My friend Janie came over from Chicago and was awesome - all over the course with Steven, giving me time splits, screaming and cheering like crazy.
Pro swim start.
I'm in the middle of this picture. If you enlarge it you can tell by my awesome Sable Goggles. I spent most of the swim leading this pack around the lake. I didn't feel I was swimming well, so coming out in 1:03 completely made my day. Yehawwwww for finally breaking 1:06!
The pro racks were not quite as empty as when I usually get there - progress!
On the bike I spent the first loop at what felt like a "moderate" pace. I had heard the course was pretty tough (accurate) and wanted to save something for the second loop. I also ate a lot more on the bike than I had at Lake Placid. These two strategies worked and I felt great on the second loop. The crowds on the hills made me feel like I was in the Tour de France - just tons of spectators screaming as you climb. Completely awesome. I was hoping to PR my bike split and came one minute shy with my time of 5:33. On the bike I moved from 10th to 7th.
My cousin and his wife are awesome. They made a long drive from Michigan with two kids and my grandma. It was so great having them at the race cheering! Their car had an age gap of 94 years.
The crowds in Madison are crazy awesome! I moved from 7th to 5th on the run. Can you tell I'm excited to be in 5th? My run split was also one minute shy of my PR at 3:23.
The day was one of those rare days when things just seem to come together. I had hoped to run faster, but with a new overall PR of 10:07 I have no complaints whatsoever. I'm getting closer to that sub-10!
I think Grandma is going to need to come to more races!
I feel so lucky that Steven comes to almost all my races. He is so involved in my training and racing and for this I am so grateful.
THANK YOUS: TriSports.com for carrying everything tri related. Sable Water Optics - I can see while I swim straight into sunshine! Rudy Project for protecting my head and making some fun sunglasses. QuintanaRoo, Profile Design & Zipp for an awesome ride. SCAPE for protecting me from the sun. MicroscopeWorld.com for the days off to race. GU for making awesome flavored gels like espresso and blackberry. SMACK! Media for keeping me in the loop. And of course Zoot for compression, fun racing and training gear and suhweeeeet shoes!
Next up is a few days in a Chicago and a visit to Grandma's house in MI to raid her raspberry bushes!
