This past weekend, I competed in Florida's Great Escape Triathlon in Clermont, Florida. I decided to start my triathlon race season earlier than I had originally planned. After taking almost eight months off from racing, my coach and I felt that I really needed to get a race under my belt.

At this time of year, there are not a lot of races to choose from. However, I was happy to find out that Florida was holding the Great Escape Race in Clermont. The race was serving as a qualifier for the famous Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon held in June in California each year. Like the real Escape From Alcatraz race, the race consisted of a 1.5 mile swim, an 18 mile bike and an 8 mile run. While, I knew this type of race would be very different from my World Cup races both in distance and in the non drafting bike format, I still wanted to give it a try. I just felt that getting a race in was more important than finding one exactly like what I am used to. I also liked the idea of challenging myself in a different type of race.

Race morning I woke up a lot more nervous than I expected to be for an early season race. I just started thinking about how long it had been since I had competed. I was not sure I even remembered all the little things I needed to do to make sure my equipment was ready. To top it off, it was raining! The rain would not have been a big deal for me if it had just been a running race, but because rain can make the roads slick, it made me extra nervous about the bike (and I did not need any help in being more nervous on the bike).

After what seemed like more time than usual, I finally got everything set up in transition. I headed down to the swim start where I put on my wetsuit and warmed up a bit. With the wetsuit on, the water was not too cold. The temperature was definitely better than I had expected for a February race. At 8:00 am, I started off in the first wave, which consisted of all the other men and women racing in the elite category. I found that I had a difficult time getting out fast. I am not sure if I just wasn't warmed up enough or if it was something else, but it showed me that I really need to work on my swim start. I know that I won't be able to get away with a poor swim start in the ITU World Cups, as most of the competitors in those races come from a world class swim background. Anyway, after struggling the first 100 yards or so, I finally got into a rhythm and took off. I saw some guys right ahead of me and decided to try to get up with them. Fortunately, I was able to reach their swim pack. Otherwise, I am not sure I would have been able to see where I was going. The water was extremely dark and the buoy markers were pretty far apart. As we made our way out, I found that I was feeling stronger and stronger. We made a left turn, swam a little ways to another buoy and then headed back in. While I felt better as the swim progressed, I couldn't help but think how much longer it seemed than the swim distance in my normal races.

As I headed towards the transition and got on my bike, I thought I heard someone yell that I had a two minute lead over the next female who was Heather Gollnick. To be honest, I was not sure if that lead was going to be enough. Heather is one of the best non drafting and long distance triathletes in the United States. While my strengths are in the swim and the run, her best segments are the bike and the run. She is a phenomenal cyclist. Not only did I remember that Heather had beaten me both times we raced three years ago, but I also knew that she had won three if not more Ironman Races in the past couple years. I knew I had my work cut out for me!

I tried to ride as hard as I could, but I was extremely worried that I was going to be caught on the bike. I did not feel very powerful in the aero position and I felt that I was being too cautious because of the rain. Fortunately, the course consisted of two loops with some out and back portions. I could see where my competition was at different points in the race.

The first loop through I still had a nice lead. However, I had quite a scare biking in for the finish of my first loop. As I headed in, I saw an ambulance coming straight at me. It did not have sirens on and did not appear to be rushing to get anywhere. The problem was that it was heading right at me and was not stopping at all. I was not sure what to do because age group athletes were taking up the space to my left and if I went to the right I would run off the road. I made a quick decision to swerve to the left (figuring that a crash with another bike was preferable to a crash with an ambulance van). I fortunately managed to miss both the other athlete and the van. I was also pleased that my sudden swerve had not caused my tires to slip on the wet road. It took me a few moments to regroup from my close call. At first, I wanted to find out why the ambulance driver had been driving right at me, but I quickly remembered that I was racing and pressed on.

