After Kelowna, I had some areas to focus on, and my coach and I incorporated them into my training regime. I was feeling good from hard training, generally tired all the time, but seeing fitness gains week to week. Honestly, I felt like I was in the best shape I had been in awhile going into the weekend.
I flew in on Wednesday and visited with my Grandma who is going through chemo right now. That was hard...a lot harder than I expected. I went for a run in Rhode Island along the beach after seeing her and really struggled to grasp the whole situation. Even though we were only visiting for a few hours, I had such a great time and was really glad I got to see her.
On Thursday I went for a ride with my Dad on his birthday which was tons of fun. We rode through the beautiful green (hilly!) countryside and I resisted the urge to chase him down as he tried to race me. I knew that I needed to rest as much as possible, and as fun as racing my Dad on a bike would have been, it could wait for a time when I didn't have a big race approaching. I was really impressed with how well my Dad was riding, and he just started a couple of months ago! I am excited that we can go do that together now when I come home or when he visits Colorado. After our ride I went for a swim at a country club near our house and even though the water was freezing, I felt great and was excited to hit the road for the weekend.
I picked the twins up from school early and we hit the road around 2:30 p.m. for Buffalo. The car ride was cramped and long, but there were lots of laughs and great conversations between my parents and little sisters. We got to Buffalo around 10 p.m. on Thursday and my parents dropped me at the race hotel where Chris had already checked in, and then they headed to Canada to Niagara Falls where they stayed for the weekend.
On Friday, Chris and I headed down to the race site with Flora Duffy late morning and did a little swim- bike-run action on the course. The water was surprisingly warm compared to last year, so I was hoping it would end up being a non wetsuit swim. After our pre race prep, we headed back to the hotel, relaxed, grabbed lunch and went to the race briefing. We met up with my parents and sisters later for a nice Italian dinner and then went to bed (or tried to!) to the sound of a mariachi band in downtown Buffalo.
Race morning I woke up still feeling tired, but took a warm shower, ate breakfast and started to wake up. I finally had a cup of a coffee after trying to not have caffeine for a couple of weeks before the race. I never really felt the caffeine boost, but oh well. I headed down to the race site at 10 a.m. with Flora for a 12 o'clock start. I did my bike warm up on the course, got transition ready, checked in, did my run warm up and before I knew it, it was time to get in the water for my swim warm up. I saw my parents and little sisters right before I went in the water and got some hugs and good lucks from them. I was really nervous for this race, mainly because training had been going so well and I hoped things would reflect my hard work. We all know that this isn't always the case, but I was extremely optimistic while heading out to the pontoon, and was ready to go.
Swim: (The Good) I had a pretty good start in the swim, tried to find some clear water and by the first buoy I was able to pass a few people and move towards the front. About 2/3 through the first lap I could see that two swimmers were already out in front and I assumed they were Flora and Sarah. After that there were 4 or 5 girls in front of me as we approached the end of the first lap. I was dangling off the back of this group and after entering the water for the second loop, the speed picked up quite a bit. I kept thinking "speed change, speed change," something we work on a lot with our swim group, and I was able to latch on to this group and settle back in as the second lap progressed. By the time we exited the water for T1 I was still at the back of the group and really hustled on the run into transition. I grabbed my helmet and my bike and I was off!
Bike: (The Bad) Almost instantly the bike pace was hard. There were a few girls riding solo and then eventually we came together to form a pack of 7. Shortly thereafter we caught another athlete to make the pack 8. My legs weren't feeling particularly great like they had during my warm up and the days prior (I hate when this happens!) and I knew the girls in my group were all strong riders. I did my best to pull through and work with the girls, but I was really struggling to stay in the group. I kept telling myself to hold on for a few more minutes and then the pace would settle, and it would. One girl dropped off after a few laps and when attacks kept firing I did my best to just hang on. After four laps of the bike I realized I hadn't eaten or drank anything because I was so focused on trying to stay in the group-- bad news! And then on lap 6 I was dropped from the group. :( For the remaining two laps I rode solo in my aero bars as hard as I could, but lost time on the group and the 2nd chase pack behind was gaining on me. The wind on the course was brutal, especially when you can't hide from it by being in a group. I was really bummed at this point but tried to remain positive and keep fighting. Entering T2 my legs were shot from the hard effort to stay in the group, and the solo effort once I got dropped. It was a much harder bike than FISU and Kelowna had been for me.
