In the days leading up to the race, I tried to keep to my pre-race routine as much as possible and to get some rest as I'd been traveling more than usual in the week before. Paulo (coach) said to just take it like any other race and do what I needed to do in order to perform at my best, which is a good reminder when I'm getting too interested in who my competition is and what they are up to.
My race went off at 1:30, so I got up at my usual time, had a small breakfast , went for a warm up jog, then had a bigger breakfast. I had some orange juice because I figured that would give me some electrolytes to store for the warm day ahead (water temp near 80F, air temp 87F). I snacked up until 2 hrs before the race, and then just had water during that window. Even as I was doing my swim warm up, I kept telling myself to be more pumped up because I just still didn't feel it yet. That extra race fierceness can make a huge difference in how I race, so I was doing everything I could to conjure it up. As we were lining up on the platform, I finally got the excitement and was ready to swim fast. I was one of the last women to be called down to line up, but there was a spot right in the middle with a direct line to the first turn buoy, so I took it. It was a two-lap swim and I came out of the first lap in the first pack and right behind Becky Lavelle, so I dove in right behind her for the 2nd lap and stayed on her feet. I just wore my Kiwami Amphibian race suit (without a speed suit over it for the swim) because the extra layer may have done more harm than good in the warm water, and I feel like the Amphibian is fast anyway :) I also saved the time in T1 by not having to take it off! So I exited T1 on my bike in 8th position.
The bike course was 4 loops with a bunch of 90deg turns each loop right through downtown Des Moines. I went hard on the first lap, trying to stay with the girls ahead of me. I stayed with the girls ahead of me, and then Lisa Norden blew by me, followed by Alicia Kaye and Lisa Marangon a little bit later. It was hard to stay out of the drafting zone with all of the corners, but I was extra cautious because I did not want to get a penalty for that. I had two Gu gels out on the bike and 20 oz of water/gatorade.
I exited T2 in 15th place, and took the first lap of the run conservatively, drinking a LOT of water at the aid stations as I was missing a whole bottle of water on the bike and did not want to cramp up in the heat. After that first lap, I was feeling much better and tried to increase my speed and chase down some women up ahead of me. I was able to catch 5 girls during the run (and get passed my kelly williamson) to end up 11th. I am happy with how I raced and how I finished. Here is a link to full results: http://edge.raceresults360.com/hyvee/EMI7e/results#/results::1346939079650.
If you are ever in Des Moines, Taste of Thai and Open Sesame (Lebanese) have super good food. And I must also thank Rasmussen Bicycles in Des Moines for helping me with last minute bike details and giving me directions!! And thanks to my family, coach, team mates, and friends for supporting and cheering me on.
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