2014 Age Group World Triathlon Championships: The SPRINT Episode

This exciting race report needs a bit of a preamble.

PREAMBLE:
          Between BCsuperweek and Triathlon Worlds I raced twice without blogging (Eep!).  The first race was the AIA Victory Triathlon (my first triathlon of the season and my only training race before Worlds).  Briefly, the AIA Victory Triathlon was exceptionally well organized, amazing food and sponsors and was even prized well.  The second race I entered to keep up some group riding skills and distance, was the Tour de Bowness.  Unfortunate for me I crashed myself at 20km (of 137km) and injured my shoulder (of course I finished the race! It took a lot of work into the headwind but I made up the deficit after getting my handlebars straightened out by the wheel guy).  Anyway, the injury was bad enough to make swimming impossible, and running and cycling uncomfortable (without race adrenaline).
          Therefore, my preparation for the 2014 Triathlon World Championships had to alter, that is, training, race expectations and mental strategy.  After a great talk with a good friend (who happens to be my sport psych) I was encouraged with the words that there is more than one way of having a 'winning weekend'.  Sure, one way to win is to be first on the podium, but this weekend experience offers many opportunities to encourage, inspire others and be helpful, which all have winning meaning to me.

Back to the real story!

The SPRINT Episode:

The move for the win.

          I chose not to wear a wetsuit for this short race: 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run.  My swim time was slow and then slower because of the weak shoulder but not painful (which is a win of itself).  The transition was quick without the wetsuit and put me passed some girls already.  The bike portion had a strong crosswind but my Cervelo P3 sliced through it no problem (Thanks to my Lloydminster training partner Ross!).  In T2, I racked my bike and noticed that a cycling shoe had unclipped from the bike.  In fear of receiving a time penalty if one's gear is not all together in transition, I started running back to find the shoe.  The volunteers were all trying to direct me to the run - but I needed the shoe! - finally one volunteer said he would go get it for me.  I maybe lost 20sec to the shoe hunt but I did not lose any time to other female competitors on the run!  I clocked a 19:05 (fastest female 5km of the day!).  My focus on the run was to hunt down every female I saw ahead of me.  With about 1km to go I saw a GBR girl in front of me so I put my head down and picked up the pace.  Every so often I would look up and was pleased to see her coming back to me.  At 300m I kicked, caught and passed her at 150m and out-sprinted some man to the finish (to please the loud supportive Canadians in the grandstand).  The two seconds that I gained on the GBR girl put me in first place!  Age Group SPRINT World Triathlon Champion!!!!  And I would have won the whole damn thing too if it weren't for two-time ELITE world champion (and now 45-yr-old) Australian Michelle Jones!!! By 20sec!!!! Ha ha ha ha, yes, I have to laugh about it.  I couldn't be happier or more surprised with my result :)

Thank you Canada! (my Hubby, Mom & Dad, my sister Nicole, Kristen, AIA triathlon club, Edmontonians and my training partners from TWU, Abbotsford (Nigel, Bruce), Vermilion (Laurel), and Lloydminster (Denise, Sharon, Ross) to name a few.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!

UP NEXT...

The STANDARD Episode:
          Monday, September 1, 2014 - 1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run
               (that is, 2014 Age Group World STANDARD Triathlon Championships!)

And a few pictures to end the day!

My biggest fans! Hubby, Mom & Dad

The guy who got me hooked! Vaughn Cooper

My FAVOURITE big sister!!!

The STORY with the PHOTO: Here is the Vermilion, AB, triathlon crew.  These kids raced the KOS, and the lady in pink is Vermilion's Olympic athlete Becky Scott who also competed in the VIP corporate triathlon event! But (hehe) I'll take the win on this event :)

bcsuperweek #gscycling

9 races

10 days

7 crits

2 road races; 1 UCI road race

1 hill climb

This is bcsuperweek.

It happens every year in early July with events in Delta, Ladner, Tswassen, Vancouver (UBC), Vancouver (Gastown), Burnaby, and White Rock.

