Travels

We arrived back 'home' in Boulder last night after spending 10 days on the road travelling to a few races. First stop was Kelowna, Canada for the ITU Premium Pan American Cup which was held on Sunday 22nd August. We were greeted at the airport on the Thursday afternoon by our awesome homestay host Michele. Friday and Saturday were pretty easy days with some lights training sessions, eating, sleeping and movieing. Race day rolled around and I enjoyed a pretty cruisy morning as we didn't start until 11.30am. I was pretty nervous for this one as I hadn't raced for 6 weeks so had little idea of where I was at. However, over the past month in Boulder I had been putting in some solid swim sessions with ironman legend Dave scott and been through some spew-worthy run sessions on the track, so was conifdent that I was in good shape! The field was hot with the winner of the past 2 World Championship events, Paula Findlay toeing the line. I knew the swim would be the key for me for this race, I had to stay with the main pack if I wanted to have a good one.
The gun went off and it was carnage for the first few 100m. However I managed to find some feet and slotted into the main pack of swimmers. After the 2 lap swim we exited the water. Transition was super intense with the main pack splitting up in to smaller groups. I managed to get with a group of about 5 girls. At this stage there was a lead group of 3 girls about 2min up the road and another small group about 30sec ahead, so we had our work cut out for us.


The bike course was 6 laps. Each lap with a tough 500m climb and a tight few corners. After the first lap I managed to get the heart rate down and started to feel good, however we were unable to make up any time on the lead group of riders. Coming into transition at the end of the ride I was in about 14th place and was all set for a rippa run, but as soon as my feet hit the pavement I new it was going to be a loong 10km! The tough swim and bike had taken it out of me and I was rapidly running out of cookies. I tried to stay relaxed and started to come good in the last 5km, however was I was still 5min off what I was capable of running. So the finish line finally rolled around and I came in at 14th place out of a a field of 26. This race was only my second ITU draft legal competition so I learnt a heap from it and have taken away a new confidence in my swim. I know I will adapt through more intense racing at this level and be able to finish of with a super strong run!


So after a few more days in Kelowna it was off to San Francisco for the Alcatraz Triathlon. I was super excited to be doing this race as it is known to be one of the toughest triathon races in the world. In the swim, athletes are faced with strong currents and 12 degree water, then a super hilly bike course and to top it off one of the tougher run courses going around, which includes the famous 400 step sand ladder climb.
Race start was at 7am, however we had to catch the ferry to the island so it was an early start to the day. When the alarm went of at 3.45am the last thing I wanted to do was to go jump off a boat at Alcatraz into the freezing cold waters, however once I was up I was ready to go!
Once set up in transition all athletes got bussed to the ferry terminal. We then all boarded the ferry at about 6am. The worst part of the whole race was sitting around on the ferry for an hour waiting for race start...I kept wondering what I had got myself into! At 6.55am the ferry was floating next to Alcatraz so we all lined up on the edge of the boat. The gun went of and it was game on! As soon as we jumped into the water we had to start swimming so fast as there are 1200 more people about to jump in on top of us.

One of the most challenging parts of the race is understanding the current of the water and therefore knowing where to aim for on shore. It is not as simple as aiming for the swim exit as the current will drag you straight past it and out to sea. So we had to swim a big "L" shape and hope that we'd got our sighting right!
I was feeling really good and relaxed in the water.
I managed to sight well in the swim and came out of the water in 4th place. The bike course was really fun with lots of uphills and super fast decents. I got passed by one girl about 5km in, but was able to hold my ground for the rest of the bike.
Coming into transition I was feeling good and was ready to tackle the tough run course. After 2km of flat, the course kicks up and we climbed up to and under the the Golden Gate Bridge. We then kept going up and up and up (to were Sam was convientelty poised with camera in hand looking for that perfect 'hurt box' photo...I'm sure he would've got plenty!)

We then ran down and down and down to the beach and ran across the sand for a few hundred metres where we were greeted with the dreaded 400 step sand ladder. This was TOUGH! But I new the longer I took to get up it the longer it would hurt so I put my head down and pushed through it. Then it was a fast downhill and flat section to the finish line, where I came in 5th place. I was super excited to have completed the race and happy to get a top 5 finish. This race was one of the funnest I have done and reminds me why I do triathlon.

So a massive thanks to our homestay hosts Michele (Kelowna) and Hailey and Mark (San Francisco), your support was amazing. And to chief bag carrier and supporter Sam!

So for now we are back in Boulder for our last 10 days, then off to a race at Pacific Grove, California and then back home to Aus!

I am still having the trip of a lifetime and enjoying every moment :)