This is my 2^nd time racing Wildflower, last year I raced the Olympic distance as an amateur. I would have preferred to race the long course (1/2 ironman distance) in 2011 although with my recent foot injury and surgery a 10K was all my doctors would allow me to run at the time. The Wildflower experience is truly unique and I knew I’d be back for many years to come.

Wildflower is a triathlon weekend located outside of Paso Robles, it really is 80 miles from any town. Therefore logistics getting to the race are more challenging. We flew intoSan Francisco on Thursday night, spent the night with Owen’s family (thanks Tom & Katy!) then made the 3 hour drive Friday morning. Because I work full time I try to maximize my time by arriving as late to races as possible. This tends to make for a stressful pre-race day and I’ve decided now to start arriving a minimum of 2 days early to ease stress levels.

Wildflower sure makes pro’s feel like real pro’s. They organize cabins for us to share and feed us throughout the weekend. Owen and I were bunked up with Josh Hadway and Tim Marr plus significant others. Our “cabin” was a 3 story house with 3 balcony’s overlooking the lake. Not bad, I usually prefer to camp but decided against it to eliminate checking camp gear while flying.

Race morning was warmer than the previous year, temps were over 50 degrees. While the water temp Friday night was measured at 71, per usual it was measured just below wet suit legal temp of 67.8 on Saturday. I went through my normal pre race routine with much calmer nerves than my first pro race.

As we toed the start line I positioned myself next to Emily Cocks knowing she was who I should be swimming with.

The start gun shot and we immediately pulled away from the field. Emily and I were on the left, Leanda Cave on the right and a huge gap in the center of the pack. Leanda pulled away before the 1^st buoy, shortly afterwards Emily also pulled away from me. I ended up swimming alone yet again, but was ecstatic I was able to site well the entire swim. I didn’t have to stop and clear my goggles (I’ve been testing out many brands to find which fog the least). So I swam at a decent and consistent pace but know that I can still push harder and come out with the leaders. I exited the water in 4^th.

The bike course begins with the 1^st 5 miles of twisting and turning through rolling hills and one major climb. Coach Curt warned me not to push hard up this climb and burn my energy too early into the race. I followed directions and had a few women pass me going up. I stayed with them while also making a few passes of my own. I was mixed in with the lead pack of 5 passing one another back and forth. The next 5 miles were quite chaotic between the official motorcycles, numerous photographer motorcycles and other racers. Wildflower enforces the stagger rule; meaning you must stagger off the rider in front of you no matter how far ahead, if she’s in your line of sight you must stagger without crossing the yellow line. The stagger rule does allow riding side by side as long as there’s 2 meters between each rider. At mile 12 I was ¼ mile behind the girls in my sight. They appeared to be riding side by side while heading up a climb, therefore I chose to stagger to the lest. As I closely watched them to follow the stagger I was stopped by an official issuing me a red card for a stagger penalty. The penalty was 2 minutes with both feet down. As the female field rode by me I inquired with the official what I’d done wrong. He informed me that I chose to stagger off the wrong girl, while I saw them riding side by side, one actually had her wheel slightly ahead of the other. (I later found out my house mate Tim Marr also received a stagger penalty as well as many other pro men) The 2 minutes felt like 2 hours passing by before I was off again. I pushed hard to catch back up and was successful in catching the back half of women. Although the extra energy it took caught up with me by mile 45. I began to feel the burn in my legs and knew I’d gone too hard. I wasn’t completely fried but I hadn’t followed my race plan.

Heading back into transition we descend a steep hill which doesn’t allow much time to get my shoes off. It was a “one shoe dismount hill” I ran through transition with one bike shoe still on and one on my bike. (Owen did the exact same thing as did Gavin last year).

I struggled to get my running shoes over my bad foot and remember thinking to myself, it doesn’t matter anyways you’re not in the top 10.  I tried to block the penalty and my current placement out of mind.

