Chicago Tri Club

Trisha's 2019 Race Season Part I:

Setting Goals and Leon's Triathlon

     As I started thinking about my 2019 season back in 2018 I knew I had to set out with some firm goals and decisions regarding other parts of my athletic calendar. I had to give up something that hasn't been and won’t be a big beneficiary to my main sport, triathlon. Sorry, crit and road racing, you’re out. It was an easy decision in that I was never very good at it but a tough one in that I had some grudges out there that I really wanted to get at and that is never an easy thing for my ego to let go of. So. What then did I want from 2019? I sat and created a list of what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to accomplish. 

     In no particular order:

         1. ) Triathlon podium

         2. ) PR city; Swim and run specifically

         3. ) Get back into the olympic distance

         4. ) Gravel (bike). But fun gravel; use it for fun and for miles

         5. ) More velodrome.

         6. ) Qualify for AG Nationals (extension of getting back to olympic)

     After much debate I finally settled on three races; Leon’s sprint, Pleasant Prairie sprint, and Nationals. These were my three big focuses. I wanted to use Leon’s and Pleasant Prairie as attempts for Nationals qualifiers. I also threw in 2 gravel races/rides in April and accidentally added one of the FFC indoor triathlons all of which pancaked my first trip abroad. Long story short--I raced the FFC tri and placed 2nd in my AG, flew to Germany for 9 days, 5 days later did a 65 mile gravel ride, got the sniffles, 4 days later raced another 65 mile gravel race, and then contracted an intestinal infection (yes, I did an FTP test with a 100 degree + fever and didn’t know it). Whew, ok it’s now late April and I’m starting to panic about Leon’s for June 3rd. Queue double time machine Trisha!

Leon’s Sprint Tri- June 2, 2019 

     Race day was perfect conditions. Some worry and hesitation on the water temps but otherwise a nice day to race. This was my first Leon’s experience. Some had warned me that it wasn’t “pretty” and that it was a fast course. Per usual I choked on most of the swim; shocked by the chill of the water and  getting myself stuck behind swimmers that were just as lousy, if not worse than, myself. I got to the last buoy on the home stretch and I saw a clear path to the swim finish! I started just swinging and kicking and trying to catch one person after another. Into T1 everything went smoothly with the exception of getting bike exit mixed up. Still, my time is literally halved without needing wetsuit removal. So onto the bike course I am feeling at home as the bike is my best sport (duh). Hitting speeds up to 27mph on that course was freaking awesome! I know that was with assistance of tailwinds on parts of the course but still..it’s awesome catching all the people that smoked me on the swim. T2 was another breeze. The first bit of the run felt awful per usual but I was seeing a lot of friends and teammates on the course and with the help from their cheering and highfives I was feeling that runners high (even though my legs were screaming). Again, just picking out another athlete in front of me and making it a goal to catch them. Keeping my form in check and looking forward. I came through the finish chute with everyone, strangers and all, just cheering me through. One of the best things I got to hear all day was shortly after the finish when one of my teammates told me I was so fast on the run! We had crossed paths during the run with a high five. I put off checking the results for a long time. Too nervous to go look. Carrie eventually convinced me to go; with her as an escort of course. I wiggled my way into the list and counted and recounted probably 10 times the list of preliminary results. HOLY SHIT! I placed! Right then the results runner came over and reposted the results “Here are the final results”. Crap. I was scared to look. But I did it! 3rd Place! Checking off one of my goals for the season: Triathlon podium!