Nationals Recap

   
     Wow, what a trip it has been. Me and my mom left Pensacola on Wednesday evening to start the long trek to Milwaukee, WI where we were going to compete in the USAT Age Group National Championship. For those of you who, like me, aren't the best in geography, Milwaukee is pretty much due north of Pensacola right on the shore of Lake Michigan, 16 hours of driving away.

     We didn't make it far on Wednesday since we ran into a really bad storm just past Montgomery. It was about 9:00pm so we decided just to stop and get an early start in the morning.  Thursday was a long day, but we made good time and made it past Chicago stopping about 45 min away from Milwaukee. After getting in a quick spin on my bike and a short run, we headed up to downtown Milwaukee where the race was to take place.
     We got to the venue just in time to take part in the practice swim session. They had a shortened course set up which was a perfect chance to check out the water and to get somewhat of an idea of what the course was going to entail. Even with a wetsuit, jumping into the 69 degree water was quite a shocker and I quickly realized that I was no longer in the South, though once I got going and warmed up it actually felt pretty refreshing.  Once we finished up, it was about 12:30 and we were ready to get something to eat.

Racked and ready

     Not being familiar with the area, we spent about 30 minutes looking for a place to eat, but eventually found a nice little sandwich shop. By then, there were obviously lots of triathletes around town. The locals were probably wondering why all these crazy people walking around in spandex, tall socks, and triathlon t-shirts were taking over their city. Milwaukee was a great a great venue though, I was a little skeptical about it beforehand, not knowing much about it, but it's really a cool city. It's clean, has some great architecture, lots of attractions, and even has its own river walk.
   

Checking in

     Thankfully our hotel was right downtown less thn a mile from transition so race morning we were able to sleep in a little and not worry about fighting traffic and finding a place to park. We got down to transition around 7:00am to do all the last minute bike checks and to get everything set up. The first wave was scheduled to go off at 7:30 and mom's wave was only 20 minutes later, so once we were through in transition, we found a spot where we could watch the start and mom could get ready to go. After a 15 min delay due to the roads not being closed yet, the first wave was off and mom's wave was making their way down the ramp onto the floating dock. I watched mom's wave take off and then walked over to the swim exit so I could catch her coming out. I had plenty of time as my wave didn't start until 9:30, an hour and a half later.

Mom's wave getting started

   
When it was getting close for my time to go, I pulled my wetsuit on and nervously/ excitedly lined up with the rest of the fluorescent yellow capped women waiting to walk down the ramp. We were allowed to get down to the dock and into the water about 10 min before our wave started so just enough enough time for a quick warm-up. With a couple minutes to go, we all gathered, anxiously treading water until the horn sounded and we were off. There were 147 girls in my age group so it was a pretty big wave that didn't really get spread out until the turn around buoy. Once through the 1500m swim, we exited up a steep ramp lined with volunteers to pull us up, it was that steep. After a short run past the cheering crowd, we were into T1.



     Wetsuit swims and I have a love hate relationship. I love the advantages of swimming with one, but I hate trying to tear the thing off in transition, I always get my feet caught up in it. Once I wrestled it off though, I was ready to take on the bike. The course for the most part was relatively flat, good for a Florida girl, with just a few small rollers thrown in and one big bridge to climb over. The bike course had some beautiful views, I just wished I had the time to enjoy them. Most of the course was along a highway and the road was completely closed which was awesome. They also did a great job covering the grates on the bridge with mats and they had tons of volunteers out letting us know of any upcoming bumps, potholes, or turnarounds. I came through the bike feeling pretty good, but ready to get off and start running.

     Heading out on the run course, I saw the top men from the first wave coming in to finish and I couldn't wait to be where they were. The run course started by taking us next to the water, down a jetty, and then onto a paved sidewalk along the beaches and road, passing by a beach volleyball tournament and a yoga in the park session. I made it through the first 4 miles feeling fairly decent and holding a steady 7-minute pace. Over the last 2.2 miles the fatigue started setting in and I was just trying to hold on, eagerly waiting to get the finish line in view. I finished up the run in 44:02 for an overall time of 2:27:13, good enough to finish just inside the top third of my age group in 47th place.

Ready for race #2

A couple weeks before going up to Milwaukee, I decided that since I was going to be up there anyways, that I would make the most of it and race in the Sprint Championship (the day after the Olympic Championship) as well. I knew I obviously wouldn't be at my best, but thought it would be fun. So Sunday morning we headed down for round two. This time mom wasn't racing so it was nice to have a cheerleader along the way, not to mention someone to keep my bag while I was racing. Normally it's not a problem to bring a backpack and check it into the bag drop area, but due to increased security after the Boston Marathon bombing, those who had to check bags had to cram everything into a provided clear plastic bag and check that, which was what we had to do on Saturday.
 


   With respect to not letting this post get too out of control long, I won't go into too much detail about Sunday's race. It was much smaller, 1100 athletes versus 3200 on Saturday, and held on the same course with each leg being cut in half, 750 meter swim, 20k bike, and 5k run. I went into it feeling much more relaxed and just out to have fun.
     My swim wave consisted of females 29 years old and under and with this being the sprint distance, there were a lot of juniors and I got my tail kicked on the swim by a bunch of high schoolers. I didn't feel too bad through the swim and the bike, but could feel a little bit of residual fatigue on the run.
     I came out of T2 about 150 meters behind another girl in my age group and was only able to make up about 50 meters of that over the first two and a half miles. By then I figured I had to go for it if I was going to get past her, I caught her with about two-tenths of a mile to go, sat on her shoulder and then battled it out over the last tenth of a mile. It came down to a sprint finish and I just couldn't catch her. I finished 7/29 in my age group, 1 second behind 6th place and unknowingly 5 seconds behind 5th place...argh so close to the podium (nationals award through 5th place).
     Overall, it was a great trip and I had a great time racing. Though it was a far ways to go, it was well worth it and I hope to be able to do it again next year. As always, it was an adventure and we made some great memories. I have to say a HUGE thanks to the board of the Santa Rosa Island triathlon for making the trip possible, their support was a huge blessing!

Stay tuned for the video blog of our trip...coming soon.