Camp, Birthday, Racing....

I have had such a insane, busy, non-stop weekend. Friday evening I walked away from the craziness of work and drove my car to Jackson, Mississippi for a triathlon camp with some great coaches, including Gordo and Justin Daerr. I will blog a little more on the camp this week and post some good things that I learned. It was really cool, and I am still absorbing some of the lectures as I think about the things that these amazing triathletes shared with the group.

Of course today is my birthday- the big 33. I celebrated by skipping the final day of camp ( boo!) to drive to Oxford for a small sprint triathlon (yea!!!). Rebel Man was my very first triathlon ever in 2006- the race that sunk the triathlon hook into me.

I had a fabulous birthday race and came away with an 1st OA Female win/10th OA.
My main goal was to drop my run time from the race last year, and I did that by 1 minute despite 4 quick stops to fix my shoe laces (you know, the things you forget to do pre-race when you haven't raced in 6 months). I really pushed from the moment I got out of T2. No watch- no garmin- just pushing.
My team- Los Locos- had a great showing. I have so much to learn from these guys, and they are always challenging me to up my game. I really couldn't ask for a better group of friends and teammates in this sport, and every time I train/race with them I think to myself: "today is a GREAT day!!!!!"

But don't be fooled by the previous pictures- it was actually freezing outside. I originally planned to wear just my swimsuit and arm warmers on the bike. I changed my mind last minute in the swim (rookie mistake- stick with the plan!), and when I got to T1 I had to fish through my transition bag to find my riding jacket. It wasn't needed!!!! I was getting warm on the bike and the wind was blowing my jacket everywhere. Then, my zipper got stuck in T2 when I was trying to get rid of the jacket... argh!!!! THE POINT IS- don't change your plan. Race your plan.

So- great day...good mental race for me. I will post some of the good camp stuff later this week.