Race Report: DeWitt Crossroads Triathlon

Going for the 3-peat! This sprint has gotten faster every year, and I was excited to see where it would stack up. The first time I raced in 2018, I didn’t know anyone in the area and was still new to triathlon. I surprised myself by winning with a time of 1:08:34, 2:56 ahead of 2nd. In 2019, I started to see some familiar faces. I had gotten significantly faster and really tuned in my transitions. I went 1:05:50, winning by 4:45. Even though I was much faster, the field stepped up as well. But this year was the fastest yet, and I knew my top competitors this time. In this race my 2018 time would’ve placed me 4th, and my 2019 time would’ve been 2nd. 

Pre-Race: I was undecided on wearing my new Zone 3 swim skin or my wetsuit. Since I was at the first bike rack, I only had 25 yards from swim out to remove whatever I chose to wear. I’m slow with wetsuit removal, but I knew I wanted the speed advantage to get out hard and not pull my competitors along. As luck would have it, my wonderful friend Clara offered me her core shorts. Yes, I wore a pair of borrowed women’s shorts for the race. I had never tried them before, but I was confident there wouldn’t be issues. 

Rocking the Women's Shorts

Swim (7:02 - 2nd): They allowed us to do a wave start for those that wanted to start at the same time. I loved this format as it allows you to truly see your competition. They were a little awkward with starting the race and I ended up in a poor position and had to navigate through the first row of swimmers. I swam much harder than in previous sprints, and it paid off being 2nd out of the water. 

T1 (1:10 - 2nd): Thanks to Clara’s core shorts, it took no time to get them off and my bike gear on. With my rack being the first one, I had the longest distance to run with my bike. And, with the start of the bike being gravel, I opted to put my shoes on at the rack. I didn’t want to end up with up rocks in my cycling shoes. The transition was thick grass, so I didn’t have much issue running in the cleats. I came out of transition in 1st and took off hard.

Bike (35:45 - 2nd): Starting the bike, I wanted no chance of someone grabbing my wheel. I started out at 300+ Watts for the first mile to ensure I had a solid gap. The hardest part for me was to not look back. Every time I wanted to check, I reminded myself that the race could come down to seconds. Plus, if someone did catch me, I was already giving everything I had. My legs screamed the entire time, but my cardio had some room to go. This gives me some hope that I might go faster on rested legs. I knew my buddy Mitch was hot in pursuit, so I stayed on the gas and kept my eyes up the road. I was dying to reach the turnaround to get a look at how much he had closed. Sure enough, he was cruising just over a minute back and dropping 3-5th place riding together. I worked solo the entire ride and came into T2 still in 1^st.

Getting the feet out for T2

T2 (0:36 - 5th): Not much to note here. My bike rack was in a great spot, but the dismount line wasn’t clearly marked. I found out after the race that the timing mat was the line, and I had dismounted about 20 meters early. It only cost me a few seconds, but I wish I had them back.

Run (17:26 - 2nd): As I started my run, Mitch was flying into transition. I knew he could still run me down, so I hit the first mile hard. With a 5:50 split uphill on the first mile, I knew I was close to my pace from 2019. After the turnaround, there was one last little climb before a downhill finish. About halfway up, Mitch and I exchanged a quick high five, and I was on the home stretch. At this point I was ready to coast it in, but really wanted to be under 1:03. I clocked a 5:38 and 5:25 on miles 2 and 3 to break the tape at 1:01:59. 

1st Overall with Sarah

Post-Race: I am stoked to have won my 3rd straight title and earn my first cash prize racing! I was hoping to take 1st in at least one discipline but wound up with a lot of 2nds. As I caught my breath, Mitch cruised his way to a 2^nd place finish. We always talk about going 1, 2, and this was the second time we were able to do so. A huge thank you to him for the long rides, long runs, and always pushing me to that next level.

