Strawberry Fields Junior Elite Cup 2009

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Before my next race happens this weekend (Junior Elite Nationals in Colorado Springs on August 8th), I thought I would talk a bit about my most recent race in California. This was a big race for me in my 2009 season because it was a chance to qualify for Junior Elite Worlds in Australia, which will be in September. I missed my chance to make the team at the Pan American Championships in Oklahoma City mid May, as they were only giving away one slot and I was not the top American across the line. After that race, I got right back into training hard and smart, in preparation for this race with the hopes of getting one of the other two slots up for grabs.

 Leading up to the race, I started getting more and more nervous anticipating a very strong field of Junior females, all prepared to put everything on the line to make the Junior Worlds Team. I raced in Strawberry Fields last year, but the field was much smaller. It was just a junior draft legal race that I went to in 2008 to gain more experience. This year was MUCH different. However, I was excited to race at a venue I had already been at once before, and compete against the top Juniors in the nation. 

The swim: First things first, we swam with DOLPHINS! It was by far the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. When we were warming up, we saw them swimming around. But, when we were actually racing, they swam right under the front pack of women. Pretty cool! I came out of the water with a pack of about 6-7 girls and we left T1 all together. The swim went well, water was not too rough, just interesting timing the waves and an adventure body surfing.

The bike: The group of 7 or so of us stayed together for the 4 lap bike course. It was nice to see a pack of that size forming in a junior race, because usually the fields are so small that it isn't the greatest draft experience. However, we had seven of us working pretty well together and held off the rest of the field. Nothing extremely exciting happened on the bike, except for a few random breakaways. However, the pack always regrouped after these.

The run: Going into T2, i was in the position that my coach always tells me NOT to be in. I had just pulled in front of the pack and rotated to the back and dismounted 8/8 girls in our group. So, I left T2 in 8th and heard the announcer say " we have a group of the nation's top junior athletes heading out to battle it out for the podium." It was at this point that I told myself the first mile of the run was the most important and I had to go HARD. So, I put the hammer down and my legs went with me. I ran past the field and finished with a run split of  18:47, an okay time ( I still want to be faster!) and an overall time of 1:04. I was happy to see that my hard work on the run was paying off.

Now, with a slot for Junior Elite Worlds, which will be in Australia in September, I am excited to represent the United States and compete against the best juniors in the WORLD!

Overall it was an extremely fun trip. I got to hang out with the Vortex Junior Elite Triathlon Team, which I am a part of as much as I can be (not being on the east coast anymore makes it hard.) We spent some time relaxing on the beach post race, and celebrated Steve Wright's birthday that night at a sketchy, but really yummy Mexican restaurant followed by WAY too much ice cream. I ate more ice cream than Jake Shoemaker, which is a huge accomplishment.  However, I must admit,  ice cream never tasted better.

Wish me luck this weekend! Can't wait to go hard again..and this time, on home ground.

Jess Broderick