PRE YOKOHAMA:

It was bitter sweet leaving for Yokohama after spending a precious ten days at home.  I wasn’t looking forward to the long flight, nor leaving home and Pat, but I knew work needed to be done.

There was a small field at Yokohama, which may cause some to say it was an easier race; but, I think there was a reason it was a small field.  What we do is hard, and it takes a lot out of your body to travel for 12 plus hours, leave family and homes and adjust to a new time zone in a foreign country.  This is not to say we don’t enjoy it – I LOVE traveling the world, seeing new places, trying new foods, and learning about other cultures.  Travel is one of my favorite opportunities we benefit from as ITU athletes.

Despite not wanting to leave home, I was excited for round three of the WTS.  I was especially looking forward to seeing some of my training partners –Natalie Van Coevorden, Charolette McShane, and Ryan Bailie are some really amazing people.

YOKOHAMA:

This is a difficult race report to write. After watching the replay of the race, I realized what I thought happened in the race, is not actually what occurred.

RACE MORNING:

If you asked me if I thought I would win the morning of Yokohama, I would shake my head. However, when I made my way down to the race venue at 6:15am I knew what I had to do. Bobby McGee once told me, “Do you know what the likelihood of you feeling great at the Olympics is?” I shrugged as I had never thought about it. “Zero percent,” he said. And he is right. The chance of feeling great on the one day you work towards for four years is pretty slim. I knew Yokohama was great practice for me to show up on a day I didn’t feel 100%.

THE RACE:

Swim Thoughts: I dove in, put my head down and swam as fast as I could to the first buoy.  I wasn’t getting beat up too much, and I tried to remain focused on the race; however, my mind wandered.  I was thinking about the water temperature and how it was colder than the day before.  I was thinking about my wetsuit, and about my swim stroke.  Exiting on the first lap, I had to be extra careful, as the day before I clumsily hit my mouth on the pontoon which caused me to bleed. I got on the pontoon and remember feeling out of it and tipping over before composing myself and diving back into the water.  On the second lap, I was a bit discouraged, as I was sure I missed the break. I thought I was in the last half of the field.  But I focused on my race and the basics.  I exited the water and ran towards transition, getting ready for the bike leg.

Swim Reality: I had a pretty good swim.  I was in the front pack, and excited the water in about 5^th place.

Bike Thoughts: I got on my bike and was a bit unmotivated. I remember thinking Pat wouldn’t be happy with my position on the bike.

Bike Reality: I never got shot off the back of the pack, I seemed pretty relaxed, and I was moving around in the pack; I even took a few pulls.

Run Thoughts: I exited T2 and the girls were off! I had no idea how they were running so fast. I was thinking, how did they get so far in front of me in so little time? I was freaking out.

Run Reality: I looked pretty relaxed and calm.

Overall: Winning the race was a huge surprise.  It was a tough day for me, both physically and mentally.  I finished the race and did not feel well.  I wish I would have felt great, so I could celebrate the win a bit more – it’s not often that these opportunities come! It is so important to celebrate, and live in the moment.

SIDE NOTES:

I know this is getting long, but I have to tell you just three (of many) reasons I love competing against the women I race. They are not only amazing athletes, but also superb human beings:

1)      Emma Moffat: Thank you for looking after me post-race.  I

wasn’t feeling well, and Emma helped me with media, nutrition, and comfort.  I don’t know if she knows how much that meant to me.

2)      Jodie Stimpson: An interviewer asked me, “How does it feel to be the series leader?” I was shocked. I had no idea I was now the series leader. I glanced at Jodie, and her smile and thumbs up melted my heart. (Special shout-out to Jodie as well on her first WTS podium! Many more to come, I’m sure.)

3)      Charlotte McShane: In the middle of the run, I was parched and in need of water, but I wasn’t on the inside at the aid station.  I

saw Char grab water, and asked if I could have some.  She quickly passed me her bottle.  Girls do this every race, and I love how others help even when they are competing against another.

FINAL THANKS: (This is not even close to being comprehensive – It doesn’t even mention my parents, sister, agent Heather, etc.)

Jamie Turner: Thank you for taking me under your wing. Your dedication to this sport and your athletes is incredibly rare.

Andy Schmitz, Rob Urbach, and USAT: Thank you for all of your support.  You make it possible for USA triathletes to perform at races. From giving time splits at races, to taking our towels at race start, to making sure we have clean clothes…you do it all!

Patrick Lemieux: Thanks for comforting me and letting me know when it’s okay to be selfish, and when it’s not. Thank you for also making sure I always have everything I need. (Oh, and just because I won one of these without you physically at the race doesn’t mean you can skip the next five races in the series)

Sponsors: Thank you, Hincapie, HED, Specialized (special shout out to Sandy for your help on race day!), ASICS, NYAC, Oakley, USAT, Blueseventy, David Hobbs Honda, and Shimano.