1st and 2nd

At this point, I am getting ready to race Ohio 70.3 on July 25^th. After that race, it will be full steam ahead to Kona. Ironman Wisconsin will be thrown in middle so I can race with my dad in his first! But, my eyes are currently set on a solid performance at the Ironman World Championships this October.

DSM Race Report

What a crazy way to spend Father’s Day! I am so blessed to have my dad hooked on triathlon, and it honestly felt more like a day for me than for him =) Congrats on your first Ironman 70.3 dad!

Let’s unpack the trip. This may have been the most interesting race I have done. To start, this is the first time my dad was on the same side of the fence. I loved going through check-in together and seeing his excitement throughout the 70.3 experience. Even though I was disappointed that my AWA status didn’t get me a low bid number for a better bike rack, I loved the fact that we were right next to each other.

 

Race Prep: I had a long week of work and training leading up to this race. I was tired, sore, and spent under an hour packing instead of laying everything out with care. I don’t think I’ve ever gone into a race feeling so lethargic or without any expectation. I was much more excited for my dad and didn’t feel like racing myself. The only thing to note from check-in was that parking and transition were about a mile apart. This was a pain for both bike check and pre/post-race gear transport.

Race Morning: The night before, we received a notice stated the race was delayed due to severe thunderstorms. We decided to “sleep in” a bit later, but still prepped as normal. While we were getting ready, they announced that there was a further delay and we’d receive an update by 7:30AM. We decided to park at transition and sit in the car until we received further communication. At this point, I was convinced the race would be cancelled and was already checked out. To my surprise, the race was to start at 9:30AM with a regular swim, half bike (27.1 miles) and regular run.

Swim (31:40 – 94^th): It wasn’t until I finished setting up my gear and was walking to the swim start that I realized I had a race to complete. After getting some energy from my wife and friends, the nerves started to set in. I had no idea how the race was going to go, but once my feet hit the water the switch flipped. I had one of my fastest swims without a wetsuit, and I only lost a few seconds due to leaking goggles and extra sighting.

*Quick aside: I seeded myself in the 30-33min slot and still passed a ton of athletes. I was around the 150-200^th age grouper in the water and finished the swim 47^th amongst age groupers. Lesson learned, seed myself higher so I can get on some faster feet rather than being the faster feet =)

T1 (5:19): A very long transition (0.75 mi), and I didn’t have good run legs from the water. I also ran to the wrong side of my rack and my bike seat got stuck under the rack. Probably lost 15-20s with those mistakes. No flying mount since transition was mostly grass.

Bike (25.1mph – 61^st): The shortened bike played to my advantage here. With some residual soreness from Tulsa and no taper, riding half the distance saved my legs. I decided to push closer to my Olympic power numbers while saving enough to still run a hard half marathon. The sky opened and the sun came out early on the bike. The water was lifted off the roads and allowed me to hit the turns as fast as I wanted. I felt surprisingly good on the bike and held HR in the low 160’s. I was only passed once and average 25.1mph. The roads were in perfect condition, and this was the fastest bike course I have ever ridden.

 

T2 (2:34): I almost ate it after my flying dismount when my shoe caught the ground and barely recovered. A gasp and applause from the spectators had me laughing at myself. Again, I went to the wrong side of my bike rack… and crawled underneath to get to my shoes. Was a little too lackadaisical in my transition prep (yep, had to spell check that one).

 

Run (1:20:53 – 31^st): Starting the run, my legs did not want to go. I started out with a 6:25 mile, but that ended up being my slowest split of the day. Once I found my legs, I let HR guide me by staying under 170bpm until halfway. I was very methodical cruising through aid stations and got everything I needed. I wouldn’t say it was hot, but the sun was out and grabbing ice was key. I was hungry early on and was not shy about taking my 2 gels by mile 5. I was also sure to keep my thumb over the salt tube to avoid another…incident. Once I hit halfway, I felt “fairly” comfortable and found a groove. I elevated HR to 170+ and negative split the back half by 1 minute. I did struggle to grab nutrition on lap 2 with additional course congestion. Miles 7-10 were a blur, and I was finally able to snag a banana at 11 to get more calories. I skipped to water to avoid plowing into a stopped athlete and choked it down until 12. The pain really started to set in here, but I remembered taking 2 positions on the final stretch at Tulsa. I closed mile 13 in a 5:30 and was very happy with a standalone half marathon PR!

