I did my first Loggerhead tri in 2012, which was only my 2nd year in the sport.  Having only moved to Florida in late 2011, I had no idea how big of a deal the locals make this race out to be.  I finished 9th overall in 2012 which I wasn’t exactly the performance I was looking for at the time.  I returned the following year in 2013 and took home my first loggerhead crown.  As you all probably know, I sat on the sidelines in 2014 and 2015 unable to defend my title.  I watched in 2014 with a shattered elbow.  In 2015, I hobbled around spectating the race as I had just gotten off crutches a week earlier.  Watching those races from the sideline was extremely difficult.  This year, I wanted to defend my 2013 title…. even if it was 3 years later.

Leading up to the race, I was pretty exhausted all week.  I took a half day at work on Friday so I wouldn’t be rushed with race prep and packet pickup Friday night.  I got in a quick swim Friday afternoon and was about to get in a short run when I could feel my body tell me something….. it needed sleep.  I closed my eyes for about 45 minutes.  I don’t think I actually slept but I did feel it helped.  I did packet pickup right when it opened to avoid the rush.  Came home, got my race gear prepped, shaved, and hit the sheets early at 9 PM.

I woke up in the morning and did my usual pre-race nutrition.  I checked my bike before riding over to the race and noticed my rear brake was rubbing.  I play with my bike enough that I pretty much know it inside and out.  After a quick adjustment at 5 AM in my garage, the rubbing was fixed.  I rode over to the race and got in some short pickups to get the HR up and legs moving.  A quick jog afterward and then it was time to head to swim start.  I always try to get in a swim warmup as I always swim better when I have a decent swim warmup.  I swam the entire course in reverse and then did a couple practice run’s into the water from the beach.  I had noticed my timing chip was a bit loose and only about an inch was actually velcro’d with the remaining part of the strap just flapping around.  I usually pin my chip with a safety pin and I actually had brought a couple with me but I forgot to pin it after picking up my chip earlier.

The horn sounded and I got a good jump and made it to the first buoy with no contact from anyone (which is rare).  About half way through the swim, I couldn’t feel my timing chip.  I took a quick peek down and saw it was gone.  There was nothing I could do at that point but I couldn’t help thinking that this could turn interesting timing wise later on.  I thought of the whole Julie Miller situation and how she “lost” her chip in multiple races.  Obviously my situation was much different but I couldn’t help thinking about it.  I exited the swim and saw the race ref’s both standing there.  I told them both and a bunch of volunteers who were standing there that I had lost my chip during the swim.  They all kind of stared at me as I ran by them telling them this.  I ran into transition, told all the volunteers I lost my chip and I was number #45.  I figured if I told as many people as I could, it would get to the right people.

I hopped on the bike and went to work.  My race strategy is no secret:  Get a lead on the swim, push hard on the bike, and make everyone try to run me down.  The plan was to hold right at FTP (~300 watts) which I knew would be put me right where I wanted to be.  I ended up avg 276 watts (286 NP) which was 10 watts less than 2013 but only 19 seconds slower.  This year I was on a faster bike frame, faster tires, faster aero helmet, better fit, faster drivetrain, and a faster kit.  So I gave up 10 watts but only lost 19 seconds on a 13 mile course….. that tells me I’m making the right equipment choices.  There was a big group of guys about 4-5 minutes behind me who were all bunched up together.  I can’t say for sure but I would venture to guess there was some questionable riding going on there from what I saw.

I came into T2 where I heard Mandy yell they had a new chip for me.  My next door neighbor (she works for the organization that puts on the event) handed me a new chip and I threw it on after slipping into my running shoes.  I took off and the chip immediately fell off, so I back tracked a few steps and put it back on.  I headed out on the run trying not to overdue the first 1/2 mile.  A week prior, I ran my fastest 5k ever of 18:18 after a 40 mile ride.  I wanted to run a sub 18 and knew it was doable.  About a 1/2 mile in, the body had other plans.  It did not want to push to the limit. I tried to get under 6 min/mile pace but the body was comfortable just above 6 and wouldn’t budge.  On the way back, I took note of the guys I crossed paths with and my lead was >4 min.  I tried to find some of the guys from the later waves but I never saw them.  I came into the finish chute and took note of time in the 58 min range.  When I saw 58 min on the clock, I knew I gave myself a good shot at the win but just had to wait for the remaining waves to finish.  Fortunately, the guys from other waves were also >4 min behind and I ended up with the overall win.

