The Real Vacation Begins!

Trying to share a 2 week cross country adventure is tough so I have decided that I will do it mostly with photos. Most of "blog followers" buy books for the pictures anyway, right? Today I will focus on 2 amazing areas we visited before leaving the Brisbane area. After the race we traveled to Mt Tambourine on our way to Lamington National Park. I will always be the kid that would prefer to meet the locals, see the mountains, birds and animals rather than tour 100 churches. So John, Nicole, Joe, Christine and Joe and I set out to explore the closest National Park we could find and it was soooo amazing! On the way we drove through a mountain town called Mt Tambourine for a late breakfast! It was beautiful and well worth the thrilling drive on the wrong side of the road on narrow mountain backroads! Obviously I wasn't driving!
Nicole came to Worlds equipped with some great noise makers that appeared to be a whistling duck...and there in Mt Tambourine didn't we find many cool shops including the Whistling Duck, a Porn Fudge Shop and the best breakkie ever!

Two MUST SEE Videos from Worlds 09!

This is a cool quick video of me crossing the finish line at Worlds...check out that form!

The day after the race we were a little punchy and really tired of sitting in traffic.

2009 World Triathlon Championships – Surfer’s Paradise, Queensland, Australia

I will always LOVE seeing that title in print. On September 12th I participated in the 09 World Triathlon Championships on the Gold Coast in Australia. It was far more amazing than I could have imagined and I want to share the highlights with you. Someone recently suggested to me that I should not talk about this event anymore as it is in the past and “doesn’t matter”…that I should only look ahead to new adventures. That comment really struck me because I spent 6 years working my life around achieving this goal! I will likely NEVER forget it, no matter how many more world championships I participate in, and I have every intention of wallowing in the entire experience for months to come. Maybe because setting a goal and achieving it is so rewarding, maybe because I was surrounded by so many people I love and maybe because I love my life far too much to blow through it that quickly…Life Really is too Short! The entire Worlds Experience was incredible for me and the #1 reason is due to the people that were with me that week and on race day. We were incredibly fortunate as a team to have our own coach, Steve Pye, and 5 teammates participate in the event. Plus we all had peeps we love with us the week leading up to the race! How lucky were we all to have Michele, Michael and family, Eric and Helen, Jocelyn and Sarah with us to celebrate the week’s events! It made it more complicated and far more fun! I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the little fiasco we had getting into the country…no picture associated with this…that would have made things even worse. Let me just say that between me trying to smuggle in some United Airline sandwiches and checking someone else’s bag through to Brisbane I have become intimately familiar with Australian Customs and Qantas airlines. I actually had to sign an affidavit that says if I come back and try to smuggle anything in I will be arrested as a felon. Let’s be honest…you all know I would never eat a chicken sandwich anyway…at least I avoided the $220 fine after some serious begging and quelling of my NY attitude. For future reference…don’t call the customs agent DUDE…they really hate that. Once in the country the week leading up to the race was filled with beach time, Team USA organizing time and touring time. John and I stole one afternoon at the beach and I was too scared of the rip tides (and the sharks) to play in the water but John had a blast playing in the huge waves and getting sand in his swim suit! Gotta love these Colorado natives who never get to the ocean! John and I also toured around Surfer’s Paradise getting mediocre food and working on our tans. John and Eric, Sonja’s dad, went deep sea fishing one day while I played with the Team USA peeps. We ran down to transition and checked out the details of for race day and then ran back. There were some questions about how transition would work but all the important things were obvious…get in the water a mile up the coast, swim to the swim exit and then rock and roll! I exercised a little every day just to keep the blood pumping and try to remain calm. One day Sonja, Michelle and I went to the local pool on the beach. It was a huge complex with a couple 25 meter pools, a diving well and a 50 meter pool. The sun was warm and the water warmer while we did our little workout in the diving well. It made me realize how badly I need to get into a master’s program because my swim workouts have no pace or consistency to them. It was really fun to swim with those guys. We also did a big team bike ride to check out the bike course. It was mayhem but I am glad we did it as it helped me stay focused on race day. I wasn’t wondering where the next turn was or what the next obstacle might be. I was also fortunate enough to get an in room massage from Jocelyn! I highly recommend her hands! Things really started to wind up on Thursday with Team pictures, the Worlds Team Parade, Opening Ceremonies and Dinner. Because it was my first event I really tried to relax and soak it all in. It was an amazing feeling to be a part of something so much bigger than myself and my little