THE 'BIG EASY' WAS NOT SO EASY

Brandon and I had a great time in New Orleans this past weekend. N.O. seems like a cool city but unfortunately we didn't have much time to do any sightseeing. Maybe next time!

The swim was point to point in Lake Poopootrain as it is known because of its fecal count. It actually wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. I liked the point to point swim. No buoys to deal with, just swim straight until the finish. However, it felt very long and at the start you couldn't even see the half way mark! Stayed on Dr. JZ's feet during the whole swim which I was very pleased with. I never left her out of my sight. Felt nice and relaxed the whole swim and for once... I loved my wetsuit so, thank you Xterra! There were about 4 of us that came out of the water together and we had about a 3 minute lead on the second pack.

I've been biking well for the last couple of months and was excited to see what I could do. Hopped on my bike and took off. I felt a little wobbly at first but just pushed on the pedals and kept going. At mile 1...yes, mile 1 my front tire was completely flat. Had some not so nice words with myself and pulled over to the side of the road for what I thought would be a quick change. I guess they don't call clincher tires for no reason! I had the hardest time getting the tire off since they were new tires. I thought it would take maybe 10' max to change the tire. Well...10' went by, 20' went by and then finally around 28' or so later I was back on my bike. Bike support never came, as I'm assuming they were out on the course already and not at mile 1. I thought about going back to transition to see if there was bike support there, but figured it would take just as long to get there then try to get the tire off myself. A couple of spectators offered to help, but I didn't think we were allowed to have any outside assistance so I told them that I had to do it myself. Once I finally got the tire off I was quite impressed how fast I got the new tube in and aired up.

It was frustrating watching all the 'pro' women ride by. But, I understand that flat tires (mechanicals) are a part of racing and you have to be prepared for anything to happen on race day. I was prepared and had everything I needed to change the tire, but unfortunately it was a real struggle for me to get the tire off. Next time, (which I hope never happens again) the tire should be a little looser and a bit easier to get off. I'm not quite sure what happened with the front tire. It could have been a small leak or something I ran over within the first mile. I will never know and it's over and done with and time to move on.

I knew I wanted to finish the race even though I was so far behind the other 'pro' women. I have sat out a lot of races the last two years because of foot issues and I wasn't going to sit out another race just because of a flat tire. We drove all the way to N.O. to race and that's what I wanted to do. There was no question that I wasn't going to finish. Once back on the bike, I just stayed to the left and tried to pass anyone and everyone that I could. Ended up having a solid ride even though I was still pretty far back from all the other women.

On to the run...My foot has been feeling good lately and this was going to be my longest run to test it out. The first 7 miles seemed to take forever and I just had no snap in my legs. It was hot, humid, windy and water stops were few and far between. I even walked through a couple of aid stations so that I could get enough fluids in. Around mile 8 I started feeling better and actually picked up the pace a bit. The run was mentally tough as I never saw any other women out there to push the pace until...mile 9. I finally saw a girl up ahead and I was determined not to get last! I passed her and was feeling good and then eventually passed another girl the last 1/2 mile. The finishing stretch was amazing with tons of people lined up on the side of the road. I actually had tears in my eyes running down the final stretch because I was so happy that I was finally running/racing again without any pain, and that I finished the race.

The season is still early and there is still a lot of room for improvement. After a couple of days easy, I'm looking forward to getting back to training and see what I can do in my upcoming races.

I hope to have some pictures posted of our trip so stay tuned!

Thanks to all of my sponsors for your support...ATC, Xterra, TYR, Pure Sport, TP Therapy, Performance Wellness. Also, thanks to Ryan Tomeny for hooking us up with a wonderful homestay, Sean Mauberret (aka Jack Black...that's who he reminded us of).