Block l: California Winters and Bike Racing

I’ve been back in Canada for a week now and it’s COLD!  The California sun has spoiled me!  Alex has been out biking in shorts and a t-shirt and I’m bundled up in wool socks, shoe covers, leg warmers, jersey + long sleeve jersey + winter bike jacket + neck gater + doubled-up gloves! (All labeled with the team name TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air thanks to JL Velo an eco-friendly sport clothing company).

I can’t complain for long though because I am so enjoying riding my bike, spending time with Alex, crafting, wedding dress shopping for my sister, and packing up property – yes, we are moving!  To spur on our life of adventure and bikes we are moving to Alberta to be farmers for the few weeks that we aren't chasing bike races across the globe.  We have the best employers out in Alberta (thanks mom and dad!) that allow us to work and travel as much as we need to so I can work as a professional cyclist.

The cycling? Yes! It has be fantastic!  I am so thankful that Alex and my parents got to meet a few of the amazing people that I've had the privilege of sharing a meal with during my first block of training and racing down south.  First off, I've joined many new fan clubs for people I love.  One for Mama V (Julia), a former USA mtb pro, a mother of two craaaazy boys, a successful business woman with an enormous helping heart and living powerfully at an age that puts a twinkle in my eye because I know what I’m going to be like at that age too ;)  And another fan club for Chef John for his kind heart that spills over into deliciously cooked meats, chill conversation and his all-in attitude when he approaches a challenge.  This is another big thank you to you two.

"This is a road bike." (photo: VeloImages)

Training camp was awesome.  When spending time with such amazing people and athletes you are bound to soak up something – especially when you are as curious as me!

TTT practice on our FELT bikes (photo: Nick Kova)

team cheer - #powerpose

Valley of the Sun was our first race weekend together as a team, and I have to say that I LOVE RACING AS A TEAM!  The tactics are so fun and I love being a part of something that is bigger than me alone.  I was so excited to race my amazing FELT TTbike with the cool sound effects made by the ZIPP disc wheel (I’m doing things I only dreamed of before).  Unluckily, I got a flat at the turn-around and waved to every person, car, and cactus that I saw until someone picked me up 6km later.  Ugh, so I became nobody’s threat to their GC standing but I did become a grrrrREAT teammate!  (heehee)  My job for the following road race and crit was to watch and bridge and chase and listen to my teammates for what they needed me to do.  It was great fun!  We got to practice lead-outs and I got to feel what it is like to lay it all down 3 laps to go to make it easier for the next teammate to lead out our sprinter for the win (and we did win)!

Two weeks later a small portion of our team (4 athletes) drove up to Chico for a 4 event stagerace.  This was fun because we were all fairly new to pro racing and were forced to figure it out together.  It opened up a few new opportunities and I was able to take two stage wins for the team!  At the first stage, I was not ‘one to watch’ but when the pack opened in front of me on the climb 2km to go I went with all I had in a solo break that just barely kept off the masses for the finish line.  My teammate Andrea had suggested I channel energy from my last race when I got a flat at VOS TT to push hard this weekend which was really helpful to find focus for this final effort on the front.  Every race that weekend TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air had at least one person on the podium and in the end we took home all the jerseys: Yellow – GC winner, White – U23 winner, Green – points/sprint winner. After two stage wins and some hidden sprint points collected during the crit I found myself in the green jersey!  I love that cycling is dependent on having a good team – the whole team earned those jerseys, not just the person wearing them in pictures.

It’s been fantastic working with the TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air directors Mari and Nicola, my bestie team mechanic James, all of our hosts that housed us for training camp and races, and I’m honored to get to work with my favorite Canadian athlete Alison Testroete on my training program.

Race line-up for the Spring:
San Dimas Stage Race - March 27-29

Redlands Bicycle Classic - April 8-12

Subaru Sea Otter Classic - April 16-19

Tour of the Gila - April 29-May 3

Amgen Tour of California - May 8-10, 15

P.S. One of my favorite memories of of California is from building a box maze for the boys in our host house.