Post Race: I bounced back quickly after this race and had 2 beers within the hour. I got to see my dad as he was starting lap 2, and decided to run a 1.5 mile cooldown to see him on the other side of the course. I then ran to get my bike from transition and saw him 3 more times on the course after that. The highlight of the day was getting back into the finish area and giving my dad his medal. This was a moment we will never forget.

Closing Thoughts: At first, I was a little disappointed with a 4^th place age group finish. But after seeing that I landed 6^th overall (amateur), I am very pleased. The 30-39 groups usually stand out, but 25-29 went 1, 3, 4, 6. This drives me to work even harder as these guys will be aging up alongside me in 2023. As I continue my prep for Kona, I still have a few more races to knock out: A local Sprint (DeWitt), Ohio 70.3 and Ironman Wisconsin. I am hoping to have some fun at these racing while staying focused on Kona.

 

I am not signed up for any races post Kona, so I would love some thoughts/feedback on any races I should be doing. I’d like to support more of the local races/events and maybe do 1 destination race.

Kona Bound: IM Tulsa Race Report

Well, here it is. The race report of all race reports! Let's get right to it; I qualified for Kona!!! And, a huge shout out to my bestie and training partner Mitch for his KQ as well! We’ve been in this together for a while now, and I couldn’t be happier to accomplish this with him. Also, a massive thanks to Brent for getting me ready these last 6 months. Preparation was on point.

Incredible surprise from my neighbors and fellow Ironman athletes

Race Morning: 1 word - stressful. Waking up at 3:30 was the earliest start for any race I’ve done. There was a solid line of cars trying to get to the shuttles as we got close. I ended up getting out of the car and walking ½ mile. Shuttles were behind and as I got to T1, they were already calling the pros and 60 minute/faster swimmers to start lining up. I did my best to stay calm and not miss anything with my transition set-up. Once I had everything set, except for pumping my tires, they were calling swimmers 40 minutes slower than my projected swim time. They wouldn’t let us bring our own bike pumps to the swim start, and I knew my latex tubes were probably 20 psi lower than I’d want. I ended up asking an athlete if he knew where the pumps were and he just lent me his. Life saver! Mitch also bumped into me and we hoofed it over to the swim start. Once we got there, we had plenty of time to get our wetsuits on and take a breather before sneaking over to the faster swim lane.

WE are going to Kona!

The Swim (1:02:32 – 119th): My swim was great. It started with a fist bump from Mike Reilly before diving in. Water temp was 67 degrees and perfect for staying cool in the wetsuit. There was a fair amount of bumping in the first half, but things started to spread out after that. It started raining part way, but it barely affected the visibility. At the first orange buoy, I checked my watch and was on track to swim under 65. It had been so long since I swam a 2.4, and the swim felt like it took forever and half. I was very ready to be done and actually looked forward to getting on my bike in the rain. This was my fastest lake swim in a wetsuit, and I think there may have been a slight benefit from a current pulling from the Arkansas River.

T1 (3:39): It was still raining coming out of the swim, and the boat ramp was very steep. My bike was in one of the closer racks, so I had quite a way to run in my clips. They didn’t allow flying mounts, and with how rough the asphalt was, I opted to put my cycling shoes on at my bike. After 150 yards of clickity clack, I was on the bike. Moved up 3 positions in my AG.

