I'm a little thrown off because my entire blog page format changed on me over the weekend - talk about a rude awakening. I've been blogging in the same format for 6 years and now you change on me!? Come on, Google, I thought I knew you.
Come to think of it I'm a little thrown off on everything today. I got in last night from my trip to Alabama around 2 am and was up at 7:30 for my full day of class - God didn't rest on Monday and neither did I! I didn't even get to shower until this afternoon (Sincere apologies to those who had to be near me today - I wasn't reeking by choice.)
But let's stop complaining...this weekend was nothing short was absolutely, positively, fantastical. From start to finish I had an absolute blast despite having little bouts of stress/anxiety about racing, which comes with the territory.
Let's start from the beginning.
I didn't finish packing until around midnight the night before we left at 3:00 am. Not the best method but I was busy with running, laundry, last minute homework, bike packing that I just didn't get around to it. Eventually I was able to calm my nerves enough to stuff a couple t-shirts and several pairs of spandex into a bag and triple check my pack list. Of course I sprang out of bed about every ten minutes when I remember something else to pack. Good thing Iz wasn't here, she would've flipped out at how excited I was. When my alarm went off at 2:45 in the morning I literally bounded out of bed like a kid on Christmas. It's finally here!!!
Everyone met up and we were off in about ten minutes - it's amazing how fast you can get to the airport at 3 am, there were no cars out!
We got the airport and had all 12 of our bike boxes ripped apart by airport security and promptly thrown down the conveyer belt to be tossed under the plane. This is after we got several bizarre looks from people. We looked pretty ridiculous in our 'suns out guns out' tank tops, sunglasses, and huge bike boxes.
Despite my best efforts to be extra friendly and full of extra smiles...much to my dismay TSA ignored my desperate pleas of "FRAGILE! THANK YOU!" written all over my cardboard bike box. I even drew little triathletes on it! They promptly chucked my bike onto the convayer belt. Good thing it's insured!
I'm in the process of purchasing a THULE bike box now - I can't go through watching them toss around my gorgeous Specialized Tarmac like a ragdoll again. If I'm out on a bike ride and my bike falls in half, I know to blame Russell at the Boston Logan Airport- youuuu jerk.
Plane rides went as well as plane rides can go. We had lots of time in airports to run around and people watch and nap. I actually had a layover in STL and got to see my dad while there - which was awesome. It was weird being in the STL airport and not going home, I didn't like it. But I love being in the airport, it was nice to be somewhere so familiar. And we found various ways to entertain ourselves over the 3 hour layover.
We landed around 4:30 in the afternoon, got a caravan of mini vans (literally, 4 white mini vans) and took the hour long drive to Tuscaloosa. Of course I drove, I can't pass up the opportunity to drive! I love driving!
Alright so - 'bama! Loved it. Loved the weather, loved the people, loved the race. Our hotel was great - complete with milk and cookies at night and really helpful staff who put out breakfast a couple hours early for us so we could eat before the race. If you ever get the chance to stay the the Hilton in Tusacloosa East (Not sure why you would but you never know) do it - they're awesome people. I shared a room with Liv and Ali but the whole team had rooms next to each other. I love team slumber parties.
We all burned in the hot Alabama sun all through the first day of picking up race packets and testing out the course. While riding the bike course I got a flat tire :( Something literally sliced by tire in half, it was so weird. But thank God it happened on the test run and not race day, I would've thrown a FIT if I flatted at nationals again. But the guys at the bike shop were great and had me back up in running in minutes. They even gave me a discount for being friendly! Win!
The Tuscaloosa course was probably the best I've ever raced- except Mt. Desert Island marathon. But we're comparing apples and oranges with that. The swim was .9 mile in a river, so there was a little current but nothing to complain about. The water was clean and 71 degrees, which was perfect race temp. The bike was almost flat except 2 hills. It was a 2 loop course and extremely fast. The run was pretty hilly - with 1 HUGE hill in the very beginning which killed my legs. But after the first 3 miles it was all flat. I loved that there were so many turn arounds and areas where the course went by transition - the people cheering really helped keep your legs moving.
The best part by far was coming around the corner and seeing the huge finish line with the fancy finish line chute. The best feeling in the world is kicking in that last 100m sprint and going all out for a dramatic finish (even though there was no one around me).
After I finished I felt like absolute crap, as per usual. I always feel so sick after races and I think it's because my heart can go a lot faster than my legs can so I push myself a little too hard, as do most triathletes. It took me a while to get back to equilibrium. But it was great finishing up and then watching the boys race!
I also loved that my parents were finally able to see me do what I do best. They've never seen me race a triathlon before and it was great to include them in something that means so much to me. I loved how they got so into it - my dad memorized the course before I did! It was so funny to hear them use race lingo like "transition" and "aid station" so awkwardly and watch them pull out all their maps and notes. My parents are the two most supportive people I've ever met and I'm so happy they loved watching the race. I absolutely loved having them there.
After we all raced we spent the whole afternoon showering, napping, and eating. We packed up bikes and stayed in the hotel until the next day- there really wasn't much else we were up for. I was so exhausted.
So then we hopped on a 3:00 flight the next day and left Alabama! I was so ready to leave Texas after the last nationals but I actually didn't want to leave Alabama...Kind of wish I were there now.
So that's that! An extremely successful nationals. I ended up with a time of 2:39 - which I was really proud of but there's always room for improvement. I wish I could have done 2:35, which is what I originally wanted and would have gotten if my 10k time was my normal speed. I'm not quite sure why I fell apart so hard during it...I'll have to look into that further for next race.
