Silence means...

I'm too busy preparing to kick ass. Training is phenomenal and we're at T-12 days before I board the plane for Kona.

I can't wait to put in some quality swims bikes and runs on the Big I before taper with Brooke and Pierre- who both snatched their slots by dominating IM Coz last November.

There's one more little test of speed this Saturday at a local half marathon on Camp Pendelton which I expect to be a blast. Fast=fun ;)

For a bit I started regretting missing out on Vegas but the eye is on the grand prize and consistency will trump what would've been a "taper-get cooked in the desert-recover" scenario.

Ironman #7...lucky number seven.

Vineman 70.3 A Stepping Stone

This trip to Vineman was an absolute ball. I drove up with my friend Eugene, and we arrived in wine country at around 1pm Friday. After check in and unpacking, we went for a swim in the Russian River with Beth & James. It was nice out but definitely cooler than the years prior. As much as I can't stand wetsuits, any fresh water swim makes me smile :)

That night we had an amazing dinner also with B&J at Willie's Raw Bar in Healdsburg- the cutest little town ever!- insane fish tacos, dunganese crab, and seared ahi that melted in your mouth like butter...heaven! I even had a glass of red.

The following day was sloooow...we lounged around in our hotel room until 10am hehe and then went to pick up our packets and eat lunch at KC Downtown Grill right in Windsor, blocks from the High School. I had a really good grilled salmon salad.

The pre race laziness continued as we went to the theatre to watch Horrible Bosses and then made our way back to Healdsburg to eat one of the most memorable meals I've had in my life at Gratitude Cafe. It's a vegan/raw/organic place and we ate POUNDS of food but amazingly felt light and energized after the meal. I am a raw food fan! The cafe also had a cool hippie bookstore and artifacts section and overall Buddhist feel with happy/grateful zen like titles for the dishes on menu.




Early to bed and RACE TIME.

Now I'll briefly go over swim bike run and then go into the core of this post which is to explain what this race means to me and how I will go forward from it.

Swim- lined up front right and had eyed the good swimmers from their warm up- you can spot a good stroke from here to China. At the first 25m I was ahead with another girl and then surely 4 or 5 more girls were with us. I was bummed they weren't hugging the edge as it negates the head-on current and instead swam right in the middle along the boueys. But oh well, you go were the draft is! In the blink of an eye the small bunch gapped my and another girl which I should've made sure never happened as the whole rest of the swim they were within sight but not quite reachable especially when we began swimming over other wave's slower swimmers. Regardless I knew the girl whose feet I was on was a good swimmer and passing her would yield the same time with a higher effort. So I was swimming super super comfortable and knew we'd be under 30. Came out in 28 and change- might've been 27low/mid with the other girls but I was content.
On to the bike.

The plan was ride hard. That's it. Just go at Olympic effort and get to T2 so I could get my run on. I had this f'ing annoying piece of dirt or maybe an eyelash in my left eye that was very irritating and didn't go away until about 15mi in! OMGosh I was praying I wouldn't have to deal with this the whole way what a nuisance. Cool thing was it took my focus off everything else so before I knew it I was close to 1/3 of the way into the bike. It rained on us a bit, the weather was cool, which had me bummin but whatever it's race day just keep on goin'!
Notice thing in my eye! haha

I got into T2 and felt good, but was sooo ready to be off my bike my hip flexors and low back were screamin...something I have to address on my set up this week.

Run- signature pee stop in T2 and I was out. I knew just holding it together mentally and staying just below 7's on the net up hill on the first half would pay off on the way home. So I saved a bit until mile 7 and then ran hard home.


Finished in 4:39, 1st AG, 2nd Amateur by a little over a min, and 15th OA.


Post race amazing dinner: lamb tenderloin in vegeterian broth w veggies and soba noodles:
Post race wine tasting:

For the first time since I can remember I felt amazing in all three mentally, and more importantly on the run I was elated to be running and even though I was running hard it wasn't suffering in any sense of the word. It was a good hard effort and reflected the way I've felt in and approached my training the last few months- confidence and skilled form.

