were heavy and I couldn't get my legs to turnover. Not the way I wanted to feel right before this race. But whatever, I couldn't get bad thoughts in my head. I had to do this and had to do it well.

SWIM

Oh my goodness. Now this was NOTHING like the Nationals swim, not crazy girls kicking me in the face. No punching. No wrestling. No 3 foot waves. But it was a tough swim. the current was really strong so I felt like I was constantly being pushed way off course. I was able to keep a pretty straight line... I think. I never looked up and thought "OH SHIT I'M SO OFF COURSE." The water was about 80 degrees and a lot of people were complaining about the water feeling like bath water. [Guess what guys, the water at the pool in the gym at school is like 83. EW! COOL THE POOL, COOL THE POOL!] Anyway, so it was a good swim overall. Just a little slow because of the current. I was so glad to hear that everyone else's swim was slow though. 

BIKE

So I come out of the water and I know there are a few girls in front of me. I am just not sure how many and how far. I passed a girl running up to transition and held her off. I knew I needed to catch some chicks on the bike and I didn't have a ton of time to do so. I also came out of the water with an guy from Georgetown. Long story short, we leap frogged like CRAZY the entire bike. I started to get a little frustrated/nervous about blocking/drafting. I didn't want to slow down. I had business to take care of and girls to catch.  My legs burned quite a bit for the first 3 miles or so. I just couldn't get to a place I felt comfortable, relatively speaking.  ****This is where the prayers kicked in, along the lines of, "God, please give me the strength to do this. My legs hurt. God why do my legs hurt so bad? Can you please just take away this pain?" And I'm telling you, God's the man. He takes care of me. He loves me! He wants me to be happy, but He also has a plan for me that I think is just amazing!***** Then I saw a girl, check. Then a little while later I passed 2 more girls. All I saw were boys in front of me! So then one of the guys from my team passes me right before the turn around. He tells me I have a Navy girl a minute back. Oh heck no. I am not backing down. I crushed it home. I knew I had to just go for it. Luckily my new saddle still rocks and I never want to get out of my TT position. I am extremely comfortable and happy with it (thanks Les and Connie for the recommendation!) One of my competitors from Tech passed me with about a mile to go. I know she's a faster cyclist than I am, but I'd say we could run about the same speed. So I saw her and someone yelled "you're the second woman!" Holy crap! No way. So I get this big stupid grin on my face and am like "Courtney, you have 25 minutes left. Leave it here." I promise myself I'm not going to let Tech out of my sight.

That's my "I'm on a mission" face.

RUN

I am in transition and the announcer is like "here comes Courtney! She is the 3rd woman. She's putting on her shoes, she's got her race belt, she's off!" I totally felt like a badass, but then I'm thinking crap, 3rd place. Not good enough. And now I have a terrible side stitch and I'm totally gonna puke. I have so many people yelling at me to go get these girls. My teammates, my mom, my friends. So, as soon as I saw Tech pass the girl that was in front, I knew I had a shot. I kicked it into gear and ran my heart out. I kept glancing down at my watch and I was in the 6:40ish pace. I can do this. I passed the girl that was now in 2nd with about a mile left. I was getting so nervous that someone was going to sneak up on me though. I am still lacking some confidence in my run. I'm definitely not as fast as I used to be. I just kept my focus in front of me, looking back doesn't help anything. I dropped my pace and went for it. Anyone can do anything for about 8 minutes. I saw my mom right near the finish line and ususally she tells me there's someone behind me and that I have to pick it up. She just said "Go Courtney!!" when she saw me. So in my mind I'm like holy shit there's no one behind me or holy shit there is someone there and she didn't want to freak me out. So then I started running even faster. Finally, I got to the finish line. I had come in 2nd! And I didn't puke!

This is me...leaving it on the course.

This race was a pretty big deal for me. This was the bestI have ever placed overall in a race. I am waiting for that 1st place overall finish. I know it's coming. But when? I know it takes time. Patience. I will get there some day. I have an amazing support group behind me. My mom, dad, sisters, doctor, coaches, and friends. Everyone is there one hundred percent. Even when I am a total jerk. So I thank you all for all that you do for me. I could not do it without you.

So where does this leave me with Collegiate Nationals? I just need to rack up as many points as I can. I will be doing a race in Wilmington, NC then the MACTC championship race. I am looking forward to my final 2 races of the season. I can't wait to go to Wilmington and stay with my grandparents! Definitely going to have to beach it up while I am there too! 

As always, thanks for reading and your support! It means the world to me:)

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." 

Colossians 3:17 

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: 

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.

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.

Jamestown International 2012 and a GREAT week (w/ pics!)

Well, I finally have time to sit down and write this post. It has been one crazy week in this house. I am taking an online history class and had a paper due today that I had been working on all week. I know I have to sometimes put triathlon related things on hold to do school work... which stinks. BUT! I finished my paper and my homework assignment, so now I get to write and read up on my passion.


