I love, love, LOVE this photo!

my final race as a ‘Gellatly’ – so glad to have a photo with corn fields in the direct background.  In Bowling Green, OH (high school – BGHS – go bobcats!), the crops rotated were corn and soy beans.  we had corn in our back yards, literally.

excuses aside – I am happy with my race at rev3 – CP.  I loved the course, the mild temperatures (a welcomed break from our long summer!), and the amusement park (cedar point is americas roller coast.).

excuses front and center – I let my focus drift pre race and I didn’t listen to my coach.  I waffled back and forth about whether to do the race – up until the week of the race.  I went in WELL undertrained – which was all my own damn fault – and pulled off a respectable day (considering).

not many photos of race day because I drove up to Ohio alone – all 11 hours – the friday before the race.  good planning.

telling on myself a little here – but Saturday, the day before the race, I went into the park for an hour to ride as many coasters as I could fit in – only got 3 in, but they were quality.  I love america’s roller coast!!

during the race prep and build up, everything went pretty much according to plan.  there was a panera bread and a target – between the two all my needs our met.

skip to race day -

I had the swim of my life!  It was my first time racing in my quintana roo wetsuit – awesome!  awesome wetsuit + amazing dolphin diving skills = staying with a swimmer that is much more talented at the actual swim portion than you are.  I actually swam to the first swim buoy with Amy Marsh and Sam Warriner – you want proof?  I am pretty sure that Sam could have dropped Amy but hung around because she wanted someone to play with – I, however, could not hang.  As I got dropped, I hung with the next pair of feet that came a long – and the 4 x 200 meter dolphin dive sections were my time to shine!  all those years of jumping up and down off the bottom of the pool in warm down, FINALLY paying off.  see coach Gary, it pays to play

bike was going smooth – I was rolling in 4th – although I did not know I was in 4th.  until I got a stagger penalty and had to stand down for 4 minutes.  I stood calming about 1/2 the penalty – ate, drank.  until I got thinking about why I was standing down – the girl in front of me was ALMOST of sight.  I did not have the intent to draft, I had all but forgotten she was there – I received no benefit from the infraction I was standing down for SO for about 2 minute the official got to hear me rant on about intent and warning and how the term ‘ we will be reasonable’ was used in our meeting.  It’s been months now, I have a new last name, I’ll let it go.  It made no impact on my result, but my swim advantage which I so strategically plotted was gone.  I got passed by a couple girls while standing down, but for the sake of the race, I had to let it go.

i am so proud of this run – not because it was great – but because the run LITERALLY went to shit – about every 2 miles to be specific, but it was the first time in a race when it all unraveled, yet I ran it out.  I don’t know if I swallowed too much Lake Eerie or new sports drink but my stomach was NOT happy with the transition into the run.  At mile 14, I sat in the porta potty crying – talking myself into going back out again – double loop course – trying to figure out how the hell I was going to get through the other half of the course.  I started drinking coke and progressively mile by mile – it wasn’t so bad anymore.  I even passed someone on the run course.  running myself into 8th place!  I still don’t know my finish time, but I finished – and I finished strong!  despite my shitty prep and a shitty run.

huge thank yous to my homestay, Kathy (even though she didn’t let me have her daughter PINK bedroom  ), quintana roo – awesome swim and ride, all3sports, rev3 – great series, looking forward to racing more of them next season!, coach – matt russ, the husband, tom – the mechanic, tri-ptc, and splish.  without the support, this season would not have been possible.

finish up with some wedding photos that have been left out thus far -

the robot.

my precious darling flower girl LOVES to twirl!

the macon half race report teachings an important lesson – don’t race sick.

but if you do – look pretty so you can post photos.  i may have raced flat, but PEARL and i looked great.

thanks for the great pre race swim talk amy.

t1 smile (HA! i do smile and race!)

top 2 photos by leland black

photo by sam morgan

photo by sam morgan