Boston Marathon. An epic race with epic weather.

              I was not originally planning to write about my experience racing the Boston Marathon, however, considering the epic conditions and the stories and accounts from other races, I thought I would share my experience.

              Leading up to the race it was clear the conditions were going to be less then ideal. Forecast called for 40 degrees. Perfect, I would love a 40-degree day. It also called for rain. Not ideal, but my last marathon was run in the rain. Put those together and it’s a cold day. Then the kicker; we would be running into 20 mph winds with gusts up to 30 mph. That adds for a unique challenge. Its an epic race, so why not add in epic weather.

              Dana ran Boston in 2007 when a Nor’easter came through. That year there was talk of canceling the race, something that has never happened. We were able to use her experience to my advantage. She suggested I bring an extra pair of old shoes I could wear to the start and throw away so I could have dry shoes and socks when the gun went off. This was probably the best choice I made.

              My race day clothing choices were compression shorts, race singlet, arm warmers, and gloves that could pull off or over my fingers if they got to cold or to warm. My throw away cloths were a long sleeve tech shirt from a race, a ¾ zip pull over from a different race, and wind pants. When we got to Boston I decided to buy an extra throw away hoodie and sweat pants to help keep me warm. I figured it was better to have extra clothing instead of not enough. I also decided to buy a cheap hat I could throw away if I wanted and found a compression SKINS singlet to wear under my singlet to add a layer and help hold in my body heat. The actual race day weather did not worry me, I knew the challenge would be staying dry and warm waiting for the start.

              Race morning was exactly as predicted. Dana and I woke up, ate breakfast, dropped off my gear bag so I would have dry and warm cloths right when I finished, and headed over to the buses to take the athletes to the start. I was looking forward to riding the bus, thinking it would be dry and warm. It was dry, but not warm. It was cold enough that I could see my breath. It became even more uncomfortable on the trip as I suddenly had to use the bathroom about half way there. By the time the bus parked and we were let off the bus (I happened to be in the back row) I had to go so bad my gut hurt. It was so bad, that less than 5 minutes of using the rest room I had to go again. Next time, I will make sure to use the rest room right before getting on the bus.

              After my two bathroom breaks it was time to try and stay dry and as warm as possible. The athlete’s village is set up on a baseball field of a high school. There are two tents. The first one is on the grass. The second was partly on the infield of the baseball field. The second tent looked to have more space, so I walked over and I soon learned why. The rain had soaked the infield and half the tent was just sitting in mud. Turning around, I went back to the first tent to find a place to sit. Stepping over some snow and into the tent it became obvious it would be hard to find a place to sit as it wasa packed! Everyone is shoulder to shoulder sitting down with even more standing. I walked around and eventually found a sliver of a place to sit down. After laying down a trash bag I had brought my butt then became acquainted with the cold ground. The time was 8:15 am. 1 hour and 45 minutes to the start and 1 hour before wave 1 would make the walk to the start corrals.

              Normally at the start of a race, especially a marathon, there is a feeling of nervous excitement. On this day there was more of a feeling of misery, with everyone trying to stay dry and warm. I made a choice to not think about it or let it affect me, just focus on staying warm. I curled up as tight as possible and waited.

              After one more bathroom break in which the wind was strong enough to blow my poncho completely around, it was time to walk to the start. To get there, you had to walk across a muddy field and through an ankle-deep lake that had formed. Seeing the misery of other athletes who had little clothing on and whose shoes were getting destroyed by the rain, mud, and walking through the lake, I was never happier to have the extra throw away clothing and dry shoes and socks to change into.

              The walk to the start is a long and by the time I waited in a long line to sue the bathroom again, which was now probably more times then I do on a normal day, and got into my coral, we were 10 minutes from the start. With two minutes to go the sky started to rain cloths as everyone started discarding their extra clothing and you could finally feel the excitement one normally feels at the start of a marathon. Although I believe everyone was more excited to just get running and warm versus running the Boston Marathon.

              The gun went off, the race started, and being in coral 4, did the slow walk to the starting line. Crossing the line it was time to put all the training and my plan into action. I had broken the race up into 6 sections, to focus on one at a time. It’s always easier to think of the race in smaller parts versus one big 26.2 mile race  The first 4 miles, then 7 miles to mile 11, 5 miles to mile 16, another 5 to mile 21, 3 miles to mile 24, then the last 2.2.

              The first 4 miles is mostly downhill. The plan was to use theses miles to warm up and run conservatively. The first half mile is a steep downhill. Steep enough that if you are not careful, you will lose control, slip, and have a hard crash on the wet road. In fact, this did happen at one of the early aid stations as someone slipped on a cup and went crashing down. I believe he was ok as he hopped up and continued to run. The first 4 miles were executed just as I wanted with my first mile being my slowest of the first 13 despite the steep early downhill.

              The second section was 7 miles to mile 11. This was mostly flat with a small hill leading to mile 11. As I started this section, soaked to the bone, fighting the winds, and looking at the crowds a smile crept across my face and I thought to myself, this is awesome, this is fun. Settling into my pace and a smile on my face, I pushed on. The rain continued and would continue all day with times where it felt like a monsoon. We were running into the wind, but I never really noticed it except when those gusts of wind blew through. If runners were a little spread out, those gusts made everyone become a little cozier with each other. It was during this stretch that right above my left knee start to hurt, along with my left hip flexor. This was an issue the weak leading up to the race. I was in Cedar Rapids for work and during my cool down on the Tuesday before, running down hill to my hotel I felt the same pain, but worse, and to the point where I could not really run the last quarter mile. It concerned me because if it got worse, I would not able to run and it would be a long, cold walk to the finish. It eventually went away but flared up after a quick bathroom break at mile 9 (yep, 5 times on the day, the cold makes you have to pee more). It felt worse this time, but nothing I could do, so I told myself it will go away and it did after about 1 mile.

              Passing mile 11 I was now onto my third section of the course. The one that took me to the start of the hills at mile 16. It was around here my quads started to hurt. A bit early for that, but I contribute it to being cold before the start along with the first 4 miles being mostly down hill and the extra stress downhills put on the quads. At mile 12.5 you run past Wesley College and the stories of how loud the girls of Wesley are live up to the hype. It was at mile 12 that I could first hear them and I thought they would be 10 rows deep. Running by, there were a lot of them, but they were making more noise than I thought was possible. If you just heard them you would think there had to be at least twice as many. Many were holding signs asking for kisses, others were pointing to their lips, while others just screamed and gave out high fives. I did not indulge in any kisses, but I saw other runners run up to the young ladies and either give or get a kiss. No kisses on the lips, all on the cheeks. Soon after I ran through the half in 1:23:25, a pace of 6:22 and 6 seconds faster then my goal pace of 6:28 (under 2:50 marathon). I was feeling a little tired, but all in all I felt good. It was the hill leading down to mile 16 that became a problem and that really wrecked my quads. I knew I was really going to have to suck it up.

              This 5-mile stretch would take me up and over 4 hills to mile 21. Each hill is at least ½ a mile long and the last one is the famous heart break hill that ends at mile 20.5. The hills run separately would not be a big deal. After 16 miles, it’s a different story. My plan was to run them conservatively because even when you get over heart break, you still have over 5 miles to the finish. Some runners seemed to pick up their effort on the hills, I just let them do their thing and I stuck to my plan. It was on the 3^rd hill that I heard someone yell “Looking good Nick!” I was to the side of the road, kind of by myself (other runners were further over to my right), so I knew it was intended for me. I do not have my name on my singlet or race bib, so it was someone who had to know me. I have no idea who it was, but it was nice to have some support at the part of the course.

