Before the race, Ross and I met up with college friends Laura and Tyrus who live east of LA. It was so fun to catch up! Then Meghan from grad school who also moved out to CA was able to come a cheer at the race with her husband, Ron. It was so fun to see them and what great friends to arrange their weekend to come see Ross and I. Thanks so much!!
Anyway, the race! Well, I had been going after the Lifetime Fitness series all season to try and get top 5. Top 5 in the series earn bonus money. I had a really good chance, but my races in Tempe, AZ and Dallas didn't go so well. I wasn't myself and just had off races. Not sure what happened there. Coming into Oceanside I was 2 points out of 5th place so I had to beat Jillian Peterson. We had been going back and forth at several of the races, but she moved just ahead of me in points after Tempe and Dallas. I had a really calm and clear mind going into Oceanside as I gave anything I couldn't control over to God. It was seriously a really freeing feeling. I had been holding onto issues from my previous races, but when I finally let it go, wow, it felt amazing!
Coming into race morning, I remained calm, but focused. I knew what I needed to do. It was a wetsuit swim so I wore my full sleeve Xterra wetsuit. I was really glad I had it as the air temp was 50 and water temp was 65. It was chilly even for a Michigander! I had a really strong swim. I came out with Lauren Goss and Helle Fredricksen who are very strong. I came out right where I wanted to. I settled into the coldest bike I have ever had! It was foggy so we were never able to dry off. I had water dripping from my helmet too. My bare arms and legs were so numb! Taking my UCAN flask on the bike got a little tricky too since I could hardly squeeze it since my hands were so cold. Yikes! Despite the cold, I was able to settle into a good groove and was able to build throughout just like I had wanted! I was also ahead of Jill, but not by a ton...about a minute. I knew she was there, but remained calm and stuck to my targets. I knew I was going to have to go for it on the run to keep my distance. It was hard to not get a little scared...haha. Once I dismounted, it was quite the experience to run on numb feet. I found them back pretty quickly though. :) I felt really good starting the run, but saw Jill creeping up on me. Ahh. I continued to stick to my race targets and built through the run. I knew I wasn't the strongest at sprint finishes so I kept trying to keep distance on Jill. However, coming into the last mile she was getting closer. My gap was closing and I was trying to push a little more as she crept closer. I rolled down the hills and tried to get my heart rate down a couple beats to get ready to push again. Then I saw Ross about 1-2' before the finish and he yelled to keep pushing! Keep pushing! I was breathing really hard and I could tell my legs were nearing their end. It was getting harder to get speech changes. I did my best to keep pushing and I chose not to look back as I knew Jill was there (maybe I should have looked back to see if it would have helped me anticipate exactly when to put the kick in). AND here's the kicker...coming down the finish shoot it came to a sprint finish and she reeled me in. I gave it what I had (can't wait to see the race photos as my face will explain the fight!) and she got me by 3 seconds. 3 seconds!! It was unreal. She had a really great run as she made up about a minute. But I didn't quite know how to react as I lost the $5,000 for being 5th in the series right there in the finish shoot. I was like crying and laughing. It was surreal. So in the end I have to say it was bittersweet as I did have a good race. I felt so happy that I was myself again after my previous 2 races, but just couldn't believe that I had it and boom-it was gone! I guess that is how racing goes! God always has a plan. :) So I have a lot I will take from this race experience. It makes me want to race one more yet this season. Hmm...
If you find yourself reading this--have you ever been in a sprint finish before? Comment about it! They can be exciting!
Anyway, to conclude a great day of racing, Lifetime put together a pro after party so I got to get to know some of the competitors in a relaxed setting. Fun to see pro athletes let loose. :) It was a great weekend and I would highly recommend this race if you like to travel for races. It is going to be the championship race again next year for the Lifetime Fitness Series.
Thanks for reading!!
