There's a first time for everything!

Boulder Peak 5150

July 13th, 2014

2:09:52, 4th place

Last weekend, I raced my first race as a Pro in my very own training grounds in Boulder. While it was a bit odd to wake up in my own bed race morning, I think it was a great way to keep my nerves down before the "Pro Town Throw Down." I am quite pleased with my 4th place finish and excited to see where I can grow from here!

My coach, Barb Lindquist, once said to me, “The first 16 years of my career were a learning experience.” Barb raced for 16 years. Life is a learning experience. Here are my experiences and learning lessons from this weekend:

 

When the gun went off for the start I launched into an assault on the swim, as I saw myself pulling away from the group, I panicked. I knew there were some strong women in the field and did not want to blow up in the first 400 meters of the swim. I slowed up and sank back to sit on a pair of feet. I had been practicing drafting, and I was comfortable here. I was pleased to come out of the water with a strong group of girls. 

 Learning Lesson #1: Bike fit adjustments, no matter how big or small, should be left to the skilled hands of a well trained fitter. I recently got new cranks and figured I could make the little adjustments I needed to my saddle position on my own. Wrong! Extreme pain in my left leg and foot the last half of the bike had me wondering whether I could finish the race. Going into T2 I wasn’t sure what to expect. Was the pain I experiencing from my plantar fasciitis? If so, how was the run going to feel? Was it going to be in my best interest for long term health and longevity in the sport to continue? I hit the ground running, and I don’t know whether it was the adrenaline from the crowd or really only my bike fit, but the pain didn’t seem too bad.

I pulled on my pretty blue Mizunos, grabbed my race belt and watch, and took off. It was a hot and humid run, but managed to wrangle in one higher place and keep off the runners on my heels to finish in 4^th.  I feel amazed and blessed to be fortunate enough to bring home some money in my first pro race. Just starting to help pay back the previous two years’ thousands of dollars spent on equipment, travel and race fees!

Learning Lesson #2:When randomly selected for a USADA pee test and already feeling nauseous and dehydrated (I only finished half of my liquids on the bike ), do not chug down 6 bottles of water and Gatorade. They will come back up. I missed my first award presentation as a pro because I was having fun being sick and trying to pee, but this race and post race will definitely be an experience I remember forever.

A huge thanks and love to my parents for coming down and cheering me on (and of course all of the love and support through all my years of competitive sports). Thank you to my bike mechanic, Jon Moro, for keeping my bike working and the sweet set of wheels he lent me for the race. 

I am feeling recovered now and excited for another action packed weekend in Lawrence, KS! Excited to I to visit a childhood Wyoming Swimming buddy and race against some stiff competition.