Besides the timing chip issue, I executed a pretty good race.  I know I’m capable of running faster and I was pretty unhappy that I couldn’t dig deeper and push myself to that further level of hurt.  This sport is so dependent on your willingness and ability to suffer.  You have to be ready and willing to push past your “perceived” limit at all times.

It was great to share the top of the podium with my friend Linda Robb!  Thank you to everyone who congratulated me after the race and for everyone who sent me messages. Big thanks to my mom who flew down for the weekend and to my always supporting fiance.  Also, thanks to the NPBC chamber of commerce and all the volunteers who helped put on this fantastic race.

Next up is Miami 70.3 in 11 weeks where I’m hoping to qualify for 70.3 World Championships next fall in Chattanooga, TN.

Mandy and I flew out early Friday morning with a quick stop in Atlanta before getting to Raleigh.  I was pretty nervous flying with my bike again since my seat stay was cracked back in December on a flight to San Diego.  Once we got to Raleigh, I tediously inspected the bike in baggage claim and luckily found no issues.  Disaster avoided.

We were fortunate to have Ian and Emma hosting us for the weekend.  They live about a mile from the finish line and T1 which made logistics extremely easy all weekend.  We can’t thank them enough for opening up their home to us and driving us around all weekend.

Ian and I did packet pickup as soon as it opened on Friday which was quick and easy.  I got the bike unpacked, built it back up, and threw on my new Ceramic Speed chain.  We did an easy 45 min ride late afternoon to check out the bike and ensure everything was working with no issues.

Saturday came around and we did an easy 4 mile run and checked out T2 logistics.  We got the bikes finalized and headed to T1 for bike drop off.  We spent about 15-20 minutes outside dropping our bikes off and took note of how hot it was.  We were both dripping with sweat.  Ian had mentioned that in years past, people had tubes fail come race morning.  Leaving the bike out all day in sun and the heat would over pressurize the tubes.  So we both let a good bit of air out of the tires before leaving them in T1.  We drove the bike course on the way back and I took note that first half was pretty easy compared to the back half.  There weren’t any huge hills but there were a bunch of little hills.  Maintaining momentum and keeping the variability low would be critical to a fast bike split and being able to run well off the bike.  We met up with my parents for dinner who made the long drive down for the race.  My usual chicken parmigiana went down smoothly and I feared I may have actually ate too much as my stomach was feeling it shortly after dinner.

Race morning came early at 3:45 am.  My wave wasn’t going off until 8 am but with the two transitions (point to point race), we had to be up early to drop off our run gear at T2 and get on the shuttle to T1.  I usually wake up about 3 hours before the race and quickly get breakfast.  I had to time my nutrition a little differently with the race logistics, something I hadn’t exactly practiced before.  I had two packets of oatmeal and a banana before leaving to drop off our run gear.  On the bus ride to T1, I kept hydrating and downed a powerbar.  We got to T1 with 45 minutes before transition closed (6:45am) and at first I thought that was plenty time.  Needless to say the 45 minutes quickly passed and I barely made it out T1 before they kicked us out.  Nothing went wrong, I am just very methodical in my setup and have to ensure everything is perfectly placed.  I had another powerbar about an hour before my race and also downed 6 scoops of EFS Pro.  I got in a long swim warmup to get the engine rev’d up.  Within the first 4 strokes, I knew all systems were a go.  I did notice my hips were low in the water.  At first I thought it was my new swimskin but then remembered I wasn’t swimming in salt water which is what I’m used to in Florida.  The swim wasn’t wetsuit legal so I had all the benefits I’d hope for as a “swimmer”.  I hit the restroom one last time and got in line with the rest of my AG.

