Hamburg WCS

Race Report---Hamburg ITU World Championship Series:

This past Saturday, July 25th, I competed in my third WCS Race in Hamburg, Germany. This was my third time racing in Hamburg, as I had previously raced in 2006 and 2007. The course has not changed over the years, but the weather has been different every time. This year, the weather was a challenging element, especially on the bike as much of the bike portion was in the rain. I finished in sixth place overall, and I have to say I was pleased with my finish considering a few obstacles I overcame during my race.

The race began later in the afternoon, very common in Europe, with a 3:30PM start time. When racing in Hamburg, there is always much excitement in the air, mainly due to the fact that almost ½ million people are watching the race. The run especially goes by fast, as people are along the entire course cheering on the athletes. The water temperature was 20.2, which would normally be a non-wetsuit swim, but since the air temperature was only in the 60s, the race officials decided to have a wetsuit swim. The swim is a two loop swim in the downtown river. I had a solid swim, exiting in the front of group. I was about 45 seconds behind teammate Haily Peirsol, who is only one of three women ever to break 16 minutes in the 1500 meter freestyle and this year has switched over to the triathlon.

I had a descent transition and started the ride feeling strong. I was looking down at my SRM and noticed that I was pushing well above my threshold (70 Watts above) and feeling great. My goal at the start of the bike is to really push the pace to try and separate the packs as much as possible out of the swim. Within the first ½ of the first lap, I had established a 30 meter gap on a pack of women. I was riding very aggressively and unfortunately, too aggressive for the conditions. Hamburg is very technical, but also has lots of paint on the crosswalks and paint with the combination of wet roads can lead to crashes!!!!! On the third turn of the race, I felt my wheel slide out and I was down before I knew it. I hoped right back up to my bike and then realized that my chain was off, so I then had get off and put my chain back on. At this point, many other riders were flying by and a race official was holding me against the gate so that I was not starting up in the middle of a pack and interfering with other athletes. Finally, I was able to get back on my bike and start chasing down the pack once the official felt it was safe for me to begin. I got on my bike and gritted my teeth and spent the next 2-3 laps working hard to catch back up. I found it is easier to push yourself trying to chase a pack rather than trying to stay away from a pack. It seems having a target ahead definitely helps to motivate you to drive forward. Once I caught up with the pack, I was able to relax and breathe a sigh of relief. When I first joined the group, I did not realize that there was a group of three off the front. With a couple laps to go, I tried to push the pace and close the gap, but it was a bit too late.

I did not have a great second transition, as I could not get into good position before getting off the bike; therefore, I exited off the bike in the back of the pack. Our group had a 90+ second deficit over Emma Moffet, Daniella Ryf, and Lisa Norden. I started off the run with legs a bit cold, but feeling good. I focused on moving up towards to front. After about 1500meters or so, I was able to get to the front of the pack. Halfway through, Lauren Groves of Canada began to push the pace and separate the big group. I was able to stick with her until about 1500meters left to go in the run. I ended up finishing 6th overall, with the third fastest run split of the day. I was happy with my run performance as my leg strength continues to improve. It is a bit frustrating to know that I was feeling so strong on the bike and if I had been a bit more careful on the bike and not crashed I feel I would have been in the break-away. But at the same time, I really went for it and gained valuable experience. I am also very proud to get back on my bike and catch back up to the pack after the crash and glad to not have lost focus mentally.

This was my third race of the year for the WCS races and I have two races remaining in the series, Yokohoma, Japan on August 22nd and the finale in Gold Coast Australia on September 12th.am currently ranked sixth in the series and my goal is to end the year within the top 5 in the World Championship Rankings.

I had a great time in Hamburg taking in the beautiful buildings downtown, eating some German food (the pizza in Germany was awesome!) and also getting to meet up with some friends of mine I met on vacation eight years ago in Mexico! Tim and Simone were on their honeymoon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico back in the summer of 2001 and my Dad, sister and I were vacationing at the same time and have stayed in touch ever since. They have traveled up to Hamburg to watch me race every year and since we first met back in 2001, their family has grown. They now have two adorable girls (Lena, 5, and Sophia, 3).

Currently, I am on the plane headed back to the US. I upgraded to business class, which is a very nice treat!! I am taking a couple of days of light training to let my body recover from all the racing (this was my fourth race in six weeks---something I never could have dreamed of completing last year, but now my leg is feeling so much better post surgery). I am also excited to spend next week in St. Louis. I will be visiting family, attending my 10 year high school reunion as well as going to my niece’s baptism (I will be her godmother).