              The hills took a little more out of me then I would have liked, but at mile 21 a pace of 6:35 miles would get me under my goal of 2:50. Miles 21 to 24 are mostly down hill (there are some up hills, but it’s a net down) and my plan was to let gravity do it’s job and carry me down. There was only one problem. My quads were screaming at me, they felt like they wanted to rip open and a downhill when they feel like that are not friendly to the quads. Gritting my teeth, I pushed on and mile 22 was a 6:33. From there, it was a struggle. My next split was a 6:55. I knew I still had a chance to break 2:50, just needed to get the legs moving. Unfortunately, it was not to be. My next 3 splits were 7:19, 7:36, and 7:30. I kept pushing forward and running on guts. The famous Citgo sign that marks 1 mile to go came into view. I knew it would take a while to actually reach it as it is farther away then it looks (It’s a big ass sign). I reminded myself of this and focused on pushing forward. Passing the Citgo sign I knew I would not reach my goal time, but I would still PR unless I stopped to walk.

              The entire Boston Marathon course has only 5 turns the entire race. Two of them come in the last ½ mile. I had checked out the final stretch the day before on my shake out run and when I hit the first of these two turns, I knew I was almost finished. The rain was still coming down hard and the three blue lines that were painted into the street to mark the course were running and a blue puddle in the middle of the street had formed. Then it was the final left hand turn on to Boylson street and 600 meters to go. I had two choices, run in easy and still get a PR or finish strong. This is Boston, so the choice was obvious. Finish strong! It was not an all-out sprint, but it still hurt. But then the pain went away as I let in the roar of the cheering crowds. All those who were standing out in the cold and rain were screaming loud enough that I forgot about my legs. Their cheers carried me to the finish line and as I crossed it, I raised my right arm in the air. Victory! The cold, rain, and wind stared at me and I did the only thing you can do, I stared right back and smiled. I stayed the course.

              Right after the race I still felt fine. There was no chill. However, it was a long walk to gear check. During this walk and waiting in line at gear check, I caught the chill and started to shake. Even after getting out of my wet cloths and into dry and warm clothing I continued to shake. It took awhile to meet up with Dana and my parents and it was a long walk to the hotel. I was shaking uncontrollably and looking forward to a hot shower. We finally got back to the hotel and walking in, the staff and the Hyatt Regency started to cheer. They cheered for every runner who came in. Two hours later, they were still lined up and cheering. It brought a smile to my face. After getting upstairs to our room, I took the best, most well deserved, 30 minutes hot shower of my life.

A Suggestion for the Future of Triathlon

             The sport of triathlon, like all sports, is always changing. For any sport or organization to grow, it must adapt to the different dynamics it faces over time. The point after attempt in football is a good example. In the NFL it has become almost automatic, so they changed the rules so kickers would kick from the 15 yard line for an extra point versus the 3 yard line. It was an attempt to make the extra point kick not just a give me point. It was a change of rules to add value to the play of the extra point. There are plenty of arguments on what impact it has had and will have, but time will tell.

              Triathlon faces its own challenges as it has grown in popularity. To help the growth of the sport, Triathlon worked to get it into the Olympics. Some steps they took were to make it a more fan friendly and exciting event. Thus, the draft legal, multi loop course was created. They developed and created a world championship and this helped lead triathlon to being added as an Olympic event in 2000.

              There are (number) of challenges that I currently see with our sport. The first is there is only one event for triathlon in the Olympics that works for one skill set of athletes, those who are great in the draft legal format. There is no spot for the athletes who excel in the non-drafting format or for the long course format.  Additionally, the Olympic format is 2 hours long and does not translate as well to a T.V. Audience. Break always of a few athletes on the bike rarely work, so athletes sit in and wait till the run. It does not capitalize on the excitement that triathlons can be. Additionally, there is a world championship every year that is decided on a points system rather than a final race like swimming or track and field do. You can a world Champion who finishes 3^rd in the final and win the world Championship. Perhaps it is my swimming background, but I look at world championships as you have to qualify and then win the event to be a World Champion, the same requirement for being an Olympic champion. Two of these issues have been addressed. Triathlon has added the mixed relay and shortened the draft legal race to a sprint distance. The reason the mixed relay was a push for was because the Olympic Committee said they could not add more athletes. In the Olympic Games, the have a cap on the number of athletes, so if you add an event such as a non-draft race, that adds athletes. If you add an event that pulls from the current athletes competing, an event is added, but no additional athletes.

              One of my biggest critiques of the current World Championship format is many of finals do not have as deepest of fields as they should. Athletes are broken down and tired from traveling all over the world to race and if they have no chance for a top 10, 15, or 20 finish due to points, there is no monetary gain, they may not go to the race. They may not have the points because they have been injured and missed some races. The athlete maybe a top 10 or 15 athlete, but they may not go. This happened at the 2015 World Championships held in Chicago in the women’s field. Many women decided not to race and as a result, the roll down for the start list went further and further and further resulting is a diluted field and not the top field you would hope for in a World Championship.

              Here are four areas of I feel could continue to improve and grow the popularity of our sport.

              First change I would make is to have the World Championship every 2 years, which is what Track and Field and swimming do. The World Championship would be held the year before and after the Olympics. The year before would most likely be used for most countries as their qualifying for the Olympics. The World Championship would be a winner takes all. Best athlete or best racer on the day will be the world champion. This would create a little more buzz around the World Championships. If an athlete wants to be a World Champion, then they have to win on the day. Not finish second or third. Some may argue the Tour de France winner does not cross the finish line first in Paris. This is true, but the Tour de France is a race that takes place over 3 weeks. Triathlon is a single day race.

The second step would be to change the draft legal format of racing from to super sprint draft legal distance you would do 2 times through. What does that mean? Each athlete would swim, bike run, swim bike run. Distances would be 375 meter swim, 10 K bike, and 2.5 K run… then repeat. This format does limit the number of athletes who compete in the field at one time, but I will address that a little later. This format allows the event to be completed in swimming pool or open water. Even temporary pools have been used as it was done as part of interbike a few years back. As I mentioned this format does limit the number of athletes which creates a problem on a world championship level. With some many qualify athletes, how do you qualify for the championship. To address this, the race would be competed in a prelim final format. Day one athletes would compete in the prelims and only one time through the course with the top athletes moving onto the final. If you have 5 heats of 12 athletes, your start list would be 60 athletes. Top 2 from every heat along with the next 2 fastest would all make the final. This format is super exciting, takes less than 1 hour and is friendlier to a T.V. audience. It would also allow for more breakaways, different strategies (not only in the finals, but also the prelims) and that in turn would create an exciting event. Organizers would then be able to run the event almost anywhere. They would not be limited to open bodies of water (although open water would be preferred). It can be done in a parking lot with portable pools, smaller bodies of water, or even in local parks that have pools, either 25 meter/yard or 50 meter pools.

The third step would be to create have World Championship races in both the Olympic non draft and ITU long course distance events. These distances, along with the draft legal format mentioned above would create events that take completely different skill sets, very similar to swimming and track and field having different events that require different skill sets. The fields for these races would be smaller. Around 35 athletes I believe would be a good number. The qualifying for the World Championship would be something that needs to be worked out, but I think some sort of regional championships could be a possibility. Many may ask why the ITU long course distance versus the Iron or Half Iron distances. The Iron distance in reality is too long and would never make it into the Olympics. The ITU long distance in itself maybe a stretch. Then why not the half distance? The ITU long course distance is a more balanced triathlon. What do I mean by a more balanced triathlon? The swim is more of a factor. In the Half Iron distance, the swim is 1.2 miles or 1900 meters. In the Olympic it is .92 miles or 1500 meters. The difference is only 400 meters. Whereas the bike jumps from 24.8 miles to 56 miles and the run from 6.2 miles to 13.1 miles. This is more than doubling the distance from the Olympic distance to half iron distance. In the ITU long course distance, the increase of distance is almost triple, the swim is 4000 meters (2.5 miles), bike is 120K (74.4 miles), and the run is 30K(18.6 miles).