tri-world. USAT took a cool team photo and then we were off to get in line for the parade. Seeing all the athletes from countries like Ukraine, Tahiti, Spain and more really slapped me in the face that there were thousands of us with the same dream coming true that evening. I did wonder if we were all IN the parade who would actually be watching the parade and I was thrilled to see that many of us dragged friends and family down under with us so there were plenty of fans cheering us on as we rolled into the transition area for the opening ceremonies. The ITU gave a warm welcome, the local Tri organizing committee did their thing but the highlight was when the Kiwi men did their dance to welcome us. It was HOT! They were all so fit, they could dance and they have sexy accents! Sweet! My family was supposed to arrive Thursday night so I hadn’t bought tickets to the opening ceremonies for me and John and since my family arrived later than I expected we went to dinner with Anthony and Michele. Apparently Australians drink “girly” beer (according to John and others) so we sought out the local Bavarian Haus for dinner and beers. It seemed weird to me but whatever! Dinner was a pretzel for me and I had a nice chat with a cockroach one table over. Ewwww! The family arrived later but we didn’t really connect until the next day. Friday we took Pop, Betsy, Jim, Margaret, Alison, and Rod down to the race site so they could get a feel for what race day would feel/look like. We managed to explain most of the steps involved and thankfully found a beer tent! Pop is still not walking very well so having frequent beer stops is good for all of us! I met Cousin Jim, from New Zealand while I was in Scotland 2 years ago. I asked him hopefully that if I were to qualify would he meet us in Oz and he did! He is a very vital almost 80 and a blast to have around. It always takes me a little bit to get used to his accent but once I get it we communicate quite well. I was so thrilled to have him with us. By Friday night we had added Christine and Joe and Alison’s daughter Rachel to the mix so when I sneaked off to my room during dinner there was quite a party going on at the Mexican restaurant! I was so overwhelmed to have so many people even remotely interested in my race that I had to keep closing my eyes and calming myself down. I have been doing this for 6+ years and no one in my family has ever seen me race so this was a big deal. Admittedly it was really just an excuse for a trip to Australia but I will take what I can get!
Race day I was all alone and that was perfect. I arrived at transition calm and focused. My bike was waiting for me expectantly so I pumped up her tires and set my shoes in place and said a little prayer as the sun came up. Rarely do my prayers get answered so quickly but within seconds the organizers announced that the race was wetsuit approved! YAHOOO! I will take all the help I can get and although I had been in the water it was not too warm so I was thrilled! And the wind was calm as I walked up toward the start of the race. I didn’t expect to see anyone from my clan at the start as it was so early and out of the way so I ran a little, did a little yoga and started to put on my wet suit as the first waves went out! Girls first, boys later. As I was walking down the sand I saw John in his Aussie hat and then I saw the gang. It made me really nervous and excited at the same time. It was so cool to get hugs, kisses and pictures before I went to warm up in the water. The swim start was a standing beach start which should have made me nervous but didn’t…I place myself behind the peeps who think they are swimmers and when the gun went off I sprinted ungracefully into the water. I should practice that more. The swim was one of the highlights of the day for me. Although my time would not won me any awards I was “in the game” the entire swim. I was swimming with the leaders instead of the dawgs which is where I am used to being. I was in a pack the entire time which should frustrate me but I knew it meant I as swimming strong and straight (Halleluiah!) and I wouldn’t be the last one out of the water! When I hit the beach I was smiling from ear to ear and then it happened…the #1 highlight of the day…I heard Walt, my father, cheer me on. I doubt he will ever have any idea how much him being there meant and I don’t get the sense he really gets my whole life style but I don’t care because for a moment in time, at a moment when I really needed him to acknowledge my life, he did! It almost made me run into the fence as I was laughing and smiling to myself! I was 33rd out of 79 out of the water! Yeeha! The ride pissed me off because it was so flat and fast it was hard to tell where I was. I knew I was making time on people but I had no clue on how many or how much time. Thank you so much to Ailsa Caldwell for saving both our butts when a car blew through an intersection and could have cleared us both off the road. She kept her cool and helped calm me down too. We both rode hard and focused the entire race. I so wish I had the funds for a TT bike as that was the day I would have seen the impact. I was riding strong and smart and the equipment does help when the conditions are right. GoGo served me well and I love my Giant and we had a great ride! (ride was a 1:06) Once I transitioned to my running shoes I felt completely jazzed…as much because it was almost over as I was to do the run. I blew through the first 2 miles and toward the 3rd when I realized I