I will not be racing for another four weeks, so I am going to take advantage of some time to get in another quality training block before my next block of racing in Japan, Chicago and Australia.
Summer is flying by….already August. The kids/teachers will be back in school before you know it. Enjoy the remainder of summer!

Lifetime Fitness Triathlon and Jimi Flowers

Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Race Report
This past Saturday, I competed in my third LTF triathlon in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This race is always fun for me because I get to also spend time with family (as it is Nate’s hometown). My parents, brother and his girlfriend also came up from Missouri to watch too. The weather was perfect again this year, with temperatures in the sixties during race morning and just a slight breeze. The race began early, as the Pros were the first wave to begin the race. The women started 3 minutes behind the men at 7:03AM.
The swim was a beach start with a short run into the water. The swim was one loop with calm, lake water. The water temp. this year was a nice 74 degrees; usually it is closer to 80 degrees, so it is very nice starting off the race without getting your core body temperature up at all. I was in second position most of the swim, just behind Sarah Groff. I had a smooth and fast T1 and was the first to hop on my bike.
I had a goal heading into the race to really push the first 15k of the bike. When I got o n the bike, I was feeling good and had a great rhythm. I followed my goal plan and pushed the start and as I got into my ride eased back just a bit. I was expecting to see some other competitors come up on the bike (last year eight of us were riding “together”), but this year I was able to stay in front the entire ride. During the bike ride, you have to stay very mentally focused, but not just focused on pushing the pace, but paying attention to the road, looking out for turns, holes, people, etc. The course is pretty technical, with narrow roads, so you have to keep your head up. I was most pleased with my bike ride overall with the race.
I exited the bike about 20 seconds ahead of Julie Dibbons and about 30 seconds ahead of Becky Lavelle. Once I got onto the run course, I pushed the first mile and then settled in to pace. I was able to keep my lead and extend it to 1:23 once I crossed the finish line. It is a great feeling being able to break the tape and accomplish your goal. I was second last year, so it was nice to finish up on top this year.
This was the first race in the Race to the Toyota Cup Series, with the final race in Dallas, Texas in October. I will be racing in four out of the five races and will be eligible for the overall series standings.
By the end of the day on Saturday, we were tired…partly because of the 4:00AM wake up for the race! After the race, we got to spend some time with the family and some good friends from college, who happen to live right near the race course! After spending some time, Nate and I were off to a wedding…(my sister-in-law’s sister was getting married) and we got to spend some more quality time with family, eat some great food (and wedding cake). We returned back to my brother-in-law’s home and hit the sack. Before heading to bed, I heard some very tragic news, Jimi Flowers, Para-Olympic Swimming Coach, died on Friday from a climbing accident. Jimi was an outstanding coach and inspiration to all. He was always asking about my triathlon races on pool deck and keeping up with all the athletes. He would also write inspirational quotes up on the board at the start of workouts and I loved the extra pick-up it would give you for the moment. There is a trust fund set up for his young children. You can find the information for the fund at the link: http://usparalympics.org/news/article/14260.

Hy-Vee TV Coverage

Happy 4th of July~~enjoy a great fireworks show tonight, even if it's on TV! (Which we will be doing here in Colorado because the local fireworks were cancelled due to city budget cuts).
Also, wanted to pass on information that the Des Moines Hy-Vee Elite World Cup will be broadcasted on NBC tomorrow (July 5th) following the men's Wimbledon Finals (around 1:30PM).
Enjoy the weekend!
Sarah