The fourth and final step would be having all three disciplines in one world championship, in the same week. The prelims of the Draft legal could be done on a Friday or earlier in the week. Olympic distance non draft race could be contested on a Saturday. The ITU long course would be done on a Sunday with the finals of the draft legal race being held while the ITU long course is out on the bike/run. One could also do the finals of the ITU long course on Sunday with the super sprint final on Saturday as well with the Olympic non-draft on Sunday. Another option is to move everything up one day and have a mixed relay on Sunday to conclude the championship. Countries could pull from any of their athletes who have competed. Depending on when the week starts, the men’s and women’s races could be contended on different days, very similar to how the 70.3 World Championships will be contested this year.

The world championship contended in this way would get all of the top triathletes in one place at one time. The bigger the names at a single event the more exposure to it, as well as for our sport, and the more exposure, the more it grows. Additionally, having these world championships, with the additional exposure potentially could add to the inclusion of different disciplines being included in the Olympics. A sport with a large following all around the world would be hard to keep out of the Olympics. 

Ironman Wisconsin

I know a lot of time has passed since I updated my blog. I have had some people tell me that I need to update it after my races. I am happy that there are those who want to read it. When I first started the blog, what I wanted to convey was an honest approach to what it was like to race professionally, the struggles that it takes. I had an athlete whom I was helping and he was going through a difficult time. I shared some of my experiences that were very similar to what he was going through. He was very surprised because, as he put it “I just thought it was easier for guys like you.” We all struggle, we all have our ups and downs. I will try to keep this short, but I wanted to briefly share what has been going on over the past 2 years and my journey to my first Ironman. 

                After my first year as a pro, my first coach and I decided to split.  We had a conversation and we both felt that it was time for me to move on. It was a hard decision for me, but was the right decision. He is a man I still call a friend to this day, deeply respect, had the honor of him attending my wedding and I am forever grateful for getting me to the professional ranks. I switched to another coach who turned out to be a mistake. Nothing to be said other then I learned what not to do as a coach. That was the year I got married and actually cut my season short because I was exhausted and broken down, physically and mentally.

I did the Chicago Tri in late August and was married in November of 2012. I had received an email a couple weeks before the Chicago Tri from Dare 2 Tri looking for guides for both the Kids Triathlon the day before the Chicago Tri as well as for wounded war vets for the Chicago Marathon. I signed up for both. For the kids tri I swam, biked, and ran along with a little girl in the kids tri. I carried her from the from the water through the first transition to her hand cycle for the bike portion and then helped in the second transition set her up to do the run in what I can best describe as a modified walker.

She was truly inspiring.

As part of the Chicago Marathon, I ran along a war vet who was wounded when a bomb went off when he and his buddies were playing cards. He lost his arm and vision in one eye. It was a great honor to run with him the entire way and help him to the finish.

                Along came the 2013 season. The season I would race only once. I decided to coach myself. It was a big decision, but I had some great people who said I could call them and bounce training ideas off of. I also knew my schedule could change so quickly that I figured this would be best. It started off great. I had a personal best at the Shamrock Shuffle. I then raced the St. Anthony’s triathlon in late April and had another personal best with my best 10K run off the bike. Things started to unravel from there, because sometimes life just gets in the way. I had planned to race at the Elkhart Lake triathlon in early June of 2013. It was also during this time I found out my wife was pregnant. We were extremely excited and could not wait to tell everyone. Our lives were changing and I had actually made plans to stop racing as a pro to be a husband and father first and also focus on the athletes that I coach. I would make one more big push, race the Lifetime Minneapolis Triathlon in July and  retire. About two weeks before Elkhart Lake I was almost home from a ride when a car coming from the opposite direction decided to make a turn in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and flipped my bike. I never hit the car, but when I rolled over I could see the car inches from my face as it passed by. The next day I was sore and stiff and had a minor headache. Probably a mild concussion. I did see two doctors and neither one was helpful as no concussion test or anything of significance was done. Honestly they both seemed more interested in getting me out of their office. I have not gone back to that office since. 

 I took several days off training and was doing fine until a couple days before Elkhart Lake when my back was just not right. I could not get comfortable driving, sitting, and especially not riding. Dana  and I went up to the race and the entire drive up I had to lean forward onto the steering wheel because I could not sit back. It was during this time Dana started to have some really bad cramping and bleeding. We feared the worst. She called her good friend who went through a miscarriage and I had her talk to my Sister-in-Law whom also went through some miscarriages as well as the doctor. Unfortunately there were no definitive answers. She could be having a miscarriage, she may not be. We would have to wait till until she could see the doctor. 

The next morning I tried to race. My mind was not where it needed to be and as I warmed up on the bike a pain kept shooting up and down my right leg. I called it a day and did not race. Dana and I cheered for others as we tried to enjoy the weekend since we stayed the weekend with some friends. When we got back, Dana went to see the doctor and it was confirmed she had a miscarriage. It was very hard on both of us. We were making so many plans, talking about names, how we would tell everyone and then in an instance it was all gone. We did not share the miscarriage with anyone except my sister in law and Dana’s friend. It was personal and there’s not much anyone can say or do. Not to anyone’s fault, but we decided to keep it to ourselves except for those we already spoke with. For us we kept everything  personal. We did not share our plans that we were trying to start a family. It was something we decided to keep private until it was time to tell everyone. 

I took about 2 weeks off of training to let my back heal up and try to get going again. I started to get back into my training when plantar fasciitis flared up in both heels/feet. I did everything I could to take care of it, but eventually I decided to shut it down for the season. I was physically and emotionally drained. I was not sure if I would actually ever race professionally again at this point. I had a lot of doubts about myself and future as an athlete.

The fall came around and I was working out. Nothing to structured, but still exercising. When December rolled around I had a decision to make. The pro license is a calendar year and I needed to make a decision if I would keep it. I signed up, but I was still unsure if I would race. I did not tell anyone but Dana. We had some long discussions about what I would do, what was best for us. At the end of December I received my contract from Champion Systems to resign for the next year. I decided I would race again. 

I started planning my race schedule mostly looking at Olympic distance races and Racine 70.3 with the idea of Ironman Wisconsin in the back of my mind. I knew if Dana became pregnant the time to train for an Ironman, up to the standard I would want to do it, would not be there with a new born and a full time job. I spent a lot of time on the trainer over the winter (I watched almost the entire 7 seasons of The West Wing on Netflix), braved the cold running outside and swam inside of course. During this time I left my job at the Great Lakes Naval Base and started working at Running Away managing the sales floor. Dana and I went to Paris (we were supposed to go to Ireland, but ended up in Paris) on a trip with my parents. While there we lit a candle and prayed at the Notre Dame Cathedral and Sacre-Coeur Catherdarl for a child. It was an amazing trip and about 3 to 4 weeks after we got back, we found out Dana was pregnant. I am not a deeply religious person by any means, but it really does make me think and be thankful. 

I started to take the Ironman idea more seriously and gathering even more info about training while also dealing with many changes to come. It was during this spring and summer so many events happened in my life. Dana changed jobs. We moved closer to the shop. I was recruited and took a new job at Midtown Athletic Club coaching swimming and masters swimming. I received the news that no one wants to hear, a friend from college passed away with no real explanation, creating a deep sorrow in my heart. Her blood pressure dropped, she fainted and they could not revive her. Shared in friends and families joys of starting their own families, marriages, and engagements. We also shared in their sorrows of the hardships they faced. Another friend from college, I found out had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. So much happened in a short period of time from April until Sept 7th when I lined up for Ironman Wisconsin. 

