It’s hard to beat the feeling of spending almost a full 21.1km of a 70.3 steadily trying to run someone down and finally catching them in the last 500m! Tremblant was a beautiful experience for me working hard to try to close the gap on Ellie then finally doing it just before turning down into the final few 100 meters of that course through the ski village. This would have been an exciting finish in any race, but at a Canadian race, doing it to make the women’s podium Canadians in first and second, the crowd support was unreal.
After March and April, I started working weekly with a mental performance coach to support the rest of my training. None of what we discussed was particularly new to me, but it was helpful to reaffirm and strengthen past practices that have worked for me, and to have knowledgeable input from a 3rd party. The most helpful exercise to me was to really get grounded in my own values in sport by writing out a description of who I want to be as an athlete in the best version of myself and creating affirmations around that.
It felt great in June to be back in touch with aspects of this sport that I really love. The courses at both T100 San Francisco and 70.3 Tremblant are interesting and challenging. I had so much fun at both, and so much fun exploring San Francisco and a little bit more of Quebec (visiting the Bromont Velodrome for aero testing with Argon-18 after Tremblant).
Adam Escapes from Alcatraz
Escape from Alcatraz was hands down one of the best race experiences I’ve ever had. The event was extremely well executed and still has that “local” feel despite being one of the most popular races on the North American circuit. The event organizers do a fantastic job of navigating all of the extra logistics that come with a “jump off the boat” start and I cannot recommend this event highly enough.
I had the pleasure of attending this event with both Jackson and Tamara and was also representing Dare2Tri, raising money for adaptive athletes. This was my first time racing for charity, and this also added to my race experience. Having another group of people out there cheering for you and to hang out with was fantastic, so if you ever get the chance to “race and raise” I strongly encourage you to do so.
The course was so much fun with a lot of varied terrain to run on, and a challenging, punchy bike course. And of course the super exciting swim!
I will most definitely do this race again, and would probably do it every year if I could!
Jackson’s First T100 Series Experience
T100 San Francisco was my first T100 race. My day didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, primarily because the T100 racing is at an incredibly high level, even higher than I had anticipated. It was amazing to see what those guys were able to do on that bike course. I think the PTO did a great job to produce an exciting event, the course and conditions were very challenging which must have been great for the broadcast. One change that I think would benefit the T100 series would be adding more athletes to the start line to make it even more exciting.
I’ll be shifting my focus to the Ironman series for now but may still race T100 again this year if I qualify for some races later in the season.
Lisa Supports Taylor Talbot in Europe and Montreal
Very happy for Taylor Talbot to come away with two World Cup podiums (2nd and 3rd) and to have played a small role in the race. As a guide for a visually impaired athlete, you ride the front seat of the tandem and the stronger of a cyclist you are, the more you can impact the race. The rest of the race is all about trying not to get any penalties (eg. Not running in front of the athlete, not swimming too far in front of the athlete, dismounting/mounting at the right time, all things in boxes, etc.). Happy to help Taylor with tow fastest bike splits and to watch her excel in the swim and the run.
I can say that traveling to Europe with two bikes, two bags, and a visually impaired athlete is very difficult. It really showed me just how inaccessible parts of the world are for people with disabilities! Taylor has a very bright future, and I can’t wait to see all that she can accomplish!
Lisa’s racing in Montreal with Taylor was also successful, but tumultuous. Lisa was called up last minute after another guide for Taylor caught Covid. Despite a nasty crash right before travel that left Lisa sore, sleep deprived and scrambling a little bit to re-organize flights, she determinedly showed up to support.
Rach Victorious at Milkman
After a rough go of it at Chattanooga, it was really fun to get the win at the Milkman triathlon on June 9! I feel very lucky to have this event basically in my own backyard. It was a smaller field this year, but generally draws most of the WI-based pros as well as a lot of top amateurs from around the Midwest and is a great season preview for folks racing Ironman Wisconsin in September.
It was a pretty lonely day on the bike, the legs never really showed up, but I still managed the fastest female bike split by nearly 10min and I think a lot of that was thanks to familiarity with the course. There’s a lot of tricky rollers and badly paved roads that can really disrupt your flow. But I’ve ridden them all so many times, I know exactly where and how much to push to keep momentum going without burning too many matches.
Onto the run, I knew I had a huge gap, but I also suspected that RTS teammate Amanda was likely going to be running a LOT faster, so I just did what I could to keep moving forward and luckily that was just enough on the day! Super fun to share the podium celebration with Amanda, and with Vant getting 2nd overall on the men’s side, we had some pretty solid RTS representation!
Amanda Strong in 2nd for a Powerful RTS Showing at Milkman
Milkman 70.3 was June 9! The swim was a little rough, with choppier waters than usually seen in Lake Monona, but the RTS team still managed well. After that, the main challenges came from the Wisconsin hills and the wind (with gusts of ~ 25mph)!
This team and the triathlon community are full of very competitive folks- that means we’re always trying to do our best when racing against each other, and nothing is given away. But no matter how competitive the race gets, the celebrations and recaps after the race with a cold beer (or chocolate milk—when in Wisconsin, right?) are the real highlight. Hearing about everyone’s races and the challenges they faced, while having a laugh at the lighter moments, is truly what makes this community special. The Milkman 70.3 lets us connect not just with RTS teammates but also friends outside the squad and a chance to make new ones.
Milkman is a race that’s worth a try if you live nearby. It’s less expensive than other 70.3 events but still manages to be very well organized, and has some really cute prizes (gallons of milk, little ceramic cows, I could go on). But it’s also one that brings a lot of people together of different speeds and abilities, and it’s a race that makes everyone feel welcome.
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