Weekend of Racing

Hy-Vee ITU Elite World Cup/Team World Championships Event
This past Saturday, I competed in my third race of the year and finished in 9th position. It was a very tough race, with the heat index near 100 degrees while we were racing. I also was a bit unlucky in that I caught a stomach bug on Thursday and was in bed all day on Friday, but fortunately, I felt much better on Saturday and was able to get to the start line.
Hy-Vee did an excellent job putting on another fantastic race. This year the race took place with T1 and T2 in the same location, which made it much easier for the spectators to watch. The swim was a two-loop 1500m swim in the Racoon River (much like a lake). Water temps were around 83 degrees, which made for a warm swim. I kept the swim as comfortable as possible and exited the water in fourth position. I was with the front pack, with the exception of Sara McLarty, who had a 45 second lead from the swim.
The bike course was mostly flat and very technical with lots of tight and narrow turns. I was in a front group of eight and everyone was working together well. The bike was very tough, as I was really feeling the heat. We joined with Sara McLarty half-way through the bike and managed to keep a 45 second lead from the chase pack heading into T2.
The run was also flat and technical. I started off feeling good for about the first 2k, but then I quickly faded and by the last couple of laps was just trying to get across the finish line. The Australians are continuing to dominate, as the Emma’s finished 1,2.
The racing excitement did not conclude with the race on Saturday, but also raced in the inaugural World Championship Team Event. I have never competed in anything like this before. The relay race was 4x(250m swim/8k bike, 1.8k run) with two men and two women from each country. A woman started off, tagged a male, a woman third, and finished with a male. This made for a very fast and exciting race and hopefully, will get to showcase in the 2012 Olympics in London. I think this will add so much to our sport and will be a hit with not only the athletes, but also the spectators.
Laura Bennett went first, followed by Jarrod Shoemaker. I went in third position and tried my best to catch up to the field. I ended up closing within 18 seconds of third and handed off the Matt Reed. Our team ended up in fourth position, although we wanted to podium, we had a lot of fun competing in the event. The Swiss team won the event, followed by Australia and Canada third.
Hy-Vee is always a special race for me because I feel it is almost a "hometown" race. I had family travel from Minnesota and Missouri to cheer me on and watch the races. I had a great time hanging out with them.
My busy racing season has just begun. I am back in Colorado for a quick training block and then head next week to Minneapolis, MN for the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on July 11th.
Have a great Fourth of July!!

Competitive Image

The pictures above are complements of Paul Phillips. Photographs of other athletes can be found at his site: http://www.competitiveimage.us/
Thank you Paul!

Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. Race Report---June 21st, 2009: World Championship Series Race #3
This past Sunday, I competed in my second race of the season, which happened to also be my second WCS race. I finished in fourth position, just off the podium spot. The race was almost a duathlon, as race officials decided late afternoon on Saturday that the water quality in the Potomac River was clean enough to hold the event. I am very grateful of all the efforts of the race organizers and volunteers who helped to make this race happen and this race a success. It turned out to be a very nice day, as the temperatures were only in the upper 70s, as it could have been much warmer.
The race began with an unusual start, as the men went off first at 9:10AM and the women began at 11:45AM. The swim was a two-lap (750m. loop) with a pontoon dive start. I had a very good start, as I was first to hit the turn buoy, located 300meters from the start. I led the swim for the duration of the 1500 meters and was able to take home the swim prime. The swim was a little rough, with river currents and the windy day correlated to some chop on the water, but I do enjoy the rough and challenging swims as those types of swims are a strength for me.
Upon entering T1, I lost just a couple seconds as my helmet fell to the ground as I was trying to quickly grab it from my bike. The bike was mostly flat, with one hill (4% grade for 1k) and very technical course. Due to the wind, the bike was very tough. A group of about seven of us quickly made a move on the bike and worked very hard to stay away from the chase group behind us. We only had about 20-30 seconds on the chase group during the first four laps and half-way through the bike section of the course; we were reeled in despite our strong efforts. Towards the end of the bike with 1.5 laps to go, I was able to break away with a teammate of mine, Marybeth Ellis, and enter T2 with a 30 second lead!
It is a great feeling to start the run course with a lead and enter transition with just one other person instead of entering with 15 other people. I started the run with very heavy legs, as the bike was quite taxing. As I progressed over the run, I felt like I held my pace and was quickly caught by Australia’s Emma Moffat, halfway through the run, I was caught by Emma Snowsill and with about 3K to go; I was caught by Swiss, Danielle Riff. As each runner passed me by, I tried to stay with them and accelerate to their pace. I was not able to stick with Danielle’s surge with 2.5 K to go, but finished strong to keep my 4th position. So, far I have a 5th and a 4th, so I seem to be just missing that podium spot, but that is my goal for the next WCS race!
The men and the women performed well on Sunday as we each had four athletes in the top 14! Andy Potts was also fourth and the top US finisher on the men’s side. The race location was absolutely amazing in that we were riding and running down Pennsylvania Ave (directly in front on the Capitol building). After the race, a friend from college was able to give Nate and me a private tour of the White House West Wing. We got to see where our top government officials work daily, including the famous oval office (and I did see the swing set that was recently build just outside the oval office, so he could watch his daughter’s play). A new rule was just issued that no photographs were to be taken inside the west wing or the rose garden (to protect the girl’s privacy if they were to be outside playing). I thank Monte Hawkins for being so generous to spend Sunday evening with us and give us the opportunity of a lifetime! On a final note, we also got to bowl on Harry Truman’s personal bowling alley!
I have just five days until I compete in the Des Moines World Cup. So, it is all about recovery and getting ready for the race! I am headed to Minnesota to visit family and make the fairly short drive down to Iowa on Thursday.
Happy official start to summer!