#gscycling #women #goingpro

2014 offered the largest and deepest women’s race field for superweek to date!  The heavily prized races attracted pro teams and individuals from across North America, Columbia, Germany, New Zealand and Australia.  I was using bcsuperweek to test myself against the pros including cyclists from the Canadian National team and previous Olympians.  I had two teams with me for the races: Glotman-Simpson Cycling and the Podium Push Team.  I was asked to guest ride for the local Vancouver team - Glotman-Simpson Cycling - and happily donned the black and yellow to be showered with the best kind of team support a girl could ask for.  The Podium Push Team was my husband’s parents feeding me, driving me to races and cheering for me as the peloton whizzed around corners.

The last women’s stage race I did was in Banff and I could never seem to get on the podium.  I always ended up 4^th or 5^th spot it seemed and was really frustrated with that.  I was really determined to get results coming into bcsuperweek.

Before the first crit at Tour de Delta the GS team talked race tactics.  Since this was my first appearance at bcsuperweek, the team manager warned me that racing with the pros would make these races very, very hard and that I would be doing well if I could make it even halfway through the race.

I thought, “Halfway???  Hmpf.  We’ll see about that!” and the competitive juices started to flow.

Coming into the last lap: Alison Jackson and Denise Ramsden

That first crit I played our team tactics until no one was ready to go with the attacks anymore – so I kept at the front not letting any breaks get away from me.  Soon the halfway point passed.  Then it was only 3 laps to go and I was in a break off the front with two pros.  The Vanderkitten girl got dropped so it was me and an Optum Kelly Benefits rider.  At one to go the Optum rider made a move that I wasn’t ready for but I was able to time trial it home in that last lap to beat the pack and get my first taste of a bcsuperweek podium.  My second place result shocked and surprised everyone but me.  In fact I was actually more relieved to finally be on the podium than excited that I beat a bunch of pros.

For the rest of the week I continued to have consistent top-end results while avoiding crashes that piled up in every race. 

The next race was a flat and fast crit that came down to a bunch sprint.  I practiced a lap sprint to win a prime during a prize lap in the middle of the race and was able to hold onto a top 5 spot at the end. 

Sunday’s race was a big deal race being that it was a UCI road race that awards riders international points.  The 93k course in Tswassen took the riders up a hill and through many corners every lap.  I played to race smart by staying in the pack to conserve energy and allowed other teams to chase down breaks.  Coming into the last 2 laps there was a dangerous break of 3 riders each from a different pro team in the mix.  The coach said bridge it and I did.  The group caught us in the final lap but I was able to grab a 9^th place at the finish, just one position out of receiving UCI points. I realized that I definitely need to add sprint practice to my training so that I can sprint to win at the end of these pro races.

I skipped the UBC crit race so that I could keep up swim and run training, then jumped in for the climax of bcsuperweek – Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix.

Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix

Gastown hit the record high prize purse for a cycling race in North Amercia with 1^st place taking home $13,000.  This race had the largest rider field of all the races with 77 Pro/1/2/3 women and even more pro/1/2 men.  More than 30,000 spectators lined the blocked off course to raise their voices at the excitement of the race.  There hunger to win radiated off the racers and caused me to be a bit timid in the race.  I hung out in the pack for most of the race until 2 laps to go where I started to move to the front.  I didn’t give myself enough time or maybe I wasn’t willing to go into the final sprint after working really hard to get to the front but I was happy with my 15^th place which was still in the money.

The week ended for me with Tour de White Rock which included a HC (hill climb), Criterium (with a hill), a RR (road race – with 2 big White Rock style hills every loop), and an omnium (an overall points winner of the three events).

Alison, Queen of the Mountain

I was feeling really determined at the HC to do well, but knew that it wouldn’t be easy.  I was ecstatic to make it into the final where the top 5 times would race up the hill together for a second time.  It was about a 2min effort of severe climbing and I told myself that I would not take anything less than first.  I was in second place as we approach the final and steepest part of the climb when my determination kicked in.  I shifted into a hard gear and punched it passed the finish line in first place by a bike length.  Happy (and again relieved) was Alison.  I love being on top of the podium!!!  And I loved receiving flowers and putting on the Tour de White Rock leaders jersey.

