Lots to unpack from this past week and weekend, so get ready for a long read!
The week leading up to the race, I didn’t start a taper until
Thursday. I was also feeling rather lethargic about competing and questioned
whether or not I should even show up. This was a first for me as I normally
feel pre-race nerves before a big event. I decided to show up, check in, do my
workouts and drop my bike before making a final decision Saturday afternoon.
After being at the venue and feeling the energy, I got the final boost I needed
from my wife, coach, dad and buddy Drobs.
Race morning:
This went very well! I slept better than normal before a race and was up at 4:00AM. We left the hotel just after 4:30 and were walking into transition by 5. I learned it’s easier to get my bike ready on one of the side fences instead of on the rack. There was much more room to clip my shoes in and get the rubber bands set. I was in and out (with a potty stop) in 15 minutes. I met up with Drobs and his wife to walk over to the swim start, and we chilled for just a bit before getting in for a quick practice swim. After that, I dropped off my bag and got up near the front of the race for the start.
Swim: 28:13 (24th overall)
I was very happy with my starting position on the swim. I was the
5th or 6th wave of 3 to enter the water, and this ended
up being perfect for me. I had a first on the swim, and that was a
claustrophobic type breathing issue. 200 yards in, it felt like someone was
standing on my chest and gave me some heavy anxiety. I backed off the pace and
tried taking deeper breaths. I was getting ready to try breaststroke and
thought this was going to be a long day. I kept going at the slower pace and
rounded that first turn buoy. Once my watch buzzed for the first 500 yards, I
finally relaxed a bit and settled into a better groove. Using some swim cues
from my masters coach, I was able to distract myself and was good for the rest
of the swim.
I was very happy with my time and place out of the water, and I
finally saw the months working with Caleb come together.
T1: 1:37
The first transition was very short, and I thought I’d be in and
out in just over a minute. Relative to the athletes around me, I posted one of
the faster T1s and moved up 6 places in a very short amount of time. Everything
was smooth and got my wetsuit pulled down on my own this time! The peelers did
the rest. Got to my rack, helmet on and buckled, bike off the rack and had a
quick run to the mount line. As I was mounting my bike a spectator yelled to
tell me my shoe was untied…. Having no clue what she was talking about, I
looked down to see my rubber bands holding the shoe in place. I told her I was
good and off I went. Flying mount was MUCH easier in my newer shoes. Feet went
in smooth and nothing else to report.
Bike: 2:23:02 (16th overall)
Well, here we go again. BUT not as bad this time and I only lost 2
minutes. Despite riding and driving the first part of the course, I took a
wrong turn. In a moment of confusion, I saw an athlete (coming from the right) turning
onto the road I was supposed to go straight on. At the same time, the athlete
in front of me turned right and I saw the green RUN arrows pointing right. In a
complete brain lapse, I followed the athlete to the right. Realizing my
mistake, I sprinted after him to tell him we were on the run course and popped
a U-Turn. When I got to mile 5, I saw this had cost me exactly 2 minutes to go
the extra 0.75mi. For the next 10 miles I was stuck in this rut wondering how I
made such a costly error. Around mile 15, I snapped out of it (mostly, but it
still lingered) and went back into race mode. I stuck to my power plan of 240W
for the first half knowing the 2nd half was mostly headwind. My legs
did not want to push the power today, but they eventually came around. Once I
hit that wall of wind, I brought up to 250+. This worked mostly well, but it
was hard to sustain with the multiple U-turns on course. Overall, I was happy
to come off the bike in 11th with a 10 minute deficit to 1st
(Even with my wrong turn).
T2: 2:54
Similar to T1, not much to report here. On the pavement my shoes
settled on the clips and I was running smooth…until I got onto the grass. They started
catching again to a point where I threw my bike over my shoulder and ran with
it since it was only 30 more meters to my rack. My legs also felt heavy, and I
wasn’t too happy with my turnover going into the run.
Run: 1:18:04 (3rd overall)
We did it again on the run! One of my goals was to prove my
Chattanooga run (5:55 pace) was not a one off. This race, I held close to my prescribed
bike power and still ran 5:56 pace. The weather was the best I have ever had on
the run. High of 65 degrees and the sun only said hello a few short times. With
a few updates from Ty, I knew I was in 2nd place AG and 10 OA early
into the run. I could see the guys way ahead of me and told myself to be
patient. Mile 1 was my slowest mile of the day at 6:09, and my initial thought
was this run is going to be slow. The effort felt harder than Chatt 3 weeks
prior and I was running slightly slower out of transition. The next few miles
were sub 6, but I wasn’t sure if it was sustainable. I was also struggling to
elevate my HR despite the effort being high. I started to make some passes and
at least felt like I was getting somewhere. I could also tell that I was
gaining on 1st overall, but in the end only ate up 5.5 of the 10
minutes.
With 5K to left, I told myself it was time to go. Mile 12 hurt
going into the headwind and up the 1 “hill” on course. As I got to the top with
1 to go, I saw 4th place about 200 yards up the road on the ¾ mile
straight away. I timed him at 40s again of me using a street he passed. Part of
me said no this hurts enough already, but I knew I had to at least try. I absolutely
buried myself running a 5:37 to catch him just before entering the finish
chute. I felt him try to go with me, but I ended up coming across 8 seconds
ahead of him into 4th place overall. This was the deepest I’d ever
gone to close out a 70.3, and I wonder if there was a little more to give in
the middle portions of the run.
 |
| Every Second Counts |
Finish: 4:13:48
This is exactly how I needed to rebound from my race 3 weeks ago
with the bike issue. I feel like I was carrying more disappointment than I
originally realized from that one, and it was affecting my preparation for Des
Moines. In the end, my family and friends helped me rally to the start
line and I’m glad I showed up.
To anyone reading this far, sometimes it’s hard to see beyond the
podiums, medals and epic race photos. The journey in this sport has many ups
and downs; in the race itself and just training to get to that start line. I want
to thank everyone that has been in my corner for the messages, encouragements
and simple “good lucks!”. It’s still early in the season for me, and I have much
more give.
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