Heading into Ironman Cabo was a complete unknown since I’ve never raced this distance as a pro and only as an amateur 3 times (1x in Wisconsin and 2x in Kona). It’s been 2 years since my last IM so I’d completely forgotten how torturous the run can be on unprepared legs or after pushing too hard on the bike. So I took as much advice from my coach Curt Chesney, teammates, training partners and friends leading up to the race.

 Training for a March Ironman in Colorado definitely had its challenges. We did have a mild winter therefore I was able to ride outside most weekends but I still spent many mornings doing intervals on the trainer. My longest tempo runs outside were during severe snow storms on icy roads. Due to the inability to train as I would in the summer, my confidence was low entering the race. My goal was to have a decent swim, and hold back enough on the bike to execute a solid run.

To acclimate to the warm weather I arrived 6 days early. I had a nice relaxing week working in Cabo from a rented condo on the race course. I enjoyed daily swims in the ocean, runs along hotel zoneria and bike rides on highway 1. I was apprehensive about eating the food in Mexico; I couldn’t imagine anything worse than beginning a race already dealing with Montezuma’s revenge. So I was careful to wash all fresh food with purified water and took all precautions when showering, brushing my teeth, etc.

Race day approached quickly, before I knew it I was arriving in transition on Sunday morning. I took one of the 1^st buses from hotel zoneria and was the 1^st athlete to enter transition.  After prepping my gear I got to catch up with Timex teammates Dave and Luis.

I hopped in the water for a brief warm-up swim, as I exited I looked down and to my surprise my watch was filled with water! I recently changed the battery and must not have closed the door completely. I stood on the beach, calm thinking; its ok I can do this without a watch; it’s not the end of the world. After a few minutes I spotted and flagged down my fiancé Owen, we quickly traded watches. He was well equipped wearing a Timex watch I snagged him at Timex camp. I was wearing a boy’s watch but at least it was still Timex. I thought to myself; if that’s the worst that happens today, I’m in great shape!

After watching the men head out, we toed the line.

I was nervous about the beach start; I have trouble running barefoot in sand with my bad foot so I was nervous of falling behind before even hitting the water. I positioned myself in the center, hoping to swim with Michelle Vesterby (we practiced the previous day) and/or Hilary Biscay. As the start-gun shot I sprinted to the water and headed into a perfect dolphin dive. To my surprise on my first breath I was actually ½ a body length ahead. I continued to push on but 3 girls took off in front of me. I pushed for 500 meters to the first turn buoy attempting to close the 2 body length gap unsuccessfully. I pushed on trying to close the gap but I stayed equidistant from their feet. After another 300 meters I decided to settle into my pace rather than continuing the chase. Within a few minutes Hilary appeared on my left, I quickly grabbed her feet. After ~800 meters we caught 2 of the girls ahead creating a small pack. Shortly after catching them i moved from Hilary’s feet, I latched on to Ashley Clifford and Jessica Smith. I was very happy with this positioning because I was hardly exerting any energy but still staying with the lead pack. I’ve never been good at holding feet so this is a huge improvement. As we rounded the last turn buoy the waves began to swell. For the first time I actually felt sea sick as we approached land; I developed a slight headache and dizziness. This feeling dissipated upon exiting the water.  We ran up the beach and had a severe incline to climb followed by steep stairs which lead to transition 1. I followed Jessica’s lead in not running too hard, I could have easily entered zone 5 climbing this hill but it was a long day and I didn’t want to burn a match too early in the race.

I sat down in a chair asking the volunteers to help strip my wetsuit in the women’s changing tent. They did, but they pulled me right off the chair by my feet! I flew across the room and quickly scrambled to grab my remaining gear before exiting (I forgot to grab my salt pill box).

I exited slightly before Jessica and Ashley, Michelle was about 1 minute ahead of us. The bike mount was on a hill which had sections of cobblestones. I noticed this when dropping my bike off the previous day, so I put my shoes on in transition. This turned out to be a great decision because everyone else was struggling with their shoes while climbing; sponges and bottles were flying off bikes on the cobblestone sections. Once we were out on highway 1 I settled into my “easy” pace for hour 1. Coach Curt cautioned me to hold back during the first hour, no matter how good I felt I had to stay within my target watts. I did so and this was very challenging, my taper had hit right on, so my legs were feeling fresh and ready to rock. I stuck with 3 other girls within the legal drafting zone. 1 male pro was riding with us for a while; as we switched leaders I noticed one of the other girls (I’ll keep her anonymous) was blatantly slip streaming. As a race official passed me I thought for sure she’d get carded but no cards were distributed.

