Dallas Triathlon/White House/Las Vegas

I have now been back in Colorado for a couple days and have been catching up on emails and getting back into my last block of training for the 2008 race season!
I was gone for a full week with traveling to Dallas, racing last Sunday, traveling to Washington D.C. on Monday, traveling to Las Vegas on Tuesday and finally one last plane trip back to the Springs on Wednesday.
My trip began with race preparations for Dallas---checking out the course, working at the Toyota booth in the expo and enjoying time with family who came down to Dallas to watch.
The race began at 7:50AM on Sunday morning with a slightly different agenda than normal (when we start just a few minutes behind the Pro Men). This race, we began 10 minutes after the elite ameature women (12 min behind the Pro men and 20 min behind the elite ameature men).
The water temperature was a nice 76 degrees with minimal chop. The swim was straight out, one right turn and straight back. Unfortunately on the way back in to shore, the sun was glaring down onto the water and I could not see a single thing except sun glare. Kayaks were out on the course, but they were not really leading us, just watching us and making sure everyone was doing okay. After several minutes, I stopped and asked a guy on a kayak where to go----I had started swimming off course and he helped me back into shore. I ended up getting out of the water with a 20-25 second gap on the main pack.
This was a goal of mine, especially considering the first 3 miles of the bike ride were in the park and it was very tight and technical section.
I lead through the bike section until around the half-way mark when I saw Lisa Norden and a group of about 5 women riding with her catch up to me. At that point in the race, I focused on sticking near Lisa and not letting her get too far in front. The bike was tough, but I exited in second about 20 seconds down from Lisa.
I started off the run doing the best I could to make up ground, but Lisa is a very quick runner (she just came off a world cup win in France the weekend prior). I felt good on the run and felt like I had a quick cadence. With about two miles to go, I knew that I was not going to catch Lisa, but kept running hard until the finish because I did not know what was going on behind me. The run was an out and back, so we only got to see where competitors were only once, at the half-way mark.
Although it was my goal to repeat my win from 2007, I can't complain with second place. There were many strong women competing at the Toyota Cup Dallas Triathlon this year and I only expect the race to get more and more competitive.

The day after the race, I got the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to visit the White House on Tuesday. All the Olympians and Para-Olympians were invited to meet the President and tour the West Wing. The event began with a dinner at the Baltimore Hilton on Monday night and a very early wake up on Tuesday morning. We left promptly at 6:30AM to head to D.C. and with traffic, the commute took 2 hours!! Once we got to the White House grounds and went through security, all of the athletes stood in front of the White House and waited for the President and First Lady to address the crowd. I have to say, I have never met a President before, so it was very exciting to see President Bush and Laura in person. Surprisingly, President Bush was much taller in person than he looks on T.V.! After his speech, I was able to sneak down and get a picture with him! The West Wing was beautiful with an enormous amount of history. The paintings were beautiful (from George Washington to Hilary Clinton) there were so many original paintings. My tour had to be cut short, because at 12:30PM I had a flight to Las Vegas.
The final part of my trip was attending a dealer meeting in Las Vegas for Toyota. The same group I met a few weeks ago in New York was also in Las Vegas (Dara Torres, Culin Jones, Aron Peirsol and Brenden Hansen). Hunter and I joined the swimmers and we met Toyota dealers, took pictures with them and signed autographs. I was a very easy night of work, but by 8:00PM I started getting sleepy (considering I woke at 1:30AM Pacific Time).
I did end up getting to bed by 10:00, so it was not so bad. We also got to stay at the Four Seasons, which is located on the top four floors of Mandalay Bay. Talk about service....and a spectacular view of Vegas from the room.
I have just about two weeks in Colorado before I leave for Mexico. It will be nice to have two weeks in one place!!!
Best Wishes
Sarah

Back in Colorado....For a Short Time

I have been back in Colorado for a few days now and getting in some quality training before I head to Dallas to compete in the US Open Toyota Cup.
If you were tuning into the Today Show last Wednesday, unfortunately not all the athletes were able to talk about their charities on air. As things go with TV, our time segment got cut, so the swimmers were on air, but Hunter and I had an online interview to talk about Toyota's Engines of Change program and our charities.
You can read the article here:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26873822/
I have to say traveling across the country and back in two days was a lot of time spent on the airplane, but New York was a great experience getting the opportunity to meet some Olympic swimmers; Dara Torres, Colin Jones, Brenden Hansen and Aron Piersol.

