In the realm of blogs I'm off to a slow start,
But besides that I'm doing well in every other part.
I've had four races by now,
And already visited 5 countries somehow.
In my races I've finished 7th, 1st, 4th and 2nd,
And am loving the process more than I reckoned.
I see the fruits of my labor coming to fruition,
From working on skills (mental and physical) to what I eat in the kitchen,
To enjoying the places I get to go,
And always making sure I keep my coach in the know.
I've been focusing differently and learning how I work,
To try and prevent my brain from going bezerk.
This past race in Yokohama may have been the most unique one yet,
As it is a race experience I won't soon forget.
I was tested in quite a few different ways,
And to each challenge I could feel myself raise.
Starting with the swim where I didn't get out fast enough,
Finding myself quite far back was pretty rough.
I came out 30 seconds down from the front of the pack,
Knowing in order to connect on the bike I'd have to attack.
I actually caught on to the main chase pretty quick,
And handled the bike well even though it was slick.
I positioned myself riding mostly at the front,
Catching Flora and Sophie was what I want.
But at one point I did find myself almost last,
When the girl in front of me slid and had a crash.
I ended up in the barrier trying to avoid hitting her,
For me bent hoods and a dropped chain was all that did occur.
So I got back on my bike 30 seconds behind my group again,
But to me catching back on was not a matter of if-but when.
Halfway through the final lap I got on the group,
And went straight to the front to finish the final loop.
Out on the run I ran most the race with fellow American Kirsten Kasper,
But the 2nd to last lap I had a minor sunglasses disaster.
They fell off my head and since I didn't want a littering penalty,
I circled back to pick them up after a moment of confused Katie.
Then continued onward to yet again reconnect,
Happy that any doubt/frustration I was able to deflect.
I ended up in second and was proud of how I raced,
Dealing with each bit of adversity that I faced.
But that's what racing is I guess learning how to deal,
No matter the conditions, circumstances or how I feel.
Staying in the moment and never losing faith in you,
Just continuing to go after what you came to do.
My challenges in this race were a mix of controllables and not,
but I finished the race knowing I'd given everything I got.
I shared the podium with Kasper and Duffy the succeeder,
What's also cool is that I'm now the World Series Leader,
My next race will be Escape from Alcatraz in June,
Until then we are now in Maryland and then our tiny house cocoon.
Also all these awesome pictures are from Tommy Zaferes,
with a new website that shines like Polaris!
You can visit it at Tommyzphotos.com,
Not going to lie it's pretty much the bomb!