The Ironman motorcycles approached our group, I happened to be leading at the time so they focused on me. They kept a camera on a stick 3 inches in front of my face for what seemed like hours but realistically was only 1-2 minutes, then kept it ahead of my bike for another 10. Finally they moved on and I was able to concentrate on my nutrition plan. Shortly after the first turn around I passed the 1 hour mark. I was now able to push harder and it felt great with some wind at my back. I took off with Jessica through the next turn around in San Jose Del Cabo. We then headed up the toll way, this was the longest climb on course (2 loops). I sat up beginning to climb when fellow Colorado triathletes Doug McClain and Katy Blakemore came by me exchanging pleasantries. Climbing is NOT my strong suit; unfortunately 3-5 other women passed me on this first climb. This was very discouraging because I was having such a strong race to this point. The toll way turned out to have brutal cross winds with 4 more climbs. By the time I returned back to highway 1, 2 more women had passed me. Beginning my 2^nd loop I decided to ride my own race, nutrition was going down easily and my legs were feeling ok. My lower back was beginning to ache so I took every opportunity to sit up. My body was just not used to being in aero position this long in March. (In retrospect I probably should have raised my stem ½ cm.) Riding south we dealt with serious head winds, this had drastically picked up since loop 1. I struggled to get to the turn around. My confidence was depleting but my watts were still right on target. Each time the men passed, good friend Thomas Gerlach would yell and wave at me, this perked me up on the headwind stretch.  After what felt like forever I approached the turn around. I made the turn and finally got a break, the wind at my back felt amazing. Highway 1 had many rollers throughout so I took advantage of these climbs to give my back a break from aero position. At mile 90 we hit the “hot spot” where spectators can see athletes go by 6 times on the bike. Just when I entered this area I dropped my chain. A few Mexican boys ran up to help me but they were told not to (no outside assistance). I hopped off my bike ripped the chain from where it was stuck between the ring and frame. I was back on my bike in about 1 minute. This dropped chain actually gave me a second wind, once I was back riding again I felt great. I wanted to make up time on our 2^nd trip up the toll way, to my surprise I was actually closing the gap on girls just ahead of me. I even caught a few by the end of the bike.  To my surprise I actually negative split the 2 bike loops, considering the dropped chain and slow down for special needs during loop 2 I was in good shape. I had a 9 watt average increase from Leadman 250 in 2012.

I tossed my bike off to the catchers, happy to be vertical again. I made the wise decision of changing from tri shorts to a fresh pair of running shorts quickly before heading out on the run.  My 1^st 3 miles were sluggish and I was passed back by Heidi Sessner at mile 2. Just as Yvette ran up beside me to make her pass at 5K I generated a 2^nd wind. I picked up my pace and didn’t let her complete the pass. Suddenly my stomach and legs felt fresh. I dropped Yvette and passed Heidi back by mile 5. I was now on a mission; throughout the next 10 miles I chased Katy and April. I was reeling them in, timing our distance on each finger of the course (3 loops, 5 fingers each).

Because of all these fingers I wasn’t able to see where the leaders were, I only spotted those around my positioning. Ashley passed me early on loop 2, but I kept her in my line of sight. By mile 15 she started walking through aid stations, I continued on with my pace and passed her back. We both passed 3 other women throughout the course. At the end of loop 2 Thomas came by me, we ran together for a few minutes before he continued on to the finish line with Matt Russell on his heels. In the meantime I had my eye out for special needs which was supposed to be positioned at mile 13. I couldn’t find it for the life of me; I had a 200 calorie bottle with salt in special needs so after missing it I had to make up the calories. I started grabbing Gatorade and coke at each aid station but probably should have grabbed an additional gel. I continued feeling strong through mile 23 at which time my calorie deficiency caught up with me. My right calf was threatening to seize due to lack of salt but never did. I had closed in on Katy and April but was unable to catch them. At mile 25 Ashley passed me back again and I had nothing left to respond with. I was just hoping to break 10 hours, calculating the math at each mile marker hoping to make it in time and I did finishing in 9:57.29 which is a 41 minute PR.

