My first pro race! What fun! Unfortunately, I’ll have to mark this down as a good learning experience since it definitely didn’t go as I had hoped. The weekend started out well. With the Philadelphia Triathlon being a hometown race, I had a lot going on (in addition to the pressure of my first race as a pro!). I spent Friday evening at the expo helping Dan from Zoot Sports. I had a great time talking to people about the new line of shoes from Zoot and lots of my friends stopped by to say hi. Saturday was as uneventful as a pre-race day usually is except for attending my first pro race meeting.  Ahhh! Am I really a pro?! I woke up Sunday morning with high hopes. Being the first wave, there was no time to spare and since I had to take a bus to the swim start I needed lots of time. Much to my dismay, the water temperature was 75°, which meant no wetsuits for the pros. Oh no! But, as my coach was quick to point out, this is something I am going to have to get used to. I was pretty nervous on race morning and felt very out of place next to all these super fast women. Once our wave was called and we were in the water I thought to myself, it’s just another triathlon, let’s go! And off we went… Well, off everyone else went. I swear I was swimming in place. The swim felt like forever and I knew I had lost a lot of time.  But I thought about what my husband had told me the night before my race and that was to be brave. So, I fought my way back on the bike (fortunately I love the Philadelphia triathlon bike course!) and I managed to put myself in a decent position for the run. But, it just wasn’t meant to be.  My run was pitiful.  As I crossed the finish line I knew I would be disappointed with my results. I expected better of myself, especially in my pro race debut.  I felt like I disappointed all my friends and family who had come to support me. That’s the problem with hometown races. They are great when you are great but that much worse when you fail. Looking back, I realize I had a lot more to learn than I expected. It wasn’t just another triathlon, it was my first race as a professional athlete and a whole new ball game. And as I said in the beginning, I will use this race as a learning experience and one to push me to the next level. After all, that is part of the reason I became a pro, to help me be a better athlete.  Until next time...