Blogging hasn't been my forté lately. Well, let's just say that being a temporary single mom (even with my parents around) is not my forté and some things just fall by the wayside. That doesn't mean I don't write an average of 1.5 blog posts in my head daily. But you'll probably never get to read those...
the scenery was a little distracting
On Sunday it was finally race-time in Germany! I haven't competed in a triathlon in my home country for 5 years and I was more than just a little excited! It wasn't going to be any old race either. I had the opportunity to be part of the Half Distance* European Championships which happened to take place in my backyard. Lucky me!
*i.e. half-ironman
T1-notice the nice bags!
PRE-RACE
I pre-rode the very hilly and complicated/technical bike course 7 days before the race. This could've been very helpful if I hadn't been chatting non-stop with my friend, Robin. At one point he told me to turn left and I ... promptly turned right. I vowed then and there to shut up and focus on the course - which lasted approximately 1.7 minutes. Oh well. Either way I could tell that some of those hills were going to kick my butt!
**Oops. Excuse me. It's already time for the one-hour long re-cap of the race on TV!!! See ya later...**
I think I need to go back and ride the course again!
On Saturday we went to do the usual pre-race stuff. Which was rather uneventful. Which is always a good thing. It was obvious that the race was extremely well organized. Of course. We're in Germany after all...
After expo, packet pick-up, a little ride, and bike check-in it was time to watch the Kids' Race. I had a whole bunch of friends whose kids competed and I wasn't going to miss out on cheering for them even if that meant eating dinner at 8:30pm. Even the kids' race was top-notch and taken very seriously. I was impressed. Unfortunately both Noah and Max were too young to join in on the fun but that just means we'll have to come back some other year! All the kids did fantastic and we had such a great time cheering that, despite knowing better, we stayed even longer to watch the Germany Junior Cup. It was basically an ITU race with the top German youth athletes. Very inspiring and so fun to see!
I finally made it home by 8:30pm. Just in time to put my boys to bed and tell them I'm sorry I'm gone so much. It's a huge relief to know that they are in good hands. I proceeded to stuff my face with whatever food I could get my hands on. Not good. But I was starving at this point and didn't want to take the time to cook. (Not everybody has personal chefs like Robin does!) Pre-race nutrition basically sucked and I knew it.
Why didn't I take better care of myself?
Good question. Simply put, I wanted to go into this race with no pressure. Oceanside wasn't fun, partly because I had put too much pressure on myself. This time around I wasn't going to let myself or anybody else put pressure on me. So, instead is sweating over every little detail in my preparations, I just went with the flow and enjoyed myself. I was fairly successful. Maybe a little too successful...
sighting these buoys wasn't an issue
RACE MORNING
2 hours just isn't enough time. Even if my bike is already racked and T2 taken care off. What's my problem??? It didn't help that I ran into a few friends that I haven't seen in years and that had no clue I was in the country. Loved it!
My goal for the race was simple:
Have Fun!
But let's be honest:
Kicking some butt and showing family and friends that I haven't turned into a lazy and fat American is way more fun than just finishing a race. So, of course, that was part of the plan as well.
Have I mentioned that I was #82? How cool is that? Robin was #59 and we basically thought it was the coolest thing ever to rack our bikes right next to the Pros. And to toe the start line with them. Talk about excitement!
THE SWIM (30:11)
The lake was perfect. Clear and fairly warm. They gave us 15 minutes to warm up which I always appreciate. I was in the first wave with about 450 others, including the Pros. I figured I should line up on the side and stay out of trouble. Everybody else must have had the some idea because suddenly the middle was rather clear. So I went for it. I guess nobody was willing to tread water. I had the perfect spot and was having a blast from the second the cannon went off. It was certainly crowded but nothing like the swim in Vegas. About half-way I ended up right next to a girl and we swam side by side for a while. Then she decided to pull ahead and I jumped onto her feet and never let go. Score!
T1 (1:44)
Grabbed the wrong bag. Sweet! Ran back to get #82 which was hiding empty under the other. The rest went rather smooth. Until I knocked off the helmet on the bike next to me. Picked it up and put it back on her bike. Knocked it off again. Looked at the race marshall who happened to be a friend of mine. He smiled and told me to get the heck out of there. So I did.
THE BIKE (2:44:39)
Have I mentioned that Kraichgau is hilly? The area isn't called Land of Thousand Hills for nothing! Those hills aren't rolling, they are steep and vicious but, luckily, never very long. It was incredibly beautiful. But, of course, I didn't notice much of the beauty. I think I will have to go back and ride the course again.