Swim (26:28 – Fastest Amateur)

I always size up my competition before every race and I’m pretty good at picking out the swimmers in the crowd.  There was only 1 guy I took note of as we entered in the water.  The horn went off and I started off pretty conservatively.  I had one guy to my right and two others hammering off far to my left.  The two to my left got out to a body length lead but I noticed they were sprinting pretty hard.  We came together after about 200 yards and I hopped on the second guys feet.  I knew immediately the pace would be too slow as they seemed to be slowing.  So I got off their feet and went to the front.  As I passed the lead guy, I saw him looking at me and trying to hop on my feet.  About half way to the first turn buoy, I started catching the waves in front of us.  It was crowded, really crowded.  I made the first turn and was met with plenty of chop.  I honestly thought there were boats in the water causing all the wake.  I did a really good job of swimming good lines considering the chop and traffic.  I think I only had to slow 2-3 times while swimming around everyone.  I exited the water with the fastest amateur swim of the day (5th including the pros).

Bike (2:21:04 – FLATTED)

I hit T1 and found my bike pretty easily.  I had a little bit of a problem getting my swimskin unzipped as I ran to my bike but eventually got it by the time I got to my bike.  This was the first time I was wearing a sleeved tri suit.  I prefer to keep it rolled down on the swim under my swimskin as I feel it will effect my swim if I wear it over my shoulders.  I also think it will stretch out causing the aero benefits to be null.  I got the suit on relatively easily on in T1.  There were still a few wrinkles in the shoulders but I figured I could adjust while I was on the bike.  I did a quick pause after I got my helmet and sunglasses on as I had to throw all my swim gear in the transition bag to ensure I got it back after the race.  I felt like I was forgetting something, either on the bike or in the bag.  But after a few seconds, I said screw it and went on my way onto the bike course.

I got on the bike and got in my shoes with no issues.  I knew the first 5 miles were going to be slow and full of traffic.  I rode conservatively for the first couple miles, getting the HR down and keeping the power in check.  On our way out of the park, 1 guy passed me who wasn’t in my AG.  I stuck with him riding legally behind as we got out of the park.  Once we got out of the park and onto the highway, it was game on.  Speeds got above 40 mph going downhill on the highway.  For the next 10 miles or so, I rode with 2 other guys (both not in my AG and I later found out one of the guys was overall amateur winner).  We leap frogged each other several times and I think we all did a good job of riding legally on the flat and downhill sections.  At around mile 18, I passed the 2 guys and then all of sudden I hear metal skipping across the ground and then pssssshhhhhhhhh…… I waited for a few seconds hoping my sealant would seal but then I felt my disc hitting the road.  I yelled something I’d rather not repeat.  At this point, I thought my day was done.  I figured I would have to call Mandy to tell her what happened and then wait for a ride to T2.  I always carry a spare but I almost always end up flatting multiple times.  It’s rare for me to make it home on training rides when I flat.  I was a bit flustered standing on the side of the road with everyone passing me.  I took my time changing the flat to make sure I could make it to T2.  A volunteer pulled up in a van and asked if I needed help.  I asked her to call for tech support just in case I needed it now or down the road.  I got the tube changed out and then used the co2 on my disc.  I was pleasantly surprised that the co2 went in with no issues as I have never used it before on a disc wheel (luckily I had brought my disc adaptor with me).  I threw everything back into my speedbox and hopped back on the bike.  The flat cost me about 7-8 min according to my garmin.  I know what people are going to say that it shouldn’t take me that long and they are ultimately right.  There’s no reason I shouldn’t have changed that flat in 3-4 min.  Lesson learned for next time.  I got on the bike but I was pissed.  I knew I couldn’t ride like a madman as that wouldn’t bode well for the rest of the race.  Unknown at the time, I passed Kory Gray shortly after my flat but he stayed with me.  It took me about 10 miles to realize it was Kory.  I had just met Kory a day before at bike check in and knew he was going to be one of the guys to beat in our AG.  We rode the rest of the way together sharing the work back and forth.  I made sure to take in enough nutrition in preparation for a tough run.  I took in 3 bottles of EFS Pro (6 scoops each), ~300 calories of EFS liquid shot, and half a bottle of Gatorade from an aid station.  I thought this could be the first time I would pee on the bike but I never felt the urge to go.