Everything caused ups and downs in my life. I had good days of training, I had bad days. One ride I was to do 100 miles. At 50 miles I suddenly felt terrible. It was the middle of a Friday and I rode from my house. No one to pick me up, no way to create a short cut. About 30 miles from home I was in really bad shape and just sat on the side of the road outside a convenience store sipping a Mountain Dew with my head down, trying to recover enough to get home. I was really happy at times and extremely grumpy as well. Anyone who takes on training goes through these up and down emotions. Bless my wife for putting up with me as some of my lows are really low. She steadied the ship as we went. Reminded me it was better to rest sometimes and get back at it in a day or two then always be broken down. She knows I will push hard and when things are not going well, I push harder, trying to climb out, when in reality I am digging a hole so deep I won’t be able to climb out of it. It takes a special someone to deal with me 24/7. Lucky I tricked her in to marrying me. 

Ironman was arrived quickly. When you take something on, it always feels so far away, whether it is 1 week, or 10 years, but when the day arrives, the time has slipped by. If you do not take every day seriously, then there are wasted days that can never be taken back. The Ironman felt the same way. It seemed so far away, but suddenly it was here, it was time to race. I was not perfect in my preparation, there were small mistakes here and there, but I felt like I used the most of the time that was given to me. It was time to race. 

My goal was to break 9 hours. If I could accomplish my goal, I had a chance for a top 6 finish and to be in the money. After studying and training on the course as well as looking over years past, I set goal splits for each leg. Swim would need to be in the 53 to 55 minutes range. Bike 5 hours and then it would only take a 3 hour marathon (yea, no problem right) as well as a 4 minute transition 1 and a 2 minute transition 2. The run was the area that I was not sure about. Do you really know how your body is going to react after racing for 6 hours before starting the run? 

Race morning I was ready to go. 6:50 the cannon went off and so were we. Two swimmers immediately took off and I just let them go. It’s a long day and no reason to burn it out on the swim. I found a good pack of 5 to 7 swimmers and I tucked myself in. A couple of times I lost their feet and had to pick it up, but I was never digging to deep. We all came out of the water together. I was officially 7th out of the water in 52:20. I quickly moved to the front of the group through transition and lead everyone up the Helix. If you are not familiar with Madison’s first transition the only way I can describe it is amazing as it is just a wall of noise as you run through.

I ran straight through transition, never stopping, I packed my wet suit in my bag as I ran and was quickly on my bike (transition 1- 4:01). On the bike I immediately settled into my pace. 2 miles in Konstantin Bachor would fly by  in the first two miles and go on to set the bike course record of 4:31. Good thing I did not try to match him as he was flying and my day would have ended 20 miles into the bike. I soon found myself riding in 4th overall in a legal distance behind Pedro Gomes (he would finish 3rd on the day). We came around a curve out of a parking lot and hit a huge bump and a water bottle went flying. There was not official around so I thought about leaving it, but I stopped and grabbed it anyway as I would need my nutrition. It was then that Daniel Bretchser (winner of the race in a course record along with a record run) and one other rider came flying by. I was quickly back on my bike and riding a legal distance back. Blake Becker would soon join us and we were a group of 4 with an official following us, keeping us all honest.

Over the next several miles we would start to split up and I found myself riding by myself. I stayed smooth and rode the course how I had planned. It worked out great as I don’t think I could have rode any smarter. Of the 5 bike splits my slowest was 22.57 mph and my fastest was 22.72 mph for an average of 22.67. That is with no power meter or heart rate monitor, just all off of feel. Considering it was a 2 loop bike, I think I did pretty well. One has to remember that it is a long day and not let anything get to you, small or big. I was passed at one point by 2 riders and I later passed both of them back. I dropped part of a nutrition bar. No big deal, I can grab more at aid stations. I dropped a chain on a hill. I hopped off my bike, fixed it and forgot about it. I heard someone had put tacks on the road but did not puncture, so I did not think about it again. We hit a downhill and another pro who was right by me went off the road. I thought his day was done. I found out late spectators would help him up and he would eventually finish 5th on the day. I know he did not let his crash bother him. Only thing anyone can do is continue to keep moving forward. It’s a perfect metaphor for life

I would like to say I was soon on the run, but it does take some time to get there. I hit the second transition just under my goal time (4:56:27). I did a full change of gear before heading out on the run (second transition, 2:17). I felt sorry for the volunteer who was assisting me as I just pulled on my cycling gear and everything was right in his face as he kneeled in front of me sorting out my gear. Those volunteers do a lot and we cannot thank them enough. I was now just under my goal pace for the day and it was now for 3 hours of truth. It was a bit eerie to start the run off around the capatial. Most spectators wre still out cheering on the bike and when I was running it was only myself and the sounds of my feet. The roads were wide open without a car on them. It is something else.

 I started my run off faster than pace, trying to slow down, but even then it felt like I was shuffling my feet. Unfortunately, my HR was too high. It was in the low 160’s and I knew I could not run with it that high for 3 hours. A straight up marathon, maybe, but not after racing for 6 hours. I hit an aid station and walked it taking in nutrition. I had to get my HR under control. I started to run again and it shot up to the 160’s almost right away. Pace did not matter at this point. I needed to get the HR down. I just kept slowing down to get it under control. No reason to blow up in the first 6 miles of the race. I walked observatory hill (worse than any of the hills on the bike, just cruel to put that in there). I finally was able to get my HR under control, but I knew my pace was to slow for my goal time for the run. However I was under my goal time for the race on the swim and bike, so there was time to spare and I also knew a lot could happen, so I tried keep up a slow run and really waited to see if I would get a second wind. It never came. Mile 12 came and I walked the aid station to get nutrition in and I could not find my legs to run again. I knew I was in trouble. Two guys passed me and I was now in 10th place. I knew I would not get my goal, but I could fight for a top 10. I forced myself to move. I got to the next aid station and took in as much nutrition as I could. Then it was the half way point of the race and I saw Blake Becker right behind me. I just kept my feet moving. Whatever I took at the last aid station it seemed to help as I could now keep the feet moving. 

After one of the many turnarounds I realized I had put time on to Blake Becker. I then came up on one of the runners who passed me when I was walking. He was now struggling and walking. I tapped him on the back and told him to run with me, we would do this together. He tried a couple of steps but could not get his feet going and he dropped back. On the out and back on State Street, 19 miles into the race when I saw two more pro’s coming I recognized coming after me and they looked hungry to quickly gobble me up. These two can both run. I tried to pick it up to try and hold them off, but they would catch me within the next 2 miles. I felt deflated. I had fallen out of the top 10. I just kept my feet moving and hit a final out and back and realized I had passed one other pro without knowing it. He was struggling, almost limping. I was back within the top 10. Now it was time to just keep my feet moving. I was out there for almost 9 hours at this time. What is another 30 minutes. I told my legs to shut up and pushed forward. 

I would finally make my last turn on State Street and head up and around the capital. I actually got a little emotional and picked it up one last time. I started to cramp a little with the extra effort, but it did not matter, I was almost finished. I started to high five the crowd with excitement. A word of advice, if you high five someone at the end of any race, give a little. One guy almost knocked me backwards and onto my butt as his hand felt like I high fived a wall. Out of the crowd found Dana right at the finish. I stopped to give her a hug and kiss. Turned to the crowd, gave a fist pump, turned, and walked across the finish line (marathon 3:28:17).