So was this a breakthrough for me? Am I over the moon with joy and pride? NO, and No. It was a "it's about f'ing time" race, and while I am happy I am also disappointed in myself for not having done this 3 years ago when I could have and should have. This is the very reason I went home in March, why I cut the volume and focused on speed and mental strength, why I re adopted my freakish ways in nutrition and stepped outside the norm in social patterns.

I have looked at myself in the mirror and have looked away in shame. I have gone to the drawing board with my coach, leaned on family and friends that I know are there for me, and have gathered the balls to correct my mistakes by accepting what works for me and DOING IT.

Vineman for me was a check mark- I've finally done what I knew I could. Not exactly too late, but really pushing the cusp. Regardless, you give yourself a pat on the back for getting your sh*t together, and piecing a good race, and move on.

There's no need to swim in a river of glory from one result. For me this result is only a stepping stone for the level that I want and know I can compete at. It's the insatiable need for bigger greatness and higher victory that makes champions.

Now it's rest, recover, take all that Vineman gave me as part of my prep and get ready to PR in Kona by so much that it will seem unbelievable. But to me it will be a slightly tardy beginning into exactly what I came to do in this sport.

What?!

As we age we undoubtedly pass through many stages. But they are not merely childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, "middle-age", & old age. The intricacies of those general, numerical based, stepping stones are individual paradigm shifts influenced from preceding experiences. Over time they help us find our “true self”. That is to say, the passions and interests embedded in our subconscious.

Some people go through life with a building block that is more or less set for them from a very young age by either their parents or themselves. I have friends that in middle school knew they were going to be doctors and, of course, are now full into their residency programs. A few were simply drawn to that field on their own. Others fell into it by way of tradition- one or more of their relatives practiced medicine. I also had girlfriends that from the time they could hold a doll you could see their faces illuminated with joy. They are now happy moms.

So where am I going with this…since this is a blog (primarily an athletic one), and you certainly didn’t click the link to read an entire book! 

Well, it’s my preface to explaining- not that I owe anyone an explanation, I just like to share my journey with others- why I decided (not on a whim!) to go to law school.

First, if you know me at all you know that I love to argue. That doesn’t mean I’m aggressive or angry, but the thrill of a good debate yields as much happiness and endorphins as the feeling of an “effortless” long run. As well, since the time I could thread words together I’ve been told I’m a natural manipulator. Too often people associate manipulation with deceit, selfishness, and basically deem it a vice. In the right context/use I believe it’s a virtue. I’m not advocating utilitarianism without the premise that it be good for the whole vs simply the individual- which as an attorney plays a vital role: arguing your case for the good of society (except of course defending a criminal/murderer). Namely, if you can manipulate a situation, or rephrase it, so that you can switch others’ perception for the best, then that is a virtuous skill!

Second, I didn’t just wake up one day and say “eh, to heck with this pro triathlon thing, time to move on to….hmmm….ooh, I know: law school”. By no means am I burnt out on this sport, and am certainly not giving up on my goal to turn pro one day (the day when I legitimately belong there- not just have a card in my wallet that labels me elite). Since I finished undergrad and moved out to California, I’ve slowly come to understand, by trial, that to be the best athlete you can be you need to balance it. Being an extremist, I figured if I had 24/7 to train, eat, sleep I’d reach my potential. Friends and family can say they told me so, but I needed to see for myself, in my own way, that it’s not the case.

As well, we can pretend to not care or like certain things, but the reality is we can choose what we like better but not what we actually like, for that is entrenched in our being (the soul, if you will) and sooner or later it will resurface. I told myself I didn’t care about pinching pennies, making minimal dollar as I chased my dream. But I call bulls**t on myself. I am entirely grateful for the privileged upbringing I was afforded and certainly want to maintain that lifestyle to old age. It is easy to go up, hard to go down. Plus, my passions have always related to the study of law. All of my free time as well as my elective courses in school, were filled with philosophy, sociology, political science, the Supreme Court, and debate. Moreover, as a highly driven individual, I’ll reiterate that it kills me to be 23 and not supporting myself at least more than 50%, immigration issues or not.

However, pertaining to the immigration side of things, law school certainly supports my trajectory toward permanent residency in the US.

