In April, our squad, Triathlon Gold, relocated from San Diego, California to Asheville, North Carolina. Growing up in North Carolina, I was stoked to make the move back to the east coast. With the move to Asheville, we’ve found an abundance of twisting and turning country back roads as rides that are seldom flat. There’s no doubt that I’ve been building a lot more strength into my biking. Not to mention that the scenery here is beautiful, and Blue Ridge Parkway has been a personal favorite place to ride. In addition to new roads to ride, there is an abundance of new trails to explore for runs and even some cross bike rides that I have been enjoying as a way to work on bike skills. I’m very excited to continue exploring the area by swim, bike, and run in between races.
My first race of April was the Bridgetown CAMTRI. This was my first professional race ever last year, so I was excited to revisit a familiar course. I positioned myself well, took charge of the bike pack, but with a blunder in T2 getting my shoes on, I finished fourth. While I was happy for a step in the right direction, I was hoping for the podium. Two weeks later, I traveled to Monterrey, Mexico for the CAMTRI Championships. This was my first Olympic distance ITU race ever, and I was incredibly excited because I have always been classified as a “diesel,” and I feel like the longer distance is better suited to my strengths. After preparing for intense heat and humidity in Monterrey, we were greeted with a breeze and rain. The course was on an old F1 track, with fun turns, but with the rain, the course turned into an ice rink, and I felt lucky to not be one of many that went down during the bike leg. I had a solid swim in the most aggressive swim I’ve ever been part of, and found myself on the back of the front pack on the bike when a crash in the middle broke our pack up. Luckily I did not go down, but I was then in the chase pack and lost a lot of valuable ground for the remainder of the ride. After intense cramps and an ok run, I finished 16th on the day in a very competitive field.
My next race of the season is Huatulco World Cup on June 8 where I’ll race a strong field. I haven’t raced a World Cup since May 2018, so I’m excited to test my fitness. After that, I will likely be racing an African Cup in Morocco before heading to Canada for the Montreal CAMTRI and Magog CAMTRI. I am extremely thankful and grateful for Team Psycho for the continued support that helps me follow my dreams and travel to races.