Every Ironman I’ve done i go back to wach the final finishers until midnight. Cabo was no different Owen and I sat to watch everyone finish while enjoying margaritas right along the course.

I needed this solid Ironman race under my belt in order to go faster. Now I know I can push harder on the bike while still completing the run strong and without GI issues. I’m heading into a bike training block in preparation for IM Texas. I look forward to improving my bike to avoid getting passed by so many women and playing catch up on the run. I can also improve my nutrition plan but overall I’m happy with my race performance at IM Cabo. I would recommend this race to anyone that wants an early season challenge. Cabo would be a great pre-Kona course including the wavy ocean swim, windy bike and hot run plus you get to climb more! (5K ft.)

We stayed through Tuesday post race so headed out to Lovers Beach in Los Cabos, a definite perk for racing in Mexico. We met many spring breakers who were astounded by all the finisher’s accomplishment.

Luckily the waves weren’t this big at Palmilla Beach!

This is my 5^th year on the greatest Triathlon team that exists today. 2013 is the 12^th year for Timex; the longest running triathlon team.  Timex began sponsoring the NY Giants in 2010, funding the Timex Performance Center. 1 weekend per year our multisport team gets to utilize their facilities; including the weight room, amazing cafeteria (salad bar is my favorite), indoor practice field, auditorium and classrooms.

This year after all my talented teammates arrived we were greeted by Timex, Team Sports and the NY Giants. We watched a highlight reel from 2012, and in preparation of the soon to be released Timex Run Trainer 2.0 Timex created a comparison video between Nike, Garmin and Timex. This was a first, unfortunately we’re unable to share the footage but it was hilarious, identifying the weaknesses in the Nike and Garmin GPS watches.

Friday morning most of the team met at the pool for a team workout. Bruce Gennari  led the workout. We ended with an ongoing relay where each team member did a 50 of each stroke. After the relays Daniel Brienza, Guillaume Zwirek, and I shot some in water photos with Larry Rosa and video crew. After which Daniel and I headed out for an interval run by doing loops around the Giants stadium.

Friday during the day we attended numerous Timex clinics getting us all up to speed on the Timex brand, specifically the Timex Run Trainer 2.0. As ambassadors it’s imperative we learn everything there is to know about the new GPS watch in preparation for clinics we host throughout the year. In the afternoon we were “surprised” as we are every year with a ton of swag set up in the NY Giants locker room. This year we received the Thule rolling luggage packed with Timex casual clothing by Zorrel, hats by Headsweats, and of course some Timex watches. We posed for some more pictures (photos are a huge part of camp) and headed out to our remaining clinics for the day.

Friday afternoon we had a 1^st, an 80’s themed 5K was held around the training center. We dressed in our finest 80’s apparel. Luckily I ran the Bolder Boulder this spring 80’s themed with Lululemon, so I had an outfit ready to go. As we posed for more photos we were greeted by a surprise guest;  Mike Reilly made the trip to New Jersey to start our fun run off!

The team started out our 1^st of 3 loops laughing and running quite easy ~7:30 pace in a large group. As expected, it’s difficult to keep 40 competitive athletes from racing. Sure enough during the 2^nd loop we started to pick up the pace a bit ~6:15  for the lead group. The 3^rd loop entered into a dead sprint. I was busy holding my wig in place trying to avoid getting dropped running under 5:40 pace. We were greeted at the finish line with Timex lunch boxes filled with yummy goodies and more watches to take home.

Friday night was our awards banquet, the past 3 years we’ve had our awards dinner at the NY Giants Stadium in the owner’s lounge, this year Timex stepped it up a notch and hosted us in the Commissioner’s lounge.  We enjoyed good food, conversations and the best kind of bar, an open bar. Mike Reilly gave an inspiring speech which was followed by another surprise; Fireman Rob made the trip to speak at the banquet. Timex had fellow athletes present awards to one-another which was another new addition to 2013. When Bruce and Denny went up to present the female pro triathlete of the year award I had my suspicions. They gave a heartfelt and funny speech in my honor to present me with the award. I was speechless, especially after such a rough start to my 1^st pro season. I have never been so honored, this one will stay near and dear to my heart. Something I will certainly never forget. Barry Siff and Brian Schaning were inducted into the Timex hall of fame, I couldn’t be happier for each of them, very well deserved. Brian and I stayed out later Friday night celebrating our success on the team.

