“You gotta train your mind to be stronger than your emotions or else you’ll lose yourself every time.” – unknown
Man, it has been a long time I’ve written. Truthfully, I didn’t want to write, but things are coming slowly coming back to normal and I’m so grateful. A quick update from 2019: We built a house, we moved into our house, I rebroke my foot, I rode my bike a lot, I switched coaching companies (Hardcoeur Coaching), and I started coaching the Coeur Velo cycling club (LADIES – if you need support, workouts or are looking for fun and haven’t joined us – You’re missing out!!!).
WOW It’s been since Sept 2019 since we’ve raced, why – there was a worldwide pandemic! It seems crazy, and if you’re reading this now, you clearly know, but when I read this years from now, I want to remember why there was such a big gap (realistically, I probably won’t forget).
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to race again – I was happy training, working hard, having the flexibility, but getting out on the race course, I found my love again, it was SO MUCH FUN! I also feel spoiled, so many friends were coming to cheer at and race Musselman, which is now my hometown race. This was seriously a huge highlight for me with working from home and really only having social interaction on Zoom. I was pretty happy I remembered how to act in public. It was truly awesome to see so many friends and I’m grateful, so grateful for that.
Onto the race: Race AM was pretty smooth – up early for a 6:30 start and to drive over to Geneva but it went smooth. Arriving, we found a great parking spot, and it was so easy to find Scott and Lectie (basically we forced them to be our race buddies since they were staying in Syracuse too <3).
Scott and I checked into the race together on Friday. Ultimately, this was one of my favorite aspects of the updated Covid procedures – because we were able to be racked together. Why wouldn’t you want to be racked with friends?! Not too long after that, we made our way over to the swim start, said our goodbyes, found Amy F, jumped into the lake and then lined up.
Amy (AKA Ruby’s MOM, AKA My Coeur big sis) was keeping me distracted by sharing all the hysterical funny stories about all the people nearby – and of course the best pre race hugs as I got emotional (yep, this did NOT change from the pandemic).
Swim: 34:55 (1:48/100m) 6th AG
OH BOY. Well the swim started alright – and then kind of went south. I had to calm myself down at the beginning and really work on keeping my head on straight. I felt like had nothing. I expected to feel a little better in the water, but I also knew I wasn’t rested with IMLP in two weeks. I had planned it that way, but it really felt like I couldn’t move. About halfway on the way out, the wind and waves picked up a bit, which wasn’t my fav, but I just kept my head down and hoped I wouldn’t be fully out of it when I finished. Why did I feel like I wasn’t swimming well? One, I just felt like I couldn’t get going. Two, there were a LOT of pink caps passing me in the water. I was not happy, as evident by the photos below.
Out of the water, I let myself be pissed about the swim but kept moving (sorry Lec! ha). I made my way to transition, and quickly got on my bike – I settled in, I looked down and immediately reminded myself that I am able to race, the swim is over, and it was time to focus on what I could control, my bike.
Bike: 2:31.16 (55 mi, 21.9 mph) 2nd AG
The bike was pretty uneventful – I was still feeling like I was all alone and missed out on any sort of race, but with that too, I decided to “race” a little more. I’ve been working really hard on my cycling over the last two years and thinking I was way out of contention, I said why not and decided I would push a bit harder (still within my HR zone).
Then I started having fun, remembering my mantras, the Coeur Velo ladies #b*tchyoudoinagoodjob and so on. Again, not too many women around, and played leapfrog with a bunch of men, most were respectful and also cheered. The highlight was coming down back to Seneca Lake and seeing a Coeur Team kit up ahead. First I thought it was Scott, but remembered his bike was in transition when I left, so then I asked myself where he caught me and why didn’t he say hi, and then, getting closer, it was AMY!
I immediately asked if she was okay, because never in my life did I think I’d be in that position, keeping in mind that after my swim, I had completely written off my overall race and was just out there “going through the motions”.
Not too much longer, we made our way back to transition and swapped the gear out for the run.
Run: 1:37.50 (7:29/mi) 4th AG
Leaving transition with Amy was such a treat (and yes, she tried to get me to run with her – my immediate thought was “oh hell no”). My goal was to keep this run in control and don’t f it up. Off the bike, Z gave me my position and my response (on video) was “oh shit” – moral of that, even if you think you’re having a bad race, you truly never know, so keep your head on straight, control the controllables and you could surprise yourself.
I went into cruise mode, running in my zone as if I was out for a long run. I ate, drank, cheered, thanked the volunteers and so on. The run course changed race week, at first I was bummed – I like hard run courses, but on race day – I was so happy. It was so FUN to see friends cheering, and my teammates out on the run course. Coming back from the first out and back, Z let me know I was in 2nd, and 3rd was over a mile back, so I just maintained, had fun, cheered for the ladies on TCB and all the Coeur Sports (and other kits). Around mile 8 I was pretty content to be done but kept chugging ha.
Before I knew it, I was heading to the finish line – and boy, did that red carpet feel SO GOOD. I was surprised by how emotional I got just turning towards the finish line. Then I saw the clock and realized I had a BIG PR. WHAT. I couldn’t believe it.
Our Coeur team, cleaned up the awards, Amy F won her AG, I was 2nd AG, Amy R CRUSHED her run and was 2nd AG and TCB teammate, Sam was 2nd in her AG in her first 70.3 race. Scott also had HUGE PR and I think enjoyed racing in NY 😀
Overall: 4:47.26, 2nd AG, 7th Female (adjusted from 4:49.27 thanks to the train on the run course for they adjusted the time for everyone).
I was nervous about Ironman taking over Musselman, but they exceeded my expectations – it was a wonderful experience, the volunteers were many of the same and amazing, the Ironman employees were so kind and it was so fun. Kudos Ironman. Logistics: We stayed at home, slept in our own beds and sure that was maybe a bit annoying, BUT it was great – plenty of parking, restrooms – super easy to get to the race venue.
Post race, recovery and getting ready for IMLP – GULP.
A big thank you to my Coeur Sports (teammates and company). I couldn’t ask for better teammates and friends. To Mettā Therapeutic Massage & Wellness – thank you for the support, the amazing massages, and for chiropractic work to keep my body moving. To Skratch Labs, Drink Simple for the nutrition and hydration to keep my body going. To Hyperice for the amazing products I use daily – boots, venom and hypervolt are my favs. To Roka for helping my find faster and see so clearly ;). To Fast Splits for my favorite TT bike EVER, STILL. My Enve wheels that just make me fly. InsideTracker for helping me see what’s happening on the inside and improve and recover. Zealios for keeping me safe and comfy. To my family and friends for encouraging, supporting and providing me with so much love over this year and previous years. To Z for the never-ending support, treatment, for always being up for an adventure, and dealing withy Type A-ness xxx.
run, tri & smile 
Whoop! Whoop! Way to go chica!
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