had gone out too fast and I better bring it in a notch or I would not finish strong and I really wanted to leave it all out there! I was running with women that I am usually chasing at this point in the race and I knew it and it felt great! My form felt solid and strong and I knew I could hold the pace I had settled into…although I didn’t know what that pace was. Mentally I was on my run and thinking about how it feels to cruise through the trails at home at this pace and how I always feel like I could run forever. It was so amazing to be so focused and within myself with all the craziness of Worlds around me. (hey Steve, I found it!) During the ride there was a big strong Aussie woman named Foster on the bike and we played cat and mouse a bit. Once we hit transition I didn’t see her again until the last ¼ mile of the run! What? Seriously? As she went past me I said out loud, (sorry Steve) “Oh no, I don’t think so!!” And I just ramped it up one more notch. I blew past her and tried to catch the next woman in front of me. There were 4 of us who finished within 45 seconds of each other and I wanted to be the leader in that but I lost it to a French woman in the last 500 yards. That burned my butt! The finish line was dazzling! The colors and noise and energy left me wild and wound up when I crossed the line. My legs and core were tired but my heart was jumping. One of the coolest parts of the race was hanging out in the shoot with MF, SW, and a group of gals from Team USA. I really enjoyed talking about the race and the day with them. It made the race so tangible even after it was over. The second most amazing thing that happened that day was when I left the finish line area to find my family…they were all standing right there and there was another addition! Nicole had not only made it to the race site she actually saw me finish! She and her brother Joe dragged their luggage all around the race site in order to see me finish and meet me at the finish line. I doubt I will ever be able to convey to Margaret, Nicole, Walt, Alison, Jim, and the rest of the gang how moving it was for me to share those moments in time with them. It was more than I ever expected or could have asked for. Racing at worlds is one thing but having so many people I love to share it with makes it something completely different! THANK YOU TO ALL! After the race where did we go??? You guessed it…the beer garden! We sat and watched some of the men race and ate some expensive lame sandwiches and had a blast! I was overwhelmed and on auto pilot! Cooler still, Sonja and Michelle’s clans parked next to us so we could talk more about the race and hang out. Sonja and Michelle…thank you for being such true friends and teammates. I am so proud to play, train and race with you! And your families are all extraordinary! Once the beer and sandwiches settled in we all went back to our hotels to clean up and head back for the pro race. The most unexpected part of the day came later in the afternoon while Anthony was graciously checking results for all of us…I had placed below 30th?? Below 20th??? In fact I had placed 12th in the world! How about that. Now, to those friends who still think of me as 11th I appreciate it but when the final results were tallied I came in 12th…which is equally amazing to me. My time was 2:22 and change and it was a PR for me! Booya! I knew I shouldn’t be surprised because this is what I had been working toward for so long but I seriously hope to finish in the top 50% so 12th blew me away! I was so shocked and happy and I think everyone else was too. I loved watching the Pros with the gang. They pros are so amazing and inspirational! Plus it was a chance for my friends to see how the big dawgs race! It was a great men’s race to watch! After the pros we got together with my whole clan for dinner. We walked into the tourist trap in Surfer’s Paradise and we had a wonderful meal together. We laughed a lot and had a chance to relax and get caught up. Sadly Margaret, Alison and Rod were leaving early the next morning and I really hated not getting to spend more time with them. The next day we all went to Currumbim Outdoor Experience! It was so much fun to play with the Koalas and Kangaroos and do it with Pop and Betsy! I am going to share more about this part of my trip in my next post so this doesn’t get too long! Ha! Again the closing ceremonies were too expensive, $40 person, so we went to George’s across from the park for a ½ priced yummy dinner! The ½ price made it worth it for sure! John ate Morton Bay Bugs which are these big nasty sea crustaceans and Nicole ate squid…ewww! After dinner Cousin Jim treated us to our first experience at the RSL. It is a social club for veterans in Australia and New Zealand. There are slot machines, a great menu and good cheap beer! Right up our alley! We hung out with Jim until they closed and by then we were all tired and I knew it was the end of this portion of my adventure. Worlds was everything I imagined it would be and then some. Having my sister and her friends and Pop and Betsy with me and John was awesome. Thank you to everyone for your support and for putting up with pre-race Beth and cruise director Beth. I am honored to have experienced all this with each of you! A special thanks to John for taking such good care of my family and to Margaret for being so selfless and power photographer! Love you! So how about we do this again next year in Budapest? September 11-12, 2010! Bring it! And more pictures to come!