Run: (The Really Ugly) I entered T2 ahead of the 2nd chase pack, but they were only 20-30 seconds behind me. The guy directing the dismount line never told me where to dismount so I ended up coming off my bike at the end of the carpet in transition instead of on the road; penalty. After the first lap of the run I served my penalty. I went into the penalty box and the woman handling penalties waited about 10 seconds before even starting the time (15 seconds). I was so disappointed at this point as people went running by me. Once I went off again my legs actually felt better for a couple minutes, but then my feet started aching. The combination of not hydrating or eating on the bike, with destroyed legs, a penalty and excruciating pain in my feet made for an embarrassingly slow run. My entire family was supporting me every step of the way, and I kept fighting because I just don't believe in pulling out of a race because things are going horribly wrong.
At the end of the day, I was really disappointed and confused at why my race wasn't the slightest reflection of my work in training. I guess sometimes races just aren't. And then when you have the days where everything comes together, it makes you appreciate them even more. I know more days like that are down the road for me, I just need to keep working hard and having fun. I am planning on meeting with my coach this week to discuss the rest of the season and goals for 2013.
After the race I got to cheer Chris on in the men's race. He had a good race and ended up 20th overall. I think we both would have loved to have better days, but we kept fighting and that's all that matters. We headed up to Niagara Falls that night with my older sister and her boyfriend Charlie, my little sisters and my parents. We celebrated my Dad's birthday, parent's anniversary, and the joy of being all together with a nice meal overlooking the falls. Some much needed ice cream finished off the day, and we were off to bed.
On Sunday, Chris and I didn't have to leave town until 6 p.m. so we had a delicious buffet at the hotel and then went on a boat tour in the morning. This was the most fun I have had in several years. Charlie, Emily, Hannah, Scarlet, Chris and I all sat in the front row and got DRENCHED by class 5 and 6 rapids in the Niagara Falls. My parents were in the second row and still looked like they went swimming at the end of the ride. It was so crazy and it was perfect for getting my mind off a disappointing race. Check out the video below of our ride!
After our amazing ride down the rapids we packed up our things, had lunch together and then said our goodbyes. It was such a great weekend and I was really happy to have my loving family there to support me and cheer me up after disappointment. They have always been there for me and that is truly something special. My parents dropped us off at the Buffalo airport on their way back to Connecticut and we were on our way back to Colorado.
I am not sure what the rest of 2012 holds for me, but I am looking forward to setting up some long term goals and working towards them for 2013 and beyond. My new coach and training group has been a great transition for me, and I think with some more time things will really pay off.
A big thanks to my supporters- Off the Front Multisport, Chobani Yogurt, Rudy Project and Endurance Shield. Also, thanks to our team director Stephen Wright and teammate Katie Hursey for driving up to Buffalo and cheering me on. It was great to have you both out there, especially when things got rough. Thank you to my Apex teammates and coach Grant Holicky in Boulder. And last, but certainly not least, a huge thanks to my family for encouraging me every step of the way, taking photos and loving me through thick and thin.
I had a great trip east with my family and checked Niagara Falls off the bucket list. I came home with a smiling face because I will never let a race get me down. Life is too damn short!
Keep on fighting!
Jessica
I flew in on Wednesday and visited with my Grandma who is going through chemo right now. That was hard...a lot harder than I expected. I went for a run in Rhode Island along the beach after seeing her and really struggled to grasp the whole situation. Even though we were only visiting for a few hours, I had such a great time and was really glad I got to see her.
On Thursday I went for a ride with my Dad on his birthday which was tons of fun. We rode through the beautiful green (hilly!) countryside and I resisted the urge to chase him down as he tried to race me. I knew that I needed to rest as much as possible, and as fun as racing my Dad on a bike would have been, it could wait for a time when I didn't have a big race approaching. I was really impressed with how well my Dad was riding, and he just started a couple of months ago! I am excited that we can go do that together now when I come home or when he visits Colorado. After our ride I went for a swim at a country club near our house and even though the water was freezing, I felt great and was excited to hit the road for the weekend.
I picked the twins up from school early and we hit the road around 2:30 p.m. for Buffalo. The car ride was cramped and long, but there were lots of laughs and great conversations between my parents and little sisters. We got to Buffalo around 10 p.m. on Thursday and my parents dropped me at the race hotel where Chris had already checked in, and then they headed to Canada to Niagara Falls where they stayed for the weekend.
On Friday, Chris and I headed down to the race site with Flora Duffy late morning and did a little swim- bike-run action on the course. The water was surprisingly warm compared to last year, so I was hoping it would end up being a non wetsuit swim. After our pre race prep, we headed back to the hotel, relaxed, grabbed lunch and went to the race briefing. We met up with my parents and sisters later for a nice Italian dinner and then went to bed (or tried to!) to the sound of a mariachi band in downtown Buffalo.
