Double Dare Ya

This past weekend I raced another one of the VMTS series races. Rockhall Triathlon is known for its fast and flat course and was selected as this years Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. To the local clubs around the DMV, its a big deal, and walking away with the team glory is huge in letting you boast for next year about "being the best team". I decided to join my team in this years attempt at a three-peat as Reigning Champs and since I was making the drive decided I would make a good weekend out of it and race the "double" with the olympic distance on saturday and the sprint on sunday.

Double Dare medal was my favorite

Rockhall is on the way to the infamous Eagleman 70.3 and the course is fairly similar. It brought up past memories of horror and hot flat roads. Luckily, we were blessed by the weather Gods and could not have asked for a MORE PERFECT weekend of racing. My DC Elite team teammates rented a house just .5 miles away from transition and enjoyed a weekend of racing, grilling, and chilling. It was SO nice to be able to walk everywhere, and just kick back with everyone at the house.

Scene from the swim start. The Rockhall fisherman.

Saturday Morning: The Olympic Distance!
Olympic distance racing I think will forever always be dear to my heart. It hurts, but its just so damn fun. I really did not have any goals going into this race other then to race hard, deal with whatever was thrown with me, and come out victorious. I never really doubted myself that I could not walk away with the win. My main concerns stemmed from a 2 loop swim course in which my wave started 16 mins back. 16 mins! This meant we would be swimming on top of slower AG men and that is never fun. The water temp was about 73 and since this was not a PRO race, I opted to wear to my  Blueseventy Helix wet suit to be like everyone else.  I think because I mentally prepared for a swim debacle, the swim actually went fairly uneventful. I exited the water in 3rd position. I knew there must of been some speedy high school swimmers but was not too worried about it.

Thanks Yuchen for awesome photos

By 6 miles into the bike I caught the first female and knew that I had taken the lead. I just held my effort level and cruised all the way back to T2 with a shiny new oly distance PR for the bike. That was exciting, but I still had to run....

My best at thumbs UP on second lap of run

As most of you know I had a hellacious run at Chattanooga due to being sick. This realllllllly dug a hole in both my legs and my mind. I had found myself in the last two weeks really scared to go hard. I was afraid to feel that pain. Todays goal was to push the pace and not be afraid to let up. I didnt run quiet as fast as I would have liked but it was a step in the right direction. I crossed the finish line in 2:09, which is just 1 min off my oly dis PR. Not bad for an Ironman build....

The ladies Podium!

My win was significant enough to help the team claim their Div 1 Championship status, but it was also awesome to share the podium with so many of my teammates. Paige placed 3rd OA and got a shiny new PR. Joe, also a PSU alum and Meteorologist, took the win on the mens side and so we shared some smiles and cheers post race. The rest of the team had some stellar performances and we even went so far as to nerd out over our data and graph who had the fastest bike aerodynamics in comparison to power produced. Can you guess who won ;)

Teammate Joe and I, both the OA winners of the male and female race

After some celebratory drinks I headed off to nap, foam roll and NormaTec. I needed a fast recovery! Our house had a group potluck grilling night and I even stayed up "late" hanging out. I was going to race the next day but I was pretty relaxed about it...


Sunday Morning: The Sprint!
I woke up feeling not too bad but of course a little sore and tired. I was envious of my friends who were not racing and were making a fabulous breakfast. I also knew it would be so easy to just go for an easy recovery workout but this was what I signed up for so I was going to give it my 100%!

Running out of the swim with my Blueseventy Swimskin on

Again I was fairly relaxed all morning, laying on the couch until almost an hour before race start. Then I decided OK time to go warm up and set up! Since it was a shorter race I decided just to wear my swim skin and not my wetsuit. I got a little behind in the swim, which is unlikely, but had a fast transition and was on my way out onto the bike. The whole point of doing a sprint is to go HARD and generally "harder" then an olympic. So going harder after going hard, is def hard. But to my surprise I actually felt better. I crushed the bike and regained the lead.

Running Strong and more like my normal self

My friend who knew I was struggling with mental demons on the run challenged me to  "just" run 20 mins. I thought, "I could do that". I started out first mile right on pace and then before you knew it there was only 2 miles left. I also knew I had the win in the bag, which is defiantly not an excuse to slow down, but sometimes it really is hard to keep going when you know you got it. I slowed a bit, but I atleast got that feeling back that I can push and its a step in the right direction.

Cool shot coming into the finish with the Rockhall Marina behind me

I walked away with a double "W" weekend, some new confidence in particular on my Trusty Quintana Roo Steed, new friends, and the New Mid-Atlantic Regional Champ! My only question is, does this mean I am no longer Texan? ;)

Coming away Victorious this weekend is more then just the wins themselves. After a poor race in Chattanooga this was just the kick in the butt I needed and reminder of the fitness that is well built. Sometimes you have to rise to adversity and conquer and not let the little things get to you. I proved to myself I left Chattanooga in the dust and am ready for my next part of my season.

I am gearing up for CDA 70.3 in 2 weeks and then the first real A-race of the year at Ironman Canada on July 30. Thanks for the cheers and follows.