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 :)

Edmonton ITU 2013

Today I get to post epic pictures because I had my main man and media guy cheering me on at this race.

It was a beautiful sunny day.

I was well rested and trained up.

No flats.  No crashes. Always a few blisters.  Great competition.  Carefully organized course.

And…

I won!  I won with an overall personal best and PB’s in all of my splits!  Finally! Thank you, Lord.  1^st in the Collegiate Championship division for my university Trinity Western, and 1^st overall female!

Total time: 2:06:53.9

Swim: 22:24.7 (my fastest time yet, but looking for a sub 21:00)

Bike: 1:04:17.6 (with hills!)

Run: 37.09.8 (so happy with this time! I’ve known for a while now that I should be able to run a 37:00 or less at the end of a triathlon and finally! Finally! It’s here.)

The next closest female clocked in at a 2:14- (+9min) and I wouldn’t have ended anything less than 5^th place in any male category.  I hope this shows TriCanada that Jackson CAN race elite World Cups!!!  It was tough watching the women’s elite race later in the afternoon because, although I would have been last out of the water, I would have very well passed the stragglers on the bike AND caught the trail pack and….and…who KNOWS what would have happened!  I had to keep reminding myself that I am very happy with my age group overall win and more than that the great time I was able to produce.

Thank you so much to my amazing fan squad: my hubby Alex, Ma & Pa Farkash, my broskie Nathan and miss Terri, Denise Totman my friend and swim butt-kicker ;) and of course the AIA Triathlon team who you could find on every corner of that race course it seemed!!!

ACTIONjackson is very blessed!

AIA racers

It's A BIG World!

What an AMAZING blessing to get to compete at the 2012 Triathlon World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand!  I give it a ‘whoop whoop!’

'Sola Cafe' and 'Ben' - favorite coffee stops

The food is YUM.

The coffee is excellent.

The people are ‘Sweet As’.

The race was a good race for me too.  The day was the right temperature, although a bit windy that got stronger as the race went on.

Swim time 24:52.  That is not my best this year but this swim was different.  My best time this year was in a ‘lake’ on a calm day – NZ had wind and waves and a current and tide.  28^th out of the water.

Bike time 1:10:39.  This is a grrrREAT bike time and we had wind and hills! 5^th fastest bike time.

Run time 39:52.  Hmm…definitely NOT my best run time.  I was looking for a sub 38min 10K time.  Did I give it all on the bike?  The run was a flat course with a lot of change of surface to run on, and the wind.  At any rate it was still 4^th fastest run time in my age group (1^st girl was at a 35min and change!).

Next Year World Championships will be held in London, UK.  All the podium spots were taken mainly by Kiwis’, Aussies and Team GB.  New Zealand hosted tough competition and I expect London to do the same.  What is better than 11^th?  FIRST!

Alison, Maori girl, Angela at Opening Ceremonies

Movie Night and Bible Study

Hap-hap-happy to be Chaplains :)

Thank you to all those who supported us through Athletes in Action as Alex, Ian and I volunteered to be chaplains for Team Canada at the World Champs.

Thank you to all those who generously gave in support of my athletic pursuits to be World Champion.

Thank you especially to Wentings Cycle and Mountain Shop in Mission, BC and the amazing group of cyclists with Phoenix Velo Cycling Team out of Mission/Abbotsford BC!  The bike and wheels were AWEsome!!!!!

Thank you to Ma and Pa Jackson for your support in many ways.  Thank you to Ma and Pa Farkash for your sideline support AT THE RACE in New Zealand!  That was amazing :)

Thank you Vermilion Rotary Club for your generous donation in support of a girl who wants to do the best she can for her sport and community.

Thank you Trinity Western University and Mark Bomba for your incredible support and elite level coaching.

Thank you Webbs of Vermilion for your support and excitement of a farm-girl turned triathlete.

Thank you Joanne Martin and the Keith Martin fund.

How many people and groups can I name individually who helped?  SOOOOOO MANY!

Thank you Katie Wallbaum for giving out of your student pocket :)

Thank you Wynand Groen, Bonnie Bauer (the first to give), Farkash Farms, Integra Tire, The Lupuls, Mike Smart, Charlie and Andy Lee “Powered by Lee”, Carol McLean, Val and Ross Neufeld, Bruce and Sylvia Friesen, Louise Cartwright, George and Phyllis Webb, Clearbrook Iron, Scott and Toni Ritchie.

NEXT YEAR: LONDON UK

Our Touring Campervan :)

On Our Hike

At the top of 'The Pinnacles'

"How do I get out? I'm stumped."

A few race stats:

Time: 2:21:42

11/63 Women age 20-24

(1^st Canadian; 3^rd in North/South America)

22/686 Women Overall

(2^nd Canadian overall)

'NEW' Zealand - Day One

Hey!

We are settled into our hotel :)

I slept 8 HRS straight on the plane - a 14hr flight! (CrrrrAzy!)  We left 8:00pm on Sunday, October 14, to arrive 6:00am October 16.  Sigh...what happened to Lonnie's birthday????  Anyway, that sleep produced in me a good enough attitude to ride the course with Team Canada in the morning, AND swim the course with the team in the afternoon.

