My Homestay was awesome, I was lucky enough to stay with Keith "K-Man" Schmidt, right on the expo/finish line in his huge RV. It was so great being at Wildflower and not having to go up and down that damn hill every time I went 'home' or to the race sight, it was fantastic.
Another first for wildflower- non wetsuit swim! Yeeha! The lake was very low and warm this year- 72 degrees. The morning of the race the air was still cool despite the water being quite warm and after a good warm up I got cold standing around waiting for the men to go off. It meant when the gun went off my arms were very heavy and I had a terrible start but I knew I had the swim fitness behind me so pushed the whole way and ended up in 4th not too far behind the lead girls. I swam a 27.30 while the lead guys swam about 26.50 so actually really happy with it considering I swam alone the whole way, I felt strong.
Onto the bike, my favorite bit of triathlon. I felt good right from the start and went hard the entire way, I won't lie I wanted the record. I saw that a lady had ridden 2.30 and I wanted it! I ended up riding fast- but 2.32. Not overly happy but yet i was off in first and I had a nice gap on the rest of the field.
I had just got over the stress reaction in my shin and had quite a bit of time off running, which with my run background and ability is not a good thing... So naturally I got run down mile 4, by Heather Jackson. She is such an awesome competitor and I knew she was a great runner, so my goal quickly changed to stay in 2nd- no more passes!! It's a tough run and I love it, it lived up to all expectations hot and hilly but I got myself to the final downhill kilometer and crossed the line in 2nd, i was back!!
My first drug test wasn't the greatest of experiences- 3 hours later, I was finally able to go and enjoy the moment!
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