Saturday was another fun-filled day. I started out running easy with roommate and favorite training partner, Jackie Arendt. We then headed to the performance center for sponsor seminars by Shimano, Quintana Roo, Blue Seventy and the Korey Stringer Institute who performed lactate threshold testing throughout the weekend. We were also presented with more Timex watches and more casual clothing for the 2013 season. I finished my day off by lifting in the Giants weight room. Saturday night was a free night so a group of us headed out to Hoboken for some good food, beer and conversation.

We’ve gone out in the city previous years but that usually results in a very late night, with my upcoming Ironman in March I opted for a tamer camp experience in this year.

Sunday we began with a group run testing out all our new gear. We then primped for photos held in the indoor practice field. After all the photos were captured I headed out in New Jersey for an additional 2 hour run (remember I’m in peak IM training).

All in all camp never disappoints, Tristan, Keith, and Tom put on an amazing weekend. I can’t imagine how much time goes into planning every detail.  We love all the surprises they share with us each year and who doesn’t love receiving swag.

But my favorite aspect of the Timex team are the people. Timex receives thousands of applications every year; each of the members are thoughtfully selected. We have an extraordinary family within Timex that we get to visit with each year at camp AND bump into at the races which is truly priceless. I’ve built some amazing friendships through Timex, the closest of which is with Jackie who will be a bridesmaid in my wedding this fall.

I came off the Leadman 250 race with a lot of confidence but also a lot of recovering to do in 3 short weeks. Shortly after I returned from Bend I developed 2 severe infections, I was able to fight them off over the course of a week but got little to no sleep thus slowing my recovery down. To top it off I had agreed to be the headline athlete for Lululemon’s holiday line which we shot in Aspen 1 week after the race. This was a blast; and an awesome opportunity (photos to be seen on lululemon.com next month) but didn’t aid in my recovery. In fact after a 12 hour shoot day I returned to my hotel to find my glands were visibly swollen.  Over time they went down and I returned to my normal training regiment, but I never started feeling fresh or even decent prior to Rev3 Anderson.  Countless times in my mind I thought about dropping it from my schedule. I never voiced these concerns in hopes of finding my fitness during every workout. I searched hard and often but never found that fitness I was hoping for. Soon enough we were headed out to South Carolina and since travel plans were finalized I figured I’d give it a go.

We flew into Atlanta arriving late on Friday night, stayed by the airport then headed out for Anderson Saturday morning. We arrived just in time to catch ½ the pro meeting which I attended while Owen assembled my bike. I headed out for a quick swim and ride before checking my bike into T1.

After an early dinner we were back in the hotel in time to gather my thoughts and track the Kona race. We watched the women’s finish just before falling asleep. As we awoke the last finishers were crossing the line in Kona, therefore I was texting with friends on the big island to see how their races went.

Sunday was our race day; I set up my last transition of 2012 in the dark and headed down to the swim start. The water was conveniently 67.8 degrees which meant a wetsuit race.

We toed the line and I positioned myself close to Malaika in the front row. The start-gun shot, as we ran into the water I was unintentionally tripped by someone. I went straight down hard as everyone swam over me, I thought, crap, this is beginning well.

There i am going down in the front row :)

I swam through the field and found a decent swimmer to draft. I was too far back to catch Malaika and Tenille so I stay in position coasting through the swim. My goggles did fog more than normal so it was great that I had feet to follow otherwise I would have veered off course. Kelly and I swam alone the entire course; I found my mind drifting off thinking about work. This is a first for me, usually my head’s in the game, I needed to concentrate and focus on the task at hand.

Kelly and I exited the water together but she ran faster than me to T1. It’s super difficult for me to run barefoot with my bum foot but I have to make due in transitions. My T1 was slow, I struggled with my wetsuit around my ankles but soon enough was off riding.  I decided to throw toe warmers on my shoes and boy was I glad, it turned out to be a cloudy day and in the 60’s. I tend to run cold, so I was pleased my feet weren’t frozen in addition to my body.