My parents had been out of town for a few days for my brothers baseball tournament so I was also in charge of my 2 younger sisters this week... 17 and 15... so I guess not really much younger. In addition to hanging out with my 2 best friends all week, I got a really exciting email about the Endurance Films Racing Team!!! I don't want to get into it yet, but I am really excited to see where this goes.


On to the race...
The day/night before...
A warm and busy day indeed. I was up early to help coach at my local swim teams intrasquad meet. I got to be the announcer which was so much fun. I should never be left alone with a microphone, I am such a goofball. It was also fun to make fun of my mom, who is the President of the swim team, over the loud speaker. I would call her out for being slow at getting the times when the kids got out of the water since she was head timer at the meet. I was very careful to drink the entire time I was at the meet, which only lasted about 2.5 hours.
Next on my list that day was to take a history midterm, no fun at all.
Then, it was time for a quick trip to the bike shop. My pump broke and I knew I would need it for the race since I was borrowing my neighbor's Mavic's. Totally sweet. A great wheel set. I felt super fast riding them, and of course they look sexy on my bike.
Finally, I was able to squeeze in a short 30 min ride and 10 minute run to shake out before I had to scurry on over to a babysitting gig. The temperature was so hot, I just didn't want to dehydrate myself too much. I made sure to rotate Gatorade and water all day. I also ate some potato chips and salted nuts per request of my hand dandy bike mechanic. I was up way past midnight babysitting, the parents were fully aware that I had to be up at 4:45 to leave for my race and said they would not be out long... lies. OH well. I made money.


The Morning of...
So I wake up and brew a pot of coffee. I have actually recently given up coffee. It just gives me bad heartburn and I only drink it now on special occasions, like RACE DAY!!! My favorite day of the week. Mom got up and drove me to the race which was super nice of her because she had been out late as well. Although, she did forget the camera :( It stormed (lightning) the entire way down to the race. I was getting a little nervous and decided that if it was still storming at 6:30 (7am race start) I would just go home and do a tri at home. I get to the race and there is a huge line for paket pickup, I am really upset and nervous because I still needed to warmup and prep my T area. Only to find out about 10 minutes into my mini panic attack that the race had been pushed back a half hour and everyone was behind! PHEW! The packet pickup had just opened by the time I got in line. I felt like such a dummy, but it was such a relief. Then, I met up with my friend Megan from the JMU Triathlon Club for a quick chat before it was time to get in the zone.


THE RACE!
Run
At 7:15, the race director announced that the race would now be a duathlon rather than a triathlon. They replaced the mile swim with a mile run. I'm sure you can imagine my disappointment with this news. Take away the leg of the race that can put me at the FOP. I was nervous that I would go out too hard on the first run. I made sure to real keep control and focus on form. I ended up finishing in 7:02.  A solid pace.


Bike

Three miles in on the bike there was a huge clap of thunder that shook the ground. It was INSANE. I was so thankful I wasn't in the water. Good call by the race directors. I had an amazing bike. I really tried to make sure to keep myself in control since I left everything on the bike at my last race. There was a woman in front of me on the bike that I was playing leap frog with. She told me this was her first race in 2 years, I decided that I would not play with her anymore and let her go ahead. I knew that I had the endurance to pull through at the end. I didn't want to fly and die... which I sure didn't. I passed her at the end very strong.





Run 
I wish I could remember the run. I feel like I always black out a little on the run. Coming in on the bike, I passed the FOP sprint racers as they were starting run. The run started through cornfields. I was nervous that it was going to miserably hot running through the fields. About 4 minutes in the cornfields, the skies opened. It was beautiful. I have never been so happy to have rain. I had a very solid run with splits that were fairly consistent. I met and ran with a man for about 1.5 miles in the middle of the race. It was nice to have someone to keep me company for a little bit. Once he dropped off, he ran back up to me real quick and said "Holy cow, you are only 20? You have quite a future ahead of you." It was an amazing compliment and I felt great the rest of the race. Huge confidence boost.

OVERALL
I FINALLY GOT AN OVERALL PODIUM FINISH THIS SEASON. Such an awesome confidence boost.


Splits:
Run 1- 7:02
Bike- 1:04:57 (23 mph)
Run 2- 45:05 ( 7:15/mi)


After the race though, I experienced a little bit of knee pain after my post race nap. We have determined that it is IT Band pain, but has subsided for the most part. I took last week a little easier than normal. I am ready to hit the hammer though starting tomorrow! NATIONALS IS SO CLOSE!!!! I can't wait to rock it! Finally getting my speed back.

OBP Tri- A Photo Collection

So, I guess they didn't snap any pictures of me going up to T1 which is a bit of a bummer. I imagine that my run is a little more put together than you will see in the photographs below. These pictures are really extraordinary and accurately portray my feelings throughout the race. 

