Qualified

My birthday came and went without much of a celebration, but instead a weight of another race on my mind. With two bad races in a row, I was hoping that the Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon would be the start of the season I had hoped to have.
As the race began, I felt very relaxed in the ankle deep water. I knew my parents were there to support me, my great friend Adriane had come up to the race to support me as well. Along with the support, I had also been having great workouts leading up to the race. The swim was not as fast as I would have liked, but it was still a PR for 1500 m. This was due in part to more time in the pool, but also my amazing Xterra Vendetta wetsuit contributed. As I took to the bike, I never truly got into a rhythm that felt really comfortable, although my time was also a PR for this course. True Olympic Distance triathlons have a 24 mile bike portion, but this one has a 30 mile bike course. The run went well, not great, just good. My run is becoming less of a blowout for me because my training has divided up my time, and I am becoming better at the other two disciplines. As a whole, with a long bike course, my time was not an Olympic Distance PR for me, but for this course it was a PR. My final time was 2:33.19. When the race was over, I placed 4th in my division which secured the last qualification spot for USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals. Whether I compete in the race or not will be determined after my full Ironman, I am still excited to have a qualifying mark. The next race on my schedule will be the Boulder Peak, which I finished previously in 2:24. I hope to drop that time by 10 or more minutes.

That Hurt a Little

I survived the Kansas Half Ironman, but it was not what I had hoped. Going into the race, I felt very prepared. At first, I was nervous about taking several days off after my fall on Pikes Peak, but then realized I had been almost over training and could use the rest. I thought with a time of 4:42 last year, that this year I would have a much better race since I had been actually training for it. My hopes of breaking 4:20 failed miserably. The swim went great in the new Exterra Wetsuit; the Vendetta is a fantastic wetsuit. Getting onto the bike, I felt fine until mile 35ish when the nausea crept in. During the rest of the bike ride, I felt exhausted and like I was on the verge of throwing up. As I started the run, I thought things were turning around. I averaged 6 minutes flat for 7 miles; then, I began dry heaving about 4 times per mile. Anytime I tried to drink water or Gatorade I would throw it up about 100m down the course. From then on, I fell to over 9 minute miles and sucked on ice chips between dry heaves and poured water on me to try and keep cool. When the finish line finally approached, I was limping because of my knee and barely staying up with the cramps and dry heaves. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I collapsed in pain and was carried off. The Navy Medical officers who were working the med tent were concerned that I was shivering so much that it was the start of a heat stroke. They immediately hooked me up to an IV and tried to warm me up. After the first IV drained into my arm, I became warm and they then had to try and keep me cool. After over two hours in the med tent, I finally started feeling good again. The drive home was far from fun, but I made it home and had never been so happy.
Two races down- the first one involved mechanical error, the second one was my error. I am not fond of making excuses for bad races, so I will put it plain and simple. I had a bad day; I truly hope my season turns around at my next race in Loveland. Thanks for all the support.

Summer

Summer is here, and I am in Colorado! I wasn’t here three days before I was on Pike's Peak doing a workout. After the workout was over, I headed down from Bar Camp. On the way down, a dog without a leash jumped out in front of me causing me to trip and rip open my knee and palm. I lucked out by not getting stitches, but I was unable to run or really bend my leg in any way for four days. Yesterday I got out and ran 5 miles and did an hour bike ride with a bit of discomfort. Each day brings more healing as I get closer to the Kansas Half Ironman this Sunday.
Christmas morning?!! Nope, it's just June 2nd but today I received a package from Xterra Wetsuits. It was a few shirts and the Vendetta Wet Suit! It is a lot like Christmas when you know what toy you will be getting, but you cant play with it for a few days. I already know it is one of the fastest tri suits on the market or if not, awful close. As I am a sub par swimmer, I always have to make up time in the bike and a lot in the run. With another year of swimming under my belt and the best wet suit, I hope to get myself out of the whole that I tend to dig. Thank you Xterra for the wetsuit, and I look forward to a great Half Ironman this weekend.