Allow me to digress a bit and explain the immigration law:
- Right now I am on H-1B status for a part time job with Brundage Mgt. That visa does not lead to a green card.
- If I am hired for full time employment by Brundage, or any other company (a company has to sponsor you which entails proving you are more qualified than their US applicants, as well as pay the legal fees to bring you in to their co.) then that is grounds for a Green Card. But, for Mexicans, for the Green Card to yield permanent residency there is a backlog to 2005. This means all cases filed since 2005, go before mine. Translation: I see residency YEARS down the line- meanwhile I am working at a company that may or may not reflect my interests/skills or pay well.
- If my mom, now a citizen from marriage (sadly after I had turned 18) files for me, that is backlogged to 1992!! Haha…you see where that is going: nowhere!
- Another option, or miracle hehe, would be to suddenly become so amazing in triathlon that I am deemed “world class” and granted an O-1 visa which is like a green card. That, if possible, will not be anytime soon.
- However, with a masters degree- JD, MBA, what have you- if you are hired after graduation, it is an immediate Green Card with NO BACKLOG!

Ok that’s the short bit in layman’s terms. Wait, yes, there is the other fairy tale scenario that I meet my American prince charming and overnight I’m a US Citizen. Any takers? ;)

Back to my decision…

My mother half jokingly, half really not, told me when I mentioned LSAT registration, “you know, this could’ve been a lot easier right when you finished undergrad at SMU, and it would’ve saved a lot of money that went to triathlon. Also, you haven’t been in school in over three years, don’t you think you’ll be “rusty” to say the least?”

Let’s break that analysis apart: 1) It would not have worked at all for me to get a masters straight from undergrad. The reason is twofold. First, I was entirely OVER school. I had been a hard working, honors student for approximately 15 yrs and to say my brain needed a break is an understatement. Just like you need mental and physical breaks after a long season(s) or racing, I am a firm believer in academic breaks. Secondly, I had this triathlon bug, and my stubbornness that will make a great lawyer of me one day, was not going to accept anything but packing my car and heading to SoCal to swim, bike, and run. You cannot go into something as hard, and expensive, as grad school without being 100% committed to it.

Therefore, as dreadful as pursuing law school in 2009 would’ve been, going for it fall 2012 will be wonderful. My maturity, enthusiasm, and peace of knowing I can still make the most of athletics as I chase a challenging and financially rewarding career, will allow me to be the best student I am capable of those 3 years.

All that said here’s how I am going forward:

July 5th through August 18 I’ll be taking Kaplan’s LSAT prep course in La Jolla. Then I go home to TX & will be writing my personal statement and fulfilling all the other admissions requirements before heading to Kona late September. In Hawaii, Oct 1 I’ll take the LSAT and as soon as my score comes in will send in my application to the following schools: UT Austin, UC Berkeley, USC, Stanford, & SMU.

If I get in to any of those I’m on my way to becoming a lawyer 

If not, I’ll keep seeking out full time employment at a PR/Ad agency while still working part time for Brundage.

Of course, through it all, you can rest assured that all my free time will be filled with swims, bikes, and runs.

Race Recap

I'm getting tired of race reports, ha. Regardless, here's a very short version of my day which I was very pleased with. I PR'd for that course, didn't best my time from Vineman last year, but in 20-20 hindsight it was a bit ambitious given that Honu is a much tougher course/conditions.

Swim-

My plan was to find Bree and hang on for dear life. That would've worked perfect except that the whole front line(s) of swimmers were past the start boeys and they kept screaming at us to move back or they wouldn't start. No one was budging, but slowly some people began to move a bit toward the line so I turned to swim a bit in and just as I did that BOOM!

So bye bye Bree...it ended up being an all out sprint to try and escape the arms, legs, shoulders, hips, WHACK, over and over. It was a cluster F*&*# until the first turn where I was nearly sunk to the ocean floor, then it settled a bit to the finish.

I was pleased on where I came out. I intended about a 28high/29 swim and felt like I swam that pace/effort once I got that clearness on the first turn.

Lesson: never ever turn your back on the start!!

