An unexpected email...

Yesterday when I was traveling home from Kemah, I pulled out my phone and realized I had a new email. The subject was "Your Kemah finish line video." I instantly got excited to see the finish on video, and then felt disappointment when thinking about what happened shortly after. Video or not, it was the email itself that truly touched me. Having a complete stranger reach out to me and understand so well what I was going through is pretty incredible.

Matthew Murphy gave me permission to share the email.

Jessica,

I wanted to write you to provide you a moment that was a bright portion of your weekend.  I read your commentary on your blog, and I know that it is disappointing to you that you were disqualified not only emotionally but financially.  As someone that is a former professional athlete, I felt inclined to write you.  I felt that you "had" to write what you did, but it may not reflect how you really feel.  

I played golf from the time I was 6 years old until the day I was forced to retire from the pro tour at 28 because of injury. I took advantage of my talent and my career "in the moment" because it was the only life I had ever known.  When it was gone, I went through a huge depression because in an instant I lost the only identity I had ever known. I spent 2 years trying to find myself.  I want you to realize how blessed you are from today's modern technology and social media.  You will be able to show your children your career.  Sadly, I have very little pictures let alone video of my career. 

If I had a chance to do my career all over again, I would have done it so differently.  It is not always about the money or even the finishes as much as it is about competing with integrity and performing at your best while loving every second you are there.  I know that there are pressures on you to have results from your coaches and sponsors, but remember to carry the attitude of enjoying what you do and not letting your athletic career be "work".  The results will come in your favor because no matter what, we have the "drive" to train to be the best.

I was fortunate to find a new life outside of competitive sports. I also feel very fortunate that at 35 I got into triathlon even though I was never a swimmer, biker, or runner.  It is now my outlet to let my competitive juices flow for a good cause of raising awareness and providing help to families affected by birth defects similar to what my son was born with through the organization we founded www.shawnsanomaly.org.  I am fortunate to now see other athletes (both pro and age groupers) choose Shawn's Anomaly as their reason to race.  It really helps them put everything into perspective, and I am happy to just be a litte part of that. 

Please see the attached video of your finish!  I hope you have a great season. 

Sincerely,

Matthew Murphy

I can't thank Matthew enough for reaching out to me and giving me perspective on sport, and what matters most. This is something I love about triathlon- the people you meet along the way and the lessons you can learn from them. I am in communication now with him and plan to get involved with Shawn's Anomaly. Racing for a cause is something I have always wanted to do, and this seems like the perfect opportunity. 

Jessica

Kemah Tri

This weekend was a whirlwind of a trip. I made the decision to travel to Houston to race the Onurmark Kemah Triathlon, my first non draft race in over two years. After going to Florida to start my season early March, and being extremely disappointed with a bad result and a DNF (due to illness), I was eager to get back out racing. Since March, I have done a few crits and a TT in Boulder, and have thoroughly enjoyed racing bikes. I have seen fitness improvements across all three disciplines, and gained confidence from some great training sessions the past few weeks.

Kyle Leto and Kevin Collington both traveled from Boulder to Kemah to race, so it was nice to have friends and training partners to hang with. On Saturday the weather was okay, with just some light rain as we previewed the course late morning. There was a chance of thunderstorm and rain in the forecast, but the weather really seemed fine most of the day, and the thought of rain becoming an issue was not on my mind. Then, after an early dinner with Kevin, Kyle and Lauren and Barrett Brandon, we stepped outside and it was a torrential downpour with nasty thunder and lightning bolts. Our 50m dash to the car left us looking like we had just taken a shower. The rain continued to fall and we received emails that night explaining possible “Cancellation policies” from the race director. 

Race morning, 4 a.m. wake up (ouch!), breakfast routine, coffee, pack bag, receive email that bike is cancelled, boo.

Instead of sulking, I tried to remain optimistic, something that Grant always reminds me. “Focus on the positive, focus on the positive.” 

Everything was delayed a bit because of the change from a triathlon to an aquathlon. We put our racing shoes at the swim exit because there was a 3/4 mile run to t1 after the swim, and we basically would just be running through transition anyways. Our race belts were in transition, and I clipped mine around the bar on top of where my number was positioned (892). We got on the boat around 7 a.m. and started around 8.

