It’s hard to
find a place to start with this race report. It has been an incredible learning
season, and I feel I’ve grown so much leading up to this race. I was able to
execute what I learned through what turned out to be a very long but absolutely
unforgettable and rewarding day.
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| So happy to have my family with me! |
Jon and I
arrived in OKC on Wednesday, reassembled Xena (my Cannondale Slice) and I took
her over to the awesome Team USA mechanics – Drew and Wally tuned her up and we
were ready to chill out before things got hectic! Thursday, Jon dropped me off to get ready for
the Team USA picture and Parade of Nations and headed to the airport as my
parents were coming in. Mom, Dad, and Jon arrived right before the parade, I
ran over, hugged them with tears of joy in my eyes, and ran back to my parade
spot. How honored I felt to walk in that parade, and my parents were so proud. Friday
morning was the obligatory IHOP stop per the QT2 Core Diet regimen I have used
since 2014, and will continue to use because it is just plain awesome and works
like a charm. My parents wanted part of it all – so joined Jon and I, as I
devoured almost as many carbs as the night before. After the quick 15 min tune
up swim, we all loaded into the minivan to GO TO THE ZOO! My parents love zoos,
and I wanted to do something special for my parents. We hopped back in the
minivan to rack Xena. Seeing my name, and USA after it, was just great. ONTO
RACE DAY!
Morning Prep: 3:45 am – let’s do
this! After warm up
shower, coffee and breakfast, my parents met us in our hotel room at 4:45, and
we were off to transition. It was SUPER windy. Windier that I have seen at 5:30
in the morning. I set up my transition, and waited to see if it would be
wetsuit legal. Nope. ITU temperatures are a couple degrees lower than USAT
regulations. I was cool with that, I felt really strong swimming and knew that
wouldn’t affect things. More on that later. The winds continued to kick up, and
the water looked really, really choppy. I figured, heck, I’ve swam in ocean, I
did Escape from Alcatraz, I got this. We all walked over to the bleachers,
listened to the beautiful National Anthem, I took my final nutrition before
swimming, and hugged and kissed my family before heading to the corral.
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| Love of my life, my rock, my sane side sometimes... |
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| Courtesy of ITU: Me sizing up the buoys! |
7:44 am Swim: 4 KM (2×2000 M), 2.5
miles: I seeded
myself right next to the buoys, up front, as I have done for the past couple of
years as I wanted to be aggressive. The plan was to go hard for 200-300 yards
and settle in. Well, the wind was so strong there was no “settling in”. Out to
the first triangle it was relentless waves. I kept swimming, thinking you got
this, keep going. I hit the turn buoy, and it was like an endless pool. Me,
weighing in at around 114 on race day, was like an empty coke bottle with an
SOS message in it – I was flipped and flopped all over. I had to use all the
upper body strength and kick I had to make it to the second turn buoy. When I
got there, the chop was harder. I couldn’t see the buoys as every time I came
up to sight a wave crashed on me. I was choking and drinking a lot of water. My
mental attitude was not in a good place – but I had to get it back. At one
point I was treading water to see the buoys and a woman asked me how long we
had been in the water – 40 minutes – and 3 buoys to go until we turned around
for the second lap. WHAT! I finally got around the turn buoys and headed back
out for my second lap – after an hour. I felt more confident on the second loop
because I knew what to expect. I tried to go hard on the way out to compensate
for the way back. I was off course, swam more yards than I should have, but
finally saw the end in sight. When I got out of that water, I was so thankful.
Over 60 people were pulled from the water, and everyone was safe – thanks to
the amazing volunteers. Ok now let’s go bike!
Bike, 120 KM (1×120 KM), 74.56 miles: I didn’t see my family, but they saw
me, coming out of T1. I was sad missing them because I knew I’d be out there
for about 4 hours, depending on the wind. I knew they’d be there when I got
back, so just settled in and started eating and drinking right away as I was an
hour and 15 minutes behind my nutrition plan. I started getting the worst
stomach cramps. I
realized I drank so much water and gulped so much air that it
was all trying to work itself out of my little body. I was eating and drinking
while feeling so sick. After about an hour, anything that tried to get out, was
out. I’ll just leave it at that. My plan was to be aggressive, and pass anyone
when the opportunity arose. I had general heart rates, but this was more about
me feeling what I knew was the smart thing to do. I played cat and mouse with
several women in my AG. I was pushing harder than I usually do, and using some
tactics over the hills that let this little chick soar down faster than ever on
the hills. That was a really good feeling. We had two loops in the middle, and
two women in my AG were ahead of me during the first loop. In the first 10
miles of the second loop, I passed both of them at an aid station. I got to the
180 turnaround, and found out they were at least a mile behind me. I never saw
them again on the bike. SCORE! The last 15 miles the wind changed, and we had
more headwind in addition to what we had in the first 60 miles. I was crying. I
wanted it to end. However, my pace and heart rate was good, and my legs felt
good, although I had tight calves. I tried to stretch them out a bit, and into
the last few miles before transition, the headwind hit hard! Really? Stop it! I
felt like I was up to date on my hydration and nutrition, so tried to roll with
it and pick up my cadence so I felt good running off the bike.