Holding onto the Leader's jersey

Day 2 of the tour was the crit.  I wanted to test out my sprint speed and timing on some of the prime laps before the finish to know what to do if it came to a sprint.  However, a single rider broke from the group and no one wanted to chase it down – including me – but with three laps to go I knew that I didn’t want her to get away, so I chased.  Two girls let me drag them to the finish and it was a close sprint to the end for me to take third.  I was happy to step on the podium twice that evening: 3^rd for the crit and in first place with the omnium leaders jersey still.

Day 3 I had a few things I wanted to try.  Grinding up hills is my strength and this course is won by strength more than hiding in the pack, waiting until the end.  I attacked on the steepest climb on lap 2 and 3, each time I got away with a few girls but it got chased down.  Then with 4 laps to go (80km) I attacked at an unexpected time and held a minute gap for a couple laps.  On the last lap two riders bridged up to me and tried an attack. I wasn’t gassed yet so I held on.  Coming down the last hill into the finish 2 other riders joined us to make a group of 5 into the finish.  I didn’t play my tactics right in the last km to the finish and took 5^th.  I was disappointed actually because I had this burn to win the race but I know that I made an impression.  Sometimes you just gotta try stuff and test yourself.  In the end I did get to step on the podium and take the overall Tour de White Rock win. 

Tour de White Rock Mens and Womens Omnium Winners

As always I am SOOOOOOO THANKFUL for all the names and faces that contributed to my success these 10 days.  A big thanks to my Podium Push Team and to Glotman-Simpson Cycling for supporting me at the races.  And a big, big thanks to God for legs!  And a big, big, big thank you to you who read this and are excited about my journey as an athlete.

My family.  My Podium Push Team :)

Seasoned with Cycling

     After a bit of a low time after Uganda (to let some injuries heal…like a minor separated shoulder to name one) I entered ‘base-building phase’ and began ramping the volume up on all my tri sport training.  Looong runs, loooooooonger bike rides and specific 1500m swim training.  The main goal this summer is to claim that podium at Age Group Triathlon World Championships hosted by the city of Edmonton (home town advantage)!!!  The plan this year is to really train the bike portion, not only for triathlon worlds but also to see where I fit in the cycling world as a straight up cyclist.  I have a few pro races in mind.  I got picked up by a fantabulous cycling team to race for this season and I’m stoked to be a part of their team dynamics.  So a shout out to Glotman-Simpson Cycling out of Vancouver!  A team that rides with a purpose: to cure pancreatic cancer.  At any rate, the season has been building!!!  Read on!

Bikes on Broadway – Saskatoon, SK – May 17-19, 2014

Photo by Alex Jackson

                There is no pack riding here in rural Alberta, so when farming stalled because of rain I drove out to Saskatoon for a stage race: time trial, road race and criterium.  I signed up for Mens Cat 3 to get in more distance and because I knew a local girl who was doing the same.  The 8km TT I raced with my Scott road bike, no aero bars, aero suit or aero helmet AND I left my bottle cages on (haha cyclists are usually - aka always - trying to throw off grams or wear their clothes tighter to go faster). Anyway, I ended up near the bottom of the results but not last. 

Saskatchewan did not disappoint for the 100km RR, offering a steady flow of 35kph winds that took the group 56kph easily down the back straight and 17kph max into the head wind. So although the course was flat the headwind effort resembled climbing an 8km mountain.  The group broke up right away but I was able to work with (or rather hang on to) a smaller group of men to catch the lead pack about 15km before the finish but I was dying and got dropped 8km out.  The group turned into the head wind and on my own my 30sec gap turned into almost 1min.  I placed better overall in the RR than in the TT.

                Sunday the bad weather caught up with us drowning the crit course in rain and disguising all the potholes in the road as puddles.  Not many riders bothered to show up to race because of the dangerous combination of potholes, rain and narrow roads.  The other girl rider and I lined up and ended up racing around the course as just the two of us off the back – a steady and safe training effort.  At any rate I was soooo thankful (Praise God!) that I did not crash!  It was safe racing for everyone.  Also, I got to stay with an amazing family that I just met but they took me in on account of their son offering the connection.  I hope they enjoy the bison meat I brought them because I sure enjoyed sharing stories, occupying a very comfy bed, jumping into clean showers, and eating spinach & eggs for breakfast!

