It certainly has been an interesting trip, and the race is just part of that.  We’ll start with the race.

This was my first international race and opportunity to represent the USA at and Age Group World Championship event.  I am not sure I was even nervous before the event as I came here with few expectations and felt that I would just go race as hard as I could and see what happened in the end. 

The weather here in Vancouver, BC has been cool and rainy, making for challenging racing conditions.  The day before the race, we were informed that the swim course would be shortened to 1000 meters (down from 1500) due to cold water temps (I think they were maybe 12C).  Bummer for the strong swimmers, but just focus on the positives.

Race morning was mostly dry, chilly and a little breezy.  Before my wave start, I headed down to the water to get acclimated and see just how cold this water was going to be.  Yup, pretty darn cold.  Oh, and salty!  I forgot about that fact.

We lined up for our start and I felt good, confident, and calm, knowing that I had no pressure, just going to do the best that I could.  We headed out to the first buoy and my first thought was ‘where did these waves come from?’ and my second thought was ‘gosh this is cold, I am glad they shortened the swim!’  Half way through the swim I was pretty much solo, with a group up ahead and realizing that my feet were freezing and trying to sight for the next buoy as I bobbed around in the waves.  The swim was rough, I swallowed at least a liter of sea water and had waves crashing on me by the end.  I have never been so relieved to have survived the swim of a race, this is usually the easy part!

They ended up canceling the swim for the remainder of the event due to worsening conditions so all the men, here to race World Triathlon Championships, ended up racing a Duathlon race instead.  A disappointment for many.  So I guess I feel fortunate that I got to race the event I had come here to race.

I got out on the bike and heard one of our Team USA leaders say I was in 5th.  The bike course was 4 loops of a technical and challenging trip around scenic Stanley Park.  There was one solid climb 1/2 way around the peninsula where I would pass packs of other riders, thinking, ‘don’t these girls ever train on hills?’  Thank you Wisconsin for great training grounds.  Then on the downside of that hill I held onto my bullhorns for dear life, breaking when needed, knowing it wasn’t worth the risk of a crash at 45mph.  I am sure some of the men were nearing 60mph on this descent (and loving the adrenaline rush).  The bike felt solid and felt like I stayed pretty focused for the ride.  Coming into transition I had no clue where I was in my age group, and in all reality, didn’t really matter… just run your hardest all the way to the finish line.

The run course was fairly flat with some rolling sections, completing 2.5 loops of the same course.  Some of the girls out there were flying, for sure running under 6min/mile pace, making me feel like a snail, but I was mostly passing and figured I must be doing OK.  No mile or kilometer markers to give me an estimate of pace, so again I just kept running at my best effort and hoped it was good enough.

Crossing the finish line, wearing my Team USA uniform and waving my USA flag was pretty exciting.  I had no idea how I had placed in my age group until I got my dry clothes bag, containing my phone, with a text message waiting from a Timex Teammate, saying I had come in 8th in my AG!  I guess I hadn’t done so bad!

Later, I found out that I am probably 7th in my age group and the first American as the girl who ‘won’ my AG missed a loop of the run, not completing the full course.  That puts me 17 seconds out of a podium finish at my first international competition.  I’ll take it.

Other events that have made this an interesting experience:

The men’s race becoming a duathlon.

My front wheel getting to race twice as a friend borrowed my wheel because his had a flat.

My cousin Jeanette coming up from Seattle to watch me race and spend the day in Vancouver.

Climbing “The Grind” trail (2800 vertical feet in under an hour) up Grouse Mountain with Philippe, Ian and Brian and having a snowball fight at the top.

Hanging out with friends from the Timex team, Madison, and USA Triathlon.

Watching the ITU World Championships and cheering for Team USA.

And saving the best for last… Missing the awards celebration and closing ceremonies because my rental car was broken into, stealing Philippe’s passport, my ID, cash, credit cards, clothes, and our spirits.  Needless to say, we had a pretty bad 12 hours getting all that straightened out.  The good news is that they let Philippe board his scheduled flight without a passport and I had my passport at my homestay so I was able to return home as scheduled.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to connecting with you all soon.