My mind was still wondering through the start of the bike, but surprisingly my legs felt OK. I kept an eye on my SRM noticing my watts were there. Just then I missed a left hand turn, I ride past a cop car. He calls to me so I turn around without losing much time (45 seconds-1 minute). At this point I decide to get my head in the game. My power was there; from here I started pushing hard.

We were already 20 miles in but I’d found my fitness and I had it today. 10 miles up the road I caught and passed Anna, she was the 1^st racer I’d seen, so I was ecstatic to be making progress on the field. Unfortunately I didn’t see anyone else on the bike. At 40+ miles we entered town and the course became quite technical, every few pedal strokes I was twisting and turning around blocks. The bike course was challenging throughout, there were no huge climbs (up mountains) but I can’t recall once being on the flats. We were either climbing or descending over the 56 miles.

Entering T2 I was greeted by cheering fans and Owen close to my shoes. He spotted for me; I was now in 5^th place. As I exited to the run course I came up on Andy Starkowitz; a fellow IL triathlete on his 2^nd lap. He looked strong so I followed his lead. Our course was again challenging going on trails, road, grass, bridges winding around up and down. I stuck to my nutrition plan getting all my calories down before the half way point. It was a 2 loop course, not quite an out and back but we did get to see our competition at the 3.5 mile turn around. I could see I was a ways behind 1^st-3^rd but was only a few minutes down to 4^th. This gave me confidence and drive to reach her, although then I spotted 6^th place was equidistant behind me. I kept to my pace and race plan but was sure to stay focused and not let my pace drop off at any point. It began to sprinkle which cooled us off even more as Terenzo Bozzone came blazing past me. He was moving and with perfect form, I took notice and it encouraged me to correct my own form in the process.

At the half way turn around I saw Owen and he confirmed I was making up time on 4^th place but to stay steady. My stomach was beginning to churn; I was forced to slow my pace slightly during mile 8. It settled and I picked my pace back up again. At the turn around I could see the distance I made up on 4^th but it wasn’t enough, 6^th was equally closer to me too. I kept moving forward but it seemed as though no positions were changing during the last 3 miles. My stride felt strong as i completed the half marathon and Rev3 Anderson into 5^th place. I’ll take it with this group of professional women as 5 of 6 podium spots.

This is my 2^nd Rev3 Race and I must say I truly enjoy them. The courses are challenging and races are very well organized. Overall I’m very impressed with Rev3’s execution of triathlons (and I’ve done tons!)

I went into this race with a 5 week training block and 1 week taper. I was feeling quite flat by my 8^th ½ IM distance in early August so my coach and I decided to cancel the Chicago triathlon originally scheduled for mid-August and concentrate on training. We’ve improved my bike about 10% over last season but my run had remained flat. I was expecting it to bounce right back after removing all 4 screws from my foot in November, 2011.

After a 4 month base building run block from December through March we were hoping for 2 things;

1) Injury Free which was a success! I couldn’t be happier about this. My 1^st season in 4 years without injury.

2) Increased Speed, unfortunately my speed has been lacking. Through training it’s clear I have the endurance from years of high volume but my top end speed wasn’t there. So we made the decision to add Leadman 250 to my year off Ironman.

Leading up to the race my taper was feeling right on. It seemed as though the training block was just what I needed. I also planned to arrive a day earlier than I do to most races. I took Thursday and Friday off work, arriving Thursday afternoon for the Saturday race. I met up with my close friend and teammate, Jackie for the weekend.  Thanks to Lifetime Fitness (especially Mary!) for taking care of my travel arrangements and providing such personal attention. We had all day Friday to familiarize ourselves with the bike course, run, swim in chilly Lake Cultus, check in, get both transitions set up and enjoy an early dinner.

Saturday morning was a 3:45am wake-up call in order to catch the 1^st bus at 4:30am. It was a 45-60 minute drive to T1 and we wanted to arrive plenty early. The bus oozed of nervous energy, since nobody had experience at this distance we all felt like rookies in the sport. I chatted and laughed with friends Lindsey, Thomas, Jackie, and Ben on an otherwise silent bus ride. It was still pitch black when we arrived but Lifetime provided adequate spotlights to get our bikes set and ready to go. The temperatures were in the high 30’s so I kept clothing on as long as possible. We started a little late so didn’t enter Lake Cultus until after 7am. The water was measured at just over 60F, with the air just under 40F it gave off steam which was absolutely breathtaking. After a short warm up I was feeling comfortable in the cold water.