Banff Bike Fest – Banff, AB – June 12-15, 2014

Me and my bikes.  Thanks Ironman Ross for the P3!

                I had been gearing up for these 5 races in 4 days for all of May to test my cycling fitness and skills against a larger pack of competitive cat1&2 women.  For the individual efforts, the 1.2km prologue and the 8km TT, I managed to just miss the podium by receiving the consolation prize of 4^th.  The crit I raced tactically and hard for a 5^th place but whenever there was a mass start race the one and only team to have 6 riders racing controlled the races.  The rest of us individual riders couldn’t ban together soon enough to take on the team.  At any rate I put in some good efforts and was happy that by the end of the week I was feeling fresh and strong!  I was getting really frustrated with 4^th and 5^th place finishes and was determined to podium on the last stage: Tunnel Mountain RR.  I grabbed a sprint point in the middle of the race and was in good position coming into the final corner before the sprint but I made an error when I braked with the girl in front of me around the corner, lost my momentum and had to sprint to 7^th place from 10^th.  I ended up 5^th in the GC and won some money to help cover the costs of the trip. 

crit face ;)

I also have amazing support at the race with my husband and a few friends there to cheer me on!!  When I wasn’t racing, I was shuttling Alex up the mountain in Canmore so he could get his cycling fix on the downhill trails.  I also had a few great teammates to talk though race tactics and have people to warm up with (YAY!)!  In this cycling world I am really thankful to get to meet loads of great people to race with and get coaching tips from.

Devon Grand Prix – Devon, AB – June 21/22, 2014

                This two-day weekend included sunshine, a crit and a RR.  The onmium (overall winner) was determined by points collected throughout the weekend.  The crit was run as a scratch race meaning that every 5min there was a sprint lap for points 3, 2, and 1.  The final sprint was worth a max of 30pts for 1^st down to 4pts for 10^th.  Again, I signed up for Mens Cat 3.  At the last minute they decided to rank the Women Cat 1/2/3 separately within the Cat 3 race.  Sure…but there were only 2 of us in the crit and then 3 women in the RR. 

The crit was fast and narrow but the road was smooth and clean.  I had a great start clipping in fast, and although I never was top 3 (in the men) for any of the timed sprint laps, I was in the lead group that ended up lapping out almost half of the riders that started.  There were a few guys who were really sketch to ride behind and after figuring that out they were never allowed to pass me again ;).  Coming into the final lap 4 riders had opened a small gap on us.  I thought the riders that I was behind would close that no problem and lead me to the sprint but they had less pep left than I thought.  I noticed too late to close the gap but ended up winning the sprint of the chase group to take 5^th.  This 5^th place I was happy with in comparison to the frustrating podium misses at Banff!  However the results don’t show me as 5^th with 15pts in Mens Cat 3, instead I was the only Womens Cat 1/2/3 to finish after winning all the timed sprints and the final sprint…not a true indicator of how the race went.  After the race the triathlete in me pulled on my running shoes to finish the day as a brick workout bike/run.  Then I got to join the AIA triathlon crew for a delicious BBQ and even better people!

Good morning road race: 117km with two KOM challenges for points.  After Banff I was nervous to let any breaks happen without me and put in a solid effort with a group of 6 off the front at about 30km into the race.  The group caught us and I noticed that the group was doing well to never let a break stay away for very long.  I decided to sit in a little more for the rest of the race and let my legs recover for the KOM and final sprint.  The first KOM I was 5^th (no points) and before I could challenge the second KOM at 100km I flatted!  Argh!  The wheel vehicle was quick to arrive but not so quick to do the wheel swap (we laughed about it later).  I got to draft for a little while to make up some lost time but had to TT effort the last 15km to the finish.  The thing is I was killing the TT effort!  Pushing the wattage and feeling peppy!  I caught a few stragglers from the group but was too far back to be a part of the sprint finish – but maybe it was God’s grace to get left behind but I was nowhere near the crash that occurred at the finish line leaving one rider with broken bones!

