Both Ross and I earned a spot!!!! I placed 3rd in my age group and Ross placed 16th. We are super excited about this opportunity to compete in Sweden!
We left for Grand Rapids on Saturday morning, my sis-in-law came over from Chicago to stay with the kids. It was a crazy week with the kid's end of the year activities at school and I didn't have time to pack until Saturday morning! And if there's one thing I've learned about doing triathlons - there's a TON of STUFF to pack! We got to packet pick-up around 12:30 - got our stuff and headed to the hotel. We went to check out part of the bike course, then swam and did a short tempo run. Stopped at Meijer for some food and went back to our hotel for dinner. Decided since we didn't have any kids for the evening that we would go see a movie - Mom's Night Out ..... NOT a good movie! I fell asleep several times. Got back to our hotel and checked the weather ---- it was supposed to rain in the morning - UGH! Not what I had hoped for - I kept hoping that we would not wake up to the rain that the radar was showing in the morning .... no such luck. When we woke up, it was pouring! Yay! I knew it was going to be a mind over matter day for sure! I was most nervous about biking in the rain. But according to the radar, it was supposed to stop around 8:30am so I would only have to bike in the rain for a little bit.
We drove to the car parking area and then proceeded to ride our bikes to the race start ..... in the pouring rain! Got everything set up in transition and then placed everything in a giant garbage bag to try to keep my running and biking shoes somewhat dry. I didn't want blisters! Decided I had a few extra minutes before the start, so I stopped and waited in line for the port-a-potty. Ross went on to the start. I didn't realize how much time I waited in line and when I walked over to the start - my wave was about to get in the water! oops! Talk about making your heart race :) I ended up being ok and positioned myself near the front but in the center. Big mistake though! I had to do lots of grappling for position as the swim started - fortunately I'm not uncomfortable swimming in open water but I got that "what am I doing feeling" (thanks to growing up on a lake in the summer and taking swimming lessons in the lake on what seemed like the most windy days of the entire summer - open water doesn't bother me!) I just kept telling myself to keep swimming to the next buoy. I didn't even notice the rain during the swim. I did have to stop and clear my goggles several times because they kept fogging up --- the goggles are almost a year old and probably time for a new pair! Took care of ordering a new pair on Monday - Can't be stopping to clear my goggles in a race!! But ended up 4th in my AG for the swim.
I had a good transition from swim to bike - thanks to some very helpful wet-suit strippers!! I was able to maintain a good pace on my bike. I didn't want my average speed to drop below 20.0mph. I did pretty good and even managed a few climbs mid-way through the bike without losing a lot of speed. It was an out and back bike course and I really liked that. I knew that I just needed to get to mile 28 and I would be half-way done! I was also happy with my transition from bike to run --- EXCEPT for the fact that I kept dropping my fuel-belt bottles out of their holders within the first mile of the run. I realized later that the elastic was just worn out and that's why they kept falling out!!! Trust me - the FIRST thing I did on Monday morning was to order a NEW fuel belt! I must have dropped 1 or 2 bottles at least 3 different times in the first mile. I was still able to maintain a less than 7:10 per mile pace off the bike despite having to stop and pick up my bottles. I was really happy with my pace and my legs felt good. I wanted to take the run a little faster this time to see what I could do. I told myself that I needed to keep the pace UNDER 7:30 per mile. (using my new mental thinking of keeping UNDER a certain pace and not trying to TARGET a certain pace - seemed to work for me). I maintained a 7:29 per mile overall pace for the run. Not ONE person passed me on the run! Male or Female! I felt really strong on the run and I was even able to pass the FOUR girls in my age group that had passed me on my bike! I finished 1st in my AG for the run portion too.
Unfortunately due to the rain at the start, I didn't get any pictures before or really after the race. We left our phones in the car. After we got back to the car, we checked the results and thought I had placed 5th in my age group - so we didn't stay for the awards ceremony. Later that night, we checked the results online and found out that I had placed 3rd in my AG!!! I made it on the podium!! They are going to mail me my award :)
2014 results - 5:09:52!!!!
You Tube video of me finishing in Grand Rapids --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzKDBwonNDU#t=13098
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