My lips are pursed. This was probably about 3 miles or so into the race if i had to guess. I was obviously frustrated by the bumpy/poorly paved road.

 Oh HELL NO bitch. YOU WLL NOT PASS ME. This was one of the ladies I played leap frog with throughout the race. She was an awesome competitor and I definitely wouldn't have been able to push as hard as I did without her. I ended up passing her again with like a mile to go.

I have no words for this picture. I am obviously in a lot of pain. 

HA! I am aware of the poor running form in this picture. Heel striking, arm crossing, the works. But on the plus side at least my hair looks good? 

Now, I appear to be in a lot of pain here, too. However, I am a little more proud of this picture since my arms are staying on their respected side and I am leaning a little more forward. It looks like I am heel striking a bit, but not nearly as badly as I was about to in the picture above. 

Well there ya have it, the first of many horrifying collections of race photos. 

Old Point Tidewater Triathlon

Well, this race was quite an interesting one. My third hard weekend in a row, I had the Drake Concert on May 25, RHI Tri on June 2, and now this. Needless to say, I am exhausted, although I am very aware that is not an excuse. Just a statement.

The night before
My parents were both out of town and I had been in charge of the three younger siblings for three days, on top of some hard training AND work from 9-5 (Serious props to my mother for doing this every day). Therefore, I was a little stressed out and didn't eat a very good dinner. I just had some scrambled eggs, GF toast, and a little bowl of cereal. I had a really low appetite that day which was weird for me.

Getting to the race
My lovely, lovely father who just got back from a trip in Austin, TX drove me to the race on Saturday morning. I was up at 3:15 to get ready, prepare my oatmeal, and screw on my brake pads (they had been in the car at the airport). We left the house at 3:45 since it was a 7 am start. HE LOVES ME! We had a nice trip and a Sheetz pitstop on the way out of town.

Race site
Set up my transition area, and of course I forgot to take a picture again! UGH. But I did a pretty good job. I went to the car to get my transition bag from my dad because I forgot to put on bodyglide... more on that later. As I biked to my car so I could continue on with my warmup, I touched the brakes and realized my bike wasn't stopping. Little ole dumb me put on my brake pads UPSIDE DOWN! Luckily the problem was fixed like 20 minutes before the start. Talk about stressful. I took a Clif Shot Block and walked down to the beach for the swim start.

Swim
The swim was 1000m. The water temperature was 74 degrees and I opted not to wear a wetsuit. I decided that the salt water would take care of the buoyancy factor and I would probably get too warm in a wetsuit. Again, I am being very careful about my dehydration. The swim went by really fast!

T1 
LONG transition 1. I passed one of my guy friends coming out of the water hehe. GO ME. YOU JUST GOT CHICK'D BRO. I ran right out of transition and clipped in my left foot before the mount line. Why I did this? I am not exactly sure. But I made sure to not get all the way on my bike till I crossed the mount line.

Bike
The bike was awesome. I played leap frog with 2 other women throughout the whole race. I also did have a moment when I almost got hit by a car. It just about turned into the bike lane. Thank goodness I had my brakes fixed and I apologize for the series of 4 letter words that erupted from my mouth. My bad. I came in from the bike in 2nd place for women and only about 45 seconds down from leader claimed my dad. I drank half of an Accelerade on the bike.

T2
My dad then started yelling at me that I was only 30 seconds down as I exited transition. I knew I was going to win this race. I always excelled in the run. Even if I felt slow, I ALWAYS win the run.

Run
Then the run started. I felt horrible. I just kept up pace with her feet, but I felt myself falling further behind. And then I got passed by the other lady I was playing leap frog with. I knew I had been on the run for like 20 minutes, I had to be getting close. I was so wrong, I was only 4 minutes into the run. Alright, I can accept 3rd I told myself. I don't want to reinjure my leg, just finish the run and hold your own. I had a gel with me and tried to eat it, but it did not feel right, so I tossed it when I got to an aid station. I decided to walk through each water station to try and get my head on straight. Then I got passed again, and my morale dropped significantly, 4th place. My hip started to irritate me, and I knew I would have to hold back. Whatever. I just want to survive this run. I finally crossed the finish line. Winning my age group, but I felt horrible. At least everyone was yelling "Go Dukes" at me! Yay JMU!

I knew that pushing harder would have increased my chance for inury and I am happy with my performance on the bike. I just really let it all out there. And that is okay with me. I now know that I need to work on my bike-run endurance.

Stats:
Swim: 14:56 (1:22/100yd)
T1: 2:11
Bike: 52:53 (21.6 mph) <-- AWESOME
T2: 0:45
Run: 38:30 (7:45/mi) EEH gads. Oh well. It happens. Better luck next time

1st place in age group. Way to represent JMU! GO DUKES!