The 1^st 1.5 miles were so confusing, apparently the sprint mountain bike race and the long course run course overlapped. I found myself running through masses of people until they turned around and I was alone. I passed one runner and was passed by another I wasn’t able to keep pace with. The next 5 miles were on trails with some extremely sharp climbs. Temperatures were rising and as I hit an aid station manned by fraternity boys my tri top was whipped off and thrown on the ground. They enjoyed this thoroughly :)

After mile 7 the course flattened out and we were now running through campgrounds. I was feeling awesome, I’d nailed my updated nutrition plan. I picked up the pace through the remainder of the run but unfortunately was unable to make up any ground on the field. It was very difficult to dig deep knowing I was out of the race positioning I had hoped for. I crossed the finish line feeling fine and hardly out of breath. Perhaps this is because I didn’t push hard enough or due to my nutrition success but most likely a combination of both.

Overall it was a disappointing performance at Wildflower mainly due to the stagger penalty received. I’m able to take a lot away from the race which is important as I learn how to race against these amazing female pro athletes; Happy with my swim but can push harder, Need to work on T2 and adjust my shoes accordingly, nailed my nutrition for the 1^st time ever!

 Officials crossed all my numbers out for my penalty

Mad props go out to housemate Josh Hadway for the fastest run split of the day, teammate Nick Thompson for placing 10^th with a flat, Ben Greenfield placing 3^rd age group, Owen for a very impressive performance after a year of MBA school and a recent broken arm, and Steve Zawaski for his 2^nd overall amateur finish.

We thoroughly enjoyed our race weekend experience in Paso Robles. Saturday night was spent in our cabin with wine and pizza. Sunday we were able to visit with more of Owen’s family before heading back to Boulder for more training.

I went into Leadman knowing it would be difficult. But I had no idea what I was getting myself into when teammate Daniel Brienza persuaded me to change my March race plan from Oceanside to the accurately named EPIC Leadman 125. This was my very long awaited first professional race. Heading out toLas Vegas I had a lot of nervous energy, but knowing I’d have some friendly faces at the start line calmed me down.

Race morning was much less hectic than usual due to the 10:03 am start time. This allowed plenty of time to set up transition and for my nerves to build. I was placed between Angela Naeth and Jackie. No pressure there :)  Temperatures were already rising and high winds were in full force as we approached 10am.

Team Timex entered the water for a warm up swim. OMG, the water was take your breath away cold. I swam long enough to “warm up” untilLake Mead felt bearable and I could breath again.

Before I knew it the men were off and the elite women were swimming out to the start buoys. This group included Hilary Biscay and Samantha McGlone who I’ve admired for years, if you can’t tell I was quite intimidated. As we treaded water, Jackie looked me in the eyes and told me it was just another triathlon and to just concentrate on my own race. I had time to take one deep breath before the start gun shot.

Foolishly I was in the 2^nd row and got stuck behind some slower swimmers I was forced to swim around. I began to panic, my head felt like ice, the waves were smacking me in the face and the lead pack was already pulling away. I calmed myself down to a relaxed pace which was much slower than my ability level. We were swimming with the wind at our backs. As we rounded the 2^nd buoy I lost Jackie and Hilary’s feet. We were now swimming directly into head winds and this was the longest stretch of the rectangular course. We only had 2 buoys to sight off for the entire stretch. Every time I tried to sight a swell would rise blocking my view. I gave up on sighting the far off buoy and concentrated on following the paddle boarder leading the women’s wave. He began to pull away and I could no longer see him either. I occasionally had to take a few strokes of breaststroke, clearing my goggles in order to sight the next buoy and get back on track. In doing so I noticed I had 3 girls closely drafting off me. As I stopped to sight they would all stop as well, nobody was offering to take the lead. My only assumption was that they can’t see where they’re going either. Once I could sight the far buoy again I dropped the 3 drafters and tried to make up some time on my terrible swim. As I exited the water and stood I realized my feet were completely numb. I had to concentrate on feeling the ground in an effort not to fall on my face. I saw Jackie and Hilary still in transition, this gave me some confidence. I thought for sure I had to be farther back.

I hopped on my bike climbing out of transition. I glance down at my power meter only to notice it’s completely blank flashing only 0’s. I thought to myself, “You’ve got to be kidding me” It was working perfectly fine on my warm-up ride, perhaps it was bumped by other bikes in the wind. I tried re-pairing it for 10 minutes with no success. Realizing I would have to ride this 70 mile course with no speed, distance, cadence, power, nada. I rode solely on feel.