Bike (5:11:58 – 75^th): With wet roads and rain, I took the first few miles nice and steady to settle in and get comfortable. The 2 worst sections of the bike were in the first 15 miles, so I focused on getting through them safely. 1 section was steep descents with sharp turns and potholes. The 2^nd was covered in mud from truckers leaving a quarry. Once I made it through that and found some better road, I was ready to dial in. There were only a few short sections on that course where I could more or less shut my mind off and ride. Most of it required a lot of focus and was more mentally taxing than anything. We did have a solid 30 minute break from the rain, and those miles clicked by. It was around mile 80 that I was feeling ready to get off that bike. I remember being pretty miserable and wondered why I do this to myself. Several times I throttled back on the watts and HR just to get some relief, but even so…I was very happy with my split holding 21.5mph.

T2 (2:09): With it raining again as I was coming into transition, I opted to take my flying dismount very slowly. Everything went smoothly and I took my time to make sure: my socks were comfortable, shoes were tight, and nutrition was accounted for. I stepped through my race belt (just like I see the pros do), grabbed my hat/Gu’s and was off.

Wife knew exactly what I needed and when

Run (3:02:53 – 34^th): I took off on that run feeling better than I ever have after the bike. I knew the first 2 miles were net downhill, but it still felt great averaging 6:40s below my target HR. Once the course flattened out, I settled in around 6:50 pace with HR right where I wanted it. I needed a GU very early on, and wasn’t going to be shy about taking them (lesson learned from Haines City). I was feeling great through about 9 miles, and then I remembered just how long a marathon actually takes. I started to bite off smaller pieces and focused on getting back to my family around mile 12. After I passed them and started my 2^nd lap, I was in 5^th place with a 7 minute gap to 4^th. Hoping he would fade, I just stuck to my HR numbers. I hit the first half in 1:30 (net downhill), and hoped I could hold on for a 3:05. This is where I found those dark places. Several times in that 2^nd half, I let off the gas. I kept my HR lower than my limit instead of pressing into it like I should have. My gut was also having issues, and I told myself I’d be fine just running 7:15s to close it out. “I’ll still be under 9:30 with a 3:10 run”. Despite those valleys, I stayed fairly consistent in that low 7:00 range but felt like I may have had more. Once I got to the last turnaround and was heading back, I focused on getting to coach Brent and my family. Brent was first with 5K to go, and he told me what I needed to hear. “Now is NOT the time to let up.” After passing him, he zoomed by me on a scooter and kept at me each time I passed him. That got me to 2 miles left. This is where I saw my dad, and he told me 1s out of 4^th. The last person I saw was my wife. “You know that moment you always talk about? Well THIS IS IT!” That was all I needed to hear in order to close it out. The uphill finish was rough, but none of that mattered. If it's hurting me, it's killing them. I closed in a 7:02 and 6:36 up the climbs. Once I rounded that last corner to the finish, I don’t remember a thing. I had tunnel vision and can't even recall the finish chute. I barely remember hearing Mike Reilly’s voice calling me across the line.

Post race: If I had to look back at my highlight of the entire race, it was grabbing hold of the fence after crossing the line to hold myself up. As I was dangling there catching my breath, I turned back at the finish arch and saw my name with my time. 9:23:10. This was when I had my first breakdown and cried. Once I picked myself up, I grabbed my finisher gear and made my way out. When I saw my dad, he told me I ran my way to 3^rd Age Group and 7^th Overall Amateur in those last 2 miles. This is the 2^nd time I broke down. Everything hit me, and I pretty much knew a Kona slot was earned.

Closing thoughts. I’ve already written more than most of you probably wanted to read, so I want to leave you with this. Know that no goal or dream is too big to achieve. This one required 3 years of consistent training and dedication to reach. Even now I am still processing the race and the accomplishment...so if you have any questions/want more detail PLEASE give me a shout. I’m sure I’ll be talking about this one for a long time.

Thank you to everyone for your love and support that helped me get to this point. I couldn’t have done it without you <3

Thank You!

