AG National Championship Race 2009!

I'm addicted to trail mix. That and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I just can't seem to get enough of this stuff. I mean, if I trained as much as I eat trail mix and pb&j sandwiches I'd be in the pro ranks by now. Phew, just had to get that out. As I sit here eating trail mix...

So, I'm not a pro, but I did just learn a few days ago that I've qualified to race in the USAT Age Group National Championship race on August 22nd in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This is going to be a great summer!

Team Lipstick at Jersey Man and Post-Race Celebration Photos

Jersey Man Sprint Race Report

The day begins with me hearing Tiffany’s sweet, cheerful voice telling us to “rise and shine!” This lovely little statement is greeted with “I can rise or I can shine, but I can’t do both, so I’ll either lay here and shine or rise and be dull” from Laura. This is going to be a great day!

We meet in the hotel lobby for a quick coffee and breakfast and we’re off to the race site. I feel much less nervous than I normally am going into a race. I think focusing so much on my athletes is taking away all those jitters. I’m just thinking about them!

We’ve got lots of time to familiarize ourselves with the transition area, use the porta-potties, eat, use the porta-potties, watch the half-ironman distance athletes start, use the porta-potties and go for a warm up swim. Then, before I know it, it’s go time. I look around and realize I’m the only female going out in the first “wave” and instead of feeling nervous, my confidence soars. “That’s right, there’s a hen among the wolves and her name is Jenn Place.”

Approaching the water’s edge, I see a staff member about my dad’s age and just as overweight. He shoots me a look as if to ask what a pretty little thing like me is doing in a place like this. I smile confidently and ask, “what, can’t I play with the big boys?” He beams an amused smile back at me. I love this sport.

As I walk over to the start area, all I hear is my athletes screaming my name (I LOVE them for this among other things) Laura and Tiffany take pictures because they think it’s hysterical I’m there in a sea of men. So do I! The horn blows and off we go.

Laura suggested I pick an outside line to the first buoy, which was great advice. I stay on the edge and have my own path to follow. No bumping or kicking at all and it turns out to be the most direct shot. It always takes me a while to find that perfect rhythm when I swim, which is why my longer swims are always better than the sprints, but I keep up with the pack and feel strong. Unfortunately, my goggles are leaking and I have to roll to my back two or three times to empty the water out of them. This definitely slows me down.

Last season, I didn’t sight enough, which caused me to stray, so for this race I wanted to practice sighting on every third stroke. I think I need to make it every five instead since it wasted a good deal of energy, but I stayed on course better than I ever have. 

Out of the water and through to T1, I get to my bike no problem, but when I put the helmet on, it’s way too loose. How’d that happen? It takes a few extra seconds to tighten the dial in the back. Maybe it got loose in transit. Note: put a piece of tape over the dial the day before the race.

Glasses on and off I go. No problem running through and slipping my feet into the shoes on the bike, which is an achievement since I’ve had these shoes for just two weeks and I had only practiced with them for the first time the day before the race (not recommended). I still need to work on speeding this process up.

Immediately, I feel my legs are fatigued. I think the tough training ride I did three days earlier is still with me (this being a “B” race, I trained through and didn’t taper). The course had lots of “false flats,” meaning you think you’re on a flat when you’re actually climbing. This can do a lot of damage mentally and I start worrying again about my team. I hope they realize that this is a tougher than expected course and it’s not that they’re slow!

After the biggest climb, I’m rewarded with a super fast downhill. I let out a big, girlie, “whoo! Yeah, baby” and laugh when I realize that up until then, most of these guys didn’t even realize there was a woman among them. Hi, there! It’s Jenn Place.  As I fly past one of the men, I shout “c’mon, baby open it up,” whatever the hell that means. He laughs as I shoot by him.

I start the turn back toward transition and get to see some of my superstars on their way out. I shout their names out and take in their big smiles. Well, most are smiling. They don’t realize it, but seeing them is what brings me back. My bike time is just over one hour at an average of 18.9 mph. Why can’t it be at least 19? Oh yeah, false flats and tired legs. Oh, and if it was 19, I know I’d be asking why it wasn’t 19.5.

Coming into T2, I hear Laura and Tiffany shouting for me again as I unstrap my shoes and get ready to dismount. Race belt, sneakers and out I go. The run was nice and flat through the park. No cars and a few men to pass. We’re rounding a turn so I take the inside – it’s all about strategy – and cut one of them off. He passes me anyway and I see it’s the guy from the bike. “Oh, it’s YOU!” I say to him. “Yeah, c’mon!” he says back, but I knew all along that he’s a runner and it would be stupid to overextend myself this early in the run. We round the turn and the headwind disappears but so does he. Regardless, this is a strong run for me and now without the wind, it’s getting stronger. I stick with my pace and finish in 21:03, a 6:48 m/m average and the second-fastest female run time of the day. Overall, I came in fifth among women.

My final clock time is 1:40:51. Fifty two seconds over my “unofficial” goal. It bugs the crap out of me. Fifty two seconds seem so small, but in a race, they can be the difference between becoming a professional triathlete and not. “Fifty two.” This is my new mantra.