Bike- not windy. your typical slight crosses in Hawi but totally mellow. A fast day for sure. I felt great but was dying to get off my bike!!! It was to be my last ride in Look pedals/cleats that have been my nightmare for over 4 years now as the q-factor/alignment, whatever the hell, has always felt wrong no matter who fits me and it's never a pain free ride or one that I can avoid stopping at least 2-3 times to adjust them (to no avail).

At least I had set them in an OK position whereby in the end I was only feeling my left IT and right adductor tight.

Run- sooo happy I got my nutrition/hydration all worked out. I felt good and had no cramps, or stomach pains. Went 1:40. Not fast, but couldn't have run faster. Coming from TX, I can attest it was BAKING out there. Just seeing that no women ran under 1:30 tells ya.

So I finished in 4:56, 2mins faster than last yr :) I rolled the Kona slot and didn't take the Vegas one.

Now it's time to really pump in miles and hours- especially on the bike- haven't ridden remotely long since I left CA in March, so I'm stoked to go explore! Also, it will help sooo much that I can ride without discomfort, or having to stop numerous times.

I'm a bit tired, but have slept good and am not sore. Running these last two days feels awesome, and I'm easing into the weekend where I'll start my most solid/detailed prep for Vineman and then tackle on some beastly miles for Kona thereafter.

goal is right around 4:40 at Vineman, and of course sub 10 or bust in Kona :D

Texas left me right where I wanted- fresh from lack of volume, sparky with some great speed workouts, sound from excellent nutrition & recovery, and hungry/motivated from my mental recharge and inner focus.

time to get 'er done, and nothing will get in the way.

Aloha!

After roughly 12 hours of travel from San Antonio to Phoenix to San Jose...I'm finally in Kona! It's hard to believe this is my 8th trip to the Big Island. 7 for racing, one for a camp back in 2008. Since 2007, 2008 has been the only year I haven't raced here. I've really come to embrace this island as a second home, cheesy as that may sound. I'm beaming with joy like a kid on Christmas morning when I step off the airplane.

The travel was real smooth- except for the $200 bike fee courtesy of United Airlines. I had pleasant people next to me on each flight, no delays, in fact we even arrived 30min early!

I got my rental car in like 15min and sped off to settle in at the most awesome condo I've stayed in out of all my trips! We're right in Waikoloa Beach Resort across from the Kings Shops, and with a lakeview :)

Last night I was solo, but today Sara C, her friend, and her ex arrive- fun group.

Saying goodbye to my family was sad, but at the same time it was rewarding to know that the last 2 months were filled with good times, solid training, and that it'll only be a few months before I'm back home.

Monday, Memorial Day, my brother & I raced CapTex Sprint and technically we both won Overall :) I say technically because my brother tied to the second 1:05:26 with another junior- really a cool sprint finish to watch- he caught him at the finish chute turn!

Anyway, I'm feeling great about Saturday. This Island has given me plenty of ups and downs, and I know that pretty much every race Half Iron or Ironman, will unfold like a rollercoaster and success will only be determined by how well you limit and handle the dips.

I'm here to PR from my 4:49 at Vineman last year, and with that will hopefully land among the top women competing.

There's not much to do at this point but be thankful for the opportunity to once again be on that start line. For that I owe my parents, stepdad, coach, the Nytro Women team that continuously raises the bar and inspires me, and our sponsors (see rght column of blog)!

Today, after 11.5 amazing hours of sleep and some Kona coffee that has me wired like crack, I'm off to swim at Hapuna, then packet pick up, and a short ride :)

May the spirit of Aloha be with everyone on Saturday!

In the Zone

I arrived to Texas ashamed of how I had let myself slip in terms of "professionalism" toward my sport. How could I ever expect to be "pro", lacking the natural talent of countless competitors, without doing EVERYTHING under my control as PERFECT as possible? It was the start of a downward spiral to a plateau of performance and a pool of negative emtions.

So, since I stepped foot off the airplane I've been committed to going at this full throttle. We're nearing the end of April, and it's been almost a month, with one more to go before Honu. How's it goin'? Amaaazzziiinnnngggg!

