Nation’s Triathlon

---

---

This past Sunday I raced back to back weekends in Washington D.C. at the Nations Triathlon.  I have raced in D.C. once before, eight years ago when the race was a stop on the World Triathlon Series circuit where I finished fourth.  D.C. is an awesome place to race, with historic sights to see and Nate and I were both impressed how beautiful and clean it is in the city.

This race we decided for Caroline to stay back in St. Louis with Grandma and Nate and I traveled with Connor.  We had a direct flight and a 15 min taxi drive to our hotel, so it was a very easy travel day.  We arrived Friday night and stayed directly across from the Nationals baseball stadium.  They happened to have a home game series Friday/Saturday/Sunday so we got to view a lot of baseball and people watching out of our hotel window.

Race morning was early, but Connor did amazing with adjusting to feeding and cheering!  We stayed just over three miles from the course, so I biked down race morning and Nate ran with Connor in the BOB Revolution Stroller.  The air temps were a bit chilly in the morning.  When I stepped out of my hotel room, I ran back up to grab a second jacket layer to stay warm pre-race.

The air temp was in the low to mid 50s and the water temp was 69!  So no wetsuit!   With it being so chilly, I did not warm-up in the water (I don’t even think it was an option though).  The swim was in the Potomac River and it was a one loop swim with a very mild current.  I had two GLUKOS gels prior to race start. We had a dive start and once we got in the water, it did not feel too cold.  I had a goal to start off faster this race verses last weekend and was leading the swim at the first 200meter buoy.  I wanted to push the swim harder this race and I felt really good in the water coming out in front.  After getting out of the water, I had about a 600 meter run to transition.  My feet were a bit numb getting out, but I felt pretty good once I was on the bike.  I used my Blueseventy PZ4TX swim skin with the Blueseventy Element Goggels. 

As the bike progressed, my muscles started to feel like they did not want to push.  I don’t know if it was the cold weather or just some fatigue. I felt like my cadence was slowing much more than normal, but I just focused on staying in a good position and maintaining pressure on the cranks.  With the cooler temps I had one bottle of GLUKOS Energy Powder mix on the bike.   I had never seen the course before, so it was a little tough navigating the course without previewing it first.  Overall it was a very fast bike course; mostly flat with a few rollers throughout the ride.  I maintained my lead over the bike course and managed to stretch out my lead over the other girls slightly. My gear for the cycling portion was:  Fuji Norcom Straight 1.1 out fitted with SRAM e-Tap wireless shifting, Quarq Powermeter, ISM PN 3.0 saddle, Zipp Vuka Aero bars, Zipp Firecrest Tubular 404  with Tangent SL Speed Tire, Zipp Super 9 Tubular Disc with Tangent SL Speed Tire, Sampson Stratics Carbon Ti Pedals, Speedfil A2 hydration system, Rudy Project Wing57 in my favorite color!

When I dismounted my bike, I was practically walking!  My feet were so numb, I could barely move the first few steps.  It took my about three tries to get my shoes on due to my dexterity being slow from the cool weather!  During the run, I focused on maintaining good form.  My calves were a little sore during the run, but overall I felt smooth.  Last week my calves did not recover until the Friday before the race.  I had done such little running prior to the race last weekend I was experience some extreme delayed muscle soreness after Des Moines, but fortunately they recovered.  I didn’t have a goal to run fast, but just to run smoothly to the finish line. My running gear used was: Skechers GoMeb Razor, Mission HydroActice Multi-Cool,  Rudy Project Tralyx SX, GLUKOS Energy Gel, Triflare Blue Poppy custom Sarah Haskins line, Glukos Visor, T1 Pro Race belt, and I was able to race in my Groove Life ring all day and not have to worry about my diamond wedding band.

I was very happy to finish with a win.  When I had Connor, I knew I wanted to race later in the season, but I had no idea what kind of fitness I would be in several months later.  Although I am not in peak fitness yet, it is fun to mix up the training with the racing and to be able to catch a few late season races before the 2017 season officially ends.  I am trying to not put too much pressure on myself, but sometimes I do catch myself doing that very thing in the couple of days leading up to the race.  I am mindful to stay in the now and take training and racing a day at a time.  It was so much fun to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and experience the thrill of racing.

The last couple of days I am trying to focus on recovery!  I have not gotten very many quality night of sleep over the past few days due to travel, early racing and with kids waking up frequently at night.  However, I am attempting to make up for my lack of nighttime sleep by sneaking in a nap and going to bed when the kids go to bed (early…by 9pm!).

I have just over a week before I pack up again and head to the next Escape Triathlon Series race in Lake Geneva.  Thank you for all the support!  Sarah