Madrid WCS

This past Sunday, I competed in my first race in almost seven months. I really wanted to test out my fitness after a couple of months of tough training after my recovery from surgery. I knew that my swim/bike fitness was well on course, due to strong training workouts in those disciplines; however, I was not quite sure how my running fitness would fare in the race since I have just begun doing speed workout several weeks prior to the race.

A new addition for 2009 is team travel, which is nice because you don’t have to worry about finding your way around a new city and you will always be staying close by a teammate or coach. I have to confess though, I still managed to get lost biking to the race course (twice)! In addition, athletes are supported by a team bike mechanic, doctor, chiropractor, and massage therapist---so we are very well supported!!

Surprisingly, the race went better than I expected and I finished in 5th overall, but it was a very close race as it was only a few seconds behind first place. The race began with just under 50 women on the starting line and race conditions were very nice, maybe just a bit warm with temperatures in the lower 80s. The swim portion was in a lake with calm, 22 degree C water. I had a descent swim start and was in second position after the first buoy. I was feeling pretty good halfway through the swim and ended up leading most of the second lap. Annabelle Luxford and I ended up exiting the water side by side and I entered T1 in first position.
The bike course was 8 laps with a longer climb and downhill making up most of the lap. I knew that I wanted to try and get the front group small, so I worked the first climb hard and after the climb had a 20 second gap with Annabelle. Unfortunately, we were not strong enough to hold off the chase pack of around 13 or so athletes, but we were able to maintain over a minute lead on the following pack. The bike was not easy, but I was very aware of making sure I was staying hydrated as the sun was hot and the air was very dry.

My second transition was okay, I ended up running out mid-pack and about 7 seconds behind the leader. I started out the run with my legs feeling a bit heavy from the bike and worked my way up to third after the first lap (the run course was mostly flat with 4 mostly shaded loops). At the start of the second lap, I was able to run up to the two leaders and was feeling pretty comfortable. I was expecting my foot to fatigue just after the half-way mark (the foot drop I usually experience) and prepared for it mentally in case I was feeling the symptoms, but they never came! I have not felt this comfortable and fluid in a race in quite some time (since I had my ankle sprain). It is such a relief to know how successful the surgery was and know that my foot is functioning better. It is still not quite 100%, but I still have another six months for the nerve fibers to completely regenerate, so that is also great to know I have room for improvement. I tried a couple of surges in the third and fourth laps to try and keep the pace high, as I did not want the race to come down to a sprint finish because 1) sprinting is a weakness of mine 2) I have only completed a couple of speed workouts so far this season.
Overall I am very pleased with my first race back and eager to try and improve on my next race! My run was the biggest surprise of the day as I felt the best on the run portion and ran 45 seconds faster than my goal time. I have a long season ahead of me and will do my best to stay on top of my body and prevent any injuries with my leg as it is continuing to get stronger.
I am headed back to Colorado and will first recovery from the Europe trip and start another training block before my next race (WCS #3 in Washington D.C.) I am really looking forward to the race in Washington, as we will get to race in front of the US Capitol, White House and many other historic buildings. We also have the opportunity to meet the mayor of DC and help out a kids triathlon race.


The other Americans did very well, as Sarah Groff finished in 8th place and Mary Beth Ellis had a strong finish. Jarrod Shoemaker had another strong showing at his second WCS race and finished in 12th place.

The post race dinner was much better than normal---as the Spaniards treated us to a feast! We were all invited for a free meal inside an amusement park, although we were not able to go on any rides. The food served was plentiful….bread, chicken wings, salad, cheese, sangria, ribs (yes, ribs in Spain…I almost felt like I was home in the US) and a really great chocolate cake!! Of course it was an adventure trying to find the exit of the park…..we went out the way we came in and found we were locked out (we later realized we had to exit from a different area) but, we all just decided to climb over the gate and walk around for 30 minutes until we could find the metro to take us back to the hotel. Fortunately, I was with a big group, otherwise I would have been really lost!!
As I type this now, I am headed back on the plane to Dallas where I will go through customs and wait four hours until my flight back home to the Springs. I really hope there are not any delays because by the time I get home, I will have been up for about 24 hours…..and my body will be ready to sleep!!!!! Unfortunately, Nate will be out of town on a business trip and won’t be able to pick me up at the airport---I have not seen him in almost two weeks, so that was a disappointment to know that he would not be home.

Hard to believe it is already June and summer is here!! I think I can finally pack up all those winter clothes for awhile (Colorado gets some cold days in May).