Cliche as it sounds, I've "found myself". That inner tiger, the instinctive voice that brought me home, has been unleashed and it feels great. To wake up every morning with fiery motivation is priceless. Aiding that is my brother's inspiring drive to kick some ass at the State track meet in Austin mid May. Over the years we've gone back and forth motivating each other athletically- he did the first triathlon, Teen to Tot in 2002, then I picked it up in 2006, and reeled him back. He went to watch me race Hawaii in 2007, and then I've seen him progress in swimming, tri's, and especially running (xc & track) to the point that it's contagious to want to get fast. Watching a meet the other day it hit me. We're blood. I have speed. I should be fast, I will be fast.

Helping each other out with nutrition, ways to recover, ways to approach workouts, etc has been awesome. We've made a pact. We will see him top 3 at State and win Nationals in triathlon this year. We also will see me win my AG at every REMAINING race this year- including Worlds 70.3 Vegas and defending my IM Hawaii title, as well as get amateur at Honu & Vineman.

I make bold statements like this because I fully believe that if you cannot see and feel yourself winning then how the hell are you going to win?!

When I first started racing this is the kind of attitude that I had and it's what got me to Kona right away. My first half in Honu 2007, I had zero doubt that I would qualify for the World Champs. I got in the water that morning already a champion inside; and when I went on to train for October, I was training to win not to participate.

One of my favorite quotes is "what would you do if you knew you would not fail?"

To that dreaded word "balance"- I appologize. I have found a new meaning for it. It is not anything that counters an OCD approach to triathlon. Rather it is attaining a level of satisfaction in other things in life which ALLOW you to have that very anal approach to sport. In other words, being home and able to be with my family and physically go into an office for work (work which I cannot be handed when I am out of state), makes me not feel like I am a waste in the "real world".

Believe it or not, one of the most irritating things to me is the bashing I receive for "not working". I am tired of explaining myself. My immigration issues are not a joke. But in short, the part time job that I have when in CA takes me minutes a day. Thus other work that I could be doing, such as helping the HR department as I am now, is only possible when I'm physically present. It is a gutting void that makes me feel useless. All of my life I took pride in excelling academically and had aspirations of holding a respectable and challenging career (not sport!).

Anyway, having that void filled right now, however so small the drippings, is immensely satisfying.

----0----

Onto the training here in TX. My plan is to get to Hawaii and be cold. As it is, I will be. Getting on the trainer when it's humid beyond words under 90 degree sun for anything more than 30min does wonders.

Certain runs I've been doing in the heat of the day as well. I had never really monitored my sweat loss (weighing before and after) but it has proved very useful.

My biggest obstacle is having my stomach cooperate at the intensity I need to race at if I plan to achieve my goals (I am still kicking myself about Galveston!!). So knowing exactly how much salt, calories, and water I need to take at certain HRs and legs of the race is crucial.

I've also acclimated quite well to swimming in warm pool water. It dehydrates you more than you think. I am now very thankful to aquajoggers and old ladies that vote for those temps at my gym. For Hawaii, this matters.

That awesome 2000m swim race in Austin this Sunday will have to be scratched off my calendar :( I didn't see the crazy $115 entry fee!! But I love an excuse to go to Austin so I figured I might as well run around Town Lake and swim on my own at the Quarry to get some more open water. I love Boerne Lake because it's 20min from home but it's quite big and though they removed the gator last year, it's still very eery.

Plans to go watch IMTX have also been slashed. My mom and stepdad will be out of the country so I'm my brother's driver that weekend and I've decided to race a sprint in New Braunfels. It'll be cool as the swim is in the Guadalupe River and I haven't been there since my dad and I used to go Kayaking nearly every weekend up until I was in high school :)

** a little side note...I caved and went into Slowtwitch yesterday and read some thread on IMTX. Some dude had said that it will likely be a little cooler and less humid than Hawaii and that you don't ever see a bitching thread on Hawaii's conditions because likely its participants are more hardcore. My take: I've raced Hawaii 3 times, Honu 3 times, that makes six plus 2 training camps. 2009 Honu was the hottest I've experienced it and that's because we're running in the heat of the day in the part of the island that never gets rain/shade. The Texas 90-100F and the wretched humidity of Houston make Kona absolutely mild. To all those that think Kona is a hot race: No. The bike is hot I'll give you that. The humidity is mediocre and by the time the bulk of the age groupers are running on the Queen K the cloud cover has already cooled it down dramatically.

