I'm just getting home after a long trip to 3 different cities where I raced, moved, and raced again. It was a long 7 days, but I came away with two 4th place finishes, earned some points for Hy-Vee, got to spend some quality time with my mom and dad and sisters and got to watch Amy's first swimming lesson!
The trip started with a flight to Philly, where my bag got lost. I spent a lot of time calling the airline, bought some cheap running clothes and then my bag showed up the day before the race. No big deal since Bec was driving down from NYC and brought me whatever I needed. It was great to have Bec back for all the pre-race prep. We hadn't done a race together in over a year and it definitely helped to have her competitive spirit back on the scene. She did not once freak out while juggling a baby, a stroller, bottles, her bike, let alone the fact that she was doing her first big race. We had a lot of help from our mom and dad - but she just remained calm and did her thing. I was pretty impressed. I was also really impressed when halfway through the swim I see her swimming along by me!! We think maybe she was in a little bit swifter current part of the river, but either way she came out of the water just a few seconds behind me. Not bad for probably 1/4 of the training I've done! 
I felt great on the ride- for the first half, then saw myself go from right behind 2nd to 4th and stayed there the rest of the race. I tried hard to run to 3rd but couldn't quite get my usual speed. I was pretty disappointed to finish 4th but I was really, really happy to see Bec come across the line in 6th place, on Amy's 5 month birthday.
After the race we drove back to New York, where I had to move out of my apartment, train and get ready for my next race in 6 days. I pulled a couple all-nighters - for me, moving apartments = many trips to the curb and the trash room and no movers! I was really looking forward to finishing that up and getting on the plane and relaxing. The opposite happened. I went right from being up all night, moving, and then sat on the runway for SIX hours before they told us to go home at 1230am and come back the next morning at 6am. Pretty much another all-nighter. I finally made it to St. Louis the day before the race but the entire plane's bags were MIA- including my bike. I freaked out (unlike calm Bec) - and just sat on the floor of the airport for another couple hours waiting. Finally I found a few options (Jill P generously brought me her road bike and Cervelo helped to hook me up with a local bike shop). I kept telling myself it could be worse - I could have flown to Buenos Aires, flatted with a massive lead and DNF'd, got sick from the water and then not make the Olympics - (true story). Fortunately, the bike was located and at 430am before the race I was putting it together. Unfortunately, my TT helmet was stolen from my rental car! It all worked out though and I had a decent swim, a very tired bike with a wrong turn, and an ok run to cross the line in 4th. 
borrowed helmet!
Sounds like a long tale of woe, but now that it's all over, I realize I did what I wanted to do - get some races under my belt and get some points for Hy-Vee. Now it's time to train for the next one in NYC!!
clutching my First Endurance EFS flaskI need to dedicate another post for thank yous, but I want to say thank you to my sponsors: Nike, NYAC, Cervelo, Zico, First Endurance, Rudy Project, and ISM; and to my mom and dad and superfan sister Sarah who drove up to Philly just for the race; and to all the fans for cheering me along. These are the people and things that get me to the finishline and across it. Next time, podium!