This year I had decided to not compete at Cascades Edge. My plan was to do Nationals and Lake Stevens this year instead of my usual schedule of Cascades Edge, followed by Pacific Crest. My race plans for the season changed 4 weeks ago after a fall while out on a group ride. The fall happened the weekend before the Issaquah Tri. Shannon tells me I did a nice flip in the air which was my goal as I was trying to land flat on my back and not on my hip. It is amazing to me thinking back at all the things that flashed through my head just before I hit the ground. I was actually trying to flip and land flat on my back. I kept thinking roll with the bike. The accident left me with a badly bruised tailbone. I felt fine walking around after a couple days but sitting or laying down was very painful. I could ride and swim but I had to do everything slowly. The first couple days after the accident I could run very slowly but as the days went on even that had to stop. This past week I was feeling much better and really felt as though I had turned the corner. Last week I was able to run once again with very little pain and I was just feeling so much better. The other success was I was able to lift my leg up and over my bike and dismount like a normal person, something I had not been able to do since my accident. Could I pull all this together on race day? I decided to test this out at Cascade's Edge, to see if I could get myself ready for the USAT Nationals in a couple weeks. I wanted to see if my back would hold up during the run. I wasn’t sure but decided on Wed I would give it my all and TRI.
Race morning was pretty uneventful. I was surprised at the big line when I arrived but honestly I wasn’t freaked by it. I knew they wouldn’t start the race until everyone had checked in. I try not to let things that are out of my control effect me particularly on race day. At that point there was nothing I could do about it so why waste any energy worrying? I was lucky, I got to stand in line with Wendy and Kevin, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. It was nice to chat with them and catch up before the race.
SWIM…I felt great in the swim The water was much warmer than in years past and I had very little contact at the start. It wasn’t until the last part coming in where I had some trouble. I had caught some of the guys who had started before us and there was a row of 4- 5 of them. They were all lined up swimming right next to each other…it was strange. I thought I would try to swim right through them as the girl ahead of me did but had no luck.. this one guy started thrashing around it totally freaked me out. I backed off a bit then tried again this time when I tried to get through I got kicked hard in the chest. That was it. I just stopped breast stroked a bit and decided I better just go around them. I was disappointed because I knew this had broken my rhythm and I had felt like I was swimming really well. I had lost the gals I was swimming with at this point . I finally got by these guys and made it into shore. When I stood up I couldn’t believe how good I felt I was able to sprint to the transition area. I had a little trouble with my zipper on my wetsuit but other than that T1 went well. I was thinking to myself OK now the fun starts!
Usually as I head out on the bike Mike tells me how many girls are ahead of me …I heard nothing from him so I had no idea what place I was in. It was raining and COLD. The ride felt pretty good. I was really worried about drinking on the bike with the weather the way it was I didn’t want to take my hands off my handlebars, move out of aero position or have any type of distraction that may cause a fall.. My hands were so cold that I was having some trouble shifting I was only able to get in about a ¼ of my water bottle. I noticed this as I was coming into transition so I knew then I was going to be low on calories on the run.
As I came into T2 I could see Tracy getting ready to head out for the run. I rushed through transition and headed out. I felt like I was running on stumps for the first loop. The run was the big question mark for me. I had done so little running the last several weeks because of the accident I wasn’t sure what I could do off the bike. They had changed the course to 4 loops around the lake. The run hurt….I felt fine the first loop but the laps after that were hard, my left hip ached. On the second time around Joanna passed me, as she ran by she gave me some words of encouragement. She was running really well and I knew there was no way I could stay with her. Shortly after she went by ANOTHER gal passed me. Now this was getting frustrating, nothing worse than being passed on the run. When the second gal went by I decided that was it. I needed to dig real deep and get in a zone. I knew from the bike there was a pack of girls who were pretty close to me I had seen them at the turn around on the bike …I knew they were closing in . About this time a gal in white went by me…and I thought, “not another one.”. This time I decided I was going to stay with her. I followed her for the r
est of the loop and decided no matter what I was going to keep her right there for the 4th loop then try to pass as we came around for the finish. I stayed with her and as we came around that final corner I picked it up…I was ready to sprint now and just about the time I’m about to go she goes to the right for another lap. I am very thankful that she came running by when she did. I am sure had it not been for her I would have been passed by a several other gals.
Despite the rain and cold it was a fun day. It was great to be there with my team Triumph teammates and the JFT2 team and support crew. I feel very lucky to have such a great group of friends. You all inspire me to continue to strive to be the best I can be.
Entire workout (224 watts):
Duration: 1:10:17 (1:10:22)
Work: 943 kJ
TSS: 118.4 (intensity factor 1.007)
Norm Power: 232
VI: 1.03
Distance: 24.801 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 4 457 224 watts
Cadence: 26 149 87 rpm
Speed: 0 39.1 21.2 mph
Pace 1:32 0:00 2:50 min/mi
Hub Torque: 10 263 75 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 805 227 lb-in
