Kelowna Race Report

This weekend I raced for the third time in a row in Kelowna, Canada and had my highest finish yet. Two years ago I was 9th, last year I finished 10th, and this year I placed 6th. This is one of my favorite races and overall, I am pretty happy with the result and have some key areas to focus on for the next few weeks before Elite Nats.

Chris and I traveled to Kelowna on Friday morning and arrived with about an hour to spare before the race meeting on Friday night at 5. We had time to build our bikes up and rode rown to Propsera place for the race briefing. The race meeting was pretty low key and the course was exactly the same as past years, so I was stress free in this regard. After a long day of travel, we had dinner at the Spaghetti Factory and got to bed early.

On Saturday I went for a run in the morning, then swam at the race site after lunch and rode a couple loops of the course after that. I felt smooth and strong during my pre-race prep on Saturday, and I finally felt like soreness from hard workouts earlier in the week was gone. It was time to race!

Sunday morning I woke up around 7 am, had oatmeal, a bagel with peanut butter and some coffee. I relaxed and packed my race gear and headed to the race site around 9 am for an 1130 am start. I did my bike and run warm up, got checked in, set up transition, then sat in the shade and listened to some music.

I thought about my training and how much progress I have made since earlier this year, and I thought about all my supporters- my family, my coach, teammates, my friends and my amazing sponsors. I was very excited and anxious to see where I was at.

I headed down to the swim start around 10:45 a.m. to do my swim warm up and get ready. The water felt cold at first, but comfortable after a couple hundred meters of swimming. I swam for about 15 mins then finished my gel and had some water. We lined up at 11:25 and then we were off!

Swim: The first 400 meters of the swim are always crazy, so I tried to stay relaxed and site my way towards the front. After the first buoy I could see the front few swimmers, and the pace settled. I was towards the front 5 or 6 girls, and maintained this position on the second lap. Exiting the water after the second lap and starting the run up to t1 was a crucial point of the race for me. The past two years I have missed the front group by having a horrible t1 and just losing the back of the group. I ran as hard as I could, put my helmet on, grabbed my bike and rode off. I latched onto the main group shortly after and was really pleased to be in this position.

Getting lined up before the start of the swim. Beautiful scenery. 

Bike: Our group of 9 was relatively organized and we maintained our lead over the other racers. The hill every lap caused a heart rate spike, but besides that I felt strong and worked well with the group. As we headed into t2 I was hoping my legs would show up for the run!

Our bike back climbing Knox mountain. 

Run: I felt great headed out of transition. I had a pretty good transition and was focusing on fast feet, staying smooth and relaxed, and hydrating. It was getting hot by this point in the race, so I dumped some water over my head and on my chest to cool down, then drank small sips at the water stations. I was really excited on the first lap to be running in second place and my legs felt great. However, half way through the second lap, things changed rapidly! I may have gone out a bit too hard on the first lap and started paying for it in the second 5k of the run. I fell to 3rd, then was passed by 3 girls from the pack behind us on the last lap of the run. I tried to maintain form and focus on fighting through the pain in the moment. I always try to stay completely in the moment because things change so quickly during races. Unfortunately, my legs never came around, but I was happy with my effort and pleased with my result. I feel like I put together a strong race and now I know the areas that need improvement moving forward. I was really happy to put myself in the race by being in the front pack in the swim and bike, and now I can focus on what may have lead to the issues I faced on the run.

My home stay mom from the past two years captured this one on the run. Thanks Polly!

After the race I got to watch Chris and cheer him on. He had a great race in hot conditions and finished 13th. Our Americans guys did well against some strong Canadian athletes. That night Chris and I visited with my home stay family from the past two years. Polly and Don Drummond are some of the nicest people I know, and I was so glad to see them cheering me on during the race and pleased to spend more time with them before we went back to the states. We went to a delicious ice cream place down by the water, which was the perfect way to end a great day of racing!

Thank you to my sponsors- Off The Front Multisport, Chobani Yogurt, Rudy Project and Endurance Shield. Also thanks to my coach Grant Holicky and the Apex coaching crew for pushing me daily in training and keeping things fun. Lastly, thanks to my family and friends who are always supporting me and encouraging me to chase my dreams! I have decided to focus all my energy towards Elite Nationals in a month, and with school starting on Monday I will unfortunately not be going to Chicago. It is a busy time of the year and I want to be organized and ready to go for my last semester of college.

Good luck to everyone with the rest of your race seasons!

Jessica