Havasu Race Report

I just had the most rewarding spring break of my life.

A week ago today, my team and I were prepping for race day at Lake Havasu, AZ. We went about the usual pre-race day routine: 20 minute run, half hour bike, quick dip in the lake, short transition practice, packet pickup, huge pasta dinner. There were a few nerves, but most of us were just excited, proud to wear the CU jersey, and ready to throw down against the other MCTC teams. Early to bed...

And early to rise. We biked from our campsite to transition at about 5:30, set up our gear, and warmed up. Before getting into the lake, we did our team cheer, led by Nate Diaz, the "most ethnic" kid on our team in the absence of Cedric:

Iki la boomba
Iki la wiki liki
Affa la waffa laffa
Oo-chee-ahh...
C-O-R... shit... (Nate has some spelling troubles)
C-O-L-O-R-A-D-O
What's that spell? Colorado! 
What's that mean? Victory!


And into the cold, early-morning water. The sprint waves went first, with several of our CU girls along with Coach Mike and Coach Dave. Then the men's Olympic, and then... we were off!

The swim: 1600 meters. Out around a couple buoys, then down the channel, then back up the channel to T1. My swim was VERY slow. I swam right next to Rihanna without realizing it for awhile, but once we turned around to come back up the channel I lost her. Got a little off track a couple times, thanks to lousy swim form that I've been trying so hard to correct. But eventually I made it out, in 29:07 - almost two minutes faster than last year. My swim-to-bike transition was pretty awful, too - over two minutes! And once I made it out on my bike, there were more issues to come.

About 3 miles into the bike, while I was on my aerobars, I noticed that they were starting to angle down. Realizing something was wrong, I sat up, and suddenly my aerobars were in my hand. They had completely come off my bike. I rode with them in my hand for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do. Then, when I found a sign on the side of the road I knew I would recognize later, I threw the aerobars towards the sign-- I wasn't about to bike 23 more miles with them in my hands.

Then the frustration set in. I'd gotten used to riding with aerobars, so going back to my drops felt awkward. I knew I had wasted time and needed to catch up, and my Nats team spot was on the line. I was tired and breathing hard almost immediately. I knew there were several girls on my team that swam faster than me but that I could catch on the bike, but they were nowhere in sight. Negative thoughts starting creeping in, threatening to discourage me, but I tried my best to fight them away. I suffered through the infamous "Box," a series of steep, intimidating hills, and knew the worst was over. But I still had to hold on.

I credit my teammate Morgan for helping save my race. She's been rooting for me for the Nats team since last year, and when I caught her, she could tell I was struggling. She saw me, picked up her pace, and yelled at me to follow. She kicked me into gear, and when I eventually passed her, my energy was back. I finished the bike strong, coming into T2 with a bike split of 1:14:36 - six minutes faster than last year. But I still had work to do, and it would have to be done on the run.

Coming out of T2, I just tried to pass people one by one. Spot a jersey, catch it, spot another, catch it, and repeat. I focused on staying relaxed and keeping a fast cadence. I saw lots of teammates on the run-- the "fast boys" about to finish just as I was heading out, and Bryn, Tess, Maggie, Courtney, and Molly pushing it for their final miles.  Just after the 3 mile turnaround, I caught Leigh, and I knew my Nats spot was safe as long as I could hold on. Catching Molly with a mile to go gave me the kick I needed to finish strong. As a final push, I passed an Army girl in a sprint to the finish, with my team on the sidelines cheering me on. Growing up in a Navy family taught me never to get beat by an Army jersey. :) I surprised myself with my run time: 40:37, almost three minutes faster than last year. I know I couldn't have done that without having my teammates as rabbits, so I thank them for that. I crossed the finish line with Will Thompson, in a final time of 2:27:27.

I'd been stressing about this race all year, knowing that it would be the deciding factor for whether or not I made Nationals team. I dropped over 7 minutes from last year's time, so I would've considered this race a success no matter what-- but it does feel great to have accomplished my year-long goal. I am a member of Nats Team '11, and I can't wait wear the Colorado jersey in Tuscaloosa in 2 weeks!

As a team, CU rocked this race. Our guys' team took 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9, and our girls took 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 12. Good for the men's team win, women's team win, and overall regional championship. Army traveled all the way to Arizona to take us on, but they couldn't hang. ;)

After Havasu, a big group from our team headed to Tucson for a spring break training camp. It was the most rewarding week of training and team bonding I've ever had-- separate blog about that coming soon. After this week, I feel like I've gotten to know some of my teammates so much better, and I'm going to love racing with them at Nats. B3!

Give and take.
Caryn