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

Disney World & Season Update

I just returned from a wonderful family vacation in Disney World. I was there for a week with my twin little sisters Hannah and Scarlet, older sister Emily, and my parents. I went to Disney when I was four years old, so it was awhile since I experienced the magic. Every day was pretty packed with training, roller coaster rides, walking around parks and fine dining. It was a blast, but very exhausting.

In Italy- Epcot. We all got Duffy Bears and went to each country to get them stamped. We are all four years old at heart.

Fireworks on the last night in the Magic Kindom. Sisters <3>

Before Disney training was going very well and I was feeling it. So, as vacation approached I was really looking forward to a recovery/lighter week of training. Although I don't feel rested and recharged per say, I do feel like family time is extremely important and I embraced the memories we created together. We visited the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios, Hollywood Studios and Epcot...in a week. We tackled one park per day, and left no time for sunbathing at the pool, but it was a blast! We saw some amazing fireworks and an electric parade with all the Disney characters on our last night there, which was my favorite part of the trip.

In China in Epcot. Love these hats.

In the morning and after the parks I got my training sessions in. I got to swim in a 85-90 degree pool that was 33.3 yards long (strange) and run on the nice flat roads that Florida offers in brutal heat and humidity. I managed to get through a few spin bike sessions indoors, but focused more on swimming and running for the week. Not to mention we walked about 100 miles! The heat and humidity were tough on all of us- we had to constantly sit in the shade and drink lots of water while at the parks, but it was well worth it!

Whole family with Chip and Dale at Universal Studios.

I am back in Boulder now for a week, then I head off to Kelowna to race on Sunday August 19th. This is my third year in a row going to Kelowna and I am really excited. It is one of my favorite races out there- beautiful venue, kind people, challenging course. I will be headed there with Chris this year, so the trip will be lots of fun all around. We both head to the Chicago triathlon the weekend after, which will be my first non draft race of the season! Our team (Off the Front Multisport) is sponsored by Chobani Yogurt and the Chicago Triathlon is a big event for us. It will be fun to see all the other athletes on the team and put on a good show for our supporters.

I am really excited for the next few weeks of racing! Oh..and school starts August 27th. Last semester of my undergrad (scary!). I am actually really excited for school to start as well. I have some awesome journalism courses for this Fall and am eager to keep learning. The balance of school and sport keeps me sane, and makes me a better athlete and student.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer! 

Jessica