I am leaving very soon for Dallas to participate in some media events and be in the race expo with Toyota. The race begins Sunday morning with the following schedule:
7:30 – Men Elite Amateurs Swim Start
7:38 – Pro Men Swim Start
7:40 – Women Elite Amateurs Swim Start
7:50 – Pro Women Swim Start.
I have some family members and friends coming to the race to watch and support---so really looking forward to racing and putting in a 100% effort. This race is a non-drafting race, so it is tactically very different from an ITU draft-legal race. I will be pushing the bike at my own pace, instead of riding in a pack.

After the race, I will have another crazy short few days of travel. I depart on Monday for Washington D.C. On Tuesday, the Olympic athletes have been invited to tour the White House and meet the president. Immediately following the President's speech in the morning, I am leaving for Las Vegas for a dealer meeting with Toyota that evening. On Wed. morning, I will head back to Colorado.

I am looking forward to my upcoming trip and ready to race!
Good luck to all racing this weekend!

West Coast to East Coast

For the past few days since the race, I have been in Portland, Oregon attending the USAT Arts and Science Conference. The Olympic triathletes are speaking at the conference on Monday night and sharing our experience at the Beijing Olympic Games. I have gotten the opportunity to meet coaches from around the country as well as many age group athletes who competed at thier National Championships this past Saturday.
Tomorrow morning I will be up very early to catch a flight to NYC. As part of my sponsorship with Toyota, I will be on the Today show on Wednesday morning and speaking about my charities as well as Toyota's Engines on Change Program. I have never had an experience quite like this and excited to meet Meredith, Matt, Ann, and Al! Other athletes Toyota sponsors will be there as well, including Hunter Kemper and swimmers Dara Torres and Colin Joenes. Aside from all the travel, I am very excited for this opportunity. I did not realize how long it takes to get to New York when departing for the West Coast (over six hours of flying)....only to turn around on Wednesday and fly back to Colorado Springs.
Fortunately, I will have about nine days to train and recover before heading off to Dallas for the US Open Toyota Cup.

Elite Nationals

This past Saturday, I raced elite nationals at Hagg Lake, Oregon. Hagg Lake was about 1.5 hours away from downtown Portland, so we were out in the country...and it was breathtaking out there! The course was very rolling (barely a flat section on the course) and lined with huge pine trees. The temperatures indicated that we were just about to begin the fall season, with highs in the 60s. The water was just warm enough to be non-wetsuit (69 degrees). Although this temperature would be too cold for warming up, it is okay when you are racing!
The race began at noon, with 19 other women on the starting line.
I had a great start and got out to an early lead for the one loop swim. I ended up leading the swim and exiting in first position. The water level was low in the lake for this time of year, so we ended up having a longer T1 run (the run out of the water was just a prelude to all the hills to come!). I had a decent transition, and immediately we began climing as we hopped on our bikes. I decided to climb the first hill with my feet on top of my shoes and did not put my shoes on until I crested the first climb. I pushed the first climb, realizing there were three other women with me, Sarah Groff, Jasmine Oenick, and Julie Ertel.
I tried to mix up the pace in the bike and make our bike group even smaller by launching a few attacks throughout the technical, hilly, eight-lap bike. Although I was never able to break up the group with attacks, we still rode hard and made the bike challenging.
Once we approached T2, I had a great transition and was out on the run course just a step behind Julie.
Once out onto the run, we had to start up the steep hill we climbed on the bike. Although it was quite short for the bike, it did not feel so easy on the run! The run was very hilly and some of the hills could really take the power out of your legs. Despite the course, I was feeling great during the race. Unfortunately, on the first lap, the turnaround was not marked and I did not know where to turn!! I ran past the spot, asked where to turn and Julie and I finally just decided to turn around. By the second lap, the cones were up and we were able to make the turn appropriately! I may have lost about 15 or so seconds, but in the end, it did not matter. I lead for about three laps of the run, with Julie right there. She made surge at the end of the third lap and I was close to her, but never could quite get back up to her. She finished in first for her second national championships and I finished 10 seconds behind. Sarah Groff claimed the final spot on the podium with her 3rd place finish.
Overall, I am pleased with my performance, but of course you always want to improve and think of what you could have done to place higher. I felt strong throughout the race, but my main focus is just less than two weeks away with the Toyota Cup in Dallas.
I had so much fun just getting back in racing on Saturday and am really looking forward to racing the remainder of the season.
For full results, go to http://www.pigmantri.com/jmsracing/results08/usatage08d.html

