Ironman St. George World Champs Race Report

So much to unpack so strap in! Although this wasn't the Kona I was looking for, it brought me one step closer to the real deal. 

Pre-Race: The thing that worried me the most going into this race was recovering from a calf strain 12 days out. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish, let alone compete at the level I wanted. Without much improvement, I cut running for 10 days and biking for 7 prior to the race. I added a few extra swims to offset but felt this was the worst taper I’ve ever done. I intended to bike a few key parts of the course and run at elevation to solidify my final preparation. This was my hardest course to date with 7,300 ft of climbing on the bike and 1,500 ft of elevation gain on the run. The weather also played a factor where the 2^nd half of the bike had 20-30mph winds, and temps hit 90 on the run with more wind. Overall, I was intimidated by the course and had a poor mindset from the super taper.

When I went to athlete check-in, I got pulled for a random drug test. I was very happy to see Ironman taking this seriously, but I also hate needles and it took about an hour to get through the entire process. Every supplement I take needed to be listed with duration and frequency, so it was very extensive.

 

Swim (1:01:23 – 20^th AG / 200 OA): A 1 minute PR lake swim for me! 1 thing I did differently was cover my watch under my wetsuit so I could peel it off quicker. Plus it prevented me from checking the time and my 500 splits. The water was a chilly 60 degrees and calm race morning. Other than the initial minute after running in, I loved the colder swim. I went out hard for the first 100-150 yards hoping to find the feet of someone swimming under an hour. Unfortunately, we caught the swim wave in front of us early on, and I started to lose the green caps in a sea of purple. I kept pushing along until I got to the first turn buoy about ¼ way through the swim. The water opened up after working through that first wave, and I felt the tickles of someone swimming on my feet. They never disrupted my stroke and backed off any time I needed to swim through more swimmers. Around the halfway point he pulled around me and I quickly took advantage. I swam at a very comfortable effort on his feet and let him take care of plowing the path. Any time I was outside the wake, I had to increase my effort to stay on him. Based on that, I knew I wouldn’t drop much (if any) time by going around. Other than down river in Louisville, this was my easiest Ironman swim. I had no issues and got through it at a moderate effort.

 

T1: (4:53): This transition was not good. I struggled to undo my velcro and couldn’t get the wetsuit pulled down before the strippers. Instead, I continued running to the change tent while I worked on it. The tent was packed since I was in the last male swim wave, and I had to walk behind a bunch of athletes taking their sweet time. Luckily, I decided to do a flying mount, so I only had my helmet hanging in the bag. I threw my swim gear in, popped the helmet on and ran out with the bag. I located my bike quickly and had a very fast run to the mount line. Nothing fancy swinging my leg over and stepping on the shoes to get going. I made sure the rubber bands all snapped and slipped on my shoes without issue.

 

Bike (5:23:46 – 16^th AG / 184^th OA): Normally I’m not the biggest fan of mantras, but I chose one for this race. Respect the course. The bike started out in the low 70s, so comfortable and not too warm before the sun got up. Early on the course was Packed. Riders were all over and it was very difficult to navigate around them all. The most dangerous parts were the early descents trying to work through traffic at 40mph. I settled in quickly though and accepted that I was not going to hit my power targets. I knew what was coming, so I decided to hold steady and keep my HR where I wanted it. As I continued to settle in and tackle the early hills and wind, my power slowly started to go up, so that was encouraging. Nutrition was flawless, and I ended up grabbing a lot more water from aid stations than I originally planned on. I was drinking at such a rate that I only skipped 3 aid stations the entire ride. Once I got through 60 miles of mostly headwind, I was through “part 1” in my mind. This was where I would climb about 2,000 feet in the next 25 miles. Everything was going smooth, and I even had a few words with some athletes I was playing merry-go-round with. 60-85 is what I considered “part 2” and it got me to the highest elevation of the day around 5,000 ft. The climbs getting there were tough, but manageable with a tailwind to help. At the top I noticed myself feeling a little nauseous and dizzy. It clicked that I hadn’t done any training at altitude, so I just stayed focused on waiting for the descent to begin. I checked my average speed at 20.1mph, so I was happy to see I’d be close to biking a 5:30 by the end. Going down the canyon was nerve-wracking with the 20-30mph crosswinds increasing throughout the day. I knew fast and confident descending would pay off, so I pedaled until my legs spun out and tucked it best I could. Once I got to the bottom, I had one last 1,500 ft climb back up Snow Canyon, then it was all downhill to the finish “part 3”. Even though I drove it, I underestimated how difficult this climb would be. With the wind at my back, it got incredibly hot and it was the first time I noticed my sweat dripping. My HR was in the 160s and I had to maintain the effort to stay upright. Once I hit the top, it was time to bomb down one last time. This time the crosswinds were even worse, and I just needed to get to transition safely. This being lap 2, there were more athletes to weave in and out of. The final 5 miles, I averaged 34mph =O

