After a winter with more down than ups it was nice to be back in the game again. I always care

more for my performance in the race then the final result. And in Athlone this weekend I managed to squeeze the most out of my body.

So I'm absolutely delighted.

Athlone was the perfect setting for a nice race. A small beautiful mediveal Irish town, a challenging course and friendly people. The run course didn't only take us up and down through town, but also past the oldest Pub in Europe! Guess the amount of support we had in that corner!

Training the past month had gone well and the only worrying factor was the small head cold I got the day before departure.

The big Specialized bus was set up down by the transition area for the whole weekend. My bike got a complete over haul by Benny and came back cleaner and shinier than ever before. Enough TLC for a whole year for sure! It was also a good place to catch up with the other Specialized riders and I managed see both Phil and Gavin the days before the race. The Nespresso machine by the couches also made the visits somewhat longer than maybe planned...

The race itself went much smoother than the first two this year.

The swim was undramatic and I came out tucked in to the front group. There was a danish girl off the front so the chase was on until we caught her on lap 2. The british girls made sure the pace was kept high and our group, of about 20, were moving quite nicely around the bike course. Even if most of the main contenders were in the group - there were still some runners stuck in the chase group. And it didn't seem like anyone wanted them to catch up.

I jumped off my bike in front running side by side with Nicola Spririg and Holly Avil towards my rack. Transition went good but not great and I exited in 3rd, just behind Carole Peon and Spririg.

Peon was pushing the pace really hard and my warning bells started to ring. "Don't go out too hard Lisa, you know what happenes..." Cramps in the breathing system or major blow ups wasn't on my wish list toady. I worked hard on finding a rhtyhm and speed - without pushing my body too hard.

The disc problem in my back has forced me to exclude any speed work from my training.

And this, unfortunately has some effect on my racing speed.

But I also knew the pace might drop off a bit at the front later on. And if I play my cards right I might just still be in the game...

After half a lap I managed to catch back up to the two front girls. This just to drop off again some 500m further up the road when Peopn upped the pace just a fraction. People later commented on my "on and off" running though out the race, while in fact I was probably the only one running at a constant speed...

On the 2nd lap I had more problems coming up. This time in shape of the fast moving spainyard Ainoa Murua. She not only caught me but aso ran away from me to establish a 30m gap. "Jeeze Lise, there is your podium. Get your self back up there or you are going to end as a very sad 4th placer..." My mind was racing trying to find some way to make the body move quicker. Luckily the early cramp warnings had gone away and I slowly started to feel comfortable with the pace. I managed to find another gear and got back up on Muruha's shoulder again. "Back in the game".

The 3rd lap was used for some recovery getting out of the wind and saving some energy. We still had Peon and Spririg within sight, but the distance looked a bit too long for a chance on the first two medals.

On the uphill towards the turnaround Murua tried on a change of pace. As I had some time to recover I started to feel pretty good and had no problems to go with her. We turned around, got the wind in out back and started to run out the slight downhill slope towards the little square.

I saw my chance and put on the turbo. It was a deep dig finding some power I wasn't quite sure if I possessed. The crowed went mental and people keept cheering me on telling me I had managed to establish a gap. But, I still had some 800m to run. And when you are starting to fatigue, 800m is a loooong way.

"This is your chance Lisa, here is your medal, just keep it going. It's not further then to the bus stop back home... you can do it".

Running on to the blue carpet towards the finishline was such a big relief.

I had done it. I won my medal and I avoided lasts years dissapointing 4th place.

I had overcome a difficult winter and training problems and managed to get myself back on the podium.

Color on the medal was of lesser value - the podium and the race I just ran meant so much more.

I still have more training to do before I'm in my best shape. But this is a great pointer and confidence boost for the next block of WCS races.

I now know I'm kinda in the game again!