We watched the men take off, preparing for our start, after the longest 3 minutes of my life we were finally toing the in water start line. As we took off I saw Kristen surge forward to my left, all of a sudden the water felt frigid and I thought my new wetsuit was choking me. I pulled an ITU flip; took 2 quick strokes on my back surveyed my surroundings including Jackie on my toes. This comforted me, as I flipped back over my head was now in the game. Rachel and I broke free from the pack and swam side by side the entire 1^st loop with Jackie on our feet. The water was crystal clear; it looked like swimming in the ocean but with fresh water. As I bilateral breathed I soaked in the mountains surrounding us. As we entered the water for loop 2 Rachel and I caught the men’s chase pack. As we swam through/over them Jackie dropped back and I decided rather than swimming side by side I would take Rachel’s  feet at the next turn buoy. Usually when I get a draft I worry the lead swimmer is not fast enough so I pass them, but now I knew we were swimming exactly the same pace so I grabbed her feet and held on. This was awesome, I swam the entire 2^nd loop exerting little to no energy. Thanks so much Rachel! We exited the water together of the short 5K swim (measured at 2.7 miles) Rachel utilized the wetsuit stripper and headed straight into the changing tent.

The air temperature was expected to be cold so I changed into dry shorts, dry tri top, my favorite fleece long sleeve ChampSys Jersey, beanie, toe covers and gloves. Transition was longer than usual, and  I struggled getting the dry tri top over my wet body, but it was well worth getting the warm clothes on. I hopped on my bike and headed out for the 138 mile ride. The temps were very chilly, especially after swimming in cold water I was thankful for every piece of clothing I had on, but it still wasn’t enough. I struggled to get my core temperature up. The first 20 miles of the bike were all in the shade too, I just kept telling myself it would warm up soon enough to just push through it.

Coach Curt warned me of being fully tapered for a long ride like this. I had to really watch my power during the 1^st hour. After that I could go off feel but the 1^st hour was critical to avoid bonking at miles 120-138. I listened and stayed at my target average power. I passed special needs at mile 30 noticing I wouldn’t pass it again until mile 90, this worried me a bit, it meant I couldn’t strip layers until then and wouldn’t get my additional 3 bottles of calories. I calculated the timing and caloric intake, and decided to take a few gels earlier in preparation for receiving my bottles 20 miles later than I’d planned. At mile 40 the temperatures began to rise. I could finally feel my feet! I was able to strip my beanie without removing my helmet while riding up Mount Bachelor the 1^st time.

During this loop we were mixed in with the 125 distance amateurs. The course wasn’t crowded by any means but it was nice seeing racers on the road. Mackenzie Madison came up on me around mile 50. I took advice I’ve received from other pro’s to use her as a pacer and legally draft 5 bike lengths back. I rode behind Mackenzie for 10-15 minutes watching my power closely. I was averaging 225 while riding with her, my target was 185 on the flats and 210 on the climbs so this was definitely over biking for me.  I was catching her on climbs but with this distance of the bike I went with my gut to let her go. I’ve raced a few times with Mackenzie this season. We have equal biking ability so I knew she was over biking and hoped to see her again. As I climbed Mount Bachelor I found myself short of breath, I could definitely feel the high altitude (over 8K ft) and was thankful for the altitude training I acquired from Boulder.

After the long climb it felt amazing to crest the peak of Mount Bachelor and take a nearly 20 mile descent. I was glad to choose my 11/25 cassette because I could really hammer the descent and rollers. My legs were feeling strong and the sun was shining but I was beginning to heat up in my fleece jersey. Temps were now in the 80’s. I finally hit mile 90 and stopped quickly. Volunteers instructed me to drop what I needed and handed me my bottles. I was quickly off again feeling awesome, the excess weight had been lifted and my skin could breathe again. Lindsey had given me an ‘N Synch sticker to put on a water bottle to cheer me up during the “epic” course. This was the perfect time, when I saw it a huge smile came across my face. As I made a turn I glanced behind wondering where Jackie was all day. She was having some heart pain the day before so I hoped nothing serious had happened.