Overall, I was happy with my time, but the average watts were about 20 lower than I had planned. Normalized was about 10 lower.

T2: (2:59): This transition was smooth other than a struggle to get my socks on. Having bike catchers sped it up and it was just an ok transition for me. I grabbed my hat/nutrition/bib and got everything in place on the go. My run legs have felt better out T2, but overall I was pretty happy with how I handled my effort on the bike. 1 thing I did different for this race was stash a water in my T2 bag to stuff in my kit during the run. This bottle came in handy between aid stations as they got more crowded on lap 2.

 

Run (3:22:05 – 5^th AG / 84^th OA): I lowered my expectations for this run before the race started, so I was hoping to run a 3:15-3:20 given the elevation and conditions. I started off hugging the top end of my HR zone for the first 6 miles and used that as my guide regardless of pace. I believe this was a good decision because pace was relative when ascending or descending the 2 main hills. In the back of my mind, I wanted to be under 10 hours. It helped me press more as I hit key points in the run and kept my mind busy with time calculations. I stuck to the plan and focused on seeing my wife, dad, and other supporters to push me along. The heat was tough, but I believe the wind hurt my pace just as much. My legs were the limiter though, and I never really challenged the HR zones as they were meant to increase throughout the run. Around mile 3 Ty decided it was time to tell me I was in 17^th place with 3 guys in striking distance. Just stick to the plan and I’ll work my way through them. The next update I got was I was in 14^th place with a long (but manageable 8 minute gap to 10^th, according to Ty). After I got through lap 1, I knew what to expect for lap 2. My final update from Ty told me I was in 11^th, but 4 minutes back from 10^th with 5 miles to go. Ty’s instructions, “make these the best 5 miles you have ever run”. Even though my pace was fading, I shuffled up that final climb. Checking splits at the top, I knew I could run 8-minute pace and still break 10 with over 250 ft of net downhill. I ran hard when I felt “good” and managed when it was time to fight. Most of the last 5K was a blur, but I remember cruising by the struggling runners as I made that final turn around the M-Dot monument towards the finish.

 

Total (9:55:04 – 10^th AG / 66 OA Amateur): Overall I thought I managed my day incredibly well. I would also say that is the deepest I ever had to dig, but it was pretty much on the run alone. I may have had a little more to push on the bike, but I expected some carnage on the run to make it back up. It ended up working out because I Pac-Man’ed my way from 17th to 10^th AG.

I wanted to land myself a top 10 AG finish and be under 10 hours, both accomplished in the final miles of the run (once again). For now, I believe that is just how I need to race until I can further my swim and bike. On this course, and with the competition present I am stoked with my performance. But as I do, I am already analyzing and trying to figure out where I need to train more and be better. This was a world class field of athletes, and I want to elevate my performance to become a true competitor. My next Ironman will be in KONA!

I also got to chat with someone from Triathlete Magazine about how this race compared with Kona. Check out the article here: https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/how-did-the-world-championship-in-st-george-stack-up-to-kona/

This was a novel, so thanks for sticking it out until the end! Despite how much I wrote, there is so much more I neglected to include. Hit me up if you want to hear more, and I’ll have another race report coming after Chatt 70.3 in 2 weeks.

