ONE MONTH TO WORLDS!!!

In one month I will be standing on the shore of Lake Las Vegas with some of the greatest 70.3 athletes in the world.  Up until about a week ago I was not excited for it, I didn’t feel prepared.  But the excitement recently kicked in.  I have no idea what to expect.  I try to always follow the rule to only race myself, train smart and race smart and you’ll succeed.    

I am excited and am I nervous.  Most of all, I don’t have any clue how I am going to get through an entire Half Ironman without all my racing buddies!  My Ironman bike time was around 6:30 and, in my mind, it flew by.  Why, you ask?  Because the ENTIRE TIME I was watching the course for the other 11 people I trained with.  I am so excited to go, but at the same time I will miss having everyone I train with out there with me.  The motivation and happiness that resounds when I see someone I train with on the course will be empty and for that I am sad.

So how did I get here?  It all starts in the city where Vegas goes to die (is that harsh???)  Branson, MO. 

The bike portion of Branson kicked my butt.  Bad.  When I knew T2 was close though, my spirits lifted.  The bike leg hadn’t been what I hoped for but, my legs felt good and I was confident of my run.  We were on a narrow path and I said to the guy in front of me “we’re almost home free”.  Damn karma!!!  I should have kept my mouth shut.  I had seen more flats during Branson then I had seen the entire year during training and racing (this really is not an over exaggeration, ask anyone that raced at Branson). 

Not two seconds later my tire flatted.  AHHHHHHHH!!!  Seriously???  Was that mine?!?  I jumped off my bike, looked at the huge slash in my tire (had a gnome jumped out and slashed it with a switch blade???  How in the world do you get a slash like that in your tire?).  I knew I was about a mile out and so I did what any sane triathlete with the goal of qualifying for Worlds would do (and the triathlete that knows they’re not strong enough to tear their tubular off the bike in less than an hour).  I took of my bike shoes and I began to run in.  Tamara and Jack both passed me and asked what I was doing.  I verified with Tamara that we were about a mile out and I just kept running.  I came out of the park to see Jack had turned around to help me.  I couldn’t believe it.  He had sacrificed his race for me because he knew what my goal was.  I was almost in tears running my bike in because I had been so ready to start the run and I thought for sure my chance to qualify was gone.  Then I saw Jack.  Although he tried to help, I showed him that the tire was too far gone and told him to go ahead.  Jack stopping to help is what got me through running my bike in and to the run.  Apparently, my running my bike in is what got him to the run. 

The run portion of Branson was a joke.  It was pouring down rain, Heather saw ducks on the run course (not a joke…), transition probably could have been designated a national disaster zone due to flooding, yet everyone kept running.  I ran much of the run with Jack (I say I did this because he’s taller and, thus, the lightning would strike him, but really it’s much more enjoyable to run with someone).  We ran much of the run faster than I cared to run, but Jack was running fast, so I ran fast.  At some point I told him he could go ahead because I couldn’t hold the pace and he said something along the lines of “thank God, I was just running fast because you were.”  This is what I will miss at Worlds!

I finished Branson in 7^th place.  Two slots were allocated to my age group, so I had to wait for roll down.  When they called my name I nearly tackled Heather and I couldn’t wipe the grin off of my face.  I’m a stickler for earning things though.  So, I plan to be at Worlds again, some day, by taking one of the top spots in my age group.  But for now, I can’t wait for September 6^th, when I’ll be in Las Vegas scouting out the course.  I am so thankful for my parents, cousin Karen, Tim, Monica, and Jen Lee for coming out to support me.  Although triathlon is an individual sport, I don’t view it that way.  This will be the first time I’m truly racing alone and I’m more worried about that than actually completing the race!