Cheers NYC!

When I found out I was going to be racing Lifetime N-Y-C,

I was excited thinking racing a nondraft would be fun for me.

To be honest New York City overwhelms me quite a lot,

A girl conquering the big city is just something I am not.

But I was excited because before the trip was through,

I got to see my family as well as a bunch of friends from SU!

So many people who had made it out to the race,

Giving me the motivation to keep pushing when I fell off the pace.

You see my swim started out quite well,

But everyone exited the water together as far as I could tell.

Then began the long run to transition and I was second onto the bike,

And for me this was quite a brutal hike.

After only riding my TT bike three times before the race,

I quickly figured out I was in an uncomfortable place.

I rode up on my hoods and never found rhythm in the ride,

Did you know within NYC there are a lot of hills that hide?

Well anyways I struggled a lot and came off the bike quite behind,

And starting the run I was finding it hard to really grind.

Just when I wanted to give up I saw my friends in the park,

And them being there gave me a spark!

I could only see one person up ahead,

But started to pick up those legs full of lead.

After picking off one there was no one in sight,

So I tried to keep a rhythm as hard as I might.

Finally I saw two more in the distance,

And came up on them without too much resistance.

And that is where I finished the race,

After all that I ended up in 5^th place!

Not a bad finish with a bike that was lacking,

Happy all considering my TT training has been slacking.

It was a good first race back from an injury and this time there were only good kinds of pain,

And by racing, even if it wasn’t everything I had hoped for, there was certainly a lot that I gained.

Without my friends and family there I may have checked out,

And I know that them being there helped me stay in the game without a doubt.

When I was racing at SU I always loved cheering for one of my friends because she always listened,

If you told her to stay on a girl during a run- right on that girl’s hip she would remain positioned.

It was so much fun to cheer and feel like I was really helping in some way.

And that is exactly what happened for me today.

What’s even better is that friend was one of the ones who came to watch,

I took a bit of Spags toughness and when I saw them I picked it up a notch.

I thought about how lucky I must be,

For everyone to wake up so early and stand in the rain just for me,

Their cheers and support kept me in the game,

So that in the end I didn’t feel shame.

Today on the course there were always people keeping me going,

As the hills in central park continued rolling.

Just know when you cheer at a race for someone you know or a random athlete,

That your words might be the reason they’ll be able to push harder the next few feet.

Never underestimate what encouraging words can do,

Because during today’s race that got me through.

And as always the support of Coeur, Team Psycho, ROKA, Brooks and Powerbar cannot be missed,

I’m backed by such encouraging companies that are so much better than I ever could have wished!

Thank you to all and to all a good night,

In two weeks I will be on my Kelowna flight!