Derek told me to wait a day or two before blogging, but I hope that by writing this I will feel better. Today was not my day to say the least. Last year I won a series of races called The Flatland Series, down in Iowa. We go to Des Moines a lot, since my in-laws live there and the Flatland team does a great job of organizing these events. I hadn't raced a sprint distance triathlon since my very first race, so I was looking forward to really pushing it for the short distance. I knew there was going to be some great competition at Copper. Two pros, TJ Tollakson and Michelle Witinok-Huber showed up for the big race. The morning of the race looked promising... no rain, however it was extremely foggy (last year they had to cancel the event due to thunderstorms). The race started about 30 minutes late, because of the fog, and when we started swimming it was still difficult to see. I felt good coming out of the water wanted to hit it hard on the bike. You couldn't see very far ahead, again due to the fog, so when I got to an intersection I was told by a police officer to turn left. After about half a mile, I just knew something didn't feel right. I was actually getting onto the highway. I turned around and completely stopped wondering if I should quit or keep going. I then saw a car pulling up to me and he said "sorry about that, you need to go back and turn left by the police officer". I took off in that direction trying to make up time. I saw another biker coming my way and told her to turn around because it was the wrong way. I knew that mistake cost me big time, because I went 0.7 miles over, when I looked at my computer after the race. I was able to pass one girl on the run, but was too far back to catch anyone else. I figured it cost me about 3 minutes. I know we there are lots of people that this has happened to in past races and I hope this will be the last time it happens to me. It just really stinks when you drive home for 3.5 hours thinking about it. Lesson learned - know the course inside and out and don't listen to anyone that tells you different!
On a good note - Derek won his age group. He is doing so great already this year and I am really happy for him!
Kortney Haag is a mom to two young active boys and understands the time challenges many athletes face and the importance of balance in life as well as in training. She has had extensive experience coaching and racing at all triathlon distances. You can contact her at kortneyhaag@gmail.com
1 comment:
Kortney-I'm so sorry to hear about your race. I'm sure it’s still frustrating, but if this is any consolation, last year after my disappointment down there, I had one of my best races the following weekend... It adds a little fire for the next opportunity. You have a lot of racing ahead, and you're just going to keep getting faster and stronger.
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