2007 ITU Age Group World Championship Triathlon, Hamburg, Germany September 2007

Our journey to Hamburg began with a quick trip through Dallas. Our longest leg was to Zurich – in that airport I took a fun picture of Jude in a futuristic looking computer station ! Our short trip to Hamburg was easy - when we arrived, and quickly got our bags, there was a man from our travel company, Premium Plus sports, with a sign that said SAMSON (I felt like a VIP)!! We got to the hotel in good time and it was perfect! The location was close to the race, there was great staff, and only a dozen or so USA athletes (avoiding the massive USA contingent at the host hotel). For two days before the race it had been rainy and cold in Hamburg. Jude and I still had a wonderful time seeing the city, and getting prepared for the race – we sported huge rain ponchos most of the time. We took a few pictures in front of the central train station, where we often sought refuge from the rain, and ate their wonderful food . We got a cute picture of my friend Mary Miller celebrating her birthday with her twin sister, Kay, and their roommate Eric Bell. I was nervous about the rainy forecast, as I get cold very easily, but was mentally gearing up for that possibility. The afternoon before the race the rain held off for a while as I racked my bike and practiced for the swim. We then we ate a delicious dinner with my Mary, Kay, Eric, Meghan Newcomer, and her boyfriend Brian – we ate pasta at Prego restaurant.

Luckily the weather on race morning was absolutely beautiful - a bit chilly, but perfect for racing. I woke up and went down to the restaurant for breakfast – the hotel Maritim Reichof has the most elaborate and delicious breakfast I have seen – yumm!! My bike was already racked at the transition zone, so we headed out to the race with all my other racing gear. My goal for the race had been to win my age group – I was relaxed and mentally prepared to go HARD! As I entered the coral area before my swim wave, I was thinking how awesome it was to be here, in the world championship with so many countries competing together. I was representing the United States of America. Sometimes I take our wonderful country for granted – it was so present for me in that moment how blessed I am to live there.

After the previous wave of women took off our wave was granted permission to enter the water and warm up for about 9 minutes. The water was very cold, but I seemed to warm up enough to feel good before the start. As the gun went off for the start, I sprinted as hard as I could to get out of the traffic – there were 82 women in my age group. It worked well, as I did not see anyone after the first minute of swimming. It took a while to get a rhythm in the cold water, but my wetsuit did its job and I seemed to be going pretty strong. I was pulling and kicking hard the whole swim. It turned out there was an amazing girl ahead of me several minutes, but I was second out of the water. I exited the water and ran as fast as I could through the long transition area to get my bike. I had a lot of trouble getting the wetsuit off my legs and I had to sit down to get it off. That wasted as least 20 seconds. On the bike I felt strong and good, pounding away at the pedals. I did not see anyone pass me until the 2nd loop of the bike, when USA teammate Stacy Richardson told me good job as she moved ahead. A few others passed, but I was determined not to look at the age on everyone’s calf – I was going to focus only on myself, stay positive and put in MAXIMUM effort the whole way. There was a point where I was not sure I was going the right way, and might have lost some time being timid in those few minutes. The bike course was good for me – it was mostly flat and only two laps, but I really need improvement going fast around turns and up hills. As we entered the run, my feet were numb (as usual after a 40k bike), but I was trying to keep good cadence and form. I focused on my breathing with every step and reeled in as many women as I could, but I got passed by several fast runners. My mind was clear and hopeful as I said to myself “The race is not over, push hard every mile!” Overall my time was slower than I had hoped for. I know I have a few more gears of speed (especially in the bike), but it was a solid race.

The most important thing for me is that I REALLY went as hard as I could and enjoyed the process of digging deep – I felt proud of myself. Following the race Jude and I relaxed and enjoyed the city for a few hours, taking pictures of us at the race site and a colorful city tour bus, and eating large German Sausages!! After taking some time off I look forward to a new season of challenging myself, setting goals, and learning from past mistakes. What a blessing it is to be a world class triathlete.

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