It was a non wetsuit swim for the pros, which I was happy about. The water was pretty rough, and it was a small women's field so I ended up alone. I chose a line to shore that may not have been the best, as I was pretty far away from the buoys, but it seemed more realistic to me at the time because of the currents. 

Swim start.

I exited the swim and was in 2nd behind Lauren Brandon by a substantial amount, but felt good as I put my shoes on and started running towards transition. And then I reached the pro transition rack and my number was no where to be seen. I searched and searched, and after about a minute of waisting my time, I somehow assumed that since there was a race belt exactly where my number had been, that someone may have taken mine by accident. I thought "Oh well, not a big deal, I will just take theirs." That may sound silly, but we all know how we get when we race. Some things seem rational when maybe they aren't. Well, that turned out to be the reason I got DQed. But if I had run without a race number I would have been DQed as well. I am not completely familiar with non draft rules, so that is my own fault and I should make sure I learn them. However, my race belt was missing, and that was completely out of my control. 

I got onto the run and felt great. I ran to the front around mile 3, but knew that D'Ann was probably charging from behind. After catching Lauren I started feeling progressively worse, but that is how it should be, right? ;) I focused on keeping my cadence up, and my arms relaxed, and as I rounded the last corner and saw D'Ann behind, I knew that I had the win in the bag. She was closing hard and ended up finishing 10 seconds behind me, so congrats to her on a great run.

Grabbing the tape felt GREAT. It has been 4 years since that happened last- Collegiate Nationals in 2009. Even though it was an aquathlon, and even though I ended up getting DQed a few seconds later, I was reminded how much fun it is to cross the finish line and feel happy. It isn't necessarily about winning, it's about putting out your absolute best effort on the day and being happy with the result. A win is a win, DQ or not, it was a great day for me.

I was upset for about 5 minutes until I realized a few things:

1) I just had fun racing.

2) I ran a 36:55, my fastest split ever.

3) It is April, and there is plenty more racing to come.

4) I love triathlon again.

A big thanks to my coach Grant Holicky for encouraging me to do some local racing the past few weeks. It brought me back to a place of enjoying racing, which I was able to transfer into my experience at Kemah. Also thanks to Off the Front Multisport, Rudy Project and Breeze Bars for your support! 

Now I have my DNF and DQ out of the way for 2013, and I am ready to kick the rest of the season's butt.

Jess

My return to Non Draft Racing

After a few weekends of bike racing, I am off to Texas this Friday for my first non draft race in over two years! I will be racing the Kemah Triathlon on Sunday in Houston, and I am SO excited. As much as I love draft legal and still am focusing on that style of racing, I am thrilled to be back on my TT bike. I did the Haystack TT this past weekend in Boulder and had an absolute blast, further confirming my decision to get back to some non draft racing this year. I will post next after Kemah!

Haystack TT 2013.

My first bike race!

This past weekend I competed in my first bike race in Boulder. I have been riding now for five years, but there is still a great deal of room for improvement as a bike racer- handling skills, tactics, cornering, efficiency etc.

I spent Wednesday-Friday at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and had a great week of training with Grant Holicky, Kristen Peterson and Race Swimming. I didn't think the week could get any better, but man was I wrong. Bike racing is FUN!

I was a little nervous and scared headed into the race, because I know crits can be dangerous and I have had friends who have crashed and broken bones.  More than anything though, I was excited. It is pretty cool to do something that scares the heck out of you. If the picture below is any indication, I had an absolute blast riding my bike that day.

How I feel about bike racing- all smiles. Thanks Ryan Wakat for the photo.

The race course was a small loop (about a half mile) in a research park just across the street from my apartment (perfect!). I couldn't help but think about Rhianna's new single "Stay." If you are unfamiliar with the lyrics, listen here.

Anyways, around and around and around we went, and I attacked a few times, and smiled, and thought 

"Holy crap, I love riding my bike!" I don't even know where I ended up at the finish (mainly because I didn't know where the finish was), but everyone started sprinting and I followed.

If there was a conversation between me and my legs during these final few moments it would go like this:

Legs: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? You already sprinted too many times in this race, I do not want to sprint again.

Me: GO LEGS GO! Man up.

Legs: Maybe you should have saved us for the final sprint.

Me: Maybe, but I was getting antsy and attacking is too much fun.

Legs: You learned for next time.

Me: Probably not.

Anyways, I am racing again this weekend in Louisville, and I simply cannot wait! 

Jessica