I soon passed Hilary and was passed by Angela. I held back effort on the way out in an attempt to conserve energy. As we approached the turn around I caught and passed Kelly Withrow offering some words of encouragement. This turn around was our only chance in the entire race to spot the competition. I see Angela zoom past far ahead of the field (no surprise there). Next is Emily Cocks and Jackie riding close together. I was far behind with little hope of closing the gap. As I made the 180 degree turn I saw Uli and Charisa were not far behind.

I was pretty jazzed to be in 4^th place, so I decided to turn on the gas. The consistently strong cross winds began to pick up. Now it was a battle just to stay in aero for fear of blowing off the road. Luckily I’ve had a lot of practice riding in the Boulder wind this spring. I’ve picked up a few pointers by riding with my coach and ex-pro cyclist, Curt Chesney. Through the strongest winds he stays in aero balancing and never stops peddling through a powerful gust. I continue to ride in aero with confidence and concentration.

The only chance to take in calories was while climbing, I took each opportunity to sit up and get sodium and nutrition in. During a steep climb Uli rode past me in aero position. I assured myself it was important to get these calories in. As we descended the strongest wind gust of the day blew from our right. I hammered down in aero zooming past Uli and an amateur man showing complete confidence riding in the wind in hopes of intimidating my competition. The amateur man even commended my braveness.

Uli and I played cat and mouse for the remainder of the bike course. She would pass me on climbs, then I would re-pass on the flats and descents. She didn’t seem to be getting any nutrition in which I knew would catch up with her towards the end.

The last 20 miles seemed to be never ending. The high winds picked up even more and climbs seemed to be getting steeper and longer. I was now groaning and cursing the wind aloud; nearly every pedal stroke felt like it could be my last.

Having no distance on my bike I was forced to rely solely on the mile marker signs which were few and far between. I finally approached the last climb into Boulder Beach, looking ahead I saw another rider that appeared to be a woman. I couldn’t believe I had actually caught someone on that horrendous ride. It was Emily, she entered transition first, followed by me, then Uli.

I struggled shoving my bad foot into my shoe for at least a minute before heading out on the course. I was informed I was 7 minutes behind Jackie. It was now a race for 3^rd place. I quickly passed Emily. She seemed to have burned all her energy during the 1^st half of the bike. I knew from training together Uli was a strong runner so I hadn’t locked my place in just yet. The run course was some sort of sick joke. It was a point to point course which was completely up hill and into the head winds. Needless to say I wasn’t moving fast, but somehow I ran away from the other women.

I never look back, I see it as a sign of weakness. As I approached aid stations I listened and didn’t hear any cheers behind me. I decided I just needed to keep running and I could lock in my 3^rd place position.

At mile 3 a cramp attacks my right side. I realize the struggle with my shoe in transition distracted me from grabbing my gels and water bottle. I was beginning to enter dehydration mode.  I run through the cramp and grab as much water as possible at each aid station. It’s not enough though, the desert heat, wind and overall dryness have now made my mouth so dry my lips begin to peel.

The course runs through a canyon at mile 4, somehow this creates the only tailwind of the day. I put my arms out and enjoy how glorious it feels. The wind blows my pigtails into my dry mouth which isn’t as glorious and then I’m back into the headwinds as I exit the canyon.

The run course just continues to snake around climbing up to what I assume will someday lead to the finish line. As I take a sharp turn I glance to the side to see nobody in sight for at least a mile behind me. I was on the course completely alone. It took every ounce of mental strength to keep running, I was now completely depleted of calories and the final miles were a death march. I kept thinking; thank God I don’t have to run a marathon right now, it’s only 8 miles. At mile 6.5 I saw my boyfriend Owen, I told him how hard it was and he offered some words of encouragement. As I ran away I was expecting him to ride up to inform me how far back Uli was, but nothing. I could only assume she was not a factor anymore. I climb the final unbearably long and steep hill thinking to myself. When I make it to the finish line I can cry all I want, but I have to make it there first.

I was welcomed at the finish line by teammates, Jackie, Tim Hola, and Daniel and finally let myself cry

(Which jackie got a huge kick out of)

Congratulation to Jackie Arendt for her 2nd place finish,  Tim Hola for his 1st place amateur and 5th place overall finish and Thomas Gerlach for his 3rd place finish.

Special Thanks goes out to my boyfriend Owen for driving me out to Vegas and taking care of Jackie and I throughout the weekend.

