...And onto the run

I ran into T2 and hit the second aisle...and saw number like 682, 624, 718. SHIT! I went down the wrong second aisle. We came in the opposite way we went out...so I continued down the row of bikes and looped back around to my spot, wasting precious minutes.

Stripped the helmet, slipped on the zoots, grabbed a gel and headed out as quickly as possible into the heat.

It was blazin'! The sun was beating down. The typical breeze was stagnating. It was 32 degrees C. That's 90 for us folk. And we were running on blacktop. That always increases the temperature a couple degrees.

The run was also a four loop course. We'd been warned that it may be a little short. I can tell you, that after that first loop, I knew this was not the case. I ran, gel in hand, stopping at each aid station (I believe there were three) to take a sip of water and dump a cup over my head, onto my arms, down my neck. It was so hot. And my stomach was bloated. I was incredibly grateful for the snug fit of the fast skin uni. My legs felt really good though. And I kept trying to determine who was on what lap, who was ahead and who might be behind.

I headed into the crowd of spectators. I spotted dad and waved. I noticed he was snapping pics with his phone. Yeah, the camera battery died while i was on the bike, so unfortunately, no pics of the run except the pro ones. I heard some cheers for USA, the team manager told me to breath from my diaphragm. What a strange thing to remember. I told him I was bloated. He told me I was fine. I kept running.

I dumped a cup of ice down my top on that second loop and let it settle in my belly button before shoving it down my leg. I cheered for every USA suit I saw. Anything to keep my mind off the heat. Toward the end, I took in that gel. My tummy had settled. My fingers were still swollen, but I knew I wasn't going to pass out or puke, so I just kept the legs moving.

Time for lap three. This lap, I was determined to catch a couple of the girls I'd seen in front of me from the second lap (though I didn't know they'd only been on their first). It wasn't far into the third lap where I saw my bike motivator ("come on, USA. Push it, ok?") walking. yes, WALKING!!! I grabbed his arm. "Come on, run with me". And he came along. We kept a good tempo. "Where you from?" "Virginia, you?" "Cincinnati". Anything to keep his mind off the pain he was feeling. Then I got distracted and started cheering for some of the girls I'd met. "You're awfully joyful..." he said.

My response? "We're in Australia. Racing. And going into the last lap of the run. What's not to be joyful about?" and as we approached the next aid station, I added that I would be stopping to get some water. He stopped too. And when I began running again, he just said "wow. got get it, girl".

As I came into town for the last lap, I saw dad and waved and smiled and held up my finger and said "one more". the team manager looked at me this time and loudly say "Hey Amanda!" and then a bit more calm "Great race!". Then I saw the team bike mechanic at the turn around and said "hey, Chad! There better be a Guinness with my name on it tonight".

I stopped for a few jelly beans, some water, electrolytes on that last lap. A French guy I'd seen a few times on the bike passed me and said "Come on Lindsey, focus. Take it home". I tried. It felt like I was moving so slowly. My legs were beat up and the finish was so close. It was auto-pilot.

As I came into the final stretch, the Team manager handed me an American flag and said "nobody passes you now" so I took all I had left in me and ran as hard as I could to the finish. (seriously, check out the link and watch the video of me finishing. it's hilarious).

http://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event_entry.py?event=Sports%2FJRAU%2F2009%2FITU%2520World%2520Long%2520Distance%2520Tri%2520Champs&new_search=1&match=217

It wasn't a PR (or maybe it was since I've never raced this distance before?) but it was incredible to just be there racing with athletes from all over the world. SO many people had told me it would be "the trip of a lifetime" and I kinda thought it hogwash...but really, I lead a pretty charmed life. And it really was an experience of a lifetime.

And then it came up...

So, I came out of the water feeling ok. My feet were a little chilled and I was in a bit of shock. I checked my watch...about 55 mins. I made the 800m run to T1. Official time turned out to be 56:17 for the 3k swim. Good enough for 7th fastest swim in my AG, which isn't incredible, but definitely good for a non-swimmer!

I got my wetsuit off, put the helmet, sunglasses, shoes on and ran out of transition. This was the first time I recall hearing screams for me. By first name. It was the team manager, doc and travel agent. I realized a bit too late...but once I did, I was a tad overwhelmed with emotion. It finally sunk in that I was across the world competing!

I mounted after the line and set out for loop one of four...

The wind was still pretty strong and I had taken in some gulps of salt water. I tried to stay with my typical routine of just taking in water for the first half hour of the bike. I felt thirsty, and i kept drinking...but then I'd want to burp...and a burning, salty, acidic vomit would come up. I'd swallow it back down and hope it would go away.

I hit the first loop around 36 mins, just a little over 20 mph. ANd that was where things got interesting. Bottle exchange on the left! We obviously had to ride on the left, pass on the right...but attempting the bottle exchange scared me. But I did it! And quickly filled my aero bottle and crunched back down for lap two.

It was time to start taking in some calories. My gut was refusing. I had a package of Clif Shot Bloks and i took a couple of those in. Again, wanted to belch and release some the bloat in my gut, but all that would surface was some stomach acid. Swallow it back down. I looked at my fingers. They were swollen. I worried a little, sipped some more water. The sun was beating on my back. I started to feel like "oh crap, there are another two loops after this". And then, one of the Aussies I met and had coffee with the day before came up from behind and smacked me on the ass. I screeched in shock. This was followed by another Aussie passing me, who looked over and said "Don't think i'll try that". Miraculously, my spirits were lifted!

