2014 was a Good Year!

 I was recently notified that I received the 2014 Canadian Sprint Athlete of the Year Award by Triathlon Canada, because I won the 25-29 Age Group Sprint Triathlon World Championship in August, 2014.  In addition to that, I had received the 2014 BC Senior Cross-Country Athlete of the Year Award by BC Athletics, because of my performance at the FISU World University Championships in Entebbe, Uganda when I ran for Team Canada in March 2014.

Thank you to both these sport governing bodies for the recognition and awards.

Team Canada at FISU XC World Championships

The Bronze medal that I won as part of the Canadian Womens Team (The real one was stolen!!!) This gem of a medal is brought to you by a fantastic friend and teammate Morgan Cabot

My 'team' at Triathlon World Championships cheering me on to my 1st place finish in the Sprint and my 7th place finish in the Standard distance

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

'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)

DSQ – Not the Greatest Feeling

The short story is that my swim was slow (24:50) and the top two ladies were fast (20:10).  The bike course was short, 8 x 5K loops (8min laps); by the time I got out on the bike course the top ladies were working together really well and ready to start their second lap while I started my first.  ITU rules are if you get lapped on the bike you are DSQ.  Unlucky for me that on the start of my 3^rd lap my seat fell down (that’s a problem) and at the end of that lap the top two girls had overtaken me.  Even without the bike malfunction I don’t know how long I could have held them off.  I passed a few girls on the bike, but the next girl, Rakel, was keeping a steady distance in front of me.  By looking at the race stats, she caught a few Guatemala girls and probably pulled them to keep ahead.  Last year half the pack had been lapped!

After going for a cool down run I watched the rest of the race: really amazing racers out there.  Alex said that he was really proud of me for handling the DSQ like I did: not getting upset, but taking the DSQ as a motivator for hard and consistent training.  My sister nailed it when she said, “Ok, so now you know you have to work that much harder on the swim…I’m glad you got the experience though you had to figure that out somehow.”

Yes, there are a few things I learned about training and racing and a few more things Alex and I learned about traveling!

1) Never fly US Airways with a bike ($200 extra each way!)

2) Sign up for race courses that suit me (longer bike loops or hills)

3) Call very early to book a homestay (save $)

4) Make friends with locals (experience the area)

5) You don't have to park in the valet Park n' Fly (there are 2 lots)

Alex and I really did have a grrrREAT adventure!  Here are some pictures from Buffalo!

Military Ships

That's what I call 'Powered by Bison'

Our B&B hosts from Oma's Guest Haus hooking us up with VIP passes to their favorite Blues bar for live music from Ronnie Baker Brooks

Alex and I at Niagara Falls

Amazing family from Toronto came to watch the race...but hanging out afterwards made it worth it to come to the race :)  Thanks Auntie Annelies and Uncle Justin!

                                                           

Complete ITU results HERE.

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 :)

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!

A Fan of Silver Hills Bread

Check it out!!
I like Silver Hills bread and now Silver Hills loves me!!!
 So they put me on their website :)

http://www.silverhillsbakery.ca/our-fans/alison-jackson

Alberta Champion

I had my very first overall win on the weekend at the Canmore Triathlon hosted by Tony Smith for SmithEvents. This overall win dubs me the 2011 Alberta Olympic Champion not only in my Age Cateogory 20-24, but also over ALL the woman racers!

Race day was beautiful and my cheer team was, as always, very enthusiastic spreading themselves about the race course. Mom Farkash, Mom Jackson, Pa Farkash (volunteering, woot woot!), Pa Jackson, and Sister Nicole. Canmore's Three Sisters Parkway and Nordic Centre posed a challenging up & down course for all the athletes. On my practice ride I knew that whoever was going to win this thing would have to be a strong cyclist and runner on these hills. Good thing I love hills (just check with Nigel, Chris, Geoff from Phoenix Velo)!

I held onto feet most of the swim, although I was a bit sloppy in the water I made it out alright. During the bike I felt good. I was really able to push the pace both on the ups & the downs. T2 was fast for me (I just got quick tie elastic laces). I past an 'O' woman right away on the run and then just ran and ran and ran...despite the hot spot blisters I could feel building on the bottoms of both my feet.

My 'team' warned me I was first...but I was skeptical so I kept my eyes locked on whoever (male or female) was ahead and made efforts to catch and pass.

Then I finished.

And I won!

1st Overall Female 2:20:46.9
(4th including the men)!
with the fastest female bike and run time for the day
Full results at http://www.smithevents.ca/Race_Results.html