This third weekend of bike racing shows me that I am riding strong – way stronger than I was in May at Saskatchewan bike races!  Next up, is BCsuperweek: 9 races in 10 days that includes UCI stages with pros and BIGGGGGGA money (so you know its pro).  Wish me luck! And send up your prayers!

While in Edmonton I got to order my FAVOURITE salad at Greenhouse Gardens and my FAVOURITE scone at WildEarth Bakery

Edmonton: A hidden gem

Sometimes it pays to win.  Thanks ABA and Juventus for putting on a great race in Devon!

 

FISUgandALISON: see what I did there?

One crazy week in Entebbe, Uganda

I can’t believe that I travelled 31 hours to get to sleep in sticky-hot Uganda for just 4 nights before competing in a 6km cross-country race against all sorts of languages, nationalities and personalities, and then leave the next evening to travel 34hrs back to Abbotsford.  It was crazy, but that is what makes this world beautiful: adventure, challenge, friendship and a good attitude.   I came in at 17th place, 3rd Canadian and our women's team took home the bronze (woop! woop!).

 

Team Canada in 3rd behind Uganda 1st and Japan 2nd

As it turned out my roommate was very beautiful ;)

Girls Team: Colleen, me, Victoria, Julie-Ann, Grace

Allow me to share a few moments Uganda moments - ha ha - where it was necessary to make the best of every situation.

• Loooooooong travel: get to know Canadian Team, homework compression socks, airport yoga
• Sticky-hot heat of Uganda: turn on the air conditioning in the hotel room
• Weird food options: eating small and non-adventurous until after the race
•  Eating dinner at 9:00pm: Buy bananas for inter-meal satiation
•  Having so-called-dinner at the mayor’s house: call it a dream and giggle with teammates
• Race in the heat and altitude: drink lots of water the day before, wear sunscreen
•  Closest safari is 5hrs away: go to the zoo and take animal selfies

 

The mini bananas - sweeter than regular bananas

Finally eating...in the dark...after 9:00pm the day before Race Day.  Options: potato mash (matooke), boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, potato medley, squash, white rice, brown rice, spaghetti noodles, flatbread, chicken, fish heads, beef stew, and steamed green stuff

Jackson with Jackson - animal selfie

Dressed up for the Safari

Rhino in the wild safari...while we continue wearing our yellow suits and imaginations

A black and white stripped painted horse - a zebra

What was the race like?

•  Hot – but with a breeze and a bit overcast
• Tough competitors: good athletes from all over but no one would know who at the start line
• Raced on Africa’s oldest golf course and had us run through a couple of sand pits
• Lots of African security, no porta-poddies and no bushes to hid behind…until they brought poddies 15min before the race started
• Some teams shared start boxes even when some boxes were empty randomly between teams
•  LOADS of Ugandan children watching and cheering Canada on!

Entebbe Golf Course served as the race course

 

Signing autographs for our Ugandan supporters

What kind of people did I meet there?

• We flew the 10hrs between Amsterdam and Entebbe with the Suisse team and adopted their small team as honorary Canadians
• Lots of East Asian boys’ teams that wanted to say hello to us white Canadian girls
• The Oliech family (Canadians from my Church that recently moved to Uganda) I got to shower them with gifts from Canada and give them hugs and they pulled out a Canadian flag to come watch the races
• Rachelle Briscoe!!  A friend from TWU who is living and working in the nearby city in Uganda saw my facebook posts and came out to watch!
• In general, most everyone spoke English (at least a bit of English) which made it easier to make friends from all over

Oliechs and me

This girl - Rachelle Briscoe :) TWU grad

What did I learn?

• I can run well in the heat
•  I don’t like matooke (plantain aka banana mash)
• That being married is surprising news
• Some Australian slang
•  Amsterdam has the best Americanos and coffee cookies (stroopiewaffels) of all time
• I LOVE my Canadiam teammates!!

Thank you all who supported me to get here through financial aid, words of encouragement, shared excitement and prayers!
 
Now for MORE PHOTOS!!!
 

Smart and casual

In a Dutch teacup in Amsterdam airport

Grace and I with our Dutch coffees :) The best americano ever (fullstop)

It was sooo good that I had two!!!