Age Group Olympic Nationals...On To Worlds!!!

I've swam in large waves (age group heats) before, such as Wildflower Triathlon. Usually, as the race goes on we'll get spread out enough that you'll only be next to a couple other swimmers at most. However, that was not the case here. Maybe it has to do with how the start is. Everyone had to have a hand on the dock making all of us squish in there like sardines. Making the first 50-75 yards a fight to get a good spot. I managed to get into a nice little group and was able to do a little bit of drafting. As said earlier usually we spread out enough not to have any contact but during this entire race I was constantly next to people and getting hit every now and then, especially around the turn buoys. 

Swim warm up. I'm the one in the white goggles.

If you look by the dock you can see a wave getting ready to start.

I was very happy that the water was smooth. The last time I did Nationals was in Vermont and the water there was so choppy that it took me forever to finish the swim putting me way behind the first group. This time I believe I was part of the second group out. I swam a 24:28, which is a good time for me and set me up for a good position on the bike.  

Within the first 5 miles of the bike I managed to pass 4 or so girls and then came up on a few more that ended up forming a small group of 5 through the rest of the bike leg. This was not on purpose for the reason of drafting, which could not be completely avoided because of how many people were on the course. But if you get caught by a race official you will get a 2:00 penalty. Luckily, I didn't see any, which at the same time really surprised me. I figured they would have been all over the course. As said, it wasn't planned to ride in a group. Many times I tried to lose them and then they would pull away from me. This went on through the whole course. I can't complain though because they really pushed me and it shows in my time of 1:05:50. It's been a long time since I've biked that fast so I was very ecstatic. 

The course was over highways and some neighborhood roads so there was a little bit of climbing. There was also some headwind through the course as well. I expected this since it's on Lake Michigan, but the wind didn't bother me at all. Probably because I was so focused on staying with those girls that I just ignored it. 

Coming into transition the 5 of us were still pretty close together. I really wanted to get ahead of them to give myself some cushion just in case any of them ran faster than me but I felt pretty confident that I could beat most of them. Through transition I lost sight of them so I have no idea if I got ahead of them through transition or if they got ahead of me. 

Starting out on the run I felt pretty strong, but that didn't last long. Within the first 1-2 miles I started to fall off. I got passed in the first mile which sucked but she was the only one (in my age group) who passed me through the race. I saw a girl ahead of me that I was trying to catch but she ended up running away from me. Still not sure why I felt terrible and had no speed. I think part of it was not having enough nutrition on the bike. Also, for the first 3 aid stations they were only handing out water. I was so desperate for some gatorade or something with some calories. Finally, at the fourth aid station they had some gatorade and that was just past mile 3!

Home stretch

From there I just tried to push myself and keep a strong mental attitude because at this point with how I was feeling it was now more mental than anything. Especially, since the course was so boring. It was mostly just a very long out and back making every mile feel twice as long. I always tell myself "the race isn't over until I cross the finish, anything's possible until now and then." I managed to pass a few more girls in my age group. I ran a time of 43:36, which is my slowest time for the season. I was very disappointed in that. With my time being that slow I'm always tempted to blame it on something, such as having a cold a few weeks earlier, the mugginess, time change, etc. The list could go on and on but I just need to figure out what worked and what didn't and apply that to my next race and training.

Pretty much how I felt through the entire run

My overall time was 2:17:25. Even though my run time was less than par I still managed to get a good overall time and one of the fastest for the season. Yay! I placed 18th in my age group which qualified me for Team USA. Worlds next year will be in Cozumel, Mexico. I'm very excited for this event. Should be a great experience and a guaranteed vacation :)

Awesome new suit my sis made me :)     -    Cassandra was my support crew for the day :)

Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me along the way! I couldn't have done this alone :)