Age Group Nationals

Hey there followers! As promised, here is my de-briefing on Age Group Nationals, which took place this past Saturday in Burlington, Vermont. Now I will try to keep this short, but I am going to warn you its gonna get long... I've got a lot to write about! If you're in a hurry, just read the last couple paragraphs.

I flew into Boston that Wednesday and met my parents. I had been running on very little sleep the past nights for various reasons, so I was maybe a bit grumpy... anyway, we got all settled in and went for an easy jog in Cambridge. I felt like a dumb jock compared to all the brilliant minds at work in Harvard and MIT just around the corner, but it was such a beautiful area to be in. Here is a pic from the run!

That next morning as we were getting ready to go to Burlington (about a 3 hour drive) I realized I felt  terrible. I must've had some bad seafood the night before, because I proceeded to puke my guts out and writhe in agony the whole car trip up. Great way to go into the weekend of the biggest race of my life, but honestly I don't know how much it really affected me come race day.

The day before the race I was feeling considerably better, although my appetite hadn't quite come back all the way yet. Any way, I went for a tune-up run along the beaches of lake Champlain in my new Newton shoes!

Beautiful venue for a triathlon, don't you think??

These are the new kicks. Against my better judgement and the advice of the guy who sold them to me (who turned out to be Brandon Jessup, a track star from my hometown who is now a pro triathlete in Denver... weird coincidence I know, but that is another story in itself) I wore them race day after only a few runs in them. They flew. These shoes do not like to go slow, I felt like I had strapped Wile E. Coyote-style rocket shoes on my feet. But I digress...

Race morning came and I felt great. In retrospect now I would have left the pack on the swim and gone on my own. I am not a pack swimmer, because I have never had to be, so it would've been to my advantage to be alone. The bike I maybe would have pushed a bit more. When I started bonking on the run, it was from the heat, not from my legs giving out. The run was my best split ever by close to 2 minutes. I guess all that track work has paid off... Thanks Mac!

Now, more about the bonk. I was an inch away from totally rolling over at about mile 4.5. I guess the old me would have. But that day, something inside me changed. I felt a defiance in myself that I hope to be able to tap into again when I need it. Something just said "NO!! We are NOT going to quit until this is DONE!" and so I didn't. A good portion of it was you, as I said before. I knew I couldn't address my followers knowing deep down that I had given up on myself. Thanks for keeping me in line!

Here is a picture of my transition area on race day morning. It is a tradition of mine to always take a picture of my transition area and send it to some friends for good luck. Bike shoes in the pedals, helmet on the aero bars, and running shoes to the side, it is set up for speed and simplicity.

Well like I said, I knew that was going to get a little long. I will do a post tomorrow about Burlington the town. It is such a cool little place that I am definitely going to have to go back when its not a business trip! Until then, keep following the Pace Rabbit!