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

FREEZES . . . FREEZIES? FREEZEES?

How do you spell it?  You know, those delicious-colorful-pipes-of-frozen-sugar-water?

Well, our sign said ‘Freezes’ and kids still came for a refreshing treat.

Here in Vermilion I connected with the man who first introduced me to triathlons and found out that he has a crew of 14 or more kids that he has been preparing to race at a kids triathlon in a nearby city.  Right away I asked if I could help.  On a Thursday before the race, we met the kids at the pool to run through transitions – the heart and soul of triathlon racing.  It was great, the parents set up bike racks and the kids excitedly arranged their gear.  I was given quite the introduction which excited everyone that a small town girl is competing on the world stage in triathlon!

After practice, I made sure everyone got a box of raisins.  It is wonderful: teaching kids about race nutrition AND they like you better!

Anyway, this practice led me to bring our Athletes in ActionTriathlon group to volunteer at the Vegreville iTri Kids Triathlon and set up an AIA booth to hand out…

      Freezes.

Alex and I got there early Saturday morning of June 2^nd to roll out mats and body mark the competitors.  Ian set up the tent. 

Then we cheered the kids on from 7&under to Adult to Special Olympic racers.  I confess, I cheered a little bit louder for our Vermilion kids :)

After the race, our tent was the favorite stop for all the competitors:  It was a HOT day!  And I was so blessed that the Vermilion gang asked me to sign their t-shirts – and I haven’t even been to Worlds yet!

Yup, I love triathlons.

And I love that God loves triathletes :)

Alberta Provincial Cycling Champ?

Can you pick me out?

Well, I entered a cycling race this last weekend.  I mean, why not?  I need the practice racing in a pack and drafting.  ABA (Alberta Bicycling Association) was holding their provincial championships at Pigeon Lake near Edmonton so I signed up and raced 3 days later.

The Women’s Cat 3/4/5 was a 63K race fairly flat, kind of rolly.

The ladies were great.   

They really were lovely. 

 It was a safe race all around ZERO crashes! Praise God!  (It’s because my mom was there praying the whole time!)  It was a fairly easy paced race I kept in the back for the first half then in good position changing leads for the second half.  No one broke from the group at all. 

1000m to go I’m leading in the head wind…

                200m to go…

                                Okay, so I am going…

                                                Up the hill and cross the line. 

                                                                First :) 

That's the finish line

Anyway, I have the BEST support team EVER!

1. PhoenixVelo for the speedy SCOTT FOIL that makes cycling feel like flying

2. Athletes inAction who helped sign me up and made me wear sweet threads

3. My cheer team! Momma and Papa Farkash, the Husband, and my brother-in-law

Complete Results HERE

Me and the Husband :)

               

The ACTION Jackson Movie

If you want to donate to the trip for a taxable receipt click HERE which will take you to aiatriathlon.ca. Then make sure to write a comment or note for "Action Jackson - New Zealand" :) or Alison Jackson

I will be doing some more fundraising for AIA and also some personal fundraising to help me get to the World Championships in top competing condition!  Next to trip and competition costs I have a few items on my wishlist which include:

o   Cycling shoes women’s size 10 (because I have size nine & they are crunching my feet!) ($200-300)

o   Race saddle for my new SCOTT bike ($200)

o   Running shoes (because I destroy a pair every couple of months) ($75-150)

o   Stubby draft-legal areo bars (200)

o   A Bike Box! (I've got to get my bike to New Zealand safe and sound and in one beautiful piece) (300-500)

o   Bike computer (perhaps a Garmin Edge 400, but maybe I’m dreaming) (350)

Also, I will need a certified ITU elite triathlon race suit for the elite races I hope to do this summer and I am looking for sponsors who want to put their logo on the suit (even if you don’t have a business but you want your name on it under ‘Powered By:’). Suggested donations are $100 for a small logo $175 for a medium logo 250 for a large logo.

Or, if you want to sponsor a race (send me to a race) this is my tentative race plan for 2012 (very dependent on funding to get to elite races and continental cups):

June 16 Monroe, WA age group draft legal sprint race (for practice)           

July 8 Edmonton’s Hawrelak Park Triathlon Olympic Age Group Nationals

August 19 Kelowna ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup (Elite Race)

September 15 Buffalo ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup (Elite Race)

October 22 Barfoot&Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final Auckland

- there are entry fees and travel fees

Contact me via triactionjackson@gmail.com for more info!