Team USA - Worlds Triathlon Championship

It has been 7 years since I started this journey. Post husband and trying to find something for me. Christine McKnight invited me to watch her race in Cancun at Nationals and I was hooked...it really is all her fault.
I am off to Australia with my teammates for Worlds 2009 in Brisbane. John and I will be traveling for 2 weeks after the trip so this is going to be a really special adventure for us! My father, sister, friends Nicole and Christine, and the Joes will also be at the race cheering me on. I can hardly wait to get on the plane!
There is a huge feeling of satisfaction that I set my mind to this challenge 7 years ago and although it took me longer than I thought it would I am so happy to be here! I am so grateful for my amazing life and the people that share my life...Outback here I come!

Birthdays, Bike Rides and Boys!

July has always been a great month in our family; it is my sister’s birthday, my birthday, 3 of my friend’s from high school’s birthdays, Grandma Tennant’s birthday (we always celebrated together when I was a little girl) and on and on. Historically Margaret and I are just far enough apart in age that when we were kids we didn’t really celebrate together. Last summer I was lucky enough to be in Connecticut and celebrate Margaret’s “big” birthday with her in-person. We had a nice dinner with friends and I got to monitor the 50 Pushups goal she had set for herself. Quite an amazing accomplishment for sure!

This summer I had the great fortune of having Margaret her for my birthday. She has always been the best with sending gifts from wherever she was in the world…but I have to say that there is nothing like having her in my home and in my life on my birthday! I couldn’t have asked for a better gift!

She was here for about 10 days and I tried to make sure she got a real feel for my world; friends, work, training, cats etc. I think we were successful! Although she couldn’t meet everyone I wanted her to meet she did meet Paula, Noell, Audi, Lori, Ken and company, many of my Tri Family, Mandy the cat sitter and even my neighbor Jerry. I can’t speak for Margaret…I think we had a blast!

We had a really nice birthday party that Paula hosted ostensibly so we could sit on her deck and relax in the garden but the weather didn’t cooperate so we hung in the kitchen and passed Samuel around and ate too much! The gifts I received were so thoughtful and generous I was overwhelmed. THANK YOU ALL! The most amazing gift was the mirror that John made me. When we were in Breckenridge over the 4^th we went to the Artisan Fair and I saw this booth filled with these amazing mirrors that I just fell in love with. Only John, with his creative mind, would think to make me one of those and make it match my home perfectly. It is gorgeous.

The real highlight of Margaret’s visit was our plan to ride the Copper Triangle. This is a 78 mile bike ride that starts in Copper Mountain and covers 3 passes, has 4 major climbs and finished back in Copper. The elevation change is 6000+. This is a challenging ride for anyone who lives at altitude and trains, just ask my friends Lori, Kelly and Heidi. When Margaret’s life changed dramatically 4 weeks before the ride I thought she might decide not to come out or at the very least go on the ride. There would have been no shame in her driving along the course and supporting everyone else…NOT MY BIG SISTER! Before I tell you the outcome of the day I have to share some stats that although Margaret may not appreciate this it really makes the results outrageously amazing! Margaret turned 51 in July. You would never ever know it as she is fit, trim and has porcelain skin…but she is. She lives in Connecticut at sea level and rides her bike most weekends for 30-40 miles. And from what I can tell those rides are pretty tough on her as she is wiped out by the end of them. She rides a bike that by today’s standards is old, heavy and tough to ride. Her life took a pretty wicked turn a couple of weeks ago and today she is revisiting what it is like to be single, fit and HOT! And by the way, she has had Parkinson’s Disease for 10+ years now.