Just sayin'...I think anyone that does well in this inaugural event deserves some major kudos and their worries about the weather are understandable.***

Anywhoooo.....We're roughly 6 weeks out of my favorite race on planet Earth and I'm reaching the first peak of 2011 that I knew was possible.

I look fowrard to having an absolute blast the rest of the season.

Galveston 70.3

The trip to Galveston was one of the most enjoyable weekend "vacations" I've had in a while. When I was little(8-14yo), my mom and I used to drive all over Texas practically every weekend for my tennis tournaments. My mind is full of great memories from those short trips. Therefore, I very much looked forward to a long time on the road with her and my brother for this race.

We got there midday Friday, and checked into the Moody Gardens Hotel. This race venue is one of the most convenient for those who stay at the host hotel. The only other one I can think of that beats it purely due to its magestic scenery/environment is Honu. My mom was able to sleep in both race days while Daniel and I, repsectively, walked over to set up our transition well before the start time. Not only that, but if we forgot something all we had to do was take the elevator back up to the room and settle the panic in minutes.

After unpacking and getting athlete check-in over with, we showered and headed to dinner on the east side of the Island (what I gathered to be downtown/historical district). Both Friday and Saturday night we ate dinner at Willie G's. The water view was great and the seafood was super fresh.



After dinner, we were off to bed early for Daniel's sprint Saturday.

I walked down with Daniel at 5:30am the next morning so he could set up transition and his warm up jog worked perfect as my 20min run so, as is extremely rare, I got to run alongside him :)

Once he had to walk over to the swim start I went to look for my mom but she was already at the swim exit, camera in hand, waiting. Hehe

But I ran into Lisa Preeg (40ish yo superstar) whom I was surprised and delighted to see the day before (I trained with Lisa a couple years ago in SD and Austin, and we both raced Kona and Arizona the same year), and we watched the swim and then walked over to where my mom was.

Despite not having swum except a handful of times since last tri-season (August 2010), Daniel held his own in the water and came out 3rd in his wave. As well, on the bike he only came back down 1-2 min (I think 3 tops from the fastest dudes) even though he has ridden his bike on the trainer a few times a max of 45min! Looks like so much run training has more than kept him in shape.

Since he was the 3rd wave of men, when he came into transition it was hard to see where he would place overall, there were some men from the previous waves blasting out into the run course.

However, I knew that it would be extremely rare that someone could match this kid's step. He blew by us and ran up to all but two of the guys from the other waves.


In the end he finished 1st Overall with a 15:04 run split! He said his Garmin proved the run to be a tad short, but nevertheless- damn!


After awards, where he ran into some friends that also race Juniors, including Breanna Hemming, who's also his age and took female overall (stud!), we cleaned up and went to lunch.


I found an awesome place called the Lunchbox Cafe that uses local and, whenever possible, organic produce and meats and we had some awesome sandwiches. I can't remember the last time I had a sandwich haha. It had roasted turkey, hummus, olive spread, cucumber, tomato, and mixed greens :P


Anyway, after lunch it was my turn to put on the race wheels and check in my bike.

Now I'll fast forward to my race:

Let me preface by saying that I came into this race tapered- and I mean TAPERED. The longest ride I have done in the previous two weeks was 2.5hrs last Friday. Since getting home to San Antonio I've shifted my focus to spending lots of time in the office and gearing my training to short FAST stuff. It's been in the back of my head that so much long course (70.3 & IM) training and racing has begunt to settle me into a "steady pace" of racing; this is primarily highlighted in my running. So I've vowed to start training like an ITU athlete and racing long course, in the hopes of getting my fast twitch fibers to work again and preserve my body for the many years I plan on being in the sport.

My body felt great going into this 70.3 and my mind has(d) done a 180 since I left California. I'm motivated and confident as ever and I'm doing EVERYTHING as perfect as possible. Never, even when I started this sport and was a geek to the max, have I zoned into my training, nutrition, and recovery as narrowly as now.

Anyway, suffice to say race morning I was worried exclusively about my own day. 5:30am I set up my transition and then went back to the room to roll on the foam roller and stretch a bit while Daniel & my mom sloooowwwlllyyy woke up.

