Herbalife Los Angles Triathlon

I'm back in my hotel room reflecting on the days' events at the LA Tri, and I'm still trying to process everything that happened! The day did not start out well for me with the ocean swim, that is FOR SURE. I definitely needed more practice boogie boarding or surfing, or anything that would have helped me cope with the swells better. I actually thought that I might drown twice during the race and I'm not kidding. It took me a long time to tackle the swells getting out to the first buoy, and I got swept under so many times trying to get back to shore and pulled under by the undertow.  It ended up being more of a survival swim for me, rather than a swim to test my swimming ability. I was happy to get out of the ocean and onto the bike! I knew that I had lost a lot of time on the swim, so was prepared to bike hard.

I must have taken in a ton of salt water during the swim, because I was feeling pretty woozy on the bike. I just didn't feel like myself, and my power seemed to be a lot lower than what I can normally push. I tried to ignore all of these feelings and push onwards. I had an awesome bike ride in Buffalo two weeks ago at the US Elite Nationals, so I never questioned my ability on the bike,  but today, quite frankly, as I said before, I just felt off and perhaps a bit dizzy and out of it. Coming into T2, I thought to myself, well even if that wasn't a great bike ride it shouldn't affect my run today. I took off out of T2 and tried to get a good leg turnover going right away.

As I started running up Grand Ave approaching the big hill, I all of a sudden started seeing white flashes...like the uh-oh white flashes that often lead to fainting episodes. Before I knew it, I was staggering around vaguely moving in the right direction on the run course, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting on the curb next to LAPD officer Werner who was giving me mini cups of gatorade and water. I couldn't believe it!!! I have no idea what happened really, but according to officer Werner and some other female volunteers, I went from looking really strong on the run to a staggering mess that at least faded close to the curb and within catching distance of the officer. I still don't even know what to say at this point. I literally sat with them on the curb for the next 30-40 minutes before the dizziness and "pins and needles" subsided and I was ok to walk/get escorted to get my bike and get my stuff from the VIP area. Of course I feel disappointed, but I am more concerned with the fact that my body seems to be failing me as I get to the end of my season. I gave what I could give out there today, and clearly I was not at my best, and I feel like there is/was nothing that I could do about it. I'm sitting here exhausted, knowing that that's all I could do today, and there is no shame in that.

The sponsors that I met on Friday night at the VIP reception were absolutely awesome when I got to the VIP tent after "my race". Chris Schauble from KTLA, JT, and Robert Dennis from TYR all made me feel so much better when they said that they were proud of what I had done out there, and claimed to have a blast watching the race. Thanks for your support guys! So, I'm not beating myself up over today, as I typically would! Instead, I'm focusing on the positive things that happened this weekend, like meeting phenomenal triathletes that inspire me, like fellow Canadian, Andrew Russel, Julie Ertel (2X Olympian), and Liz Blatchford and her husband who took me under their wings a bit. I'm really grateful for those opportunities that I had these past few days!

I'm going to rest up a bit, and get this body ready for one final hoorah in Dallas next weekend at the US Open! Then, I can basque in the joys of the off-season!

Thanks for reading, even though I wish I had a happier race to report!

Leanna