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
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 morefundraising for AIAand also some personal
fundraisingto 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:
oCycling shoes women’s size 10 (because I have
size nine & they are crunching my feet!) ($200-300)
oRace saddle for my new SCOTT bike ($200)
oRunning shoes (because I destroy a pair every
couple of months) ($75-150)
oStubby draft-legal areo bars (200)
oA Bike Box! (I've got to get my bike to New
Zealand safe and sound and in one beautiful piece) (300-500)
oBike computer (perhaps a Garmin Edge 400, but maybe
I’m dreaming) (350)
Also, I will need acertified ITU elite triathlon race suitfor 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 16Monroe, 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
It is that time of the year again when my husband and I
travel back to Alberta for spring planting, summer farming and milking the
bison….?!
On our way through the Rockies we stopped for a free night
stay at the Paintbox Lodge B&B in Canmore.Last year I won the Canmore triathlon and
this was the main prize!It was wonderful!The Paintbox Lodge provides guests with cruiser
bikes to travel around town: Bikes with Baskets!
3 and 1/2 hours of cycling with the BEST TEAM EVER will do that to a girl!
It's been WAAAAAAAAY too long since I went for a ride with the boys in Phoenix Velo, but what a great ride to squeak in on! A warm - but not too warm - day. NO RAIN!!! And lots of fun conversations, hill climbs and getting to that 100km mark.
Mmm...and when I got home the chocolate milk tasted mooooost delicious.
Bike with Tow Rope
Let's do it again, ok boys? Maybe I'll even let one of you beat me up the Glenmore hill ....NAH!!
With this SCOTT bike I sure can destroy!
Happy, happy girl.
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 toblack 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??? :]
This is where my CIS track season ends for 2012. We were looking for some best times and a top 2 finish but the energy levels were low and my determinant power was also low. I needed a mushroom rocket booster or a gold star or some banana peels to drop on the track behind me - but it is winter in Saskatchewan, and even the Saskatoon berries are hiding!
4 Highlights:
1) Ma and Pa Farkash and sister Nicole came all the way out to watch! Woooo!
2) Melissa Breland!!
3) The Rad Relay Team debut! TWU 4x800 girls rock :]
4) Rooming with an amazing teammate and friend Nikki Bell
Congratulations to my TWU teammates who did have best times, tried a new race for the first time ever, and those who are travelling onto Manitoba for CIS Championships!
