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| Emly, Tony, Me, Anneke, Ingrid from left to right. Our homestay family in RSA. |
I had a phenomenal four weeks in Stellenbosch, RSA, with an amazing homestay family (THANK YOU Smiths!). Great training, lots of sunshine, good coffees....happy days. I took off for China on Tuesday, flying from Capetown to Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Abu Dhabi, and finally Abu Dhabi to Chengdu. I was quite exhausted when I arrived late on Wednesday night, which made it easy to get on cycle with the time zone. I woke up Thursday morning feeling pretty normal, and after a few coffees I was ready to get back into things with two of my Dsquad teammates, Anneke and Melinda, and the group of USA athletes.
The language barrier made things interesting to say the least, but I knew that China wouldn't be a walk in the park experience, so I approached each situation with patience, an open mind and a smile. Despite smiling at everyone I saw, I got very few smiles in return. I was convinced that this would change if the sun decided to make an appearance.
Not much happened before the race. I ate lots of rice, watched several episodes of Suits in between pre-race prep, held up peace signs when locals asked for photos, and relaxed in our palace-like hotel room. We were well-prepared with insight from USA athletes Chelsea Burns and John O'Neil, who had been in China for two weeks scoping out the ins and outs of Chengdu, and USAT head coach, Jarrod Evans, who had been to Chengdu for the Continental Cup the previous year.
Over 100,000 spectators created an environment unlike anything I had experienced before. Jarrod had told us that there would be an overwhelming number of people attending the race, but I didn't actually understand what he meant until I arrived at the race site on Saturday morning. Holy cow! It took me about twenty minutes to travel the final mile into the park, where the road was bombarded by mopeds, cars, people and animals, none of whom understood "On your left," or "Excuse me!" The sun actually came out that day, but I didn't notice more smiles, so my previous theory was proven false.
Once in the athlete lounge, I went into my personal bubble and ticked off my check list for pre-race prep. And just like that, I found myself on the pontoon, seconds before my first race of 2014.
The swim consisted of 2 loops- one was 1000m and the second 500m. As I came out of the water after the first loop, I could see that I was at the tail end of the front group of 8 to 10 girls. I stayed in this position, exiting the water in 8th, with a trail of girls sprinting down the blue carpet in front of me. I heard the crowd roaring and used this momentum to run as fast as I could to get to transition. I knew that there would probably be a front group of 10-12 girls, which would be a great number to work with. I had a solid transition and found myself in the front group with 14 others. We never really got organized on the bike, but 6 or 7 of us rotated through the front and we moved along, increasing the time gap to the chase pack. With two laps to go, I experienced some mechanical issues and was unable to shift my bike..which made things interesting! I remained calm and had to muscle up the hills, but was able to stay with the group and enter T2 at the front. I exited transition in third and found a good rhythm the first lap of the run. I tried to stay in my bubble and focus on what I needed to do to run well, and found myself in second place by the halfway mark. I kept working at the time gap to first place, but was unable to get there and ended up second place overall. My first ITU podium- I am thrilled!
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| Anneke, Melinda and I with some Panda heads in the lobby of our hotel. |
The language barrier made things interesting to say the least, but I knew that China wouldn't be a walk in the park experience, so I approached each situation with patience, an open mind and a smile. Despite smiling at everyone I saw, I got very few smiles in return. I was convinced that this would change if the sun decided to make an appearance.
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| Hotel in Chengdu on a gloomy day. |
Not much happened before the race. I ate lots of rice, watched several episodes of Suits in between pre-race prep, held up peace signs when locals asked for photos, and relaxed in our palace-like hotel room. We were well-prepared with insight from USA athletes Chelsea Burns and John O'Neil, who had been in China for two weeks scoping out the ins and outs of Chengdu, and USAT head coach, Jarrod Evans, who had been to Chengdu for the Continental Cup the previous year.
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| Anneke and I at the race site for some pre-race prep. |
Over 100,000 spectators created an environment unlike anything I had experienced before. Jarrod had told us that there would be an overwhelming number of people attending the race, but I didn't actually understand what he meant until I arrived at the race site on Saturday morning. Holy cow! It took me about twenty minutes to travel the final mile into the park, where the road was bombarded by mopeds, cars, people and animals, none of whom understood "On your left," or "Excuse me!" The sun actually came out that day, but I didn't notice more smiles, so my previous theory was proven false.
Once in the athlete lounge, I went into my personal bubble and ticked off my check list for pre-race prep. And just like that, I found myself on the pontoon, seconds before my first race of 2014.
The swim consisted of 2 loops- one was 1000m and the second 500m. As I came out of the water after the first loop, I could see that I was at the tail end of the front group of 8 to 10 girls. I stayed in this position, exiting the water in 8th, with a trail of girls sprinting down the blue carpet in front of me. I heard the crowd roaring and used this momentum to run as fast as I could to get to transition. I knew that there would probably be a front group of 10-12 girls, which would be a great number to work with. I had a solid transition and found myself in the front group with 14 others. We never really got organized on the bike, but 6 or 7 of us rotated through the front and we moved along, increasing the time gap to the chase pack. With two laps to go, I experienced some mechanical issues and was unable to shift my bike..which made things interesting! I remained calm and had to muscle up the hills, but was able to stay with the group and enter T2 at the front. I exited transition in third and found a good rhythm the first lap of the run. I tried to stay in my bubble and focus on what I needed to do to run well, and found myself in second place by the halfway mark. I kept working at the time gap to first place, but was unable to get there and ended up second place overall. My first ITU podium- I am thrilled!
I was overcome with emotions running down the finishing chute- there were tears, smiles, a sense of relief, shock, and lots of pain. I was also thinking about how many amazing people I have behind me, and how this journey would not be possible without them.
A big thanks to my sponsors Team Psycho, OTF Multisport, Revici and HUUB for your support. Thank you to Darren, Rick and the Dsquad for challenging me to be the best athlete I can be. And last, but certainly not least- thank you to my family and Chris. It isn't easy being away from you all, but knowing I have your support and belief fuels me everyday to chase after my dreams. I love you guys!
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| I think this photo sums up all of my emotions on the day. Thanks Delly Carr for capturing it. |
A big thanks to my sponsors Team Psycho, OTF Multisport, Revici and HUUB for your support. Thank you to Darren, Rick and the Dsquad for challenging me to be the best athlete I can be. And last, but certainly not least- thank you to my family and Chris. It isn't easy being away from you all, but knowing I have your support and belief fuels me everyday to chase after my dreams. I love you guys!
It was really special standing on the podium with fellow American teammate, Kevin McDowell. I may have cried during my post-race interview, but I wept while standing up there. I also struggled to open the champagne bottle, partly because my vision was blurred from tears, and partly because I am a total newbie. Despite the troubles, it was one of the coolest moments I have experienced in my athletic career. A big congrats to Kevin on a stellar day, and for never giving up in his incredible fight the past year.
Up next is PATCO champs tomorrow here in Dallas. An awesome group of women on the start list should make for a great race. Looking forward to it.
Jess
Up next is PATCO champs tomorrow here in Dallas. An awesome group of women on the start list should make for a great race. Looking forward to it.
Jess