Now if that isn’t a recipe for “I want to stay home and eat ice cream and feel sorry for myself” then I don’t know what is! But not my sister. Not a chance. She may have wavered about the ride the day she arrived in Colorado but the next day Lori and Ken took her for a ride in Bear Creek Park and she just blew up the hills. No problem. She came back so pumped up and she had that very cool sparkle in her eye that I miss so much! She was ready to go! We spent the week giving her shorter rides and attending her Tae Kwon Do classes to keep up with her class back in CT.

On ride morning it was freezing cold! I knew it would be but I also knew it would warm up and I didn’t want to have to hump all our clothes for 80 miles! Thank goodness for Sara Sheridan and Katie and Drake! They met us at the top of Freemont Pass and took some of our outer layers! Phew! I promised Margaret that I would ride with her all day and John decided to do the same. Sweet guy! We started with a large group at Kelly and Paul’s RV but we quickly lost them as we settled into a strong yet smart pace. The worst thing to have happen would have been if I had let my ego and impatience dictates a single moment of that day. I must have had on my “big girl” pants all day. The Copper Triangle was all about Margaret. So we are riding along and I am waiting for the inevitable “I need to rest” or “I need to stop” or anything like that. She cruised up the first climb like she lived in Colorado. No panting, no drama and no problems. The cold was the only bother and she wouldn’t believe me when I told her we were all freezing…we are just dumb enough to be used to it. Once we made the turn outside of Leadville the sun was blazing and the air was warm and fresh. It was a gorgeous day! I think the aid station at Tennessee Pass was the toughest for both of us. My sister, like many women I believe, think if they eat less they will become or remain thin. Regardless of what your normal days look like when you are taxing your body in a manner you haven’t in many moons you need to feed the machine! EAT POPPA! I had the hardest time convincing Margaret to eat whether she was hungry or not. Rarely am I hungry during a ride but my mind is trained to listen to my body when it knows it will be screaming for calories in the very near future. John was the one who successfully convinced Margaret to power down a handful of chocolate chip cookies. Yahoo! Energy. She was clearly tired and feeling the climbs and the food flipped the switch for her. She was energized and ready to go again. The funniest part of the day was when we were climbing up Battle Mountain. Although not a long climb it is very steep and at a point in the ride when people begin to crumble. There is also a beautiful bridge over the canyon that everyone should stop and get a picture of…except Margaret. We were cruising up the start of the hill and a slight woman on a hybrid rode past us. Ah yes, Margaret is a true Tennant. She made some comment about being beat by that woman but she never let her go…as we rode past the professional photographer and smiled widely I started to tell Margaret we need to stop here and take some pictures. She told me in no uncertain terms that there would be no stopping…none…and off she went. John and I stopped to take some shots over the canyon and then had to really haul to catch Margaret. I thought for sure we would come around a corner and she would be walking her bike…nope…as I perpetually shocked throughout the day. Since I had decided to do the entire ride in my big ring I was really working to catch her before she got to the top of Battle Mountain. Not only was she cruising to the top she passed the woman on the mountain bike! Yahoo! At the last aid station before Vail Pass I encouraged a nice looking driver of the sag wagon to talk to Margaret about how she felt and what she needed. His name was Jethro..seriously. He explained to Margaret that the Vail Pass climb would be the hardest part of the ride and up to this point it had been a warm up. It was good for Margaret to hear it from someone else because I knew she wouldn’t listen to me and since she had already blown away any expectations I had for the day I didn’t think I would be able to help her make a sound decision. So she basically told Jethro (and me) to zip it and leave her alone because she was going to finish the ride no matter what…and she did. The climb out of Vail was steady and strong. Margaret never wavered. She kept her cadence high and just kept pedaling. Once we got to the reservoir at the top of the pass she started to slow down and I couldn’t have it. We had made it this far and I knew she was not nearly as tired as she thought she should be…so I pushed her just a little bit to get her to the top. It was awesome. Like all the Tennant women she took the challenge and pushed even harder, scowled at me and then cruised to the aid station. The top is The Summit Aid Station and there were a lot of bodies around and I although the sum was blazing and it was warm I didn’t want to dawdle at the top. I wanted to be sure Margaret had the confidence and energy to get down the pass to Copper Mountain. The bike path is pretty narrow with blind curves so Margaret navigated it at her own pace and we rolled into Copper Mountain in under 8 hours!