(As you can see the wind never stopped even through Utah)

I went into Kona this year optimistic. Of course there’s always something going on, this year I had two major issues;

1) Busted foot; I’ve been able to control the swelling through physical therapy with Bob Cranny, ART with Richard Hansen, ice and aqua jogging. Allowing me to make it through long runs in training

2) Nutrition; after last year’s GI issues I tried numerous nutrition plans and found the most optimal for my body which consists of powerbar gels, carbo pro and fig newtons.

I arrived in Kona on Wednesday pre-race which I’ve learned now does not allow adequate time to acclimate to the heat. We immediately dove into the Kona Ironman “circus show” activities. This included the underpants run, swimming to the floating coffee bar, multiple trips to Lava Java and the Kona Brewing company, welcome dinner, training rides and runs.

Race morning had finally arrived, I was pretty nervous since I hadn’t competed at the ironman distance since Kona 2010. After checking over my bike and transition bags for the final time I headed to find some friends. Keith and Tristan recorded a brief pre-race interview, next I found Jackie in the bathroom. We gossiped to calm our nerves before bidding farewell and wishing each other luck. After another 20 minutes of waiting and building up energy it was time to enter the water. Once the drums start playing reality sets in, unfortunately I don’t have the naive mindset like last year. I now knew exactly what I was in for and how many obstacles this day would bring. I entered the water with the masses and went to the same starting position as last year, just to the right of the car about 4 people deep. Once positioned I still had 10 minutes before the start, I flipped on my back to relax controlling my breathing and giving myself some mental encouragement.

Soon enough the cannon shot and we were off. The start was much more physical for me this year. In retrospect I should have gone up to the front row, because I was battling for the first 800 meters. I got stuck behind some slower swimmers but was caged in, I made multiple attempts to break free which resulted in getting punched in the face every time. My goggles were knocked off filling with water on one side which I had to leave for fear of getting trampled should I pause to empty them. The sun was shining so bright I was forced to breath only to the right swimming out. I finally gave up and settled into swimming on slower feet. As we neared the turn around boat everyone merged together again forcing me to slow down to avoid a kick to the face. After this the swimmers finally thinned out. I was still not in a great draft, but at least I could get a swim rhythm down. As we approached the last few buoys I finally broke free from my “slow feet” and swam in my own water, picking up the pace significantly. I knew swimming in my time would be a disappointment. It was a choppy swim this year and my positioning was just not ideal. As I exited the ocean I saw my time of 1:00.10, even after mentally preparing for this slower time it was still disappointing to see it. One thing I’ve learned racing Ironman is it’s necessary to plan for the unplanned. Multiple aspects of the race will go wrong and you cannot dwell on them, so this was my first obstacle to overcome. Losing 4 minutes due to a poor swim start is not going to break my race, I can make it up.

After a quick and more crowded transition than I’m used to I hopped on my bike. My coach and I decided on specific wattage to hold throughout the race. This is most important during the first 40K because everyone feels strong and wants to ride fast; I resisted riding hard with them and stuck to the plan. I did so and rode with teammate Susanne Davis, passing each other back and forth multiple times throughout the first 30 miles. At mile 20 my coach and ex-Timex teammate, Curt Chesney, passed me. He offered words of encouragement, confirming I’m sticking with our plan holding back to save energy for the run. Shortly afterwards ex-teammate Mike Lavery rode by. This excited me because if they were both that far behind everyone must have had slow swims.

At mile 30 a referee rides up holding up a red card. I have a lot of experience in drafting penalties and this was the first time I honestly have no idea why it was given. I sat up and looked around, I was riding completely solo. At this point I know it’s too late and arguing is simply a waste of energy, so I thanked the referee for the break and rode on to the penalty tent. There were so many racers in the penalty tent I had to wait 1 minute just to start a watch which then I had to share. Time ticked by slowly as bikers zoomed past, my 2^nd obstacle of the day I had to overcome. I wasn’t going to let this ruin my race. After possibly fulfilling my watch partners triathlon fantasy (don’t ask) the 4 minutes had finally passed and I was back out on the course.

