One down, one to go!

9th!! It was nearly a 7th but I was passed on the last 100m by 2 girls...ouch! But with a run split of 35.49 (including my T2 split), I can deal with losing out in the sprint finish (this time only though!).

It was a cold day. The water, they say, was 15.4 degrees (yeah right!)....for those of you who don't jump into random (and usually dirty) bodies of water, at that temp you get brain freeze and your hands and feet go numb! I highly recommend it! There was also a boat that decided it was a good time to cross the harbour in the middle of the race...what the f$#k??

The bike too, was cold and windy. So windy they shortened the course by taking out a bridge that would have had a nasty gusty cross wind. The bike pack sucked though, no one willing to work too hard except when someone (me a couple times) tried to make a break. Other than that, it was a pretty leisurely ride for a world cup.

The run was flat and along the harbour. It too was windy! After a little struggle getting my shoes on (my feet were frozen!), I managed to tuck myself in behind one of the Russian girls and paced off her. I was running in 7th until the last 100m of the run, when 2 girls that were just behind me passed me. I didn't have much left to react to them, but I held on for the 9th place!

Anyway, the Dutch standard for Beijing is 2x top 10 finishes at a World Cup. Since I finished a heartbreaking (but well raced) 11th in New Plymouth, I still need one more! Hence the trip to South Africa for the Richard's Bay World Cup next weekend!

Wish me luck, the next one will be a top 6 for sure! Oh yeah, I now have a World Cup ranking of 14!!

Thanks a million for all the cheers--at least this race wasn't too late for North American viewing!
I hope everyone is working on improving the weather for my return home....

Lis

Quick update...

Due to the recent unpleasant weather back home, I have decided to extend my trip by a week until Spring finally arrives there! Actually, I've decided to race in Richard's Bay, South Africa, the weekend after Korea! Wish me luck! I'll be back in Calgary on May 8th now.

Melt the SNOW!!
LM

Richard look away now! I think I may have found the wedding dress of my dreams in Ishigaki! I hope they will ship to Calgary! Now that I have the dress taken care of, we have to actually set a date (and stick to it!)!

Here is a riddle for you:

Question: What takes 4 days, 3 nights—one over international waters, 2x75 min bus rides, 8 different airports and a 1.5hr car ride with your fiancée?

Answer: My return trip from the tropical Japanese fishing island of Ishigaki back to my home-away-from-home, Noosa!

Although, as crappy as this may seem, I was on my 2nd day on my 2nd bus on my way to my 6th airport (Narita) and I was thinking how great it all was! It’s pretty cool to traveling the world and going to places that I probably would never get to if I wasn’t racing there! Oh yeah, and if anyone has Airmiles they want to offload, you let me know!!

Here’s a couple Travel facts/tips for you:

--In Japan, it is totally possible to make a connecting flight onto a competitor airline (no partnership here…) when you land 25min before departure time but still have to take a bus to the terminal, pick up your bike box at the baggage claim(10min before take-off), check-in for the flight (7min), get back through security (3min), run to the farthest possible gate while they announce last call for your flight (1min), and run the last 100m with an airline representative telling you to “be fast”! The crazy part is, both my bike and my bag (which took different routes) made the flight too!

--When traveling in Asia, always bring a pillow with you. Who can tell me those rock hard, mega thick, bean-bag-material filled pillows are actually comfortable?!The immigration line in Narita was longer than LAX….I didn’t think it was possible…

Off to the overnighter into Auckland....

Thanks for all the e-mails and comments! You guys are awesome!