How can a woman who struggles with a 40 mile bike ride on a Sunday morning in Connecticut have such a great experience with an 80 mile ride at altitude? I have plenty of theories but none better than this…the only real limitations in our lives come from our fears of the unknown and/or our fears of the past. Margaret had more energy and drive and determination than I have seen in many years. I was so overwhelmed and proud of her I didn’t know what to say! Since Margaret was diagnosed with PD it has been hard for me to see the mental and emotional phases she has been through. Oddly I am not fazed by her physical limitations because I understand those come with the illness and she will conquer those as she learns more about the illness. The hard part has always been seeing my amazingly strong, independent, brilliant, vibrant sister fall into the role of a victim…for a time she became a victim of PD. This is not a criticism; simple an observation. I can understand being pissed off and asking “why me” for a period of time but I never understood why it took such a strangle hold on Margaret. I always expected her to do what she had done with everything else in her life; face it head on and whoop its ass. This was her disease and her life and I kept waiting for her to own it and then put it in its place. Not until the last few months have I seen her do this. This is not to say that she has been pitiful in anyway. She has always lived life to the fullest…I just always felt like she was letting the PD win. The day she rode her bike into Copper Mountain was so amazing to me because it was the first time I saw her really push back and say “I am NOT going to let PD stop me from living my life!” I am SOOO PROUD of her!

After the race Margaret was anxious to see if we could find Davis Phinney. The Copper triangle is a fund raiser for his foundation, website. Davis Phinney and his wife Connie Carpenter are both retired world class cyclists. Davis was diagnosed with PD the same year Margaret was and he has always been a proponent of exercise for PD patients so Margaret was hoping to meet him. I was a bit skeptical that we would even see him from a distance but we went to the Foundation tent to see if he had been around. Of course we had just missed him and I was ready to walk away when his son Taylor, an amazing young cyclist as well, popped into the tent. Margaret asked him if his father was around and Taylor called him to see. He hung up his cell phone and said his dad was over getting a bite to eat and he would walk us over to him. WOW! The music from the finish line was blaring so we all had to yell but Connie went into the restaurant to get Davis and he graciously came out to meet us. For the next 15 minutes I was in awe and agony as I watched Margaret and Davis talk about their illnesses, timing, struggles and obvious connection. Davis and Margaret are about the same age (although Davis couldn’t believe that Margaret was anywhere near his age) and have had the disease for 10 years. My favorite line that I heard Davis say to Margaret was this: “Parkinson’s patients need a lot of love!” and then he hugged Margaret so hard and so warmly it made us all cry. He was so genuine in his interest in learning more about her. He had ridden about 30 miles of the ride and his PD was clearly impacting him since he finished. His motions were slow, his speech was deliberate and his gaze intense. He was so impressed and stunned that Margaret had done the entire ride; it made her glow more than she already was.

Since I can’t speak for Margaret I can only share the impact the day made on me…unbelievable, amazing, fantastic, heartwarming and life changing. That’s how the day impacted me and the effect has yet to go away. I have more respect for my sister and her accomplishments, challenges and success today than I ever have…and that is saying something since she has been my hero most of my adult life.

As if the ride success and Davis Phinney weren’t enough, we still had a full afternoon of Go-Kart Smackdown and birthday celebrating to do! I thought for sure Margaret would excuse herself and sleep but she didn’t. I was so happy she hung out with us and really got to meet so many of the important people in my world. The Go-Kart Smackdown was a total set-up! I can’t say I won and I have to say that Ken definitely did NOT win either! It was so much fun having so many great friends around. We had pizza and beer and yummy cheesecake for our post-ride dinner! What a great way to celebrate 45!

And now the rest of the story...

Nationals was a huge character builder and although I find the swim at Nationals to be perpetually “tricky” I refuse to give up or bow out. I am already looking forward to Tuscaloosa 2010!

I came across a couple more pictures from the weekend that I have to share because they make me laugh and smile. My finish picture makes me look really fit and I might be and I think I was also dehydrated. Please note the red flecks in my hair. Very cool!