It's brilliant here (kiwi talk)

We love meeting locals and borrowing their grocery savings card :)

I'll leave you with a picture of the day.

Cheers! (also kiwi talk)

Mark Your Calendars!

*CORRECTION* Wednesday, August 29, 7:30pm – Check out Lloydminster area local news for ‘Around the Area’ to get the run-around on Vermilion’s triathlon group!

Tuesday, August 14, 11:00-2:00 – Bison BBQ Fundraiser at The Edge (near Co-op grocery in Vermilion)

• Bison burger or smokie and support Project New Zealand by sending me to Worlds!
• Bake Sale - grab some goodies from the homemade bake sale and auction
• KIDS bring your bike and test your skills in our bike obstacle course!
• Additionally, sign up for a pledge sheet to help me with various triathlon items

Oops I did it again...

I hiked up a mountain.

Week 'fore a race! 

Oh ouchie, ouchie.

Yes, oops is right for hiking another Rocky Mountain peak the week before a race!  But…but…it was only a 4 hour round trip hike!  I am still not sure why I was so sore and could barely walk 3 days later!  Am I not used to walking up steep inclines? Or was it the running down the mountain that did it?

Ha'Ling Peak (2296 ft)

Anyway, I won’t complain too much about it because I was able to finish the race (I didn’t think I would get any farther than the swim) and I actually placed quite well.

The ITU was a great practice to get ready for elite racing.  Our swim was wetsuit prohibited, I practiced my transitions and ran barefoot in my shoes (without getting any blisters!).  The hardest part was the bike portion where I had no ‘umph’ in my legs for the hill (which are usually my favourite) and it was my aerobic training that got me through the run on a base pace...or was it the AMAZING fans that were there cheering???  My husband being my #1 fan and media man :) 

Thanks to out AIA teammates who cheered and had a cold freezee waiting for me at the finish!!!  ALSO thanks to Amber and Matt, Leah and dog, & Katie and Carrie for coming!!  Yay!!!

Looking forward to training hard for the next 38 days leading up to Kelowna – August 19^th!

Keep A Lookout For:

- Local TV Interview of me!  (They found me on THIS blog!) 

- Fundraiser event in Vermilion August 4^th AND WATCH THE LONDON 2012 WOMEN’S OLYMPIC RACE 

Final time 2:18:17.9 20-24 Age Group Winner and 5th Female Overall

Complete Results HERE

Great SCOTT! I've been FOILed!

 We all know who is excited to send me to New Zealand to the 2012 Triathlon World Championship!  It is the people who make up the Phoenix Velo Cycling Club!  Wentings Cycle and Mountain Shop hosts this Fraser Valley team in Mission, BC.

It was in the fall of 2011 when my friends on the team contacted me with a keen interest in supporting my journey in any way possible.  I wasn’t much help and didn’t offer any ideas, I mostly just agreed – with a dropped jaw – to everything they said. 

I am still amazed and so very blessed that a group of people believe in me so very much – or maybe they were sick of me wearing the team jersey with a crooked helmet on my head, and others were wanting to borrow the Black Angus wheelset!  Well, now I look goooood riding my own wheels on a beautiful 2012 Scott bike: the Contessa FOIL! 

(Now, I just have to convince the team to change their colors to black and purple :]  Wish me luck!)

A BIG BIG BIG! Thank you to the guys of Phoenix Velo!

(especially Black Angus :], Nigel Thompson, Bruce Wenting at Wentings Cycle and Mountain Shop, Geoff Oram and all you spandex-wearing Phoenix jerseys!)

Shifting gears is easier when:

1) you are riding a Scott FOIL!

2) the bike is a gift from AMAZING people!!

3) transitioning between running focus and triathlon knowing that you get to ride a RIDICULOUSLY GOOD-LOOKING BIKE!

I have now ‘shifted the gears’ from a running focus to a 7 month build up for the 2012 Triathlon World Championships.  Although I often feel very alone in pursuing this triathlon dream amidst only runners, only swimmers and only cyclists but really it is just a VERY LARGE TEAM!!

In no way am I alone

...when my cycling team of friends rally together to get me the newest Contessa Scott FOIL.  It is their most aerodynamic road bike and for a girl like me racing Age Group now, but pursuing the switch to elite, it is the PERFECT FIT FOR ME!

In no way am I alone

...when I’ve got coaches at TWU working me hard and allowing me to have my ins-and-outs as a triathlete.

In no way am I alone

...when my husband and family do all that they can to make sure I am in the best environment possible to attain this goal.

In no way am I alone

...when I have Athletes in Action (AIA) triathlon group traveling with me to New Zealand in October and encouraging me that God loves athletes and wants to teach us and unite us through our sport.

In no way am I alone

...when I believe God has a plan for me and right now we are headed for more triathlons.

P.S. Want to watch a video presentation that I made for school about my bike??? :]