Seems I’ve been napping my way through the week recovering from 12 days on the road racing. I've decided to combine race and travel stories all in a somewhat abridged version here. Back to back racing had it's challenges for sure; however the 12 days were abundantly full of stories, memories and laughter.

I had the pleasure of spending much of my road trip with the Andrew Starykowicz, you know the guy that won 70.3 New Orleans. I was hoping if I ate everything he did I would have the same powerful legs & race results, apparently I didn’t eat enough of the Payday candy bar pre race. Next time I’ll eat the entire bar and not share! Two more 70.3 races in the books amongst great competition with the likes of Sarah Haskins, Laura Bennett, Sarah Piampano and many other women stand outs in the sport. After a rough start in Puerto Rico I was ready to put myself to the test again at Memorial Herman 70.3 Galveston and then a week later re-visit Ochsner 70.3 New Orleans, which was my very first race of my pro career in 2015.

The week proved to be a roller coaster of emotion as my travel day to Texas marked the 1 year anniversary of my mom passing away. The week was full of joy, heartache, anticipation and memories. I recalled my mom pointing at me from the couch the year previous leading up to New Orleans telling me I was indeed racing my first planned pro race, regardless of her health and she would cheer me on. I just nodded and said “ok” knowing full well I wasn’t leaving her side. Well Cindy was always in charge and little did I know she would be the power and courage from afar giving me strength to toe the start line of my first pro race last year. Her “Shrink Baby Shrink” mantra continues to inspire me today, as I put my fears aside and chase my dreams. So I boarded my flight on April 7th with a Cindy smile ready to meet new friends, race hard and enjoy the journey just as she always did; knowing this was the best way I could honor her.

The folks of Houston were awesome, well except for the Uber driver that wouldn’t put my bike box in his car because he would get in trouble! Are there Uber police out there? Anyway, Andrew connected me with Andy of Atomic High Performance for my stay in Houston. Thanks Andy for your southern hospitality, bike maintenance and super fast bike components! Luckily he let me over stay my welcome and I enjoyed a recovery week in TX before heading to New Orleans. I also had the pleasure of meeting Jeremy of Mind Right Multisport and many of his athletes at the delicious private dinner at Grazia Italian Restaurant. Thank you for your warm welcome during the evening, this beginner pro definitely appreciated your encouragement as Andrew and I shared our respective career journeys throughout the night.

Race day prep for Galveston came and went in a flash. My new pre race meal might be pasta and turkey meatballs, yep that’s right this 8+ year vegetarian has fully fallen off the veggie wagon. Don’t worry I still eat my greens from time to time and tofu, I wouldn’t want to disappoint! Your quick peak into Galveston. Well as always the gun goes off and so do the swimmers splashing and enjoying the water party. I wish I could run in water, I’d be so much faster! Yes I lost some time in the swim to the pack, it wasn’t because of a shark sighting like my homestay’s son mentioned, but that would have been a great excuse. After putting together a pretty solid bike and run, my 4:38:16 still found my name toward the end of the pro list. Yes it is rather humbling when you set a PR with a rather solid day and you don’t crack the top 10 and you are scrolling to find your name on the list. But hey, it was a huge step in the right direction physically and mentally. Post race, Andy and his family treated us to a delicious family style Tex Mex evening and we might have capped the night off with some ice cream too. Yes that is meat in the picture and I didn’t just eat the guacamole and salsa.

Friday it was time to head to NOLA. The car ride was a long but entertaining one. Our Hot Rod Lincoln (yep that’s right..it’s all about the trunk space) held 2 passengers, 2 bikes, 2 bike boxes, 6 wheels, 5 helmets, snacks of course, more bike gear and then some luggage. New Orleans was a whirlwind on the bayou.

The chorus of the Lake Pontchartrain song pretty much sums up my race, “Come down to Lake Pontchartrain, Rest your soul and feed your brain, That’s where you will get to see everything the water can be.”

Well let’s just say the 20mph sustained winds and gusts of 30+mph gave Nickie a run for her money. The lake kept me hydrated as I drank a few gallons of brackish delight. The water was everything it could be that morning and the rough swim seemed to set the tone for the remainder of the day. For all you new swimmers out there I might have thought about grabbing a kayak and paddling to shore. I didn’t get blown off my bike into the bayou for alligator feed so that was a bonus! I polished the day off with a top 3 run split and ran my way up to 12th place into a solid headwind on the way home. NOLA proved to be full of great memories once again. Thanks to Base Performance for finding us a true New Orleans gem! I also got to meet Andrew’s run crew out of Charlotte, thanks for the fun guys. And a big shout out to John and Kate heading over to the swim start and cheering me on before they headed off to work.

Another great journey in the books as I continue “figuring” out this pro triathlon thing. One thing I have figured out, I’m surrounded by the most awesome fans that continue to cheer me on regardless of the end result. The Up and Running crew is my backbone along with Veritas Endurance Coaching and my huge support system in Dayton and beyond! It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I first toe’d the line as a pro. The year has been anything but easy. However, it has been full of enormous joy as I strive to emulate the life my mom led; through my racing endeavors, knowing there is always something bigger out there than the race itself.

I’m enjoying a week off and catching up on life at home…then it’s on like “Donky Kong” as someone keeps telling me in reference to training. I think I need to brush up on my Atari skills…

Thanks for reading, I’ll keep chasing my podium spot!

On Both Sides Of I-10