 

Matt

Indoor Ironman Distance Triathlon

On my journey to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, I created this blog and titled it “Road to Kona.” Before qualifying, I wanted to document my training to engage and inspire others to chase their own goals. Now that Kona is 8 months away, I am continuing my training for the race itself. Even though my initial goal was reached, I want to continue pushing myself to new heights as I set even bigger goals (more to come). At this point, I feel like I have barely tapped into what’s possible.  I am hungry to see just how far I can push myself these next 8 months. As I do, I hope to see others chase their dreams with the same ferocity. 

So what started as a joke about making “Road to Kona” T-shirts, turned into a challenge at our YMCA (which does include t-shirts and tanks!) The challenge is to complete all 3 Ironman triathlon disciplines before I race the 2021 World Championship race in May, and the 2022 World Championship in October. You can find all of the details here: https://www.tworiversymca.org/blog/road-to-kona 

***To kick off the challenge, I will be completing an indoor iron distance triathlon at Two Rivers YMCA on February 19th. This also started as a joke that I should do the challenge in a day… Now that the preparations have been made, I am excited to spend my day inside the Y doing what I love. 

 

Starting around 6:15AM on February 19th: I will swim 4250 yards in the pool, bike 112 miles on Zwift using my own bike/trainer in the cardio room and run 26.2 miles on a treadmill with Zwift tracking in the background. Friends and training partners that will be joining me for parts of the event in support, and I hope to have lots of visitors throughout the day!

Going “back” to Kona!

Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve cranked one of these out. A lot has changed since my Ironman Wisconsin race report, so here is a quick update on everything.

Leading The Ugly Christmas Sweater Run

After placing 2^nd AG at IMWI, I did not receive a Kona slot. I had already deferred Kona 2021 to race Ironman St. George next year on May 7^th. Without a slot for fall 2022, I decided to sign up for Ironman Maryland to re-qualify for Kona 2023 instead. Last month, I received an email from Ironman stating that they reallocated Kona slots back to Madison. Despite already having Maryland on the calendar, I took my spot. So now, I am racing both the 2021 and 2022 Ironman World Championships next year. If that’s not confusing enough, I am trying to move Ironman Maryland over to Ironman Florida (3 weeks post-Kona instead of 3 weeks pre-Kona). Florida will be my attempt at a 3^rd qualification, for Kona in 2023.

At this point, I am back to building up my base as I prepare for the 2 biggest races of my amateur career. I haven’t set any real expectations other than to finish well and take it all in. Once St. George is over, I may re-evaluate some goals for Kona.

 

More exciting than all of that was coaching 3 FIRST TIME Ironman finishers and a Boston Qualifier this fall.

Jeff finished Ironman Wisconsin in a blazing fast 10:24 as his 3^rd ever triathlon. His first 2 were sprints and this was his first marathon as well!

Ken and Gail both finished Ironman Florida as their FIRST EVER triathlon. They fought through incredibly tough swim conditions and finished with plenty of time to spare.

Brooke raced 2 marathons this year to qualify for Boston. In the Spring, she PRed by 23 minutes and only missed the BQ standard by 5 minutes. After a huge summer of training, she nailed her qualification and PRed by another 9 minutes! (5 under her qualifying standard)!

Next year I have 2 more athletes looking to complete their first Ironman at Maryland as well. I couldn’t be more proud to coach athletes with such big goals. With that, here is a shameless plug to my coaching website.

https://mjacksonmultisport.wordpress.com/ 

Ugly Christmas Sweater Run: 1st Place

As an aside, here is my current 2022 race schedule:

May 7th – Ironman World Championship - St. George
May 22nd – Ironman Chattanooga 70.3
June 26th – Ironman Steelhead 70.3
July 23rd – Iowa DeWitt Sprint Triathlon
July 30th – Route 66 70.3
October 8th – Ironman World Championship - Kona

November 3rd – Ironman Florida

That’s all for now!

Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

Last race of the year for me! Other than pacing the QC marathon and jumping into a local 5K, I am done for the season. With Kona moved to February, I can take my time off a little sooner than planned. This should give me enough time to get my mileage back up for February 5^th. Huge thank you to Scott for these amazing pictures to help illustrate my day.

Taking dad to start his first Ironman / Hardest part saying goodbye to my wife

Pre-Race: Everything felt good going in, and the body was recovered and ready to go. I woke up earlier than normal, but it was worth it for close parking and extra time. Everything was smooth and I got down to the swim start with plenty of time to properly seed myself. The weather was Perfect for a fast day with light wind, cloud cover all day and a high of 73.