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| Forgot to mention my lucky charm |
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| Trying to give high fives in pain! |
Run, 30KM
(3×10 KM), 18.64 miles:
I finally saw Jon when I came out of T2 about a quarter mile in. I told him
about the swim and bike, and he said I looked better than a lot of people he
had seen. I knew I had three laps, and I had to start out at a “race pace”
comfortable pace. I was fatigued, and it was hot, and there was yet ANOTHER
HEADWIND going out, so my heart rate was not that reliable. Again, it was a
time to run smart and listen to my body.
I stuck to my nutrition plan, and realized after loop one, that while I thought
I would finish in about 7.5-8 hours, this was going to take a lot longer. At
hour 7, I took a gel as planned, and then
I started to feel disgust about sweet things. I knew I had two more loops, and
I was so happy I trained with Coke! I saw my family at the end of loop one and
beginning of loop two, almost threw a Coke can at my Mom, and went out for the
next six miles. Damn headwind! I picked it up a notch, as planned and feeling I could do it. I thought about the book I’m reading, “How Bad Do
You Want It” by Matt Fitzgerald, and I wanted it bad. I passed 3-4 women in my
AG by the second loop. I wasn’t doing the pace I wanted, but it was the best I
could do with the conditions.
Passing my family after the second loop going
into the third, this was it. My Mom was just thrilled and jumping up and down
happy (I found out later my Dad had food poisoning and had to go back to the
hotel at the beginning of the bike – no one told me so I would keep racing).
Team USA Manager Tim Yount shouted to me – dig deep! Finish this! Jon started
running with me in the third loop and said the same thing – go hard, dig deep
Kam, you own this! So, I did. I picked it up, and it freaking hurt. I was
trying to put down my last Clif Bloks, and was starting to gag on them. I knew
at this point I needed calories, and the only way I would get them in would be
big, big swigs of Coke. I had to stop at the last four aid stations because
they were cluttered and everyone was asking for everything. A man passed out on
my third loop, needing an ambulance. I prayed for him, and then tried to
continue thinking that would not be me.
I stopped looking at my watch at the 5k
point. It was time to just let everything go – make it happen – feel the pain
but let it go because you want it so bad. My calves were on the verge of
cramping. I’m a mid-striker, but I had to heel-strike to prevent cramping. In
the last half mile, I passed a woman in my AG. I was hurting, and she said,
nice clip girl, is this your last lap? I panted
and said, yes, you? She said yes. I knew that I had her. One spot up. I was
giving it everything I had, and then I saw Tim again, 200 yards out from the
finish, and he said, empty the tank! Give it all you got! So, I did. I did a
major stride across that beautiful finish line. I crossed, and collapsed. I got
up, people asked me if I was ok, I said, oh yea – there’s my mom and husband –
I wobbled over to kiss both of them and tell them how much I loved them. I was
then brought off to the medical tent for three IVs.
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| I love Mom so much! Dad I love you too! Wish you were there! |
Laying
there, drinking water through a straw with my legs up and IVs in both arms, was
it worth it? YOU BET. This year, I found my inner self. My ability to know when
I can go harder when the plan says no, pull back when I’ve gone too hard,
listen to what feels right, and what doesn’t. Be more aggressive. Not be afraid
of blowing up. Pushing harder earlier and not worrying about what will happen
later because I’m trained for it. Enjoying every moment. Living in the moment.
Never forgetting how much I love this sport.
My husband,
Jonathan, you always give me the best wisdom and unconditional love. Mom and
Dad, to share this with you is beyond words. My nutritionist, Rachel Gargano,
your fueling plan was flawless, and your belief in me to do what I needed to do
when the unknown happened is empowering. My massage therapist, Dre Vasquez, thanks for keeping everything moving when I really thought it was broken! My coach, Lee Gardner, you taught me
how to finally feel my inner instinct and confidence to do what I can when I feel
it, and do it smart.
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| I'm totally fine...really...Smile says everything... |
