Making my Pops proud

This past Sunday was both the Kitzbühel WCS race and Father’s Day in the U.S. I was able to give my dad (self-proclaimed #1 fan- he actually signs emails with that) a pretty special Father’s Day present by finishing 3rd- my first major podium finish and the first WCS podium by a U.S. woman. I know that he watched the race from start to finish, as he does with every race. When I crossed the finish line, I couldn’t help but imagine him, along with my other loved ones, in the early-morning glow of their computer screens. They’ve been there all along, over the years that I’ve been racing and through all of the tough times (and there have been many). I’m just pleased that they could share something special like this with me, albeit with an ocean separating us.

To be honest, I went into the race thinking that the best present that my dad would get from me this year would be to (grudgingly) fulfill his request for one of the Groffy-bumcentric race posters. I didn’t feel especially great going into the race and had only questionable confidence about my fitness. I had a decent swim and tried to have fun on the winding, scenic bike course, even when the hail started to pummel us. Once I was able to pull my flats on with my cold-numbed fingers, I had to bridge a fair gap to the front group, but the second that I found myself there, I was determined to hang on as long as possible. I was able to sit behind super-athletes (and super-nice) Paula Findley and Helen Jenkins and watched as girls were popped from the group one by one. Going into the last lap, I was a bit shocked to find that I was the last one still running behind the two leaders. When Helen and Paula surged and left me in their dust, I had to redirect my focus to maintaining my form and speed for the rest of the lap. By the time that I reached the blue carpet of the finishing straight, I had enough time over the 4th place finisher, the speedy Emma Moffett, that I was able to enjoy my moment. And yes, a few happy tears were shed in the process.

While my #1 fan wasn’t able to be there with me in person, he has been there all along, from my very first triathlon. Thank you, Dad, for teaching me patience and the value of hard work. Thanks for never pressuring me to get a “real job” and for believing in me. Thanks for giving me your cheesy sense of humor and showing me that you should always be able to laugh at yourself. And, finally, thanks for your genetic contribution. Who knew the Groffy hay bale-lifting genes might translate decently to triathlon? Seriously, Dad, I couldn’t ask for a better father than you.

Thanks to everyone for their kind messages after the race! And thanks for not teasing me too much for my post-race tears. Feel free to tease my coach for getting teary-eyed, however. He pretends to really tough, but he is actually a fairly sensitive dude. (Sorry, Daz- your cover is blown.)

This blog brought to you by the number 7

It has been 7 days since I raced in the Madrid WCS race, where I finished 7th, and I have 7 days to go until the WCS race in Kitzbuhel, Austria. That means two things: 1) I’m a very lazy blogger and 2) two weeks between races means that I’m the midst of that odd inter-race phase where you somehow have to get the mix between recovery and prep. Do too much and you show up to the race and feel flat. Do too little and you also feel flat. Hopefully we get the balance right.

Back to my race in España... After crashing out in Sydney, I was keen to get in a solid WCS result, but was skeptical that my fitness was adequate enough. We haven’t done much quality training yet and have been conservative with our training for the past few weeks (acclimatization to altitude is tricky), so I wasn’t feeling super confident in my fitness. Once the gun went off, however, I just tried focus on “keeping my nose clean” (Coach’s words) in the swim and bike and to try to survive the run. I was fortunate enough to come out of the water in a good position and to thus be part of the front pack on the bike. Between the heat heat and hills, the bike course in Madrid is pretty tough and it took its toll on a number of athletes. Since it tends to lead to more interesting racing, I wish we had more courses like it (minus the heat, perhaps!). While I was definitely outclassed by the likes of supergirls Findlay and Jenkins, I was able to put together a solid enough run to finish 7th place, right ahead of a fast-charging Laura Bennett (I definitely dropped pace the last few ks= room for improvement). With two of us in the top-8, it was a good day for the U.S. women. The only thing that completely ruined my day was that I had to spend an eternity in the drug testing tent, unable to chow down on the delicious post-race feast provided by the race organizers. Oh comida española, tan sabrosa... garrrrr.

As I type, I realize that I wrote an incredibly lame post-race report. I blame the cold temperatures in Davos for constricting the blood vessels in my brain and thus hampering my thought process. Hopefully my next one after the race in Kitz will be a bit more thrilling. Or maybe I’ll just include more exclamation marks to try to trick my readers into thinking that I wrote a super exciting account of my race. Everyone loves enthusiastic punctuation, right?!

I wish you sweet dreams of paella and jamón serrano. Although salty might be a more apt adjective...

Until next time,

SG