I came around for lap three where I saw dad and the Team Manager, who told me to just work on picking them off. I was more concerned about working on getting in some calories. I was afraid I was going to fade.

But somehow, I kept it up. I ate a few more Shot Bloks. I remember, from running the mile in high school, that the third lap tends to be the most difficult to keep up the pace, so I just focused on spinning my legs, going hard into the wind (thanks to Coach E, who gave me this advice at IMKY) and staying relaxed with the wind to not burn out my legs.

Before I knew it, I was headed back into town, off the expressway and into the crowd. The shouting and cheers were incredibly uplifting. Around the turn for the last time and onto lap four...

I was so excited at the prospect of being nearly through with the bike. My arms were getting burnt. And my fingers were staying swollen. And I hadn't yet peed. But, I knew it would be just a short 35 mins before I'd be on my feet again.

It was just when I was imagining this that a male teammate came by and turns his head and says "Come on, USA! Push it! Ok?!"...so I took off after him. We headed back into town and i took in a gel and more water. I was still feeling bloated, but no longer nauseas. I knew I'd be ok. As I headed into transition, I glanced at my watch. I was under 2:30, so I'd held a 20 mph average on a super windy course. Good enough for me.

Now, time to see if my legs (and stomach) would hold up...

And now, what you've all been waiting for...

Pre race:

The night before the race, we had a Team USA dinner. I think we all got chills when the team manager gave us the "you are representing the United States of America" speech. Very cool.

Race morning, I actually slept 'til 4am. I'd been getting up automatically at 3, so the extra hour was weird. I ate and had coffee and went to the bathroom and all that pre-race stuff. And then I began to panic. ITU has strict uniform rules and I could've sworn I'd seen something about the logos for wetsuits...I wanted to wear my sleeveless, but it's a Zoot and literally has a tramp stamp and all these swirly things on it, so I rushed over to the host hotel to question the team manager...and ran into the bike mechanic and chiropractor. They're both zen like, and were just like "well, if we see Tim, we'll ask him for you".

I found him, and to my relief, there are no regulations on wetsuits. I hadn't worn mine in months, so squeezing into it was, um...interesting. Dad and his buddy, Gary, met me down at transition before the race. I typically don't get nervous before races, but this one was different.

The Swim:
My wave was set to go off at 8:13. It was just the second non-elite wave. And it conatined all women 18-34 and 50+. I did a little warm-up run and went down to the water with my cap and goggles, handed off the flip flops to dad and got herded into the corral! This is where we got the warning of the wind. There were white caps in the water. Severe chop. We were warned that if we had a disk wheel on the bike to be VERY careful because the elites were having some issues on the the overpass with the cross winds.

We all waded/swam out to the start. Apparently, the officials blew the horn three times before we actually went. And even then, I'm not sure anyone heard it, but we saw the next wave coming into the water, so we went.

And it was cold! And rough. Although it was a river swim, it was salt water because the river dumps into the ocean not far away. Many of the girls were intimidated by the distance of the swim. This was not a HIM. It was a 2x Olympic race. That means a 3k swim. That didn't bother me. Neither did the jelly fish. Or the salt water. Or the waves and the chop. It was the other girls. The clawing and the kicking and the punching. I never like that part, so I tried to just keep my position and be just as rough without purposely hurting anyone.

The swim upstream was long. Stroke after stroke. Bobbing up and down with the waves, trying to sight and just looking for other blue caps, taking in gulps of sea water, brushing up against jelly fish. It was rough going, but soon, the turn around was in sight. So many times I've been to that point in the swim...you know the shortest part of your day is nearly over. And you know that soon, you'll be upright, riding that bike...but for now, it's time to power home on the swim.

The age group waves were beginning to blend together. We were catching those in front of us and a few from behind were passing us. That trek back to shore was refreshing. My feet were cold, but I felt as though the most difficult part of the day was over. Riding and running wouldn't be so bad after all that....

Welcome to the land of Oz!

Ok, so the trip started rather uneventfully...except that I did a plane side check with my bag in Cincy and they cracked my laptop screen (which was the first of many flights mishaps), so my Internet usage was limited to the little c-store down the street from the hotel and it was about $4 an hour. I have a lot of catching up to do, so we'll get right to it.

I arrived on Monday. I saw a Team USA jacket in the Sydney airport and introduced myself to Jeff. He's from Maine and as we're chatting, he mentions his friend who just did Hawaii.I figure it's a slim chance, but I ask if it happens to be Ange...and it is!!! Small world. Anyway, we got a cab to the hotel together...where I showered and crashed. For 14 hours.

Tuesday, I walked around the city and found a grocery store, where this cost me $55. And that was a steal compared to eating out.

I pretty much just walked around town and explored my surroundings, checked out the river...

the bike/run path...

the area where they were setting up transition and tents....

and assembled the bike and went for a ride...

 The sun was up by 5:30 every morning and I was up a couple hours before that. The mornings were cool and windy and the afternoons were toasty. I spent some time at the mall and did a lot of people watching. after a couple days, I started to feel like myself again and I got rid of the cankles...and then other Team USA peeps started rolling in and the irony began...

Look what I just got in the mail!

And lots more, actually...