I am excited to be reporting in with great news. In case you haven’t heard: I finished 3rd place and 1st American at the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas, NV last weekend. Wahoooo!
Some highlights from the day:
Lets get the party started: Just before the start of the race I was walking down to the start ramp and saw three huge smiles, all waving frantically down at me. My family! So happy & excited! It gave me just the pump up to get the party started! Here are three people (Ma P, Pa P and Chris) who travel all over the country to watch me race, win or lose. There unconditional support gave me a nice little pump up before the gun.
Put it in the big chain ring: I am super fortunate to be working with SRAM. The support they provide on and off the course is 5-star. In the days before the race I had the opportunity to ride on the course with Ben Raby from SRAM. Ben noticed me gearing out and my high cadence on the descents. He suggested a bigger chain ring. 24 hrs later and I was able to push the downhill portions of the race course. This played a big part in my race. Thanks, SRAM!
Run, run, run: Coming back from an injury, I didn’t have the ideal run training under my belt. But we knew I was healthy and bike fit. The run is my favorite part of any triathlon! I was thrilled to be in such a great position off the bike. Now was the time to see where my run fitness was at.
Put the nail in the coffin: (one of my favorite sayings, BTW!) I started the third, and final loop of the run in third place with Heather Jackson still a minute down. At that point in the race – I made the commitment to third place. I was going to have to dig deep. It’s not that often you have the opportunity to be top-three in the World. For the final 4 miles – at all costs - I refused to back down and loose that third position. Heather had a great one out there and really made me work. There would be no settling!
Expectations: I approached the race with zero expectations. Really. It was a backwards approach from how I normally race. I was a blank slate. I was here to have fun. No pressure. Nothing to prove. I hadn’t finished a race since April, I really had no idea of how I would go. Obviously, as an elite athlete I have dreams. I also had a decent assessment of my current fitness (which is good). The lesson is: sometimes you have to expect the unexpected.
Finishline video: You can check it out here.
Gratitude: While I was the one who crossed the finish line in 3rd – many people share in this result. First & foremost: my #1, Chris Corbin. Thanks babe, love you! And to the rest of Team Corbin – all things are possible because of you. While my list of gratitude for all the individual support is quite large, a few special people in particular: Ma & Pa P, the Corbin family, Dana B & sweet Baby O, Matt Dixon, MbK, Team Montana, Trevor Hale, John Ball, Ben Raby,– much thanks for the extra TLC! And to everyone that didn’t get a personal shout out – you motivate me each step of the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I am now settled in Hawaii putting my final preparations into play before the big dance!
Stay tuned & thanks for the continued support!
