You Have To Start Sometime...

After much procrastination, I feel it is time to start my blogging career. So here goes…

I am actually on a mini break right now, after a slight melt down at my 9th triathlon of the year (4 of which were 70.3’s) in Minneapolis. I figure it’s time to give my body a little rest. I have been racing consistently quite well all year, and while nobody ever likes to race poorly I figure I can cop this one on the chin. Actually sometimes I think it can be a good thing to have a bad race - it really forces you to stop and rethink what you are doing, what your priorities are and gets you fired up to get back on top of things. My original plan was to race Minneapolis then NYC tri and Newfoundland 70.3 three weekends in a row, but after waking up on Saturday and dragging myself through Minneapolis – I realize I may have taken on a little more that I can chew… Definitely a sign that it is time to have a break!! So super coach Siri and I have decided to give NY a miss, take 5 days off and refocus on the major goal of the year…Defending my world title!!!! I am still going to race Newfoundland 70.3 but it will really just mark the start of a good solid training block. Now is the time to really knuckle down and get back into some solid training.

It’s now day 5 of my mini break, and I feel rested & ready to get stuck back into it. The last few days have consisted of a lot of sleeping & eating as well as some quality time on the couch with the odd visit to a café or restaurant to hang out with some friends… It’s such a beautiful time of year in Boulder & it’s nice to be able to stop training for a bit & really just enjoy!

Buffalo Springs Race Report

Among OTHER reasons I choose to race Buffalo Springs because it is one of the tougher 70.3’s on the circuit. This year I think it was a little harder than usual though. We didn’t have the usual Texas heat to deal with but instead copped some pretty strong winds and slick wet roads from the rain that decided to fall mid way through the bike course. This is my 2nd time racing Buffalo - last year I finished 2nd to Natascha Badmann. I was SO close to winning that race – I was 5 mins down off the bike and really went after it on the run, I came to within 100m of Natascha with 2 miles to go. Game over for her right!!! WRONG!!! Unfortunately at that point I had used up so much energy trying to catch up that I really had nothing left to finish the race. Instead, I had to watch as Natascha pulled away for the win and I was lucky just to get to that damn finish before my legs completely packed it in.

I made the decision that day to come back to Lubbock for a rematch, unfortunately Natascha is still recovering from her big crash in Kona. We all wish her well and hope to see her smiling face around the races next year, plus I want to try and beat this living legend before she retires! So instead, I was faced with some other very tough competition in Joanna Zeiger and Joanna Lawn – two kick ass triathletes who need no introduction.

On race morning I was excited to pull on my new custom zoot uni and was fired up and ready for a good fight. I was 2+ minutes down on Zeiger - the superfish, out of the water and had my work cut out for me. My legs were feeling pretty good though, and I was able to catch up to Zeiger and take the lead at around mile 30…. Only to be passed by Jo Lawn a few miles later. I hung tough though and came into transition not too far behind Jo Lawn. With a speedy transition I was able to take the lead quite early in on the run and fortunately held it right to the finish!! I am very happy with where I am at this stage of the season – I really wanted to put together a good performance in Buffalo and feel like I am on track to another great race at the 70.3 world champs in November. Next up is Minneapolis and New York - the first two races in the Lifetime Fitness Series - then Newfoundland 70.3. Three weeks in a row of fun filled adventure… Love it!