My start was 8:20 (2nd women's wave to the 45+W)- the pros took off at 7am, followed by ALL the AG men. There were some pros and cons to this delay. It was good in the sense that the air would be a bit warmer both for the start and for the remainder of the race (careful what you wish for though!), and there would be no issues with women drafting men.
The bad I only came to realize as the race played out: we were greeted with choppy water vs the calm bay of the early morning (due not only to mother nature but the dozen waves of men mixing up the water), the tight quarters on the 4loop run course on a golf cart-width path, as the fleet of women poured into the various men remaining on the course for their 2nd,3rd, & 4th loops, and lastly, the age group women got the HEAT of the day. Galveston worked like this: cloud cover until 10/11amish, and then clear and blazing sun/humidity till 2ish. So in my particular case, I finally enjoyed some clouds my final two loops of the run. The first two were cookin'.

Ok so the swim- perfect. I lined up front and center and hammered to the first turn boey about 600-700m out. I found the perfect draft of a girl that I knew was a swimmer. We only had some tightness at that turn boey and coming into the finish from having to weave through slower swimmers from the men's waves. I was at a comfortable but solid pace behind this girl and came out 3rd in my wave. I would've normally been very disappointed with a 31min swim, as my swim is doing great right now, but relative to the AG women's field I exited in good standing (the only real point of comparison, not the pros or AG men, as they got the similar conditions I refered to earlier).

Onto the bike it took me about 30min to get into a very enjoyable rythm and I was pushing as hard as I could. At around mile 15 a 23yo girl came by me and I kept her in sight until about mile 20. I just kept hammering away hoping I wouldnt hit the run with that big a deficit and that she may not be a runner. I had no intention of running over 1:35.

The bike was big crosswind and headwind to the turnaround at mile 28, and then fun as hell tailwind from 28-about mile 40, then some cross/tiny headwind again to the Moody grounds.

Into T2 I felt great as I had made sure to really hit my calories on the bike with my EFS pre mixed gel flask that I later topped with a double latte Power gel, and I had hydrated really well with 2.5 full aero drink thingy of water plus 1/2 bottle of Powerbar Perform.

My signature porta potty stop to pee was in order (I've come to terms with this). My legs felt great but "oh shit!" the same exact stomach issue that nailed me in Honu last year for the first 5k was back to squash my dreams of pulling out the run I knew I was ready for.

There's a good and bad to this. The bad is that I lost my AG win by <40sec and severall amateur spots by a couple of minutes, as well the pure frusteration of your legs & mind feeling amazing and limited to what your stomach dictates. The good- this had happened before and I knew it was due to not having adjusted my body to caloric intake at this intensity under this heat. After Honu last year, Vineman, that Oly in Austin, and Kona presented no stomach cramping at all.

The pain is a double side stitch with extreme tightness across the bottom of my rib cage to the point that I stopped at mile 2 to bend over and try to dig/ART my way out of this.

It took the first two loops of the run at a miserable jog pace to settle the cramping down. The last two loops I felt great and was able to pick it up to what I would've like the rest of my run to look like. I had taken plenty of salt so that was not the issue either. It's purely that eating/hammering in the heat thing. So hopefully now with that behind me and some more intense workouts in the 95F temps will yield a flawless race in Honu :)!!

I crossed the finish quite thrilled with where my fitness and overall preparation is at this time, and all but that cramping issue made for a fantastic race for me.

You can't win them all and though I really dislike second places, the girl who won was the best on the day.

I would've like to have known that someone was that close to me the 3rd or 4th loops of the run, as I thought she was more like 10min ahead, but oh well.

Well, after the race we showered, grabbed lunch, and came back to awards. This RD is no joke he starts everything on the dot so it was 4:08 and I had missed my name so i just picked up my award and we hit the road home!

I want to thank all our awesome sponsors for Team Nytro- my Zoot Prophet is the bomb and my Colnago is a helluva ride!!

This week holds a few recovery days and then a fun 80miler in Austin this wknd. But the true excitement is Daniel distrcit track meet Tues & Wed- 2mi, then 1mi the next day!!

Back to fine tune before Honu ;) Cannot wait to step on that Island!