Now I was riding with the masses, I was getting sucked into small pelotons. Determined not to get another drafting penalty I attempted to ride off the front but was unsuccessful as any climb we approached the group would catch and engulf me. I finally sat up to let them pass, taking down some nutrition in preparation for the winds of Hawi where I would surely be unable to take anything down. Riding out to Hawi there were no cross winds like last year but insanely strong headwinds. I was pushing 270 watts and moving 9 miles per hour. The turnaround couldn’t come soon enough, it finally did and weeeeeeeeee riding with the tail wind felt amazing. No pedaling and flying at 40 miles per hour, what a relief. The tail wind was exactly what I needed to recharge and get back in the game.

Mile 80 was where my plan was to turn on the juice and pick up the pace. My legs weren’t feeling as fresh as I would have hoped, but I attempted to increase wattage. The last 25 miles riding were brutal. My lower back was aching, my legs were sore but I still had a slight tailwind which I was very thankful for. I finally arrived back to transition feeling deflated but determined to continue on to run the marathon.

While changing my shorts in transition I sat for just a moment giving myself a mental pep talk. As I ran out I saw so many friends cheering me on, I couldn’t help but smile. (even if I was faking it)

Only 1 mile into the run I had nothing in my legs, yes my foot hurt and my stomach was slightly sloshing but the issue was just no fire in my legs. They felt weak; it was a struggle just putting 1 foot in front of the other. This was when my greatest fear entered my mind, I need to drop out, the dreaded DNF. So I made the conscious decision to run the first 5 miles at which point I could re-evaluate my body. At the turn around I wasn’t feeling better but also no worse so I decided to jog to mile 10 and reassess then. I’ve never walked in a race before but planned to walk up Palani drive. Ugh, starting up running after taking a walk break ruins the break. My quads were on fire, I pushed the negative thoughts out and decided I had come this far and would finish what I started. I pressed on down the Queen K seeing Curt run by looking strong then Lavery. This gave me joy to see friends having successful races. A few miles down the road I saw Susanne who seemed to be having an awesome day. Next I saw Jackie who shared my pain, she was having a rough day, we gave each other an understanding look and exchanged encouraging words. I knew by now my Bambi legs were in full effect.

Entering the energy lab I was battling to just keep running. I grabbed my special needs bag thinking to myself how impossible it would be to force more calories down my throat. I allowed myself to walk up the hill exiting the energy lab. As I reached the top of the hill that was it, now I was angry for letting myself go this slow. I stripped down to a sports bra, ditched my calories and just started running. I had 8 miles to go, calories weren’t going to help my upset stomach and walking wasn’t resulting in anything but more pain. So I ran, I ran through the pain with nothing in my mind but the finish line. The last miles seemed to take an eternity. When I finally hit Palani I was so ecstatic; I ran through the cheering crowds, all time goals out the window just happy to complete this very difficult race.

As I passed college friend Mike Lorenzen just before the final stretch I announced I would never compete in this race again. I said this last year, and I know I will eventually be back to prove myself. I have so much respect for anyone that can race in Kona successfully; I hope to someday be a member of this elite club.  The ironman distance is difficult but IronmanHawaii is in a league of it’s own.

I was very lucky to have wonderful friends in Kona supporting me. Post race we headed for dinner and drinks followed by the midnight finish line celebration which is never to be missed. After which we brought my bike to the bar and continued the celebrations.

We fully enjoyed the remainder of our time on the island which consisted of scuba diving, luau’s, off road Jeeping in Waipio Valley, snorkeling, outrigger canoe trips, ziplining, swimming with dolphins, birthday celebrations and lots of eating!

HyVee triathlon, the blog write-up I’ve been procrastinating. Most of my teammates and friends know the HyVee was set as my “A” Olympic race of the year. After injuring my foot in December, 2010 the decision was made to race amateur for the 2011 season. One of the benefits of staying amateur was to compete in HyVee again defending my 2010 title.  In an effort to attract more talent to the new 5150 series championship they increased the prize for the HyVee triathlon in 2011 to a mini-cooper for elite amateur men and women. This made the race by far the most challenging Olympic of the year for amateur’s bringing in the steepest competition. 

My weekend inDes Moines,IAbegan with the expo and mandatory race briefing. During which the water temperature was announced as 82 degrees. We were told by the race director that no matter what the water temperature on race morning NO wetsuits were to be allowed. They didn’t expect the temperature to come down 6 degrees overnight and he said, “you guys all qualified to get here, there is no need for wetsuits at this race”. I was thrilled, being a swimmer this is a huge advantage. They already moved the swim from the Des Moines River to a much calmer Gray’sLakedue to predictions for high winds on race day.  

