Summer Races 3 for 3

In the busyness of my Kona build, coaching, and work travel, I haven’t gotten a race report out for my last 3 triathlons. Even though they were all small-town races, I am stoked to have gone 3/3 winning each race.  Instead of full-blown race reports, I’ll attempt to write a short-ish recap of each.

DeWitt Sprint (1:02:20):

4-peat! And this race has gotten faster every year. The first time I raced in 2018, my winning time was 1:08:34. That would’ve only placed me 7th this year, so it’s been exciting to see athletes coming from places like Dubuque and Iowa City to this small-town race.

I was 21s slower than last year, most likely due to a 100 mile ride the day before and higher heat/humidity this year.

Swim: A few seconds faster thanks to getting onto the lead swimmer’s feet.

Bike: Just not there this time. My legs couldn’t produce the power I know they’re capable of, and I was 30s or 0.5mph slower than last year. Splits were slower overall, but my bike should have been stronger than last year.

Run: Faster than last year by 10s, but the course was almost a full 10^th of a mile short. Based on GPS, I was ~8s/mile slower. I think the higher heat and humidity had a direct impact on my run performance as well.

Overall, I am stoked to have won my 4th straight DeWitt title. I once again took 2nd in every discipline like last year, so at least I am consistent! After the race I got to enjoy a hot/humid 90 minute long run, so I apologize to my friends and competitors for not being present at the post-race party.

 

Route 66 Lake Springfield 70.3 Triathlon: (4:30:46)

I was battling a summer cold going into this race and almost didn’t start. I figured all my gear was ready and set-up, so I might as well jump in the water and see how getting to the first buoy went. Conditions were calm and the temps stayed below 75. Humidity was reasonable, and the wind never exceeded 3mph.

Swim (30:09): No one stepped up to start the swim first, so I ended up being the first athlete in the water. It was incredibly calm, and I swam in the lead until the final turn buoy. I swam a little wide and another athlete came from the inside to pass me. I just got onto his feet and let him pull me to the swim out. Overall a fast time for me in my swim skin, so I’m hoping the distance was accurate.

T1: I was up the boat ramp before the first swimmer and left transition as he got to his bike. I didn’t see anyone else within a minute of us, so I had a healthy lead starting the bike.

Bike (2:21:45): The bike was strange because I felt like I had an easier time hitting my power numbers than Steelhead. I was still sick and not tapered, so something felt off. My speed of 23.9mph was also a little slower than I would’ve have thought for 239W avg and 245 NP. There was a packed gravel section that lasted about 1 mile that we did twice, so it may have contributed to my slower pace. At Steelhead I was 24.9mph at 8W less, but the roads were a little better there.

T2: Going into T2 was a little different as well because I had instructions to stay Zone2 for the run. Knowing this, I gave a little extra at the end of the bike to try and increase my lead.

Run (1:36:56): With numerous races on the calendar and Kona being the true goal, my coach didn’t want me taking on additional fatigue. My target HR was 145-147bpm, and I was able to run around a 7:30 mile at that pace. With the multiple turnarounds, I could easily see my gaps, and that made keeping the effort down that much harder. I had an 8 minute lead that shrank by about 2 minutes every 3 miles. It was kind of fun just jogging around and thanking volunteers, but I also didn’t want to get passed. I ended up averaging 151bpm and finished about 2 minutes ahead of 2^nd. In a true race, I have been holding my HR in the low 170’s for the run.

Overall, I am so glad I decided to jump in the water because I felt better as the day went on. This was also my Brother Scott’s first Olympic Triathlon (let’s see if he even reads this), so huge congrats on smashing it.

Great Illini 70.3 (4:12:23)

I was feeling great going into this race. I had taken Thursday/Friday easy, so my body was ready to go. I was a little disappointed to find out there were only 50 registrants for the 70.3, and that took some fun out of racing.

Swim (28:49): Course was a little short like 2 years ago, but I think I would’ve been under 30 regardless. There was 1 faster swimmer that was going a little wide of the course, so I opted to stay on my line rather than getting on his feet. Around halfway through loop 1, I looked back to see I was dragging someone myself. I put in a surge to get a 10-meter gap and settled back in. By the end I was 30s ahead, so it was well worth the short effort. I ended up 90s down from first, so it would have clearly been smarter to stay on his feet…assuming I could have.

T1: I got to my bike before he had left transition, so I made up around 30s there. The transition area was tiny, so I was out in under a minute.

Bike (2:20:17): It only took 2 miles before taking the lead, and I just focused on my power meter. The bike course had 5 U-turns on it, and 2 of them were tight (dropped down to 2mph). I averaged 236W / 243 NP, so close to what I did at Route 66. At each of the U-Turns I could see my gap growing, and by the 3^rd out and back, I was off the stick before 2^nd place came rolling in (4 mile lead).

Run: (1:21:23): At first I wasn’t very happy with this run, but looking back I felt like I still salvaged it in the end. The main reason is that I have been chasing that 1:20 mark, and I knew I was going to fall short after a slight bonk at mile 4. A Gu got me back on track for a bit, and I saw my lead was about 3 miles after the first turnaround. I felt like I was slogging along and targeted a 4:15 to keep myself motivated. I did close the final 2 miles in 5:54 and 5:46, so that was the silver lining. The course was slightly long, so Garmin had me at 6:10 average.

Overall, I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t go under 4:10 or break 1:20 in the half, especially in cooler weather. I do believe that competition brings out my best, so winning by 40 minutes didn’t give me that same push I had at Steelhead.

 

A busy racing season is starting to wrap up with Kona only 6 weeks out. Until then, that is my one and only goal. I appreciate the support from everyone tracking my journey, and the Road to Kona is almost at a close.