Swim (1:02:27 – 13^th AG / 63 OA): A PR lake swim for me! There was a little chop on the water, but nothing like the swells in 2019. I was around 50-60^th into the water and went out hard. After the first turn, I settled in best I could, and pushed hard with the wind assist. I never felt completely in control and only had a few spurts where I was locked in. Into the wind, I did my best to stay in someone’s draft on the back stretch. Lap 2 was a cluster when lapping the swimmers that started later. Not being that fast, I spent more time zigzagging since I wasn’t overtaking quick enough. I never found a rhythm on that 2^nd lap and was very much ready to be done. This was a 5s PR over Tulsa, so I’m happy with the result given the 2 loops and “chop”.

T1/T2: (4:01 / 3:55): Glancing through everyone’s T1, mine looked to be in the top 5 or 10. I was fortunate to receive a lower bib for AWA (164) and had one of the better bike racks this time around. This helped me in both T1 and T2 since we racked our own bikes.

Bike (5:19:04 – 4^th AG / 17^th OA): There seems to be a theme of losing my Tailwind bottle. Going through the bike tunnel at mile 1, I hit a massive bump and down it went. 300 calories and most of my electrolytes were lost, so I grabbed 2 extra bottles of Gatorade Endurance to replace the calories. I wasn’t quite hitting the watt numbers I wanted, but the pace seemed good. Almost all of loop 1 was solo until the 70.3 merged towards the end. Loop 2 was filled with more 70.3 and full athletes. This made the descents and turns much more difficult to navigate. I caught a second wind around mile 80 and was pushing good numbers until about mile 95 where I dropped off again. I think I was lacking a little hydration and struggled into the wind heading to T2. The course ended up being 1.5 miles long, so I think I would have been closer to a 5:15 split. Proud of my bike, but wish I had a little more to give with a 21.3mph average.

A miserable run, but still got my feet off the ground

Run (3:15:08 – 2^nd AG / 12^th OA): The worst part of my day and I definitely didn’t feel like Pac Man. Abdominal pain from the very start, and I was passed twice right in the first 4 miles. I suffered more than I’m used to and could only hold 7:20-7:30 min/mi. My stomach started to loosen up and I was able to hit some miles closer to 7:00 as targeted. The whole run was grueling, and I only had a few short moments feeling good. I was getting splits to 2^nd place AG (who passed me early on) and made that my goal. I ended catching back and ran with the guy in 2^nd. It was cool to see mutual respect and support out there even though we both wanted 2^nd. After pulling away, I kept an eye on our gap at each turnaround. As I was also getting the time gap from my support, it turned out we started the swim within seconds of each other. This meant I didn’t need to worry about the rolling start. I slowed up a few times after mile 15, but he wasn’t taking time back. I held on until the last 2 miles and kicked it in a hard as I knew how.

I’m not too thrilled with this run (only seconds faster than 2019) and having run a 3:02 at Ironman Tulsa.

Congrats on a strong fight and keeping me honest

Overall, I’d day I had a good day, but it certainly was not my best. I don’t think I had any more time to grab in my swim or either transition. I am not sure I had much more to push on the bike given my HR was 5bpm higher than Tulsa. Watts were identical between the 2. As stated above, I was not happy with my run. I felt like I should have been about 10 minutes faster with how perfect the weather was. I only Pac-Man’ed my way from 11 to 7^th Overall and 3^rd to 2^nd AG.

 

I wanted to land myself a top 5 overall finish and age group win by the end of the 2021 season but came up short. I don’t think there will be any more race reports coming out this year unless you want to hear about my marathon pacing next week. For now, I’ve got my eyes set on some serious recovery and plenty of beer.

I’ll plan on releasing my 2022 race schedule and plans once a few more things are ironed out. As always, thanks for the support and listening to my ramblings!

 

Matt

Ohio 70.3 Race Report

A 70.3 PR and highest Age Group placement yet! After the race, I took a week off from training to vacation with my wife. I am a little behind on getting this one out, so hopefully it’s still good!

