Learning to respect the process of improvement...

I competed in the Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon this past Sunday and continuing to be humbled and reminded of the required patience the sport of triathlon requires. Black Diamond is the 5th triathlon I've competed in. 1 Sprint and 4 Olympics sum of my triathlon race experience so far. A little different when compared to my experience in the sport of running which I've been competing in since I was in 7th grade up through the collegiate level. After college I discovered marathoning which carried me all the way into my discovery of triathlons. I'm learning quickly that swimming and biking don't come as naturally to me, but I am starting to respect the process of improvement. I work hard at improving and appreciate every little inch of progress I get from the effort.

I was urged by a colleague to update my blog so with that little nudge thought I'd shared some summer race updates since the ChelanMan Olympic triathlon that kicked off my tri season. Since ChelanMan I've competed at Portland Olympic, and Black Diamond Olympic. I have one race left this season which is my first LongCourse (1/2 ironman) triathlon Oct 23rd in Arizona. Scared and excited at the same time when typing that! ChelanMan started the season really well, and Portland humbled me. The Portland bike course broke me in two on the continuous hills presented, but I did get a PR in the swim and had a solid effort on the run. So walked away from Portland continuing to be reminded that biking improvement will come with time. My summer triathlon race results summary:

ChelanMan Olympic - 2:34:48 (July)

11th Overall, 5th Age group

• Swim - 30:45 (11th)
• T1 - 2:04 (8th)
• Bike - 1:17:14, 19.3 mph avg (8th)
• T2- 1:53 (21st)
• Run - 42:50 (1st)

Portland Olympic - 2:45:02 (August)

8th overall, 4th Age Group

**Received a 2 min penalty for drafting on the bike :(

• Swim - 28:37 (18th)
• T1: 2:06 (4th)
• Bike - 1:30:34, 16.6 mph avg (19th)
• T2: 1:32 (15th)
• Run - 42:11 (2nd)

Islander Aquathon (Swim-Run) August

2nd Overall Female

• 1000M Swim - 16:18
• 10K Run - 41:24 (Pretty happy given I just got back from running Hood2Coast the weekend prior!)

Black Diamond Olympic - 2:38:29

10th overall, 3rd in Age Group

• Swim - 29:22 (31st)
• T1 - 2:26
• Bike - 1:23:53, 17.78 mph avg (32nd)
• T2 - 1:32
• Run - 41:15 (1st)

Triathlon race season is nearing wrap up for me. One last race to prepare for, but by far will be the most difficult one of the season. The long course will double the biking distance which is going to challenge my legs. I've found that throughout this summer's racing that running off the bike has gotten much easier so hoping the additional time on the wheels doesn't completely crush me for the run. I'm looking forward to Soma 1/2 since I get to race with my friend Cara who was the first person to ever introduce me to triathlons. After Soma the fall is going to be spent on gaining some bike fitness and preparing for January kickoff where I will begin to start getting coached by Kainoa. I'm looking forward to working with her and getting tougher while I focus on the 70.3 distance next year.

Final update to leave you with is that I have a sexy new set of wheels. Officially unveiling the name of my new toy....drum roll please! Meet my P2 "Paciencia" meaning patience in Spanish. Hoping with consistency and "paciencia" good things will come :)