How I raced with Paula Findlay...

 4-29-23 Pre-Race Evening

As I lay on the couch in the "slightly" sketchy Airbnb, I continuously refresh my email hoping my inbox remains empty... Still trying to recover from the lack of sleep the first night in St. Pete. Blaring music and sirens were a constant noise throughout the night. Tip: do NOT pick an Airbnb right next to a fire station... You will not get much sleep!

Continuously monitoring the weather the entire week before, I knew the weather was going to be a factor for the race. Weather report saying 20-25mph winds with a tornado warning in the neighboring county and a small boat advisory with strong riptides. 

PING! My phone goes off and I see a new email: "St. Anthony’s Triathlon swim will be cancelled. We will change to a run-bike-run event."

Swim is cancelled? What kind of triathlon is THIS! Tri means 3. That means 3 sports; swim, bike and run. Not 2!

As I wrack the last minute change through my mind, I remind myself that as an athlete I need to be adaptable to every scenario. You never know what will happen during a race. A mantra that has gotten me through too many situations to count is "control what you can control". The Airbnb location? Uncontrollable... The weather? Uncontrollable... The race format? Uncontrollable... My attitude? Controllable! 

So I went to bed hoping for the best and expecting the worst. 

4-30-23 Race Day

Waking up at 5:30am on race day is DEFINITELY a perk of the race format changing! I swear anytime the alarm is set before 5:00am, I'm on the struggle bus. And for those of you who aren't familiar, race mornings you will definitely be up before 5:00am sometimes 4:00am...

I did my typical routine. Hit the bathroom, made my usual breakfast of a peanut butter bagel with a banana. Took care of the dog, got my bottles ready, and started my stretching routine. Finished packing up the car and changed into my race suit. Can't forget! One more quick bathroom break because ya know your girl has got to get EVERYTHING out before race time. 

Pulling up to the course and it is visible how windy it is. Tents are blowing everywhere, porta-potty doors are swinging open, and I'm thankful for all the hairspray in my hair! It was a quick set up getting checked in and racking my bike. A weird process not leaving my race shoes on my towel but putting them on my feet for the first run. Oh, and did I mention I still didn't know how long the first run was? At this point I had heard three different distances: 1.2, 1.35, and 1.5... And the winner was?! 1.5 miles! 

As time went on, more and more spectators arrived. My best friend's family and a few old training buddies came to greet me. It was exciting seeing them again and I instantly got a burst of energy! I continued with my normal process of starting my warm up and drills. It was an interesting start especially being in the open division with limited athletes. This time I was not racing against the usual field of amateurs, but the field in between amateurs and pros. I would have called us the "wanna-be pros" vs "open division" considering you had to have a qualifying time to race... Not exactly "open". 

The first wave of athletes to take off were the pro men. They had them line up with a gun start. Watching them take off I had flashbacks to my cross country days with all the elbows thrown! I reminded myself to get some arm swings in so those bows were ready to be thrown... 

Next, it was the pro women. My favorite pro, Paula Findlay, was right in the middle of the pack. I watched how zoned in she was. Focused and ignoring all the surrounding distractions. BANG! The gun went off and she launched to the middle of the pack knowing that's where she needed to be because by the end of the bike she'll be in the lead. 

Then the open division men lined up. They were releasing us 2 by 2 every 3-5s. There were not many men and I realized there were even less women in my division. I was up quickly, as one of the last woman from my field. I launched into a sprint but reminded myself that I did not want to gas myself out too soon. Getting into a comfortable rhythm and ignoring my watch, I saw how the other women in my field were pulling away. I figured this would happen because I knew my training was focused on 70.3 distance and not the shorter Olympic. So my legs did not have as much speed as I had hoped. 

The first run went by in the blink of an eye. I rushed into transition and had to mentally remind myself that I was putting on my bike gear and leaving my running gear... Not the usual other way around! With a swift transition I looked around and saw that I was the last woman in my field in transition. No problem, I told myself, I'll make it up on the bike! 

Launching onto the bike course, I immediately felt the gusts of wind. It felt like it was coming from all directions except from behind! After the first few turns and intersections I started to see the 2 women who started in my wave. I was beginning to close the gap but with all the turns, it was hard to keep them in sight. Once I hit the first long stretch, I lost contact with them. I was shocked by how quickly they had pulled away considering we were going into a head wind... I didn't let this falter my confidence. I put my head down and started cranking the power. After about three more miles, I heard someone coming from behind. But it was not another woman, it was a pro man!

Huh that's weird, I thought to myself... He must have fallen really behind or had a flat tire I concluded. So I kept pushing on into the wind. Another few minutes later and I hear another cyclist coming up from behind. This time it was another pro man! Alright, I thought, something is OFF. No way I passed two pro men and haven't even caught up to the other women in my field. Nevertheless, I continued on my way because what else was I suppose to do? 

Then it hit me. Maybe I made a wrong turn? Did I accidentally miss one of those intersections? There were so many cones at each intersection and the police monitoring the traffic didn't even look up when I zoomed past. Suddenly, the 10 mile marker became visible and I looked down at my bike computer to see I was only at 5 miles... At this moment I finally admitted to myself that I had made a wrong turn and somehow skipped 5 miles of the bike course! I contemplated turning around but what would the point be in that? I would only be adding another 5 miles to the entire course and I would still have to DQ. So, within 3 seconds of realizing my mistake I continued on!

A few more pro men passed me and I started to wonder when the pro women would catch up. It became a fun little game in my head, who's the next pro I'll see and get to "pull" for a split second before they zoom past me?! I suddenly became really excited realizing that my favorite pro woman will be passing me at some point! I anticipated her arrival, as I continued against the 25mph winds. 

With less then 5 miles left on the bike course, Paula Findlay crept up behind me. I say crept, but it was more like a "hi/bye" situation... As she passed I couldn't help my fan girl squeal and cheer for her! It was so cool to see her in full on race mode. Definitely became a career highlight moment. 

Pedaling into transition, I quickly hopped off my bike and ran straight to the penalty tent. I told the official that I needed to DQ but I was going to finish out the race. He gave me a sort of puzzled look but I turned and ran into T2 before he could question it. I was not going to let him stop me from running across that finish line!

I got through T2 as swiftly as possible and immediately felt the wind as I hit the main road. The 10k run course was a straight shot out and back along the ocean front. This was the first time I saw my family and friends in the crowd. They probably couldn't believe what place I was in! (Even though I technically cheated...) I tried to yell what happened but knew I was just wasting energy so I smiled and surged on through. The run went by in a blink of an eye and before I knew it I was coming back on the last home stretch. 

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in St. Pete and racing St. Anthony's. It was a great time with my family and friends, along with some great seafood! Probably could have done without the trap house Airbnb but triathletes like living on the edge, right?

So, what did I learn from this race? ALWAYS know your course before you race... And if you make a wrong turn? Just keep going! You never know who you might race with...