I won't lie. The bike was difficult. Especially miles 35-50. Far more difficult than any other course I have ridden. Including Vegas. It was hard to get into any sort of rhythm. We rode through a whole bunch of little villages which was super fun because they were lined with spectators but also difficult because we went around a gazillion tight corners and I never knew what to expect. I got rather frustrated a few times. It's time to work on my cornering and descending skills!
I felt great for the last 10 miles and kinda didn't want to get off my bike. Go figure! On the last steep incline I came up on a girl, read her bib and... freaked out! It said: Lizbeth, Denmark. I was about to pass Lizbeth Kristensen, former World Champion! I about peed my pants. All I could think was: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Something is wrong. I biked too fast. I am going to blow up on the run. Help! Then I managed to calm down and ride on. I did get a chance to talk to Lizbeth (who re-passed me on the run) after the race and she is just as cool and amazing as I had thought.
Highlight # 245:
We rode over cobble stone! More than once even! How cool is that?
Ok. Really - it wasn't so cool. I was worried about sliding out and/or losing my nutrition. Way too bumpy! But I did think: Whoa. My American friends are going to think this is so cool!
Highlight # 384:
There were about 50,000 spectators lining the race course! Holy moly! I was in heaven! Being used to extremely lonely race courses through the middle of the desert, this was a nice change!
T2 (1:35)
It went well until I ran the wrong way out of transition. I turned around and ran into a few volunteers that were now pointing me the right way but also blocked the entire path. Great!
not my proudest moment
THE RUN (1:36:42)
I flew out of transition to the cheers of my entire family. It was fantastic to have so many of them come and watch my race. But, since I figured they were there to help me, I needed to yell at them when I came by again. The run consisted of 3 loops and it's just not much use to have 10 friends standing in the most popular spot on the course while you are running the other 6.9 miles without any support. Somebody had to tell them. So I did.
My stomach didn't feel right from the very beginning. It actually never felt great on the bike either. I knew it was going to be an issue. I think I dealt with the problem rather well but it certainly kept me from having much fun on the run. Not sure why the Challenge Team decided to organize most everything perfectly but to not put port-a-potties on the course. They are basically asking for athletes to use the bushes. I had no choice. And since we all know that I pee in my pants during a race, you can imagine what I was doing in the bush...
At the end of my first lap, Andreas Raelert (and his whole entourage) came flying by me on his way to become European Champion. I love this guy!
The run was far from pretty but I am proud to say that I hung in there! Unlike Oceanside, my mind was in the right place and I just put my head down and kept telling myself over and over again:
Never Surrender. Never settle.
My family was amazing and their support means a lot to me. I could hear my dad cheer from miles away and everybody made sacrifices so they could be there and watch me. Thank you!
Truth be told: I was, as Coach M put it, severely undertrained for this race. I can now testify that it is, indeed, better to be way undertrained for a race than to be just one tiny bit overtrained.
Let's hope I can hit the training (and tapering) spot on for Vegas! Bring it!
The finish chute was amazing although I was feeling really crappy by then. None of the amazing pos-race food that I had been dreaming of for weeks looked good. So I walked right on by to find me some water. They had about 6 different drinks to choose from, including beer, but they didn't have just plain old non-carbonated water! So I plopped myself in one of the big pools with ice water in it. Not bad either...
I am certainly very happy with my time and place. Mostly, though, I am pleased that I was able to stay mentally strong. At one point I got passed by a girl, reeled her back in, stuck with her, and then passed her back. That might be a first in my 16 years of racing triathlon! There is still plenty of room for improvement...
POST-RACE
The finish area was wonderful! Grass, benches, shade, ice baths, massage, pizza, fruit, pastries, and showers! I found Robin, who unfortunately had a bad race, and my parents with Max and Noah. Then I took a shower and a nap! I didn't know a whole lot of people and awards weren't going to be until 6pm, so why not?
2nd place in my age group
In case you are wondering why Karl thought I was first in my AG for a while: Turns out one of the girls raced with a Pro bib # and was assumed to be a Pro. Later she was moved into our age group. Not sure what was going on there but I am also not going to worry about it.
This would be the young hot shot I had the pleasure of hanging out with all weekend. Try not to be too jealous. No worries, Tony, you are still my triathlon crush! Unfortunately, his race didn't go according to plan but I have no doubt that his big breakthrough is yet to come. Thanks for all your help, Robin!
Huge Thank You also to Trisports.com and HT Training. Couldn't do this without you!
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