    IM Tulsa is less than 3 weeks away! I started training for a Kona slot 3 years ago, and I am starting to feel the pressure as race day approaches. But, that’s not what this post is about. This is about everybody in my corner, everyone that has been backing me up. These last few weeks have overwhelmed me with gratitude from my friends and supporters.

My phone blew up while I was racing at Haines City a few weeks back. It took me nearly an hour to get back to everyone that was following along. There were also so many friends that actually read my race report, down to the detail of me throwing salt in my eye. I appreciate all of you, and I will think of everyone following along as I cross each timing mat.

          I also want to truly thank some close friends of mine. You brought me to tears earlier this week with your thoughtfulness, and that’s what led me to write this novel. This Tri-Trunk is one of the kindest gestures I have ever received. Not only will it make life easier packing/transporting my gear to races, it also takes a lot of stress out of the whole process. You already got me started with some stickers, and I plan on adding more and more until the trunk is covered. Each sticker will represent an event, team, sponsor, person, or memory. All these stickers will be memories that I take with me to every race, and they will serve as a reminder that I’m not doing this alone.

          I also borrowed a bike carrying case for my trip to Haines City. When I went to return it after the race, I was told to keep it as a gift for my hard work and effort. Triathlon is not cheap, and a bike case was something that has prevented me from traveling outside the Midwest. Plus, I am going to need for Kona someday! This couple also lent me a Kona finisher medal to hold onto until I have my own. I see it every single day, and it gives me constant motivation to put in the necessary work to earn one.

          Two of my amazing local sponsors are Quad Cities Marathon and J-Works Premier Pressure Washing Services.

I have been fortunate to develop a strong relationship with the local running community and have paced the marathon 3 times so far. The QC marathon has supported me with a new a pair of training shoes each year and they even let me snag a few boxes of nutrition. I love this community, and I’m so happy to have their support.

J Works is owned by a close friend and training partner who raced as a pro for several years. He loves giving back to the community and is so gracious to support me in working toward my goals of qualifying for Kona and eventually racing professionally.

Finally, my triathlon racing team: WATTIE INK. I was honored to join the Elite Team in 2020 when racing was almost non-existent. Despite the Vid, there has been overwhelming support from them virtually through our team page. I also had the chance to meet a few amazing teammates in person. One in particular… (who creeped on me via Strava) became my best friend and training partner. And he just so happened to move within 25 minutes of me within a year of that. Always pushing me to be better and making countless century rides fly by, I couldn’t have asked for a better buddy.

Alright, I think I’ve said enough. If you’ve made it this far, I am truly grateful for you hanging on and celebrating everyone in my corner with me. Someone once said it takes an army, and that’s no joke. ^This is proof enough =)

 

Haines City 70.3 Race Report

 So... I haven’t posted anything yet this year, and I had plenty of time to kill at the airport. So while the race is still fresh in my mind, let’s get a recap:

Haines City was a free race for me thanks to Wattie Ink, and I had by buddy Mitch to travel down here with. It also lined up well in my schedule to get a warmer race in before Ironman Tulsa. Coming from the Midwest, I hadn’t had the opportunity to train in weather warmer than 60 degrees, so the 80’s and humidity shocked the body a bit. I didn’t quite have the race I wanted, but I left it all out there and came away with a solid result and new knowledge.

Pre-Race with my bestie

Pre-Race: We flew down the Friday before the race, and this was the first time I’ve packed my bike. Everything went smooth on that end, and my gear was all ready to go. 
When referencing my place, I’m excluding the pros. 

1000 yard swim at Lucky's before the race

Swim (32:22 – 49th): The swim was not wetsuit legal, so I swam in my QR swim skin. A very interesting swim being an “M” shape, but I thought I handled it well. I started farther back than I would have liked, but athletes were jumping the line to start sooner. I made a fair number of passes and maintained a comfortably hard effort. I was very happy with how I swam even though the results show me 10th in my age group out of the water. 