Oh yeah, two levels, multiple dead ends and only one way out!

Introducing ALISON JACKSON, professional cyclist

Follow @teamtwenty16 on Instagram

For me, 2015 brought with it TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air a UCI pro cycling team based out of California.  Based on some conversations after bike racing in 2014, I was offered a spot on Team TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air.  I am excited to be working with a fantastic team of directors Nicola, Mari, Julia and Kristin.  These women are both powerful and beautiful with so much experience to offer. 

Other fantastic people that we get to work with are our sponsors Kim and Scott Tedro with Sho-Air trade show and event transportation, Felt Bicycles (#therealjimfelt), SRAM #leapthefrog, ZIPP on speedy wheels, QUARQ for da power, JL Velo for team clothing, Violich Farms (my homestay and Californian almonds), k-Edge, Fiizik, GQ:6, Speedplay, Pain Pathways magazine, Clif Bar, Catlike Helmets, Ride Biker Alliance, Thule, Oakley, Arundel, dznuts, ec3d compression (Canadian company!!!), Kreitler Rollers, Arctic Heat, Modify Watches, Bubbled Wall, Pedros (keeping my bike clean), Sock Guy, City Cycle, George’s Cycle & Fitness, and Velo Images.

I look forward to the coming days spent with teammates because they have so much experience and know how that I want to learn.  My goal is to be a sponge!!

Training on the best equipment: Felt Bicycles, Fizik, Zipp, SRAM, Speedplay, Arundel

Teammates!!!!

Pit stops = Shot Block picnics

Thank you also to Bruce from Wentings Cycle and my first ever bike team Phoenix Velo for always encouraging me and supporting me to keep biking!

I am happy to represent my family everywhere I go as they are my biggest supporters of life.  My cutest husband Alex who works hard to have me follow my dreams while meshing them with his own.  My biggest fan: Mom (who comes to more races than anyone), and Dad who I know is so proud of me.  My sister who makes family time better by scheduling my training time around family time.  My bro and his new wife who share in my excitement. My second parents and brother who love that I bike and would do anything to help me succeed.  I love you all!

I’ll keep the blog updated but it’s going to be all about bikes now!  Do I need a new nickname or will triactionjackson still fit?  Only time will tell.

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

TWU Spartan's Alison Jackson - Graduating Reflections

Thank you to TWU Spartan media man - Mark Janzen for conducting this graduation video, you have been a blast to work with throughout the years.

For the rest of you, enjoy the video!

Graduation Reflections

A Spartan for the Final Season

With only one more class needed to finish my degree and only one more year of eligibility to run for the university, I took a French class for fun and planned to run every day.  However, my biggest goal was to inspire other athletes to be leaders on the TWU Spartan track team.

First: A Kudos to my 4 years at Trinity Western University.

In the beginning, it took a bit of convincing to make the switch from where I was at a local university to attend and train at TWU.  When I did decide to make the switch I was all in: the faith community, the high-level of academics, and the elite level of training that TWU offered could not be beat.  I was challenged in many ways and have graduated a better person full of confidence to pursue all of my God-given dreams.

Second: The final XC season.

Just as we planned in training, I came out faster at every race throughout the season than the previous year (about 30+sec faster over 6km).  I placed 3^rd, 4^th, 2^nd and 7^th respectively, in the CIS season, finishing 7^th at nationals.  Our women’s team took home the CanWest Championship banner and trophy for the second year running (pardon the pun *wink*) and finished 2^nd as a team at our National Championships.  The word of the year for our team was ‘history’, and even though we wanted to make that by winning our National Championships, that National Championship race made history in and of itself!  Race day included 100kph winds with gusts of up to 140kph!  We will all be talking about our week out in St.John’s, Newfoundland for years to come.  Also, TWU’s XC team made history by giving back to the local community and inspire young runners in schools to participate in athletics.  We hosted a School Spirit Contest across the entire school district in St.John’s and surrounding communities awarding two winning schools with a running clinic from the TWU XC team.  The run clinics were a great success which brought as much joy to the elementary students as it did our team. Finally, and especially meaningful to me, was that the love of my life flew all the way across the country to watch the race and tour the countryside with me afterward.  The history books will say, that I have the best family who ever supported an athlete.