Loop 2 was much lonelier I didn’t see a single rider throughout the course. I waived at some fishermen or anyone else I saw on the road. It wasn’t a closed course although the cars were sparse but all seemed like triathlon supporters. Cheering as they went by and giving me plenty of room on the road. I kept my focus on target watts and nutrition plan. Reaching the top of Mount Bachelor the 2^nd time felt amazing, knowing all that was left was a long descent back into Bend. As I barreled down the mountain I noticed the thick smoke from the Pacific Northwest fires. It was hard to breathe, much worse than I experienced in Boulder this year.

I was now ready to get out of the saddle, I cruised into Bend hearing spectators cheer. It was great to see people again! I followed the course wrapping around transition and finally in, to my surprise there was Mackenzie racking her bike. I had caught her as predicted during the back half. I made the quick decision not to change into clean shorts and go for it. I exited T2 right behind Mackenzie, she was obviously hurting, I offered some encouraging words before leaving her behind. The 1^st few miles on the run mimicked the Wildflower run course; dirt trails, with short steep uphill punches along the Deschutes River.

As I crossed the road heading towards the golf course Lindsey Corbin provided my split of 6 minutes back, she advised me to run my own race but I could catch her. I stuck to my nutrition plan getting the calories and liquids down. It was a hot run out on the golf course, temps exceeding 90F.  I was taking ice from every aid station to cool my core temp down.

I approached the turn around and this was the 1^st time we got to see placement.  Kristen was still a few minutes ahead, but I could tell I was running her down. I then saw Trish and Haley behind. My stomach and legs were feeling good, so I picked up the pace. I was now on a mission to run Kristen down.  By mile 7 I had her in view, the camera crew joined me in preparation for the pass. I confirmed with them she was currently #1. By mile 8 I completed the pass and congratulated her on such a great swim/bike (Kristen’s a friend from Boulder). I was now leading the race and feeling great! I kept asking the camera crew, lead biker, support crew if anyone was chasing me down. They laughed and replied no I had it in the bag from here. I enjoyed the last 5 miles of the 13.7 mile run. It felt like I used to feel winning races as an amateur; effortless. As I entered into the park I could hear the announcers calling my name awaiting my arrival. I crossed over the bridge and saw the finish tape. I could not believe I had just won my first pro race during my first pro season.  To my surprise I did it on the run, I had the fastest run split of the day which was a direct effect of conserving energy on the bike.

This was the closest I’ve ever come to having a perfect race, I nailed my nutrition, we hit my taper just right and I executed my power and pace flawlessly.

I later found out Jackie and Rachel took an incorrect turn at the beginning of the bike course, they missed a 20 mile out and back stick which they didn’t realize until mile 100 when the pro men finally caught them.(Hether Jackson also made the turn although decided to drop out shortly after) I was very happy that Jackie was physically OK but know exactly how it feels to ruin a race with such a minor mistake. I’ve made numerous mistakes during races this season (Wildflower, Kansas, Portland, Buffalo Springs) which ended up ruining my performance. Now I feel as though they were all in preparation for Leadman 250. I’ve learned the hard way that as a pro I must be aware and responsible for everything going on around me. (course, stagger, equipment, rules) I still have a long way to go but this race gave me a huge confidence boost and confirms that I’m headed in the right direction to race with the BIG GIRLS.   

I definitely didn’t get to this win alone, it takes a small army. Thanks to Owen, my family, Coach Curt, friends, training partners, and all my sponsors; Timex, Quintana Roo, Shimano, KSwiss, Lululemon, Blue Seventy, Rudy Project, ChampSys, Challenge, PowerBar, Nathan, HeadSweats, and Cobb for all your support.

The Leadman Tri BIG Belt Buckle!

Heading into the Boulder 70.3 I was tired and over-raced. This would be my 7^th ½ Ironman distance race of the season (1 a bit longer, 1 including 3 triathlons prior to the race, 1 excluding the run) but overall I was feeling quite fatigued. Because this race was within riding distance from my house I decided to participate anyhow. Hey the worst thing that could happen was I could feel terrible and ride home. I went into race day expecting at best a solid training day.

It was especially fun racing in Boulder this year, after living here for 1.5 years I knew most people racing pro’s and amateurs included as well as all the spectators. Pre-race I prepped with Gavin who was only doing the aqua bike due to shin splints, as well as Mandy, Whitney and Uli all great training partners of mine.