Race morning I woke up still feeling tired, but took a warm shower, ate breakfast and started to wake up. I finally had a cup of a coffee after trying to not have caffeine for a couple of weeks before the race. I never really felt the caffeine boost, but oh well. I headed down to the race site at 10 a.m. with Flora for a 12 o'clock start. I did my bike warm up on the course, got transition ready, checked in, did my run warm up and before I knew it, it was time to get in the water for my swim warm up. I saw my parents and little sisters right before I went in the water and got some hugs and good lucks from them. I was really nervous for this race, mainly because training had been going so well and I hoped things would reflect my hard work. We all know that this isn't always the case, but I was extremely optimistic while heading out to the pontoon, and was ready to go.
Swim: (The Good) I had a pretty good start in the swim, tried to find some clear water and by the first buoy I was able to pass a few people and move towards the front. About 2/3 through the first lap I could see that two swimmers were already out in front and I assumed they were Flora and Sarah. After that there were 4 or 5 girls in front of me as we approached the end of the first lap. I was dangling off the back of this group and after entering the water for the second loop, the speed picked up quite a bit. I kept thinking "speed change, speed change," something we work on a lot with our swim group, and I was able to latch on to this group and settle back in as the second lap progressed. By the time we exited the water for T1 I was still at the back of the group and really hustled on the run into transition. I grabbed my helmet and my bike and I was off!
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| Before the swim. Chilly! |
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| Headed to T1. |
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| With my mom before the start. Nervous but excited. |
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| On the bike just out of transition. |
Run: (The Really Ugly) I entered T2 ahead of the 2nd chase pack, but they were only 20-30 seconds behind me. The guy directing the dismount line never told me where to dismount so I ended up coming off my bike at the end of the carpet in transition instead of on the road; penalty. After the first lap of the run I served my penalty. I went into the penalty box and the woman handling penalties waited about 10 seconds before even starting the time (15 seconds). I was so disappointed at this point as people went running by me. Once I went off again my legs actually felt better for a couple minutes, but then my feet started aching. The combination of not hydrating or eating on the bike, with destroyed legs, a penalty and excruciating pain in my feet made for an embarrassingly slow run. My entire family was supporting me every step of the way, and I kept fighting because I just don't believe in pulling out of a race because things are going horribly wrong.
 |
| Fighting through the run. |
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| Approaching the finish. |
After the race I got to cheer Chris on in the men's race. He had a good race and ended up 20th overall. I think we both would have loved to have better days, but we kept fighting and that's all that matters. We headed up to Niagara Falls that night with my older sister and her boyfriend Charlie, my little sisters and my parents. We celebrated my Dad's birthday, parent's anniversary, and the joy of being all together with a nice meal overlooking the falls. Some much needed ice cream finished off the day, and we were off to bed.
On Sunday, Chris and I didn't have to leave town until 6 p.m. so we had a delicious buffet at the hotel and then went on a boat tour in the morning. This was the most fun I have had in several years. Charlie, Emily, Hannah, Scarlet, Chris and I all sat in the front row and got DRENCHED by class 5 and 6 rapids in the Niagara Falls. My parents were in the second row and still looked like they went swimming at the end of the ride. It was so crazy and it was perfect for getting my mind off a disappointing race. Check out the video below of our ride!
After our amazing ride down the rapids we packed up our things, had lunch together and then said our goodbyes. It was such a great weekend and I was really happy to have my loving family there to support me and cheer me up after disappointment. They have always been there for me and that is truly something special. My parents dropped us off at the Buffalo airport on their way back to Connecticut and we were on our way back to Colorado.
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On the boat tour. One of the craziest things I have ever done.
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I am not sure what the rest of 2012 holds for me, but I am looking forward to setting up some long term goals and working towards them for 2013 and beyond. My new coach and training group has been a great transition for me, and I think with some more time things will really pay off.
A big thanks to my supporters- Off the Front Multisport, Chobani Yogurt, Rudy Project and Endurance Shield. Also, thanks to our team director Stephen Wright and teammate Katie Hursey for driving up to Buffalo and cheering me on. It was great to have you both out there, especially when things got rough. Thank you to my Apex teammates and coach Grant Holicky in Boulder. And last, but certainly not least, a huge thanks to my family for encouraging me every step of the way, taking photos and loving me through thick and thin.
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| The family. Smiling ear to ear before getting drenched! |
I had a great trip east with my family and checked Niagara Falls off the bucket list. I came home with a smiling face because I will never let a race get me down. Life is too damn short!
Keep on fighting!
Jessica
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