August 20, 2008

Canadian National Triathlon Championships

I had a great time in Kelowna over the past 5 days. My best friend, Leslie is one of the most amazing people I know. She and her sister Heather (who I have totally adopted as my own) took such good care of me it was overwhelming. They cooked me great meals, ran errands with me and were the best damn cheerleaders during the race. I should also mention Jae (Leslie's boyfriend) who was also there taking great care of me and cheering as well.

The first 2 - 3 days I was in Kelowna before the race I spent time with Angie and the Team Alberta junior elite's. What an amazing group of kids! They are so talented and just genuinely nice kids. This was great but standing on my feet all day in the sun the day before the race (and getting sun burnt) was less than ideal!

The morning of the race I was not feeling well and my stomach was pretty upset. I made several trips to the bathroom which was almost good as it kept me occupied until my 9am start. My group usually starts around 7:30am so I was shocked to be so late. I was slightly nervous as heading into the race I was determined to place top 10 in my age group and to qualify for the World Triathlon Championships again. I was also nervous as it had been almost 3 years since I had done an Olympic distance tri. My goals for this race were:
1. Top 10 finish
2. Run a 47 - 48 minute 10km

The gun went off and I ran into the water with the other 100 women. There was alot of contact through the first lap and I tried not to get frustrated. On the second lap we caught up to the slower men in the heat before us and I let myself become frustrated at one point as a girl who was drafting off me kept hitting my toes. It is important not to invest any emotional energy on the swim, which I focused on during the last 1/2 of the second lap. When I hit the swim exit I ran up the ramp looking at my watch; it said 28 minutes - I was a little upset as I was hoping to come out in 26 minutes but considering this was my first non-wetsuit swim I knew I would be a bit slower.

I flew through transition onto the bike. On the first of 3 laps my legs felt tired and there were alot of girls who were a bit too close behind me for what I like. I continued to hammer as hard as I could. When I went to get my gel taped to my bike, I accidentally ripped both off. Crap! I ate one and held onto the other. What am I supposed to do now? I slowed up for a bit, peeled the tape off my bike best I could, attempted to tape the gel shut, shoved it in my bra (hoping it would not leak), and hoped I could make up the time I slowed up. The rest of the bike felt good and Leslie continued to yell out my lap times and told me to hurry up, and I finally started to pass the strong swimmers.

When I came into transition I had to do a double take at the bike racks. There were 2 other bikes in my age group. What!? I threw my bike, put on my SkirtSports race belt skirt, put on my shoes and ran! As I rounded the corner out of transition I saw so many people that had come out to cheer me on. So overwhelming! I then saw Leslie with a bright pink sign that read "Run B*tch Run". I laughed.

The run was hard and I was tired. Between the 3km and 4km mark close to 5 girls in my age group passed me. I was worried and did my best over the next 6km to hang on. I doused myself with water every chance I could. I knew I was not running as hard as I could but I just didn't have it in me at that time. I pushed to keep one of the girls in my sight and crossed the line in 2:33:35. My run time was a disappointing 51:08. I did however place 8th, qualifying for the 2009 World Triathlon Championships.

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