Hy-Vee World Cup
The
Hy-Vee World Cup continued without a hitch after the race location had
to be moved from down town Des Moines to West Des Monies. Much
of Iowa had experienced catastrophic flooding and many of the bacteria
levels in most lakes and rivers were too high for safe swimming. A
few days prior to the race, the streets of down town Des Moines were
flooded and Grays Lake (the original swim location) was still flooded
in the days of our departure. I wish the state of Iowa and the city of Des Moines all the best in their recovery.
The
people of West Des Moines, race director, race organizers and the
people of Hy-Vee deserve a huge thank you for all the countless hours
and effort they put forth in making the event happen. I know that Raccoon River Park was the fourth swim venue location to try and make a triathlon happen. There were rumors of the athletes competing in a duathlon (run/bike/run)
up to the Wednesday before the race. If the race was a duathlon, it was
not going to be an Olympic Trials race. Fortunately, everything worked out well.
I
can’t imagine how hard it was to pull a race together in one week and
even more impressive was the quality of the race that was still run!
The race began at 1:30 PM (same time as last year). However, the temperatures were much cooler….85 degrees verses 94 (with 100 degree heat index!). This made the race much more comfortable for us athletes, and also the fans!! This race was very important to the US athletes, as it was the final Olympic Trial selection race.
I started off the swim portion exiting in second position, about 50 seconds behind Sara Mclarty. I got on the bike and went hard from the go, to try and create as small a group as possible. The bike course was windy and had some rolling hills, but the hills were not quite big enough to get away from a pack. We
had a pack of 11 athletes by the end, with seven American athletes. I
tried several attacks throughout the bike course, but was not
successful in breaking away from the group. I
did attack up the final climb headed into transition and was very happy
to be first off the bike and first out onto the run course. Having solid transition is critical in have a successful ITU race.
Once out on the run course, I was feeling pretty good and focused on the women running near me. After
the first mile, I had a good feeling I was going to earn the Olympic
spot, but I focused my attention on trying to earn a podium spot. I
ended up finishing the World Cup in sixth position, not enough for
podium (about 30 seconds off), but I was able to clinch the final
Olympic spot.
Crossing the line and knowing I had accomplished my goal for the season was a big relief and a great moment. My focus immediately switched from making the team to focusing on the Games. Hard to believe that I will be competing in Beijing in just about six weeks!
I had so many friends and family members there to support me; it made earning the spot even better. I got a chance to celebrate with family after the race and travel back to St. Louis to spend time with them. I also got the opportunity to talk to local media stations while in St. Louis.
Now I am focusing on getting back into some tough training and preparing for the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on July 12th.
I just want to thank all my friends, family, coaches and sponsors who have supported me over the years to accomplish my dream! I am looking forward to representing the USA on August 19th!