A few girls from one of the School Spirit Run Clinics

Royal Blue: color matched for TWU

That's me, second row, tucked in like a cyclist to defend myself against the brutal wind!

Hanging onto our well-earned Championship banner

Alex and I exploring the east coast

One of many Newfoundland fishing town

We were awarded honorary Newfoundland status after getting 'Screeched-in'

Living out of the back of a rental van :)

Fogo Island - a must visit on the east coast

Fogo Island's beautiful coast

In order to wrap up my time at TWU, here is a list of a few of my accomplishments during my university career:

-          Best finish at CIS XC Nationals : 5^th (2013), 7^th (2014)

-          Best finish at Canadian XC Nationals: 14^th (2013), 19^th (2014)

-          Named to Canadian World University XC Team 2014 to finish 17^th individually, 3^rd as a team

-          Best indoor 3000m: 9:36 and CanWest Champion (2013, 2014), 4^th at Nationals (2013), 6^th (2014)

-          Best indoor 1500m: 4:31 and 6^th at Nationals (2013), 11^th (2014)

-          Canada West Student Athlete of the Year 2013

-          Hosting the School Spirit Contest during our trip to Newfoundland for the 2014 XC Nationals

-          A graduating GPA equivalent to an A-

As for the goals that I set out to accomplish this season, I did not make the Canadian team for XC Worlds - God knows that it doesn't fit with my new line of work anyway (more to come) - however, I do believe I succeeded in leading myself out of a job as Team Captain on the TWU track team because I am not missed yet from a void of my input, lol, but I am happy to say that the team is full of beautiful candidates for future leadership.

Cheers to the next season of athletics and of life!!

The STANDARD Episode

     Again, I chose not to wear a wetsuit but I wish for this one I had one!  1500m in the pond, two hours earlier than the Sprint race, and on a rainy miserable day – the wetsuit would have made warmth and flotation benefits.

     The entire race felt strained and my body felt tight rather than relaxed (possibly tired from Friday’s Sprint race, possibly not dressed properly for the weather).  Still, on the bike I was able to catch and pass people especially on all the corners (triathletes cannot corner well…good thing I’m also a cyclist!).  When I got to the run I was still feeling tightness and couldn't seem to settle into a 36min 10km pace which I accomplished last year.

     It was really fun to get to see teammates out on the course racing and on the sidelines cheering!  I already had my win and taking 7^th place in the Standard distance isn't so bad either.  Two years ago in Auckland I came 11^th so I am happy that this is still an improvement.

*~Best Story of the Day~*

     After taking my bike out of transition, I had my Garmin in the pocket of my backpack.  I visited with teammates, tried the specialty ‘Draft Legal’ beer at the gardens and watched some more racing before I headed home.  At this point I noticed that I had lost my Garmin.  So I went looking.  When I arrived at the Lost and Found desk, with my Garmin serial number (which I just so happened to have in an email), I expected that whoever found the Garmin would decide to keep it – lucky find.  However, the clerk handed me my Garmin with a note on it!  The note said “Ride Fast” “Good luck – from Russia”.  Isn’t that so cool!  A Russian athlete turned in my Garmin!  So cool :)

Here are some pictures of the day, including the podium presentation at the closing ceremonies!

Swm - Bike - Run

Getting friendly with other Canadian athletes :)

Standing on top of the podium with the Canadian flag = A proud athlete

     That’s all for the triathlon season!  Next up, my final semester at Trinity Western University running my last cross country season and studying French! 

Yes, I am taking a French class, but no, I will not dress like this all the time ;)

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 :)