Total time: 2:39:44 Division Place: 106/330
Swim: 24:27
T1: 3:03
Bike: 1:18:44
T2: 1:15
Run: 52:16
Come to think of it I'm a little thrown off on everything today. I got in last night from my trip to Alabama around 2 am and was up at 7:30 for my full day of class - God didn't rest on Monday and neither did I! I didn't even get to shower until this afternoon (Sincere apologies to those who had to be near me today - I wasn't reeking by choice.)
But let's stop complaining...this weekend was nothing short was absolutely, positively, fantastical. From start to finish I had an absolute blast despite having little bouts of stress/anxiety about racing, which comes with the territory.
Let's start from the beginning.
I didn't finish packing until around midnight the night before we left at 3:00 am. Not the best method but I was busy with running, laundry, last minute homework, bike packing that I just didn't get around to it. Eventually I was able to calm my nerves enough to stuff a couple t-shirts and several pairs of spandex into a bag and triple check my pack list. Of course I sprang out of bed about every ten minutes when I remember something else to pack. Good thing Iz wasn't here, she would've flipped out at how excited I was. When my alarm went off at 2:45 in the morning I literally bounded out of bed like a kid on Christmas. It's finally here!!!
Everyone met up and we were off in about ten minutes - it's amazing how fast you can get to the airport at 3 am, there were no cars out!
We got the airport and had all 12 of our bike boxes ripped apart by airport security and promptly thrown down the conveyer belt to be tossed under the plane. This is after we got several bizarre looks from people. We looked pretty ridiculous in our 'suns out guns out' tank tops, sunglasses, and huge bike boxes.
Despite my best efforts to be extra friendly and full of extra smiles...much to my dismay TSA ignored my desperate pleas of "FRAGILE! THANK YOU!" written all over my cardboard bike box. I even drew little triathletes on it! They promptly chucked my bike onto the convayer belt. Good thing it's insured!
I'm in the process of purchasing a THULE bike box now - I can't go through watching them toss around my gorgeous Specialized Tarmac like a ragdoll again. If I'm out on a bike ride and my bike falls in half, I know to blame Russell at the Boston Logan Airport- youuuu jerk.
Plane rides went as well as plane rides can go. We had lots of time in airports to run around and people watch and nap. I actually had a layover in STL and got to see my dad while there - which was awesome. It was weird being in the STL airport and not going home, I didn't like it. But I love being in the airport, it was nice to be somewhere so familiar. And we found various ways to entertain ourselves over the 3 hour layover.
We landed around 4:30 in the afternoon, got a caravan of mini vans (literally, 4 white mini vans) and took the hour long drive to Tuscaloosa. Of course I drove, I can't pass up the opportunity to drive! I love driving!
Alright so - 'bama! Loved it. Loved the weather, loved the people, loved the race. Our hotel was great - complete with milk and cookies at night and really helpful staff who put out breakfast a couple hours early for us so we could eat before the race. If you ever get the chance to stay the the Hilton in Tusacloosa East (Not sure why you would but you never know) do it - they're awesome people. I shared a room with Liv and Ali but the whole team had rooms next to each other. I love team slumber parties.
We all burned in the hot Alabama sun all through the first day of picking up race packets and testing out the course. While riding the bike course I got a flat tire :( Something literally sliced by tire in half, it was so weird. But thank God it happened on the test run and not race day, I would've thrown a FIT if I flatted at nationals again. But the guys at the bike shop were great and had me back up in running in minutes. They even gave me a discount for being friendly! Win!
The Tuscaloosa course was probably the best I've ever raced- except Mt. Desert Island marathon. But we're comparing apples and oranges with that. The swim was .9 mile in a river, so there was a little current but nothing to complain about. The water was clean and 71 degrees, which was perfect race temp. The bike was almost flat except 2 hills. It was a 2 loop course and extremely fast. The run was pretty hilly - with 1 HUGE hill in the very beginning which killed my legs. But after the first 3 miles it was all flat. I loved that there were so many turn arounds and areas where the course went by transition - the people cheering really helped keep your legs moving.
The best part by far was coming around the corner and seeing the huge finish line with the fancy finish line chute. The best feeling in the world is kicking in that last 100m sprint and going all out for a dramatic finish (even though there was no one around me).
After I finished I felt like absolute crap, as per usual. I always feel so sick after races and I think it's because my heart can go a lot faster than my legs can so I push myself a little too hard, as do most triathletes. It took me a while to get back to equilibrium. But it was great finishing up and then watching the boys race!
I also loved that my parents were finally able to see me do what I do best. They've never seen me race a triathlon before and it was great to include them in something that means so much to me. I loved how they got so into it - my dad memorized the course before I did! It was so funny to hear them use race lingo like "transition" and "aid station" so awkwardly and watch them pull out all their maps and notes. My parents are the two most supportive people I've ever met and I'm so happy they loved watching the race. I absolutely loved having them there.
After we all raced we spent the whole afternoon showering, napping, and eating. We packed up bikes and stayed in the hotel until the next day- there really wasn't much else we were up for. I was so exhausted.
So then we hopped on a 3:00 flight the next day and left Alabama! I was so ready to leave Texas after the last nationals but I actually didn't want to leave Alabama...Kind of wish I were there now.
So that's that! An extremely successful nationals. I ended up with a time of 2:39 - which I was really proud of but there's always room for improvement. I wish I could have done 2:35, which is what I originally wanted and would have gotten if my 10k time was my normal speed. I'm not quite sure why I fell apart so hard during it...I'll have to look into that further for next race.
Total time: 2:39:44 Division Place: 106/330
Swim: 24:27
T1: 3:03
Bike: 1:18:44
T2: 1:15
Run: 52:16
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