I thought I was going to sleep like a baby after racing and then driving 6 hours home with my Mom back to CT, but I was wrong. I tossed and turned with a lot on my mind after having a race I am truly proud of.
This season has not been the smoothest journey, but through my wavering health issues, mental setbacks after bad races, and trying to just get fit again, I have been extremely patient.
I started working with a new coach, Joanna Zeiger, in May this year and she has taught me a great deal as an athlete and a person. In general, she made me put the brakes on and really get in a good place mentally before taking on the physical challenges in training and racing. I have never trusted in a coach and truly believed in a plan like I do now.
It certainly wasn't easy having to rebuild very gradually, see very small fitness gains, and ultimately, not race much because I just wasn't ready to toe the line. However, to see how far I have come since May is truly remarkable, and most importantly, I am having fun racing again and getting stronger each week.
At this point, I am not sure what the rest of 2011 holds for triathlon, but I am really looking forward to what lays ahead. I may be racing Myrtle Beach depending on my recovery from Elite Nationals and logistics with school.
In regards to my race weekend...
I flew home on Wednesday night into Hartford, CT and spent the night at home. The next day, my mom and I were planning on leaving in the morning to make the drive up to Buffalo, but my cracked derailleur hanger delayed our departure. I received my new 2011 Orca about a month ago from the Timex team (You guys rock!) and I absolutely love it. I was really upset to see a cracked part after traveling home, but the real challenge was in finding the exact derailleur hanger to replace the broken piece. Because the bike is a brand new model, the derailleur hanger is too, brand spanking new. After a couple dozen phone calls to various bike shops between Middlebury, CT and Buffalo, we found a shop that used to be an Orbea dealer a few miles from our hotel in New York. They overnighted the piece and I got everything situated on Friday late morning. The bike shop in Buffalo called "Handlebars" took such good care of me and got my bike all set for Saturday.
I really enjoyed the time in Buffalo prior to the race- my mom and I found some great restaurants, spent a lot of time catching up and chatting, and it was nice to take a break from classes and schoolwork. I was surprisingly relaxed in the days leading up to the race, and even on race morning. After having a solid race in Kelowna, and some good training in the month after the race leading into Elite Nationals, I was confident that I could have a good race. Plus, having my family on the sidelines makes the experience extra special, and pushes me to race my best.
Race morning I woke up feeling somewhat rested, but I never sleep that well the night before. I ran through my usual routine- shower, pack my race bag, get my bike ready, breakfast, re-check race bag and bike etc. We left the hotel around 9 AM, and arrived at the race site for check in. I did my bike warm up, run warm up and then took my yummy Espresso gel, a few swigs of cytomax and got into my wetsuit. Before I knew it, I was on the pontoon, about to dive off for the start of the 2011 Elite National Championships.
The swim: Fortunately, the swim wasn't that rough physically amongst the other athletes. Unfortunately, I felt pretty horrible on the swim and it took me about 3/4 of the first lap to really feel warmed up. I was in a small group coming out of the water after the first loop and ended up staying with them throughout the second lap and into transition. Frustrated with how bad I felt in the water, I shrugged it off, stayed in the moment, and focused on having a good transition and staying with the group. This seems to be something I am usually not that successful at!
The Bike: I managed to get into a group of four that worked pretty well together, and we reeled in a few other groups of three and two riders, and eventually became a pack of about fifteen girls. The only two in front of us at this point were Laura Bennett and Helen Jenkins. The dominance of these two athletes caused a lot of girls to get lapped out on the bike portion of the race. Our group was not organized at all, and pretty much just riding along. With two laps to go, there was a really bad crash causing four or five girls to go down- I just missed it by the skin of my teeth. Pretty scary stuff! Coming into T2, we were a group of eight.
The Run: I was pretty conservative at the start of the run, and felt stronger and stronger as it went on. I really enjoyed the run course because I had people supporting me each step of the way. My mom was on one corner, Stephen Wright was on another, and Emily and Charlie were in the area where we came through each time near transition. I mentally took the run one chunk at a time, looking forward to hearing a familiar voice and getting support. The run portion of the race taught me a lot about how I can approach my next race. Now, I probably am closer to having the fitness to attack the run from the start and not explode halfway through (what happened in Kelowna!) I felt like I could keep building with each lap of the race, and instead of crawling over the finish line I was charging and running strong. I gave it everything I had and finished 8th overall, 6th American.
Approaching the race, I told myself I would be really pleased with another top 10 at Elite Nationals. I got 10th place the past two years, but the start list had a lot of talent this year and I knew the competition would require a great race to be in the top 10. Even more important, I feel like each race back this season I feel stronger for longer. In Monroe, I fell apart after the swim (brutal day!), in Kelowna, I felt great until the last half of the run, and in Buffalo, I felt strongest at the end of the run. This shows me that all the hard work is paying off and my fitness is coming around!
Seeing my family was great! Usually I go from August through to Thanksgiving time without seeing them, so this trip split that chunk of time in half. Now, only another 8 weeks until I am home for break.
2011 hasn't been a season filled with incredible performances, but it has been a season filled with incredible improvements. From where I was at, to where I am now is huge for me! I went from being in a hospital bed in April, to a top 10 finish at Elite Nationals in September, with several hurdles in between. I can't be anything but satisfied.
Jessica