 

T1 (4:09): I was a little more winded than normal coming up out of the water, and transition was around 1/2 mile. The bike started uphill after the mount line, and my rack was closer to the end of transition. I opted to skip the flying mount and put my shoes on at my bike. After ripping off one of the back straps to pull up my right shoe, I was on my way.

Looking back at the tracker, I jumped up 17 places to 32nd with this transition. 

 

Bike (2:22:07 - 26th): I spent the first 15-20 miles passing quite a few people during the windier section of the bike. From the tracker, I moved up 14 places to 18th during the first 16 miles. On the bike it was hot with the sun out, and we fought a headwind for the first half of the ride. I paid close attention to drinking enough fluid with my 35oz aero bottle and stayed well hydrated. My power was about 10-15 watts lower than my target, so I switched over to perceived effort and HR to gauge how hard to push. I’d say I road smart but ran my HR a little high. I also sprinted by a draft line so they couldn’t grab my wheel, and I may have overcooked it a bit there. Off bike I was sitting in 20th, and my split was 8th for my age group. 

 

T2 (3:07): Another long transition, and a very annoying one with how far I needed to push my bike with flopping shoes. I ended up stopping to pull them off to not risk losing one. Socks and shoes came on quick, and I was off. 

 

Last 1/2 mile I gave it everything

Run (1:25:48 - 23rd): Normally the run is my time to shine, but I was not able to hit the pace I was expecting. I had to slow down considerably to keep my HR in check, and even then, I maintained over 170bpm after mile 1. Without any feedback on race position, I focused on maintaining my effort and stayed on damage control. I hit the aid stations efficiently grabbing around 4 cups per (Water, ice in kit, Gatorade and more ice or dumping water).

My 1 major mishap was shaking my salt without my thumb over the top. So at mile 3, I threw all of my salt into my eye... yeah...

I also heavily bonked miles 8-9, slowing my pace by 40s/mile. After getting a Gu in me (that I should have taken at mile 6), I was back on pace.

With 2 miles to go, I bumped my HR into the 180s and hit a high of 191 at the finish. My run was the 4th fastest for my age group.

 

Wattie Ink Elite Team with some hardware!

Summary: This was my first Ironman event in over a year and a half! The last few races I did were smaller with much less competition, so I was excited to see how I’d stack up. With the venue in Florida, my body was not used to the heat and humidity after training in the Midwest all Winter. I made it a point to spend as much time outside as I could, even eating dinner in the back of our Airbnb.

My swim was very strong, and probably the leg I am the happiest with. Even after decreasing my weekly swim yards from 10,000 to 5-6K, I still held a solid pace of 1:31/100 yards.

I think I handled the bike well despite not being able to hold my goal watts. I switched to racing by feel/HR, but still feel like I overexerted just a little bit by the end.

When I got to the run, I thought I was ready to run down most of the field. After seeing my HR hit 170 on mile 1 at 6:40 pace, I knew I was in trouble. I mostly focused on maintaining the effort and staying on damage control. I had 1 nutritional hiccup, and probably added a minute to my time had I taken my Gu when I needed to.

I finished the last mile strong but was carrying a lot of grit on my face. Overall, I am happy with my 3^rd place Age Group and 8^th Overall Amateur finish. But, I can tell you I am not fully satisfied. The 2 athletes that beat me in my AG also went 1 & 2 overall, and they beat me by 10 minutes. This is tough for me to swallow since I was such a distant 3^rd in a race I thought I could win.

Swimming and 10k PR

A 10k PR and lots of swimming! It’s been a long time since my last post, so I thought a Thanksgiving recap was in order. Since October, I increased my swimming to 20k/week and backed down on cycling/running. So for October and November, I hit 170,000 yards (just shy of 100 miles!)