Although I did not end up with my goal time, I accomplished a deeper goal. I boasted to  people I would finish on my hands or knees going after my goal time and I did. In the end I just did not have the run legs. Throughout the race I continued to remind myself that it was a long day and anything could happen, and many things did. Just like life, I had to keep moving forward. There will be ups and downs. Take them in stride. Before the race I read a quote by the great Walter Payton; “No one is promised tomorrow.” I took this quote and raced that way. I may have not broken 9 hours on this very tough course, but in the end, I think I came away with much more about who I am then I would have if I had achieved my goal. (final time 9:23:24). 

What has happened since Ironman? My wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, James.

 I am learning to be a father and a husband first. I am looking to build my coaching business and provide opportunities for others to achieve their dreams. At this time I do not know if I will race professionally again. My wife, child, family, friends and athletes will always come first. When you race at a high level you have to be selfish in a lot of ways. With so many relying on me and working a full time job, I need to always put them first. I love to race, to train, and to be outside. I always will. I want to be a good example for my son and show him the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. If I never race professionally again, I will be content. Can I say satisfied? I am not sure. I do not live off of yesterday’s accomplishments, but rather look forward to the next goal, the next obstacle to overcome. I can be content because I have accomplished a lot. I have toed the line and rub shoulders with some of the greatest triathletes to ever live, from Olympic Medalist to Ironman Champions. You can only do that by training your butt off and competing at the highest level and as the Montgomery Gentry song goes, “That’s something to be Proud of!”

First Race of the Season - St. Anthony's Triathlon

                OK, I know I have not updated my blog in awhile. I have been busy and my blog has taken a back seat. I will explain everything that has been going on at a later time, but I have done my first race of the season and wanted to give a race report.

                This past Sunday I did the St. Anthony’s triathlon. This race is special to me as the first time I did the race I qualified for my professional license and the second time I did the race it was my first professional non draft race. It’s a well run race and one of my favorites.

                I did the home stay program again this year and St. Anthony’s Triathlon has one of the best I have ever been a part of. Well organized and always helpful. I was staying with a very nice lady by the name of Katy Kline. She has not done a triathlon herself, but when the large number of professionals signed up for the race, she had a friend on the local masters swim team that asked her and she volunteered.

                Race morning came and it was my normal routine, 3 hours up before race start, same old breakfast, and warm up. As I set up my transition I noticed that the wind was blowing hard across the bay. This was significant as they changed the swim start last year because they have had to change or cancel the swim in past years due to extremely dangerous conditions. It was moved up shore to where there is a natural reef that breaks up the waves. However, this only blocks the first party of the swim. Once you clear the reef you are in open water and must face the conditions.  I knew the swim would be choppy, but did not realize at the time how rough it would be.

                After my swim warm up we were pulled out of the water to get ready for the start. Then there was a moment of silence as they played “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes to remember the events and victims in the Boston Marathon Bombing. I could not help but get a little bit choked up while listening. I do not understand why someone could target sporting events and innocent people. There are many events in life that sports has brought the world closer together, made people forget about their differences, overcome hate, bigotry, and all those things that rip this world apart.  Sports can bring people from all over the world together and make us realize that in the end, we are men, women, and humans. Are we really all that different? This race was not just an American race, but I was racing athletes from Germany, Canada, Mexico, Russia, the Czech Republic, and England. The Boston Marathon is the same, but bigger. I don’t understand the events in Boston or any others like it and I never will. 

                After the Amazing Grace finished we had the national anthem and it was now time to put us in the water. St. Antony’s used to be a beach start, but now we wade out into the water and start between two buoy’s. I did not know this and I was lucky that I worked on some deep water starts in the pool leading up to the race. As we lined up, many of the top swimmers were lining up to the far right. I wanted to try to get into a good position and swim on some fast feet, but did not want to fight too many people. Cleaner water would conserve a lot of energy and I could get a cleaner start and try to catch some feet later on in the swim so I positioned myself more in the middle until I saw 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Jan Frodeno and Ben Collins swim past and line up to the far left. I may not be the brightest bulb in the bunch, but I am not an idiot. Those guys are fast and there were less bodies by them, so I moved over and snuggled up shoulder to shoulder. Now that everyone was lined up it was now time to wait! They put us in the water a good 4 minutes before they were set to start the race and this was a mistake. If you have ever watched anin water pro start you will notice everyone creeps forward to try and get that little bit advantage. So when the right side moved forward a little bit, so did we. In fact, I could hear athletes on my side ask “what are they doing” in reference to the swimmers to the right as they kept moving forward. No one was really moving that fast, but with 4 minutes of time, everyone kept moving farther and farther forward until we were almost at the first sighting buoy 25 meters down the course.  You can imagine a glacier moving ever so slowly forward. You may not notice how far it moves just watching it, but give it time, and it will cover quite a bit of difference. This is what we were like. I could only imagine what everyone was thinking back on shore and no one was saying anything. Only thing I could think of was “this is going to be a fast swim time since we will only be swimming about 1400 meters by the time we start.” Finally someone in a kayak came up and informed the group they would not start us until we moved back behind the starting buoys. Everyone then swam ever so slowly back so that they would not give up their position and get stuck behind another swimmer before the start. After we were back to the starting buoy’s guess what happened? We started to creep again, ever so slowly, looking for that slight advantage. Now I was not an instigator, but I was for sure not going to start 6 inches behind anyone. It was a good thing they started us in the next 10 seconds otherwise we would have made it more than 3 feet past the buoys.

                After the gun went off the star, the left side was fairly clean. I noticed I was stroke for stroke with Frodeno and Collins. I watched them so that when they made their move I could try and daft off of them as long as possible. It was clean swimming with a little bit of chop for about 50 meters until the right side pack and the left side pack came together and chaos erupted. Only thing I could see was whitewater, legs, and arms flailing all over the place. I sighted but could not see anything so I just followed the feet in front of me. Bodies started crashing together as we fought for position, not wanting to be pushed to the back of the pack. I stayed alert, paying attention in case someone was not simply bumping into me, but wrapping their fingers around my ankle or arm, trying to pull me back and propel them forward (this to me is poor sportsmanship). And then it happened.  I felt a hand come down on my right shoulder and felt fingers starting to dig in and I could feel the start of the tug to pull me back. Little did this individual know, a new part of my job is to act as an active drowning victim. My job is to make it as hard as possible for the rescuer to save me, fight them off, drag them to the bottom of the pool, and exhaust them as they fight with me in the water. In simple terms, I knew how to react, how to fight him off. I quickly shortened my stroke on the right side, grab his forearm, and ripped his grip free from my shoulder. I must have caught him by surprise because instead of trying to continue to swim next to me he got as much distance between us as possible. From that point on I did not have to deal with any intentional grabbing, but I would soon have to deal with the elements.

                There is a natural reef in the water that runs almost parallel the first 750 meters of the swim that breaks up any waves coming across the bay. After you clear the reef, you take a left out to open water to swim what can be best described as a box. It is out here that you are exposed.  As soon as we turned left, Poseidon decided to unleash his wrath. It was so bad that I would later find out that the swim was shortened for everyone but the Pros.  I would sight and I never saw a buoy, only a wall of water. One time I sighted at the top of the buoy and I took 2 strokes in open air until I came crashing back down in the water. Another wave knocked someone on to my right side, trapping my arm under them and I had to take 3 strokes with my left arm only until I could free my arm. I almost had thaught cross my mind that “this sucks,” but I wiped it away and instead told myself, “this is actually fun,” knowing that I could not control the environment or what was happening, but I could control how I react to it. And so I charged forward. Finally I hit the first turn buoy and then the second, which turned us back to shore. The waves felt big enough that I actually contemplated trying to body surf my way in.

