The 5-time defending
champ is no more. As I’ve said in years past, this race has gotten faster every
year since my first win back in 2018. 1:08:34 was enough for the win in 2018
and that would’ve landed me in 8th this year. This year I finally broke the 1 hour mark at 58:19,
over 10 minutes faster than my first race here. Despite the effort, I finished 37s
behind the new champ, Tyson (who set an overall course record).
Pre-Race: With the new advancements in aero technology, I knew I wanted to wear calf sleeves for the bike. With transition being critical in a sprint, I was set on wearing as wetsuit (if allowed) so I could have the calf sleeves on underneath. If not, I was planning to wear a swim skin and not spend the time in transition to put them on. A generous temp measurement had us “just under the limit” and the water was quite warm.
Swim (6:12 - 2nd): They allowed us to do a wave start for those that wanted to start at the same time. Around 20 people were bobbing around in the water as they gave the ready-set-go! Despite my best effort to get onto the leader’s feet, I just don’t have the take-out speed to hang on (even though I was in a wetsuit and he wore a swim skin). I felt no one around me after that first turn and had clear water. Coming up to the beach, I was ~15 yards behind when the leader stood up. My swim was 28s faster than my previous best time, and I was over 1 minute faster than 3rd place.
T1 (1:15 – 3rd): I got my wetsuit down quickly as I ran to my bike. I opted to put my shoes on at my bike since the first bike out starts on 25 yards of gravel. With the amount of space we had at the bike racks, I was able to leave my shoes wide open to step into and felt very efficient. I got on the bike and was only 7s off the lead. At DeWitt, I’m normally 2nd out of the water and 1st onto the bike, so this was new to me.
Bike (33:28 – 1st):
Starting the bike, I already had my shoes set and took the lead that first ¼
mile. I put in a very hard effort to see if I could get a gap averaging 360W
for the first mile. Around mile 2 I settled around 310W and just focused on
pushing my numbers. Somewhere between miles 3-4, Tyson came around me to take
the lead. I sat around 5 bike lengths back and saw my power drop to around 250W
with the draft. My HR also dropped about 10bpm and I felt like I could sit
there all day. Knowing I’m the weaker runner and a similar cyclist, I
considering just staying put and conserving for the run. I just couldn’t play
that game and took the lead again for another mile or so. Looking back at my
power data, we played merry-go-round 4-5 times. Each time I passed, I did so
with the intent of dropping him but no luck. We came into transition together as
he passed me just before the dismount line. Since I started the bike a few
seconds behind, I set the new bike course record on my Ku TF1.
 |
| Fastest Bike Split and new Bike Course Record |
To put this in perspective, my previous best bike speed was 25.3mph on my P3. This year I was 26.9mph, 2 minutes faster over just 15 miles. Although there was some shared work between the leaders, I believe I had enough power in reserve to maintain that pace solo.
T2 (0:36 – 2nd): I came in at what I thought was a solid pace, but not nearly fast enough as Tyson blew by to the dismount line. Normally I’m alone in T2, so this was quite stressful. As I got my 2nd shoe on, I saw him running the to wrong exit and hesitated a bit. Not sure why, but I took a few extra seconds to get going. I was still right on his heels as we sprinted out.
Run (16:50 - 2nd): As we
took off, I was quickly dropped. Coming off an easier bike, I would have
thought I’d have more to give. Regardless, at the 1-mile mark I was already 20+
seconds back. To me the race was over after that first ½ mile, and the next cyclist
hadn’t even come into transition yet. I had no reason to
push anymore but still wanted to break 1-hour.
Overall (58:19 – 2nd): In
the words of Kristian Blummenfelt, it hurts more to lose. Yeah yeah, it’s just
a sprint so whatever. I still gave everything I had and was beat by a better
athlete. Going into the race, I knew my chances we slim but really focused on a
positive mindset. Whether you say you “can” or “cant”…you’re probably right. So,
all week I kept telling myself you can.
Let's find the positives. I’m incredibly proud of my swim dropping 28s from my previous best split at this race. In previous races against Tyson, I was a minute down starting the bike and this time I bridged up that first ¼ mile. I also got to mix it up with him the entire ride and dropped 2 minutes off my best bike split. I will say, it was much more fun and entertaining trading blows than riding solo for 15 miles. That’s how I want to remember this race, but I also want to remember that feeling of getting dropped like a bad habit. For me, it’s healthy to be humbled and is motivating to keep working.
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