I Got Interviewed...

... and someone just sent me a link to it!

Well, Endurance Sports Wire* isn't quoting all of my random babbling, of course. They are just paraphrasing what I said in a somewhat delirious state right after my win at the HITS Lake Havasu Full Triathlon. After reading it I thought: I SAID THAT? REALLY?

Lake Havasu City, AZ - After modest participant numbers 
in 2012, HITS Triathlon Series welcomed close to 1,000 
athletes to Lake Havasu City, Arizona this weekend, 
more than doubling their attendance in just one year. 
While records stood as Brian Folts continued his HITS Full 
distance reign after clinching the inaugural race last year, 
first-time HITS athletes found their way to the podium, 
including Sarah Jarvis of Flagstaff. 

"It's nice to see smaller races growing like this," said Jarvis. 
"There is nothing wrong with having options in the sport." 

She chased down Folts in a 140.6 battle of the sexes and 
finished second overall in 10:33:46. Folts, who hails from 
Arizona and calls Lakewood, Colorado home broke the tape 
in 10:21:22. 

"The competition out there between both men and women 
was great," said Jarvis. At the end my plan was to just count 

to 20, start over, count to 20 again and keep doing that until I 
made it to the finish. I didn't want to think about anything 
except pushing it to the line." 

"

Jarvis got her start in the sport at age 16 and picked up a 
career of reputable finishes, including several podium spots 
at the 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
According to Jarvis, now that her children have started school, 
triathlon is her life again. 

"It's time for me to start going long again, but after today I 
think maybe I will keep it to one or two a year," she added 
with a smile. "The day got progressively harder, but I knew 
it was going to be good when I came out of the water after 
my first loop and couldn't wait to get back in and do another." 

And here is what I have to say about it:

"There is nothing wrong with having options in the sport." 

What I meant is: It's great to be able to do a long distance race that is not put on by Ironman and thus doesn't cost a fortune. But it's not just nice to have this option. I think it's necessary if we want to see the sport of triathlon growing in the right way. It's a difficult topic and I am going to save
my other thoughts for a later blog post.

"The competition out there between both men and women was great."

That's not quite what I thought I said. The point I was trying to make was that the guys out there were super nice and supportive. Which isn't always the case. Both Brian and I, who have met at various races, were cheering each other on. And all of the other men out there were equally supportive. Which was a nice change. I felt like we all wanted to see each other and not just ourselves succeed. And it was a good feeling! The girls out there were fantastic as well of course but they always are...

I did have one guy who I passed say to me: I HATE YOU! And then he added: In a good way. It made me smile. 

"At the end my plan was to just count to 20, start over, count to 20 again and keep doing that until I made it to the finish. I didn't want to think about anything except pushing it to the line."

Not so much. That was definitely not my plan. I mean: What kind of lame plan is that? Truth is: I had to shut my brain off if I wanted to make it to the finish line in one piece. Plus, I was getting tired of telling myself over and over again: Just put one foot in front of the other. Which, obviously, is way too long anyway, so for short I just kept repeating: Foot. That got old pretty fast. But not as fast as you might think. It's called: I am about to lose my mind. So that's when I started counting. At about mile 25. But my brain couldn't make it past 20. So counting to 20 again and again it was. Maybe next time I should have a plan. 

According to Jarvis, now that her children have started school, triathlon is her life again. 

Well, not quite. Triathlon is a big part of my life but it's certainly not my life. And, in case you are worried, I did not send both my little boys off to some boarding school. So I am still a mom for more than half the day. And I am a wife as well. Not always a great one but I try. I definitely have more time and freedom now which is why I would like to tackle the long distance stuff again but, again, triathlon is not my life. Although it might seem like that at times.

Bottom line is: Don't take anything anyone is supposed to have said too literally or seriously.


*Yeah, I know, I have never hear of that website either which is why I had no clue they wrote this article. But just in case someone out there happened to read it, I wanted to explain what I really was trying to say.