                The swim exit is at a wall with some stairs placed in the water for us to climb. This was problematic as the waves would crash against the wall and come right back out at us. I could feel my feet being lifted behind me and as soon the wave passed I could then feel another one coming right at me, lifting and pushing me back, making the last 25 meters quite possibly the hardest part of the entire swim. Finally I reached forward and I could feel the steel of the steps under my fingers. I lifted my body up and out of the water and ran to transition, coughing up some salt water on the way. As I ran through transition I could see several of the favorites mounting their bikes. I knew I was about a minute down. Not a bad swim against this deep field.

                I was quickly on my bike and settled into my aero position. I have not put in the time on the bike that I have wanted to, so I knew I needed to ride smart and stay strong. As I rode I caught a couple of racers, but was also passed by a couple of the super bikers. I let the super bikers go as I knew if I tried to stay with them I would bonk half way through the bike and would not be able to run. I stuck to my plan and passed a couple of more riders. I did not feel my best, but I felt I was riding well for where my condition was at. In the last 5 miles of the course I tried to pick it up and push another gear as I knew there were some fast runners behind me and if I did not put enough distance on them in the bike, they could reel me back in on the run.

                I hit the second transition, dismounted my bike, and my legs felt like rubber. I kept them moving as I ran to my racking position and hoped they would feel better once I was on the run. Shoes on, helmet off, grab the race belt, and I was now sprinting out of transition. I like to make this fast as it gets my legs moving, wakes them up, and I can settle into my pace once I am out of transition. I could see two runners in front of me and my focused narrowed in on their backs. “Catch them” I told myself! “Quick relaxed feet, pump your arms” I reminded my body as I pushed forward. Around the 1.5 mile mark I caught the first runner and tried to focus on the second runner. I could not see him. He must have been running a faster pace. So I then focused on one mile at a time. I was not feeling my best, like I could really push it like in other races, but I told myself to dig deep and kept going. At the turn around I counted out the places and I was in 30^th  place. On the way back I could see the fast runners looking quite hungry and thinking I was dinner, so it was time to dig a little deeper. In the last mile I was caught by one of the runners and another was charging up my back. I could not stay with the guy who passed me, but I decided then and there I was not going to get caught by the guy behind me. One last push, one last drive, dig a little deeper, forget the pain and run hard. It worked as I made the last turn and entered the finishing shoot. I crossed the finish in 31^st place with a new personal record for the course and a personal record for a 10K off the bike (34:54) and extremely happy with my results from the first race of the season and the deepest field I have ever been a part of.

                Looking back at the race I am extremely happy with my results and splits. The rough swim naturally slowed everyone down and even though I did not feel like I had that extra gear in the bike and run, I still had great splits which let me know my conditioning is in a good spot and it gives me motivation to continue to train for the next race and the rest of the season. I looked back at past results and this field has gotten so deep that 3 years ago I would have finished in the 14-16^th place range.  Looking at the overall race results I also know that I need to improve my bike split. Although I was fast (25+mph), these guys are really fast and I need to close the gap. 

Philly Tri- Climbing the Ladder

The Finish!

This past weekend I competed in Philadelphia as a stop in the Lifetime Fitness race to the Toyota Cup. This was my first time competing in the race and my first time in Philly, so I was not sure what to expect, but my training has been better and I was feeling good the week leading up to the race.  

Paul's Hard Rock Glasses!

My Home stay was with Paul Amos. He would also be doing the Philly Triathlon and it would be his first ever triathlon. Paul is also a word travel and I got to see his large selection of Hard Rock Cafe Glasses from all over the world. Very Impressive! He works at Penn University and lives right by the University as well, so I was able to do a run workout and see the famous stadium that holds the Penn Relays as well as explore the campus. This race was also a treat as I was able to have lunch with my old college friend Katie Driscoll who I had not seen since we graduated. When I first arrived Paul drove me on the bike course and I was able to see the famous Boathouse row were many of the top rowers in the country train and also the Art Museum and the famous Rocky Statue out front.  Paul had tickets to the Phillies baseball game, but we were unable to see it as when we arrived at the stadium the skies opened up and the game was rained out. That was alright as I was able to at least see the stadium. We headed back to Paul’s house to relax and enjoy a beer (he has a keg on tap at all times, how awesome is that).

Friday and Saturday was the normal pre race workouts and pro meeting and then it was off to bed early on Saturday night. But I was not able to fall asleep. I was awake for a long time. Why, I do not know, but it was a little frustrating. But instead of worrying about it I used the time to focus on my race strategy and to visualize the race in my head. Soon, before I knew it I was asleep and the alarm was going off at 3:30 am for the race start. Then, it was my normal breakfast and off to the race.

Philly is a point to point swim and also to keep the roads clearer for us we start at 6:30 am, 30 min before the first age-group wave. Because of the earlier start, this meant that it was an earlier morning (I am always up a minimum of 3 hours before my race). Following my normal race morning routine with warm up and transition set up, I was soon boarding the bus to drive us to the swim start. The bus I happened to hop onto was also with Cameron Dye, Sarah McLarty, Alica Kaye, and Sarah Haskins. It was a relaxed atmosphere as we joked about being younger and taking the bus to school. I am not sure if the age-groupers on the bus were really nervous or not as I think we were the only ones chatting. But it was a good environment to stay relaxed before the race. 10 minutes later we were at the race start and after a quick warm up we were lined up and ready to start.

THE SWIM:

You can see the Pro women behind me and to the left. 

The gun went off and I got into a quick tempo. Everyone was jocking for position and trying to get on the feet of Cameron Dye or Andy Potts, the two fastest swimmers in the field. Arms were clashing and bodies were bumping. As I was swimming I suddenly felt an arm come down on me. It did not feel like a bump, but as if the entire body came crashing down on me, trying to force me to the bottom of the river. At first I thought it was an accident that maybe he had tried to take a new route, but two strokes later it happened again and I knew it was no accident. When it happened a third time I fought him off and gave a shove back. After shoving him back it stopped, but it suddenly left me feeling very tired and we were only about 50 meters into a 1500 meter swim. A thought of panic went through my head, how was I going to race feeling like this. However, I quickly put it out of my head. I told myself to settle into a pace and recover. Sure enough I soon felt better and settled behind two others swimmers. Another guy was on my feet and we formed a pack of 4 in the swim. Soon we hit the turn buoy and headed into shore. It was about 25 yards from shore I suddenly saw a large group of pink swim caps, the caps the pro women, exiting the water in front of me. I knew something was wrong as they did not pass us and they started 1 minute back. It turns out they turned to early and cut a large section of the swim. I have heard of racers going the wrong way and adding to the route (read my blog on the Capital of Texas Tri), but never in such a large number. Since it was not the entire field as some women went the correct route, 8 women would be disqualified on the day.

As I ran through transition I passed several of the pro women who cut the course and the same happened early on the bike. This created a lot of congestion and made it hard to get around some of them early in the bike. Soon I was able to pass most of them and I had clear roads and I could focus on racing.

THE BIKE:

The Philly course it 2 laps with 4 hills on each lap or 8 total climbs for the race. Since I don’t have a lot of hills to train on where I live, I knew I would have to ride smart. When I hit the hills I focused on spinning up and attacking the down and the downs proved to be very fast! On many of the down hills I am not sure how fast I was going (I did not have a computer on my bike, I actually never race with one), but it was somewhere north of 40 mph as I was in my hardest gear and spinning.