It seems the “Top 10 Best Things about Nationals” is in order:
1. We got to create a new Facebook Group for “my run was faster than my swim” peeps
2. My roomies and keeping up our neighbors all night
3. Velo-Express and Luke’s patience!
4. Pouring rain bike ride with Barry and Tyler
5. Seeing my coach before I started the swim
6. My own yoga workout before entering the swim
7. Volunteering for Athletes for a Cure during the Pros race
8. Seeing Michelle, Kirk and Mike on the podium
9. Signing up for Budapest 2010
10. Breaking 7 minute pace for my 10k! YAHOOO!

2009 Nationals Triathlon Championships

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the Black Warrior River…and the Corp of Engineers!

Saturday August 22^nd was the 09 Nationals Tri Championships in Tuscaloosa, AL. This would be my 5^th competition at nationals (6 if we counted the “unrace” in Kansas City) and I was hoping to make it my best. I haven’t raced since June in Lake2Lake and I’ve been training hard and I was peaked and ready to go. This is the first year in my new age group and I had set an expectation for myself that, all things being equal, I had a chance at a podium spot. My running has been the fastest ever, my cycling strong and my swimming consistent and strong.

I knew the weather was going to be hot and humid. I’d been in Birmingham a couple of days prior and it rained and was muggy the entire time. The humidity is so bad that when you walk outside from a freezing cold building your exposed skin immediately shows sweat rising. It is nasty. I wasn’t really worried about it though because I find I acclimate to humidity after a couple miles and as long as I stay hydrated it seems to be OK.

I shared a ride and room with Tyler W, Michelle F and Sonja W and we had a blast. Tyler is always entertaining and we have fun abusing each other. From words to pillows there is rarely a moment when one of us isn’t dishing and the other one volleying. By the time Sonja and Michelle arrived late Thursday night we had already had our share of silliness including the most amazing bike ride I have had in a long time. Earlier in the day Barry, Tyler and I wanted to ride the bike course so we checked our bikes out of Velo Express (a big shout out to Luke for taking such good care of GoGo for me!) and hit the road just as a big thunder and lightning storm was brewing. Cory started out with us too but he is smarter than the rest of us and he turned around when it started to rain. We cruised down to the race venue and checked out the muddy river and then decided to ride part of the course even though it was raining a bit. Needless to say it started to pour buckets and we were clearly in the eye of the storm at rush hour. I didn’t mind the lightning over my head or the thunder in my ears as much as I minded the raging traffic that I knew couldn’t really see us in the down pour. We finally ditched onto a side street where Tyler promptly decided to take a swim in a mud puddle. It was raining so fast and furious that the water was over my bike shoes and when I pedaled it was like rolling through a river. It was so cool and crazy and fun! The air was warm enough too so we stayed pretty warm until the end of the ride when we were really soaked through to the bone. I didn’t think our shoes would dry before the race but they did…barely.

The playfulness of the weekend made me very happy and reminded me why I enjoy this endeavor so much; people, laughter and accomplishment.