At the swim start I was searching for Leanda hoping to catch a draft but she seemed to be hiding until just before the start so I worried only about myself. Mandy was glued to my side prepared to swim off my wake. As the start doves were released we entered the water preparing for our in water start. This was a large female pro wave. I positioned myself in the front row. As I pushed off the bottom of the Rez I executed a perfect dolphin dive into my initial 200 meter sprint. I found Leanda immediately on the opposite side of the pack, we merged and swam side by side to the first buoy. I realized we were holding too fast of a pace for me and “let her” bridge a gap between us. Moments later Mandy and Maddie came around swimming next to me, I latched on and swam in their wake for most of the course. I knew letting Leanda go was a mistake, my open water swim has improved this season, but not enough. I know I have the ability to swim with the top swimmers, right now it’s just a mental battle at the start. As we rounded the last few buoy’s Mandy started drifting off course so I kept in a straight line towards the finish and we exited the water together in 3^rd place.

The week leading up to Boulder 70.3  I’d coaxed a friend into teaching me a flying mount, I figured it was about time I stopped mounting like an amateur.  I chickened out a bit and did the double hop as I mounted my bike. I’ll continue to improve with practice, my biggest fear is attempting a flying mount and crashing (like Brooks last year).

Heading out on the bike I was riding closely behind Mandy although she was pushing much harder than me, I knew what my target watts were so I stuck to my race plan letting her ride away. I watched as some of the slower swimming pro men passed me by on the bike I realized my bottles were still frozen. I decided to try something new (Per Uli’s suggestion) and freeze my bottles overnight. Guess I should have taken them out of the freezer a bit earlier. Hmmm, I thought, “this is going to be a long ride with no liquids or calories”. Luckily the heat thawed them within 20 minutes, causing no damage to my race and I had a cold drink for the 1^st loop.

This was my first race in the new Champion System 1 piece speedo (I usually wear a 2-piece). I was instructed to order down because they ran large by teammate Lauren Goss. Well apparently an extra small was a little too small, it completely rode up my bum. Throughout the first loop of the bike I kept trying to fix it, but realized it was going where it wanted, I just had to deal with the wardrobe malfunction and press on. During the 2^nd loop was where this became a real issue, as I passed the amateurs I received a lot of cat calls from participants and cars. I decided to ignore it and keep pushing. It became apparent during the 2^nd loop as Whitney and Uli passed me that my legs just didn’t have their usual oomph in them.  By the end of the bike I could barely keep my watts above 190 (target 205-210). This was disappointing but knowing I was tired I just put out what I had.  

I came off the bike closely behind Maddie but had a terrible transition, I struggled getting my bike on the rack losing precious seconds. During the 1^st mile of the run I passed back Trish (she passed me in transition) and I had Maddie in sight just up the road. My goal was to catch Maddie next but we were holding exactly the same speed. I stuck to my race plan (nutrition and speed) in hopes she would tire towards the end.

The 2 loop run course was packed with friends and training partners from Boulder, so that kept my spirits up while running the last few miles. My coach Curt was all over the course giving me splits and pointers throughout the run. I caught an amateur man on the 2^nd lap going about the same pace. He offered to pace me in which really helped, we took turns leading and he offered words of encouragement each time I passed him. Thanks to my pacer Mike I was able to negative split the 2^nd loop. (he then headed out for his 2^nd loop).

Overall I was disappointed with my performance at Boulder this year. It would have been fun to race up with my friends which I have the ability to do. I was just entering in over-raced and tired due to my heavy race schedule from March-July. I ended up placing 9^th which was respectable in this field and actually turned out to be my highest point race of the season earning 390 points due to the large prize purse and points allocated to Boulder.

I’ve learned as a pro when I have an off day it really shows in the results. This is one of the biggest changes from last year. As an amateur with an off day I could usually still take the win, now I end up 9^th. Curt and I decided to cancel the Chicago triathlon which I was scheduled to race 2 weeks after Boulder and get a high volume 6 week training block in to get me feeling sharp again. This year I have somehow lost my running speed but my endurance was as strong as ever so we decided to throw in a longer race in the mix. I swapped out Chicago for Leadman 250 a 3.1 mile swim, 138 mile bike and 13.7 mile run triathlon on September 22^nd.