About Half way through the bike I was not sure of my position, but I could see a group of riders in front of me. I knew I was making some time on them so I focused on trying to catch them. On the decent of the last hill (number 4 and 8 of the race) I came up on a turn to quickly and almost flew off the side of the road. If you ever need a quick wake up or to get your heart racing, take a turn to fast going 40+ mph and almost wearing nothing, it usually does the trick. On the second lap I was aware of the turn and took it with a little more caution. But as a result of my hard break I lost sight of rider in front of me and they got away as I never saw them again on the bike. A tactical error that I have no one to blame but myself.

Charging Hard Into Transition

I hit the second transition and my legs were feeling a little tired from the effort on the bike and the eight hills. I had a quick transition (I believe the second fastest on the day) and one of the other guys must have had problems because he was in transition when I entered and was still there when I left. I never saw him again.

THE RUN:

The last push to the finish

The run course runs up stream on the road, then there is a U turn and it continues back past the transition to another U turn and then to the finish. A great course for spectators to see the race. Early on in the run I felt great. I had great leg turn over and I felt strong. I was not sure if it was because of the false flat on the run out and I wondered if I could hold the pace. I decided to just go for it and try to run some people down. As I came to the first turn around I counted the men in front of me. I was in 11^th. One place out of the money and 9 and 10 were running together. Because of the speed of some of the guys running, I never thought I could run myself into a top 10 placing. I always thought I would have to swim and bike into the top 10 and then hold people off in the run. But I decided then and there it was time to climb the ladder, to start finishing higher and really race. It was time to think differently.  I went after them. I ran back toward transition and then out to the second half of the run. I continued to push. I was really hurting, but I still had some spring in my step so I kept going. I could feel the fatigue setting in and it was having an effect on my mental push. I slowed a bit for a second, but I knew I could not let up if I wanted to catch 10^th, so I picked it back up. If I was forced to walk trying to catch the man in front of me, so be it. At least I put it all on the line.  On the next turn around I could see I was making up time on 10^th, but I did not know if it would be enough as I was quickly running out of real estate, so I tried to make one more push.

 In the end I was not able to catch 10^th place, I would end up finishing 34 second down to him (I started more than 1 minute down). Although I was not able to make up the time, I did end up out running several of the athletes in the top 10. Looking at my results, I noticed again, I lost too much time on the bike, but I also know it improved. This tells me I am making steps into the right direction and to continue to work. 2 minutes faster on the bike and I would have been fighting for 7^th or 8^th place. I am now feeling more and more confident and with little improvements here and there I know I can be fighting for a top 10 in most races and a spot in the money if I stay the course.  It’s not an easy road and the little improvements are hard to come by. However, as it has been said before, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward.

POST RACE:

After the race I did get to do one thing everyone who visits Philly should do. I went and got a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. I went to Pat’s, which is directly across from one of the other famous cheese steak places, Geno’s. It was so good and a great reward to a great race. 

Two famous Philly Cheese Steak Places are right across from each other  

        We went to Pat's!

YUM!!!

Elkhart Lake Triathlon- Training Day

This past weekend I competed in the Elkhart Lake Triathlon. This race was not a "Pro' race by USAT. To be a Pro race you need a prize purse of $5,000. This had a prize purse of $1050. I ended up choosing this race for a couple reasons. First, it was a race I could drive up on Friday after work and then race Saturday morning and be in my own bed on Saturday night. I could use it as a training race and if things went well, I could earn a little money while I was at it. Also, I did this race several years ago and it was the second Olympic distance race I did.

Doing a training race simply means you don't back down in your training the week leading up to the race. You may take it easier the day before, but your main focus is not this race, but other races down the line. Of course this means you are not 100% and racing tired. Also, it gives you a chance to try something you have not tried in most races. In this one I was working on my nutrition. What could I take in and where during the race. The plan was one Gel pack on the bike about half way and one at mile 2 on the run. Normally I don't take any thing in other than water and Gatorade.

Dana came with me to the race. She was racing the sprint. We arrived Friday afternoon and I was able to get a couple short workouts in. We checked in and I checked the start list for the Elite wave. I was surprised to find at least 4 pro's on the start line (there may have been more, but 4 that I knew of). All of them are solid triathlete's. Top 5 get a prize purse so I knew if I wanted any money I would need to be up there. We got a bite to eat then we were in bed by 8:30. We had a little mishap in the middle of the night. Dana rolled over and smacked me in the face and I woke up with with a sore, fat lip (its Thursday, this happened Friday night and my lip is still swollen). Needless to say I did not sleep the best.

Saturday morning it was my usual breakfast, but I just did not feel like I could eat, so I did not have quite as much as I normally do. Then off to the race site to go through my pre-race routine. The sprints in this race went off first. This was great as I could see Dana off and wish her good luck. Then it was our turn. Our turn to sit around and wait. We were supposed to go off at 7:45, but I don't think we went off till 8am. This mostly left me anxious and I wanted to get started. I am usually sipping on my water bottle right before the race, but because of the delay I no longer had it and I had dry mouth at the start. There was no water around so there is nothing I could do. I just focused on the race at hand.

Soon we were lined up and ready to go. The lined us up in the water about mid shin and shot of the gun and we were off. It was a cluster and we had some good swimmers in the group. I took a line straight line to the second buoy while others took kind of a strange line to a sighting buoy. This allowed me to swim comfortably and without a crowd. We all ended up at the the 2nd turn buoy together and since other wanted to set the pace I just jumped right in and followed them. There was a pack of about 5 of us. I swam in the 3rd position most of the race. Toward the end two swimmers put in an effort to be out of the water first (there was a $100 bonus for the fastest swim, bike, and run). Since they were doing all the work I did not try to sprint past them. It just did not seem right to me. Also, I wanted to focus on the over all race. Of course I was also feeling a bit tired at this point, so maybe the first two reasons are just an excuse.

I came out of water in 4th and it was a long run to transition. When I say long, it took at least a minute plus just to get to the transition area and it was a windy run as well. At times I was hoping I was still going the right way. I had a quick transition and moved into 3rd and then I was quick getting onto my bike and actually moved up to first.

Elkhart Lake is a long bike (45K instead of 40K- about 3.1 miles longer than most Olympics) with some smaller hills and on this day it was hot and extremely windy. On the first small climb one rider passed me and I was in second. We rode like this for some time until Thomas Gerlach came flying by me. When he went by I remember saying to myself "h*ly Shi*t!" I could not believe how fast he was moving. After the race he would tell me he thought it was funny if he put in a really strong effort when he went by me. I laughed, but I remember during the race I did not think it was really funny.

On the way out we were fighting the wind. The way the wind was blowing, we were actually fighting the wind for most of the race, either head on or from the side. When we turned to come back I could feel the wind actually blowing the back part of my aero helmet where I thought it was going to twist on my head. With the temp rising, this made for a tough day on the bike. I focused on staying smooth on the bike. About half way through the bike I was passed by two bikers, but I also passed one, so when T2 arrived I was in 4th position.

I had another quick transition and I was soon on the hunt. I could see 3rd place in front of me and I focused on him. About mile 1.5 I moved into 3rd place. As I passed the guy in 3rd I patted him on the back, gave him some encouragement and told him to run with me. We would go after 2nd together. He tried to match my pace, but fell off.

Elkahart Lake is a tough run. They have two good climbs in it and on a hot day, it make is even tougher. After I moved into 3rd I had the first climb. I focused on quick feet to get up the hill and stayed relaxed. I saw Tom coming down the hill on the way back down and I reached my hand and gave a quick high five. The great thing about triathlons is, even though we are competing against each other, even on the race course, there always seems to be encouragement. I feel we are more focused on the effort and having a great race. Don't get me wrong, we all want to be beat each other, but most triathletes doing it with great sportsmanship.