My race was pretty weird and as I write this I can say I am about 90% over my disappointment of the outcome. The day before the race we went to the venue to check out the water, check our bikes and check out the people…lots of checking. The water was really muddy and seemed to be meandering in every direction. The guys who were clearing rocks from the ramp out of the water explained to us that the river only really flows when the Corp of Engineers in Birmingham have to release water because of too much rain water. They assured us that there would be no issue on race morning and if anything the city might release water in the afternoon but that we would have nothing to worry about. If I could find these two fine gentlemen today I would share with them my thoughts on “dingy water”, “gator snakes”, and water flow! They told us the water was not too bad, only “DINGEY” and that it wouldn’t be flowing. Oh how wrong they were. It had rained the previous 5 days and apparently the Corp of Engineers in Birmingham thought it best to release the water early Saturday morning…shortly before the first wave of triathletes hit the water. OMG!!! The first few waves were all the athletes over the age of 50. I was down on the dock near the finish watching as each man and woman was engaged in their own personal hell trying to stroke through the current that was now flowing quickly away from the ramp out of the water. As we watched from the dock we could see swimmers absolutely dead in the water…going nowhere and clearly pulling as hard as they could. The first guy out of the water usually does the 1500 in 21 minutes or so and it took him 32 minutes…holy crap. This made me equal parts ill and amused. The swim has always been the bane of my triathlete efforts at nationals and it appeared it was going to challenge me again. My wave was the last in the water so we jumped off the dock and we were immediately swept back into the dock due to the strength of the current. It wasn’t funny and I knew I was going to work my butt off to get through this. I wasn’t nervous or upset though…amusement was all I could muster. I hit the first buoy and turned and felt OK although I had to work hard not to get pushed down stream and then I turned the buoy to head back upstream and there I stayed…and stayed and stayed. If I swam that hard in a pool or steady water I would likely have had the swim of my life! J I was too far out in the current but couldn’t seem to get close enough to the bank without panicking that I was getting too far off course. So there I was…pulling my guts out. Literally using every ounce of energy I had to hold my position let alone move ahead. There was this beautiful brown home on the shore that I was able to really assess as I think I was in front of it for 15 minutes…and my swim time would tell you I am not kidding. I was swimming through terrible carnage of swimmers being pulled out and holding onto boats in order to rest and be pulled out. I met a woman in the airport this morning who took 3 HOURS to finish the swim and she finished the race! Talk about tenacity! I managed to get out of the water in just under an hour. It was demoralizing beyond anything I have felt in a race in a very long time. When I got up to my bike there were only 3 left on the rack…OMG!!! At that moment I assumed I was way out of the running and quitting ran through my head but I remembered a conversation I was having with Tyler about how the Pros quit if they can’t place and I agreed with him that I thought that was lame and they should finish the race unless they are hurt. I clearly was exhausted but not hurt so I grabbed GoGo and dragged my butt out to the bike start. As soon as I hit the course I realized I was going to be one of the last “racers” on the bike course. Not only were we the last wave but I was one of the last racers in my wave. The first loop on the bike course was a real mental struggle. I never really thought about quitting but I never felt like I was in the game so it was hard to muster any energy to race. I managed to pass 2 gals in my age group on the ride but it didn’t really pump me up. Not until I rolled into T2 did I decide that I was going to finish the race at 1000% no matter what. I had nothing to lose and I hope to find some people on the run course to draw a little energy from. As I left T2 I felt my legs twitch as if they had just been waiting for this all day. I had been visualizing the run for weeks; I close my eyes and listen to my feet strike the pavement. I have a cadence I have to keep and I can hear it and feel it. When I hit the road I relaxed my upper body (as it was so tired from the swim) and relaxed my hips and just started to sing in my head to the beat of the cadence I needed to keep. The greatest discovery of the day for me was that I can be completely exhausted in my uppers and core and if I focus I can keep my legs churning beneath me without acknowledging the pain…no limits. The 3 steep short hills on the course played to my strengths and I found a few women in my age group that I could take over and stay ahead of them. It was the first race I recall looking behind me to see if “anyone was making a move” and they weren’t; I never saw any of them again. I just kept churning past people. I knew that this run was going to be the highlight of my race and I was not going to give it up to me or anyone else. When I turned the corner and could see the finish line I had to swallow hard because I knew I was one of the last people to cross the line and that few of my friends had stayed to watch me finish! Thank goodness for Tyler, Priscilla and Barry! They were right there at the line hooting and hollering for me and I felt great. Thanks you guys!

The day turned out to be a great success for everyone; either because of effort, results or both! Michelle Ford made us all so proud by making 5^th place and the podium! Kirk, Lori and Susan also made the podium with great races! The rest of the gang, Steve, Tony, Tyler, Barry, Sonja, Mike and Cory all had awesome races in spite of the “raging river!” It looks like a group of us will be heading to Budapest September 2010! CONGRATS TO EVERYONE!

The Dreamland BBQ celebration was really fun however you would think we would have learned by now…we are always pooped after the awards ceremony and we never make it out on the town after dinner! We hardly made it back to the room before passing out!

2009 Nationals was one of the best experiences of my life…brutal swim that I finished and a run that I never thought I would see! I never thought I would see a 10K race time with a 6 as the first number in my pace! YAHOOOOO!!! There will be another chance to “run the river” again next year and I promise I will be ready!