Before 20k/week when my beard was shorter

To wrap up the month, I decided to put all of my swim fitness to the test. On the last day, I swam a 2.4 mile (4250 yard) TT to cap off that training block. To my surprise, I felt great and finished in 1:00:44 (1:26/100). I rarely swim that long without giving my eyes a break from the goggles, so I did flip on my back to readjust them around halfway. It only cost me a few seconds, but I don’t normally have issues with my open water goggles. All in all, I was pleased with the results (now to fix that efficiency!)

10k

The highlight of my Thanksgiving was definitely this 10k. I originally signed up for a local 5 mile Turkey Trot to remember what it’s like to run fast. After it went virtual, I decided to shoot for a 10k PR since I’ve only raced 1 during an Olympic Tri. My dad was also in town for the race and wanted to set a new 5k PR for himself as well. 

I jogged down to my favorite flat back road to warm up, and my wife and brother met me with the car. After ditching the sweats, I took off with my personal escort. I was hoping to hold 5:40’s, so that was my target off the bat. I didn’t really set a HR cap for myself since I naturally slow down when I’m pushing more than I can sustain. Not gonna lie, I felt pretty smooth out there and hit the first 5k in about 17:14 (18s off my PR). At that point my HR was at 180bpm, but I didn’t feel like I was “struggling” until about 4 miles. I hammered down until the end and posted a 34:42 (5:35/mi). I was very pleased with my splits since the back half was into the wind. Mile splits were: 5:34, 5:37, 5:30, 5:37, 5:38, 5:36. Being my first standalone 10k, I think I prefer this distance over a 5k. 

Pre-5k smiles

After catching my breath, it was my dad’s turn to race his 5k. I wasn’t sure what his exact goal was, but I believed he could hold 8:20 pace. We set out, and I could tell he was pushing it early on. He ended up having a fantastic race and finished in 25:41 (8:16/mi). This was a 1:43 (over 30s/mi) PR from his time 1 year ago! 

As for me what's next, there is less than 6 months until Ironman Tulsa. All of my focus will be on building to peak performance for race day. 

All the best and stay safe! 

USAT Rankings

    It’s been a while since my last post, and I just came across something I found worth sharing. This year has been crazy, and the triathlon world has certainly been impacted. With that being said, many races are now starting back up, so I know this won’t last long. But! As of today, I am ranked #1 in the US in the 25-29 age group! I will forever save this screenshot showing that part way through the season, I was on top.

    Little disclaimer here, USAT dropped the requirements to only include 2 races this year instead of 3. So right now, 2 of my 3 are being counted. I am hoping that my 3^rd race will actually boost my score even more when they add it. But once more races are added for other athletes, the rankings will shift. Regardless, it’s been fun stalking the results to see where I stack up. Moving forward, I still have a lot to accomplish, and I refuse to let cockiness get the better of me in my preparations.

    So what’s next? I’m so glad you asked! Right now, I am focused on maintaining my fitness and keeping my body ready for a high volume block of training after Thanksgiving. Until then, I will: keep all of my runs in Zone 2 (25 mi/week max), limit myself to 1 killer bike workout/week, have a heavy focus on strength training, and swim a ton of yards. For me, a “ton of yards” is hitting 15,000 a week instead of 10,000… Would love to hear how many yards you all swim each week anddd any advice on breaking that 1 hr barrier =) Also, my watch switches from yards to miles after 5,000.

Wasn't sure how many yards I was ending with

    Another piece of exciting news (more exciting than my well timed USAT ranking) is that my dad ran his first marathon! He has put in so much work to get to this point, and I could not be prouder. (I had to Google proud vs. more proud if you were wondering that too). From his first 5k to a freaking marathon, my dad has come an incredibly long way. After tackling these numerous sub goals, he is now ready to take on an Ironman. For me, I am even more driven to take a Kona slot at Ironman Tulsa. If I can get it done this Spring, I can give dad my full support at Madison instead of trying to qualify again. Regardless, 2021 will be an exciting year for my family!

Dad's first marathon complete!

            That’s all for now. Never hesitate to hit me up with questions or if you just want to chat.

Matt