Jeanette Schellenberg is one of SBR Utah's sponsored athletes. She has an amazing attitude and we love when she is in the shop because she is always smiling. Jeanette is dedicated and trains hard and we are so grateful to have her as a part of our team. Check out her race report of the ITU Long Course World Championship below!
Jeannette Schellenberg - ITU Long Course World Championship - Las Vegas, NV - November 5 2011
Last spring, I raced in the Avia WiIdflower Long Course triathlon, in California, to try and qualify for the ITU Long Course World Championship. I was very happy and excited to qualify, but I didn’t know what the official Long Course distances were until after I had qualified. I assumed they were half ironman distances, but I was wrong and they were much longer than expected. A 2.5 mile swim, 75mile bike (with 9700ft of climbing), and an 18.5mile run, which turns out to be a triple Olympic distance triathlon.
The week coming up to the race was perfect. I wasn’t sick, injured, and didn’t have any major stress. I was sleeping well and feeling good. I knew this was going to be a great day!
I woke up the morning of the race and, as usual, didn’t have an appetite. But I knew I had to eat now or pay for it later in the race. So I suffered through a bowl of cheerios, half a clif bar, half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a banana. Everything felt good, but I was nervous. My back was tight from my prerace jitters. I was nervous about the 36 degree air and the cold swim making it even tighter.
I showed up to the race sight, and first thing I heard the news of the swim cancelation. The combination of the cold water and cold air made it too dangerous for the swim. They thought of shortening it, but it was still too cold for that. At first, I was very disappointed. In my training, I knew I would be able to gain the most ground on my competitors, if I could take some time off of my swim and get a head start on the bike. So for 4 months, I put major focus on the swim, swimming every day, and made some really great gains. But as the morning went on, I was very happy I didn’t even have to touch that cold water! My back actually relaxed and my nerves went away. It was a whole different race than I had ever done before and I was out there to enjoy my day with others from around the world.
It became a time trial bike start…starting each participant 5 seconds apart. The professional started at 7:45am and I started about 8:45am. So in the meantime, I ate a granola bar and fruit snacks that I had packed for my family. I wore my required Team USA tri outfit, but covered it up with a pair of tights, a wind breaker, gloves, and a headband. I decided to be on the safe side of being too warm, than too cold.
As I started the bike, I felt great! I looked at my heart rate monitor and it was about 5 beats higher than I usually raced at. But my legs felt really good, so continued to let it stay high. By mile 30 my heart rate had dropped to its normal racing range and I followed it very closely making sure it didn’t drop to low, but that wasn’t going to happen with all the hills I had to climb. I was either riding up or downhill 95% of the time (no flats)…which is how we were able to climb 9700ft in 75miles. Miles 35-55 were definitely the hardest on the bike for me. There wasn’t a whole lot to look at besides dirt and sage brush. But at mile 55 we turned onto a bike path and started riding up the “Three Sisters”…I was not bored anymore! You know if hills are given a name, they are something special! We stayed on the path for about 8 miles and then began our way back into town. Yeah!!!
As I came into town, I shed a few traditional tears, because I was so happy to be at T2, off the bike, and onto the run…my favorite part of the race. I guess I took my time in T2, shedding my winter clothes and taking a stop in the bathroom, because I was about a minute slower than most people. As I started the run, the first mile was a slight downhill, and I clocked a 6:48mile…my fastest first mile ever in a race. About mile 1 was the first turnaround, then I headed up a constant hill for another 2 ¼ miles to the second turn around, and then back downhill 1 mile to the start of the loop and passed (not into) the finish. I GOT to do that 3 more times, to make it a total of 18.5miles. Throughout the run I kept my head slightly down, so I would not see any other racers. I didn’t know what laps all the racers were on, since it was a time trial start, and I knew it would play mind games with me and thrown off my pace. As I was running, I heard in my head the advice from a friend, “Don’t attack the course, let it come to you.” As much as I wanted to push up and attack those hills, I just let the course take me along for the best triathlon run of my life. As I was running downhill for the last mile or so, I decided to give it all I had. I felt amazing! I didn’t have a pacer on my watch, but with the way I was feeling and how fast I was flying passed everyone, I bet I clocked a 6:15 or better mile! It was so much fun! By the time I got to the finish shute , I was on fire, and wished (again, as I sometimes do) that I had another lap or better yet, 7 more miles to finish a 3:15 marathon! I took the finish line in, giving high 5’s to everyone down the shute and ending with my hands in the air at the finish line!
As I went through the food tent, stopping for only a few fruits and handful of Sprites for the kids, I got very emotional. I had to put my sunglasses back on to hide my tears (so the volunteers didn’t think I needed medical assistanceJ) I let the tears and emotions of a great race roll down! I was very thankful for a perfect day…no bike malfunctions, no weird penalties, and a perfect run! Who could ask for anything more!
My secret goal for this ITU World Championship (which I know everyone makes), was to place in the top 10 of my age group at the ITU World Championship. I placed 5th! I was very excited and it was a great way to end the 2011 season!!!
Thank you SBR for all of the time, support, awesome bike, and race wheels that helped me achieve my goal!!! You guys are the BEST!!!