While walking to transition on race morning I start receiving texts from friends racing and even hear the announcement that wet suits will be legal for all age group waves including the elite amateur wave. Needless to say I was pretty bummed, I spoke to a USAT official who informed me the race director was wrong telling us no wetsuits would be legal yesterday, it is always up to USAT and their water temperature measurements showed 75.5 degrees. (conveniently under the 76 degree cutoff). This caused quite the stir

with my wave as many didn’t even bring wetsuits based on the announcement yesterday. Luckily I always pack it because these types of calls seem to happen more and more. As I warmed up in the water with teammate Cindi Bannink we realized the water had not decreased to 75.5 degrees, it was still well over 80.

The elite amateur men’s wave took off, and 2 minutes later we followed. With only 20+ women in the elite wave it was a smooth start for me. I shot out in front with two other swimmers, at some point Natalie Kirchoff took off ahead of me. As I approached the 2^nd turn buoy my other swimming buddy did not make the turn. I really wanted to grab her, but the sun was right in our eyes and she must not have been able to sight well. I did turn and stayed on course, hoping she would quickly follow. I swam the remainder of the course in my own water keeping it steady but strong. It was definitely a hot swim, by the half way point I wanted to rip off my wetsuit to let my skin breath. I swam it in still not realizing Natalie was 30 seconds up. I had a long run through the mud to my bike in transition, literally peeling the wetsuit off my skin. I made a minor mistake in heading down the men’s transition aisle, quickly realizing it but losing precious seconds I would later need in the run.

Swim: 21:28

As I headed out on the bike I caught Natalie within the first few miles. I was surprised to see another girl but knew she was a fast runner (as were all the other females in the field) so I needed to nail this bike to gain a huge lead. The course was very technical, every time I got going hard in my aero bars we approached another turn. The wind also played a huge factor, with all the changes in direction we were getting head winds, tail winds and cross winds. I started catching some of the men at the half way point. One in particular gave me a hard time; every time I passed him he would increase wattage and pass me back. Finally I asked him nicely not to mess up the women’s race, he quickly stopped and I never saw him again. Unfortunately I may have destroyed his ego, but this is a common issue I deal with and have gotten penalties for in the past.

Bike: 1:05.22

At the 180 degree turn around I got to see where my competition was. I had a few minute lead but the girls were right there and again I knew most of them and was fully aware of their ability to pass me on the run. So I turned it on harder through the 2^nd half of the bike hoping to put more time between us.

Coming back into transition it was fun to hear the roar of cheers from the spectators. I ran into difficulty getting to my spot because the age groupers were exiting the bike out which happened to also be the bike in. I had to dodge outbound bikers, but after a few seconds they let me by. I took off on my feet attempting to get into my stride. To my surprise my legs weren’t too destroyed from the bike. Now I was in the middle of the men’s race, of course they’re all cheering me on saying I’d already won the car. Something I hate about run courses is 180 degree turn arounds. I do not like my competition to see me, but this course had 2, the first being within 2 miles. As I came face to face with the chase girls I knew I was in trouble. They weren’t that far back, and they’re all small runners gunning for me. I picked up my pace. My strategy is to stay ahead  at all costs discouraging the chase pack from catching me. To my surprise I was successful as I saw friends along the course they told me I was actually pulling away. The weather was sunny but cool, since I don’t have my top end speed this year, I’ve learned to excel in the heat (this didn’t help here). As I approached mile 5 I knew they were closing in on me but I tried to keep up my pace. Running through downtown Des MoinesI heard quick footsteps behind me, looking back in a race is a sign of weakness. It took much willpower not to look back, and finally the footsteps caught me.  It was a guy, I told him how happy I was. This is when he informed me that Kim was literally right behind me. At this point I knew she was just waiting for her chance. So I again gave it everything I had to pull away from her. As we went around the 2^nd turn around I saw how close she was. I can honestly say that is when I gave it everything I had in the tank. I hammered with every ounce within me. We approached the final climb which is when she surged. At this point I had nothing left in the tank, it wasn’t by choice but I had to watch her pass me and she crossed the finish 15 seconds ahead.