As I continued through the second loop, I could see that Heather was definitely gaining on me. I just tried to hold on till I could get to the run. By the time I came into transition, I was still leading. As I soon saw, though, I was not leading by far. As I left transition for the run, I could see Heather coming in to rack her bike. Since I knew that Heather was a very good runner, I decided to take the run out hard to try and get away. At the time, I was not sure if this was a good idea or not as I had never run more than the standard 6.2 miles in a race before. I had a nice eight mile run ahead of me. Fortunately for me, my risk paid off! I was pleased to find that I actually felt better as the run progressed. I was feeling fantastic! After the first three miles of the run, the race course turned on to a cross country like path. Since I train on trails and paths, the change in surface felt great to me. I continued to try to pick up my pace while I ran the next three miles on the trail. I wanted to use that portion of the run to increase my lead. There was only one point on the out and back part where I could see where my competition was. I could tell that I had a nice lead, but I did not want to take anything for granted. Since Heather is used to running much longer distances, I knew that she could get stronger as the run continued. I kept pressing the pace and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to do so. By the time, I headed back on the road for the final two miles of the run, I had a big lead and was feeling great.

At that point, the camera man filming the race, rode along beside me filming me as I headed toward the finish. It was fun for me because I have never been in a position where I was the one the camera was focusing on. In the past, I could see the camera filming my pack in the ITU races, but not me because I was never leading.

I finished the race in 2:12.24, with about a three minute lead. I even got to break through the tape that the officials held out! It was very exciting for me! It was really great to be back racing and it was especially nice to win a race again. After racing only the big ITU races and the World Cup races the past two years, I think my last triathlon wins were from way back in 2001 and 2002. Last year, I had an ongoing joke with a good friend because his 9 year old son would always ask how I had done in my races. My friend would always have to report that I was 5th or 7th or sometimes even farther back than that. Knowing how competitive those races were, I was always pleased with the results. However, to a 9 year old, 5th or 7th place did not seem all that impressive. He kept asking when I was going to win one. Now, I can finally say that I won!

Overall, the race was such a special first race back. Heather gave me the push I needed to race hard and get back into the groove. It was a pleasure to race against her. The race itself was a great one to start the season off as it was very organized despite the rain! Tom Ziebart, the race director, always puts on great races! The volunteers were real troopers in that they cheerfully stood in the rain for six or more hours. I am extremely appreciative that they would do that for all of the athletes.

A special thanks to my coach, Joel Filliol, and my parents. Joel has been working with me since I decided in the fall to race another season. I absolutely love his workouts and feel that he has me very prepared for the upcoming season.

My parents also deserve a huge thanks as they switched roles this past weekend. Typically, my father will go with me to my races to help out. He has become an expert in helping me with ALL of my luggage and helping with my bike. My mom usually stays home and takes care of their two dogs as well as my special dog, Juneau. I am not sure which one of them has the harder job, but they both got a chance this past weekend to see what the other one goes through. My mom took advantage of a race within driving distance to come watch me race for the first time in over three years. My Dad, on the other hand, took the weekend "off" and baby-sat the three dogs. Mom, despite taking all the teasing from Dad and Chad that you are just a triathlon race "rookie" you did a great job. I had a wonderful time traveling with you! Dad, Juneau reports that you too did an excellent job despite the one minor mishap! Thanks so much!

In addition, I want to thank the Walton girls cross country team, Coach Williams and Tiffin. While I have not had a chance to train with you all since the end of cross country season, I just wanted to thank you for all the cross country practices this past fall. You kept me in great shape during my vacation from racing and most importantly you helped put the fun back into it all! I am so grateful and cannot wait to get back to practicing with you in the fall! You guys are awesome!

Before I left for the race, my good friend, Molly, gave me a special ribbon with three charms on it as a "good luck for the beginning of the season" gift. The charms had the words - Faith, Blessings, and Family on it. I took the charms to the race with me. As I found myself getting nervous before the race and actually wondering why I was putting myself through all this again, I remembered the charms. Thinking about what the words on the charms meant put things into perspective for me and I relaxed. I will definitely be taking those charms with me to all my races from now on. Thanks Molly!

Next up: the MAP sprint triathlon in Charlotte, North Carolina. I am really looking forward to racing in Charlotte. My brother and his wife live there, so I will get to see them that weekend as well.

More to come: In the next month of so, I will be writing about the new Professional Women's Triathlon team that I am going to be a part of this season. I will also have some updates on the Forum team which is my local bike team!

Thanks!

Kelly