Pre-Race: I had a big training weekend after DeWitt, and my body was beat up. I took an unplanned rest day Wednesday before Ohio, so my legs felt the most rested since the full taper going into Tulsa.

I felt very good going into this race and was expecting a favorable result. With predicted thunderstorms on Sunday, this felt very similar to Des Moines. I was happy to have had that experience and prepped as if the race wouldn't be altered.

Swim (30:16 - 45th OA): My fastest swim to date, finally putting my new Zone3 swim skin to the test. Having just knocked out a 5K swim on Friday at the Delaware YMCA (nicest facility I’ve ever been in), I was feeling good about my swim. I seeded myself at the back of the 27-30 minute group, and this ended up being perfect. I only passed around 10 people, and was enjoying catching/drafting/overtaking throughout most of the swim. I swam even harder than at Des Moines, and really feathered the “this is too hard” mentality.” As I am finding out, I can cross that line and still have enough in the tank for the remainder of the race. All in all, my best 70.3 swim, but it still cost me the AG win. More to come :)

T1 (2:15): My transition was great until I got too excited and ran past my bike… I think I went wrong by not having a clear way to identify my spot (rookie move). This was also my first race back where the bikes were on top of each other again. Not rubber banding my shoes had been working as of late, so I opted to put on my clips at my bike.

Bike (2:13:17 - 24th): This was probably the highlight for me. The bike course was one of the fastest I’ve ever ridden with two 10 mile straights to start the ride. The first straight was one of the smoothest roads I’ve ever ridden and was averaging a little over 26mph. Now, I apologize for dellwing on this 1 mishap, but it’s been bothering me. I am meticulous with my setup and always check for brake rub/gearing/etc. After settling in that first mile, I noticed my bottle cage was completely loose. It was tight before leaving transition, and within a mile was all sloppy. I have never had my downtube cage loosen, ever. To remedy it, I held the bottle in my mouth while leaning over to tighten the screws. I was losing time and didn’t want to risk crashing, so I gave up on it and at mile 20 my cage gave up too. I lost 200 calories of tailwind as the bolt fell out, bottle slid into my cranks and rear tire launched it into the ditch. The empty cage then dangled into my cranks as I pedaled, so I had no choice but to break my cage and hang it on my aero bars until the next aid station 15 miles away. Not ideal, and I seriously question if someone messed with my setup… Without a bottle cage I had to improvise with adding Gatorade to my aero bottle and grab additional aid as needed. Nonetheless, I averaged just over 25mph for my fastest bike split yet.

 

T2 (2:08): I thought I was pretty quick running with my bike, but I discovered I need to be faster. My Dynamo teammate Thomas came off the bike seconds behind me and BLEW by me going into transition. He put 20s into me just like that! It didn’t help that I once again ran past my rack… Need to add some color to my transition bag.


Run (1:23:22 - 4th): I had been waiting for the run all day, and was ready to hammer down. Starting off, I checked my overall time and saw I could break 4:10 with a 1:22. Out of T2 I was told 3rd AG and 5:30 back from 2nd. Not getting too excited, I stuck to my HR for the first 3 miles focusing on settling in. I really had to hold back as it was taking forever to overtake each runner in front of me. By the time I started loop 2, I was in 2nd. I held a steady push until mile 11 and then made my final move. I gave everything I had those last 2 miles and soaked in the crowds. I received a ton of encouragement from the athletes just starting their run as I suffered that last mile.

Always playing catch up

Post Race: In the end I landed 6th overall and 2nd age group with a PR of 4:11:25. My goals were to be top 5 overall and take the age group win, but I am still very happy with the result. Now, when I said the swim cost me the race, here is why. The athlete that won my age group and took 5th overall swam 5 minutes faster than me, and I was only able to close about 1 minute of that. This is not to say that I need to swim a 25, but I know what I need to work on so I don’t lose the race on the swim.




Bringing my guy home

Adding a shameless plug down here at the bottom. As the expenses for my trip to Kona are coming, we will be hosting a little Fun Run to raise money in East Moline.

Time: 7:00AM on August 15th.

Location: QC Running Club at 733 15th Ave, East Moline, IL 61244.

Donation Page: GoFundMe

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.