Weekend in St. Louis

This past weekend was spent in St. Louis and although I was very busy, I had a great time.
The trip began with getting to spend a little time with family on Thursday night. Friday morning, I was up early to fit in a three hour ride and a 30 minute transition run. Surprisingly, the temperatures were very cool for early September, but I definately won't complain about that!
I got a chance to ride with some friends out in Chesterfield and rode a loop that begins out by the Spirit of St. Louis Airport at the ShowMe Cables office, heads south down to Six Flags and back up through Rockwood Reservations. It is a great loop with lots of steep climbs and quite country roads with very little traffic.
After the ride, I headed over to Bellerive Elementary (Parkway School District) to speak to the school about my experiences in China and how to prepare for tests. I explained to the kids how I prepare for a triathlon is very similar to how they would prepare for a big test (the kids are taking standardized tests this week). My cousin, Jami DeBosch, is the administrative intern for Bellerive and asked me a few weeks ago to speak with the students. I had a great time interacting with the kids and answering their questions. Kids will always put a smile to your face..and have to mention that when Jami told the kids an Olympian was coming to speak with them, some kids assumed it was Michael Phelps! When they found out a women was coming, they then deducted that Micheal Phelp's wife was coming!!
After the school presentation, I headed over to Parkway South for their opening home football game. I was very honored to be presented at half-time with a special recognition and a my uniform retirement. Nate escorted me down onto the field, while the band was playing the Olympic theme song. It was great to see former principals, teachers, coaches and students ( I had coached many of the students at South now while they were participating five years ago in Big Bend Woods swimming and attending Hanna Woods Elementary) Wow--kids sure do change a lot in five years! I really appreciate all the work the district and school put forth in making the night special.
On Saturday, I got in a long run at Quenny Park and then headed down to Saint Louis University's campus for a wedding. My cousin, Brooke, and her husband Ron were married on a gorgeous afternoon and everything went off with a bang. We had a great time at the wedding visiting with family.
On Sunday, the day began with a free breakfest open to the community at the High Ridge Fire Department. We were also holding a silent auction for the charities I support, Jenny's Light and Train for Autism. It was great to see so many people in the community come out to support the charities and enjoy a pancake breakfest. I was able to auction off many items from Beijing and some gear from my sponsors. We were able to end the auction with a generous donation for my charities---thankyou all for your support!
Immediately after the breakfest, we headed over to Busch Stadium for the Cards game. This was a special day at the stadium because it was "Buddy Walk" day at the ballpark. Children with down-syndrome got the opportunity to walk to field prior to the start of the game. A friend of the family, McKensie (age 10), asked me to walk with her on the field. I also got the opportunity to throw out the first pitch of the game! I have never really played baseball before, so I have to say I was a little nervous about my performance!! Fortunately, I made it to the plate; however, not over the plate----the ball hit the dirt, about a foot to the left! All in all, it was a great experience and the day turned out even better since the Cards won!! After the game, I managed to sneak in a swim with Nate at the Lodge in Des Peres.
On Monday, I had one final activity before heading back to Colorado that night. I got the opportunity to speak with another school, but this time out in Jefferson County at Maple Groves Elementary (this is where my brother is currenty student teaching for PE). I got to speak for about an hour to the older students and roughly 45 min to the younger students.
Nate and I were able to train in the afternoon, before catching a flight back to Denver later that evening.
Now I am back in Colorado Springs and training hard for the remainder of the season. I leave in week for Portland, Oregon to compete at Elite Nationals.
Thank you to everyone for your support through the games and beyond!

Back into the Swing

I have been back in the States for over a week now and I am finally feeling like I am getting back into the swing of things! Getting used to this time zone again seemed to be quite a challenge, as it took me about a week to really feel like I had my days and nights correct. For about four or five days straight, I was fighting trying to say awake until 9:00PM, only to wake up between 3 and 5AM and not able to fall back asleep!
I am also back into the swing of training and getting ready for the last few races of the year. Next on my race schedule is Elite Nationals which is located just outside Portland, Oregon.
I will be traveling to St. Louis this weekend for a family wedding, along with several other events planned...including speaking with an elementary school and attending a Cardinals game. This Saturday it is "Buddy Walk" day at the stadium where children with down-syndrome get to meet the players and walk out onto the field. A friend of the family has asked me to walk their daughter, Makensie, onto the field--so it will be very exciting to get the opportunity to meet the players and the other children. My Dad has also organized a free breakfest in High Ridge on Sunday morning to greet people in the community and also hold an auction for several charities (Train for Autism and Jenny's Light). Olympic gear will be auctioned and all proceeds with go to the charities. It is going to be a very fast paced weekend between training and events, but I am looking forward to seeing friends and family.
Just before I left for the Olympics, I was able to pick up my Toyota Camry Hybrid! I have a year lease on the car with my sponsorship with Toyota. I have included pictures above! The car is awesome with leather seats, smooth driving, great city and HWY gas milleage---just to name a few great features. Our trips to Denver, St. Louis and Minnesota will be much more comfortable (and cheaper) for the next year.
Hard to believe summer is almost over...just seemed to fly by! September is a beautiful month in Colorado (and many areas in the US), so enjoy the weather...