Run: 41:04

Triathlon: 2:11.43

Of course I congratulated her, she informed me that we raced at wildflower Olympic this spring where I had won by over 2 minutes. She made it a goal to beat me here. I can honestly say she outraced me. Yes they took away some advantages on the swim and bike but she out ran me and I know even if I ran faster she would have too. She played the race perfectly and turned it on at the ideal point. I left it all on the course and 2^nd was where I finished. Talking to the top girls post race I found we’re all racing pro in 2012 so I’ll get more opportunities to race them again and prove I can run faster, this was just all I had this year.

A big thank you goes out to Orbea/Orca for donating an amazing 2nd place price of $5K gift card.

Mad props go to teammate Cindi Bannink placing 5th elite amateur woman and Bo Parish for winning his age group.

http://www.hy-veetriathlon.com/news/webber-pancoast-take-5150-crowns.aspx

The Chicago Triathlon was my first tri ever. I did it at age 10 and then it was my first adult race in 2005  improving my time every year in the Olympic distance. 2010 was my first year taking the elite amateur win only to have it taken away due to penalties. The 6 minutes of penalties awarded bumped me down to 2^nd place, therefore I had to come back to redeem myself this year. It was definitely worth the trip. (It also worked out that I had another race and a wedding the following weekends in Chicago)

They reduced the men’s elite wave qualifying time to 2:10 this year which was huge. It limited the elite amateur field to 1 co-ed wave and I was hoping it would prevent some blocking and drafting on the bike course.

 We awoke to record winds on race day this year. The Chicago tri is notorious for a windy bike course on Lakeshore Drive. I have never experienced such a wavy challenging swim here though. I took some advice from former teammate Brian Fort starting closer to the sea wall in an attempt to avoid the battle zone towards the center at the start. I did just that and swam out ahead of the pack with a few men. We were swimming with the current ¼ mile out until the 180 degree turn around. Once we made that turn, BAM there’s the head wind. I used this to my advantage trying not to battle the water but to swim through it and breathe between high waves. The wind was pushing me out away from the sea wall which I later found was much calmer. I ended up as far out as the lifeboats, I had to play defense to avoid getting slapped by oars from the lifeguards trying to control the swimmers going off course.

Another girl swam next to me the 2^nd half of the swim, she was not staying in her space and knocking me with every stroke. I assumed this was my friend Chris Wickard, I made a mental note to have a word with her post race as this behavior was unacceptable. As I finally exited the water I realized it was not Chris swimming with me, good thing :) I glanced at my watch and was shocked at how slow my split was.

Swim : 25.20

As I ran the ½ mile into transition I realized I had still made up a lot of time on other racers. I continued running through the super huge transition housing 8K bikes. 

Heading out on the bike we rode North on Lakeshore Drive into direct headwinds. I struggled through some men carefully making each and every pass to avoid repeat penalties from last year. Riding with the motorcycle next to me the entire time made it easy to remember I was out on close watch.

As we made the turn heading south I took advantage of the tail winds. You can never make up the time lost riding into headwinds but you can utilize them and even give your legs a break while moving forward at record pace.

Entering into the 1^st loop turn around they did not have the cones arranged for riders to make the 2nd loop turn yet. (all waves before mine were sprint distances and only 1 loop on the bike) Luckily I knew the course and had to make my turn riding over a cone or two.

They close off the inside lanes of Lakeshore Drive, therefore you must ride on the left and pass on the right. Every year this confuses racers who end up riding on the right. I wasn’t about to take the risk of another penalty so during my 2^nd and much more crowded loop I continued passing on the right forcing me to ride into the outside lane with traffic. I came in off the bike with a slower bike split than expected but was still riding away from my competition.

Bike: 1:03.57

Entering back into transition I found my bike right away but dropped my visor while exiting. I decided to leave it and continue on. I ran through the crowds of old friends who made it down to cheer. I ran a steady pace the first few miles but when my lead bicycle rider told me I was up over 5 minutes from the 2^nd woman I slowed down my pace. I decided to save my legs for HyVee which was the following weekend. I ran the back half of the course fairly easy. My bum foot bothered my stride but no more than any other races this season.  

Run: 41:48

Triathlon: 2:14.02

This was not a PR for this race although I was content with my performance factoring in the strong winds and I did get my race revenge from 2010. I also had a great time celebrating and visiting with old Chicago friends.

Bo Parish and I at the finish line. He took his age group win…although he’s kind of a sandbagger and should have raced elite :)