After the turn to go back down the hill I knew I was about a minute down to 2nd. I was not sure if I could catch him, but I was going to try. I could see 2nd in front of me. Almost taunting me. I could not tell if I was making ground, but I was sure trying. Soon it was the next big climb. Same strategy as before, quick feet and staying relaxed. I could still see 2nd, I was making ground but not enough. I hit the top of the hill and charge down the other side. With the turns in the road I could not see him. Closer to the finish I heard someone yell that I was about 30 sec down. With less then a mile to go I knew that it was probably to much to make up. 3rd place was secure as 4th was not in sight. All I had to do was jog in it. So what did I do, I went harder. I figured I would give it one last chance to try to get up to 2nd. I was not successful, I ended up 3rd, but it was a good thing I put in that effort as to my surprise, I finished with the fasted run on the day. If I was to guess before the race I would have guessed maybe the fastest swim  (I was 4th) or maybe the fastest bike (6th), but never the fastest run. If I did not make that last effort I don't think it would have happened. It is a good thing I did as that gave me a $100 bonus.

I was hopping to win the race, but considering who showed up I was happy with my 3rd place finish. My run split was not my best, but I looked at some splits of runners who I know are a lot faster than me and I know they had some tough days, so I was happy in comparison. The bike I was disappointed in, but we are working on that and its getting better. As long as its getting better, then I am making gains in the right direction and I can't complain about that.

After the race I was happy to find out Dana finished 4th in her age-group. All in all. It was a good day for both of us. I really could not ask for anything more.

Memphis in May Triathlon- HOT!!!

The 2^nd race of the season was the Memphis in May triathlon. This is the 4^th year I have done it, the 2^nd year as a Pro. The field was much smaller this year, mostly because there were two other races in the 5150 series going on the same day as well as Ironman Texas and Florida 70.3. Only 7 men made the trip to race, but there were some top guys in the field.

              

I stayed with the Barczak’s (David and Allison and three of their four children Mary, Mathew, and Andrew) again this year. I was also happy to meet many of the same people I had met from the year before. My fiancé Dana also came and my brother John flew in for the day to watch me race, so I may have not have been the biggest name in the field, but I probably had the largest cheering section. David, Mathew, and Andrew had a full weekend.  They did the sprint on Saturday as a relay and finished 2^nd overall. On Sunday David did the Olympic on his own and Mathew and Andrew teamed up with one other person and did the Olympic as a relay (Mathew swam, Andrew ran). A lot of racing for the weekend and I was really impressed with their efforts.

                

Dana and I car pulled down to the race with a fellow Chicago Triathlete, EricTurner. We had a lot to chat about as he swam at Auburn and it was great to get an insight into the power house that was Auburn swimming (His class won 4 NCAA swimming championships).  We got down there on Friday and mostly relaxed. Saturday was the normal routine, but this time I was asked to be on the pro panel to answer some questions. It was great to give my perspective on the sport and what I do for training, eating, nutrition, race strategy, etc. It was also good to give a different perspective of an athlete like myself who works a full time job and tries to find  time to train. The other 3 athletes (Brian Fleischman, Paul Mathews, and Amanda Felder) on the panel, training and racing is their full time job

Answering a Question at the Pro Panel

Something that is unique to the Memphis in May Triathlon is the Pro’s start last. This meant I was able to wake up without an alarm and take my time getting ready. It was the normal breakfast and warm up routine and then off to the race start. My race start was moved up to 10am from 10:30 because of the forecast. It was going to be hot. By the time we started, the temperature had already hit 82 degrees and was climbing.

               

Memphis is unique in another way as it has a time trial start for everyone, including the Pro’s, so we don’t start in a wave, but we start 10 seconds apart in alphabetical order, going male, female. I was the second male to enter the water and 4^th overall. I quickly made up time on the first guy  and passed him before the first buoy and as a result, for the first in my Pro career, I was leading a race. Soon after I was passed my Brian Fleischman and jumped on his feet and drafted for a while, but he took a strange line to a buoy, so strange I thought he was swimming off course and I chose not follow him so I lost his feet and he slowly pulled away. Three fourths of the way through the race Kyle Lee passed me and I started to draft off of him, but he soon lost me as well. Shortly after that I was out of the water and running to transition. I was 3^rd out of the water, but I had no idea what place I was actually in because of the time trial start. It was a quick transition, much better than a couple weeks ago at Knoxville, and I was soon on the bike, riding away. 

A great Start!

 I had some problems on the bike. The first turn the police officer was standing in front of the turn and waving me to the left, so I turned in front of him. Well, this put me in the wrong lane heading into oncoming traffic, which can be a little nerve racking. I quickly jumped off my bike, hopped the medium and hoped back into the saddle. As I was getting back up to speed I saw Paul Mathews fly by and I could only admire his strength on the bike as he as at full speed and I was only accelerating. I was not happy about this little incident, but I had to forget about it and focus on what is ahead. It was on the bike that I started to really feel the heat.

Off on the Bike

  The first part of the bike was into a strong head wind and it was not refreshing, it only made it feel hotter, like your car heater blowing on you when it’s already steamy in your car.  By mile 10 I was really feeling the effects (one female pro passed out from the heat before mile five on the bike. Thankfully she was alright). It was around mile 12 and I was passed by the swimmer I passed in the water so I knew I was fighting for 5^th place due to who passed me in the water or on the bike. Towards the middle of the ride there was a bottle exchange and even though I still had one full water bottle, I knew it was warm from the heat and I needed something cool, so I dropped it and picked up an ice cold Gatorade. I took some good gulps and it may have been the greatest thing I ever drank, so cold, so refreshing. I now had the wind at my back and I started to hammer it home, trying not to lose more time on the bike.

It took a hard effort to get in and what seemed like a long time, but I was finally into the 2^nd transition. I did not know how much time I was down, but I focused on a quick transition and I was out on the run and the heat started to feel even worse. I was informed after the race that when we hit the run  the temp was 87 degrees  but with humidity it felt like it was 92. The run course was wide open and I could see 5^th place in front of me and I just focused on him. After the first mile I could tell I was gaining on him. I knew he started off 30 seconds in front of me so if I could get within that time I would be in front of him on the clock. By mile two I did a count off in my head and I was 15 seconds behind, which meant I was now 15 seconds up on the course. I did not want to blow up in the second half of the run so I slowed my pace down. I knew the rest of the course had no shade and it would be hot. At about mile 2.5 I passed the runner in front of me and I was certain I was solidly in 5^th place. I gave him a quick tap on the back for encouragement, told him good job and his response was “It’s so Hot out here.” (He also said a four letter word that I will not mention here).  No disagreement from me as I tried to think of cool thoughts and not on the heat.

The last couple strides to 5th place

 When I approached the turnaround I started to develop stomach problems. I had a side stitch and my whole stomach felt tight. I wanted to hold onto 5^th and so I backed off a bit, knowing I had more than a 30 second lead. A volunteer gave me some ice cold water which I dumped over my head and it was a welcome relief.  I turned the corner to head to the finish and there was now a head wind and unlike on the bike this was very welcome as it had a cooling effect. This helped my stomach loosen up and the side stitch went away and I was able to continue to put time into the guy in 6^th. On the way to the finish I saw the 7^th place runner and he was a couple miles back so I knew I was going to finish in 5^th. I ran to a strong finish, or as strong as I could muster, and had my first top 5 and a decent paycheck on the day.

First top 5

I was not happy with the bike, I have some work to do to get it back to where it should be, but I had a solid swim and my run, although nowhere near a personal best, was solid considering the conditions. I am happy with the pay day, but I know there are improvements to be made.