Leading up the race I was calm, nervous, confident, and ready.  I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, and this was only possible because of the loved ones I had surrounding me.  My mom, dad, sister, boyfriend Patrick Lemieux, and coach Cindi Bannink were there before the race.  Pat and Cindi were there for the week leading up to the race.  It was a huge blessing to have them in London before my race.  They kept me calm throughout the excitement of the Olympics.  During the race I had tons of friends who joined: Maggie Lach, Kate Fahje, Hannah McDougal, Sara McKinley, Sarah Hurely, Sarah Burd, Kelly Fillnow, Dave Anderson, and more!

USAT also made sure we had everything we needed: Dr. Alex Keith chiro, Kim Kirkland massage therapist, Joe Santos bike mechanic, Jono Hall team leader, and Andy Schmitz high performance director.  These are the people who make it possible for us to succeed.  They keep our bodies ready and minds at ease.  Andy Schmitz organized the trip; he had everything we could ever need in his back pocket – I’m still trying to figure out how he does it!  I’d request an open water swim, and the next day we drove to a lake in Guildford that had buoys and multiple people swimming on the man-made open water course; I’d request almond or peanut butter which I couldn’t find in the stores, and it’d magically appear the next day; I’d ask for directions and would instantly be given turn by turn instructions with landmarks I’d know…Andy knows all!

Race morning was like any other race day.  I woke up and went through my routine of eating, putting on my numbers, and warming up.  We were called out to the pontoon and everything was like a normal WTS event (except for the crowd which was something I’ve never experienced before! It was amazing!)

The gun went off and I swam as fast as I could.  I wasn’t happy with my position and got caught around the buoys, but was able to move up on the straights.  Coming out of the water, I was in shock when I saw who I was coming out of the water with.  I knew I was going to have to go for it on my bike.

I got on my bike and started hammering.  Less than two laps later, I knew something was wrong and had to stop at the pit to fix a mechanical issue.  At the time, I was in a strong chase group and we were closing the gap.

I had never had a mechanical problem before and was shaky and nervous.  I got to the pit and was a bit frantic.  The volunteers just kind of looked at me and I had to think quickly.  I grabbed what I needed, made sure my bike was working and after what seemed like minutes, I was on my way, back on the course.

I saw a small group in front of me and hammered to latch on.  A half of a lap later, I had bridged up and started trying to close the gap on the leaders.  The rest of the bike I tried my best, and did what I could given the situation.  I started the run and was determined to run hard.  Although I didn’t have my best run, I am satisfied with my effort.

I’ve received emails, tweets, posts, calls…and everyone was either congratulating me or motivating me to continue by saying I had a tough break.

To be honest, I didn’t have my best day, and the flat was unfortunate. But it’s part of racing.  I was determined to race hard to the end.  Being in the Olympics is an honor and something I will never forget.

London 2012 was about “inspiring a generation.”  I finished my race and realized I inspired myself.  I inspired myself to come up with a four-year plan for Rio.  A lot can happen in four years, and I know my plan will change, but for the next four years, I’ll have one main, long-term goal: qualify for Rio.

I’m fortunate to have sponsors, friends, family, and fans supporting my journey.  It’s often hard in non-Olympic years, but I’m lucky because I have support.  There is no way I can achieve my goals without the support of others.  I am thankful for not only the support, but also the experience of representing the USA as an Olympian. And I am looking forward to the next four years.

Banyoles

Banyoles is beautiful and we are staying at the perfect place to train – Mas Pelegri (I highly recommend it as a vacation or training destination).  The scenery and food doesn’t get any better! Tonight’s meal was a salad with goats cheese, homemade bread, chicken curry, rice, grilled veggies, and a baked apple with raisins and ice cream for dessert.  It will be hard to leave on Thursday.

I had a fun time racing the Banyoles WC on Saturday.  The course was full of fans and the race directors did an amazing job.  I came out of the swim in the main chase pack, and ended the bike in the main bike pack about 1:40 down from the two leaders.  Erin D and Ashleigh G from AUS made me work for the win.  It was hot out, but not as hot as the men’s race.  It was a good day for the USA with Lukas Verzbicas winning - it was the first time since 1992 in Vegas that USA swept gold at an ITU WC (Andrew Carlson and Joy Hansen). Thanks to Hincapie, Specialized, HED Wheels, CycleOps, Trainingpeaks, Citi, Steinhafels, Oakley, David Hobbs Honda, NormaTech, and the New York Athletic Club for making it possible!

Team USA (Lukas V, Kelly Whitley, Greg Billington, Tommy Zaferes, Jono Hall) and Lise Olivier of Lotto Belisol headed out for an easy ride.  We made Jono and Lise pull for the majority of the ride as us triathletes were still in recovery-mode.  We stopped at the medieval town of Besalu for lunch (fun fact: if you order a hamburger in Spain, it comes with french fries and croquettes, but no bun).  Besalu has a 12th-century Romanesque bridge over the Fluvia River where we stopped to take a picture (see above).

Thursday we will leave for the Kitzbuhel WTS event.