Garmin showed my moving time as 2:14 with avg power 233 and NP 246. IF was 0.81 and VI was 1.06.  My power was much lower than I was hoping for and my VI was quite high.  The hills didn’t help either and riding with a few other riders affected the numbers as well.  A couple times I tried getting away from them but couldn’t shake them without hammering.  So I tried to share the work in order to conserve energy.

Run (1:37:49)

I started off the run trying to stay as controlled and relaxed as possible. I passed Linda Robb in the first mile and we gave each other some encouragement.  Kory had exited T2 just a bit before me but I had him in sight.  I knew it was a long run so I figured there was no rush to catch him.  I kept him in sight for the first loop staying ~15 seconds behind him.  I saw coach Eric at about mile 2 as he was coming back.  We yelled that we had both flatted.  It’s funny because a lot of our races play out very similar, even if they aren’t the same race.  At around mile 3 or 4, I got the sudden urge to pee really bad.  I figured I needed to learn to pee while running at some point so I concentrated for 20-30 seconds and let it flow.  What a major relief as my stomach was hurting bad from the urge.  I ran just under 7 min/mile pace for the first half which was right about target pace.  Mandy told me I was in 4th at the turnaround but I already knew I didn’t have anything faster in me.  I started the second loop which was slightly uphill and could feel my pace was slowing.  I tried to trick my mind and just thinking about running to each aid station.  I took water and ice at most of the aid stations.  A few times I took in coke and redbull to try different things and see how my body reacted.  I got a little energy from the coke and redbull but it would fade quickly.  The 2nd loop was pure survival.  I could tell my run fitness wasn’t where I wanted it to be nor where it needed to be to compete at this level.  The goal was to run 1:27ish or at least under 1:30.  My hr was slowly declining and the legs just weren’t there.  I made one last effort on the downhill section into the finish and was happy to be done.

4:29:21 – 5th AG, 11th Amateur, 34th Overall

While the race wasn’t exactly what I hoped for, I was surprisingly happy with the outcome.  I swam and biked very well.  The flat is what it is.  I would have won my AG if it wasn’t for the flat but that’s part of racing.  I was just happy it didn’t ruin my race.  My run was a little disappointing but in a positive way it was a slap of reality.  We have been pretty conservative with my run training considering my hip and past injuries.  To compete at the level I want to compete at, I need to run ~1:25ish.  I have not put in the necessary training to do that but this was a step in the right direction.  I had major hip surgery less than year ago and to pull out a 4:29 with a flat, is pretty freaking awesome.

Thanks to everyone that followed along at home on their phones and computers.  Thank you to Ian and Emma for letting us move in for the weekend.  Thanks to my parents for making the long trip down to watch me put my body through hell.  Thanks to coach Eric for sticking with me and getting me back to this point.  Last but not least, thank you to my fiancé Mandy for being the loudest cheerleader in the sports history.  Everyone is sure to know when I’m racing.

Next up is the Palm Beach County World Championships (loggerhead sprint tri) where hopefully I’ll get bragging rights back after not having raced for 2 years.  Then I’ll be racing Miami 70.3 in October where I hope to qualify for Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga in 2017.

Thanks for reading!

St Anthony’s came and went.  There’s not much to say other than I DNF’d for the first time ever.  I swam hard (maybe a bit too hard) and came out of the water in 3rd.  I had a quick transition and hopped on my bike.  I started pedaling and I immediately felt my left quad completely lock up.  I’ve had cramps before but never quite like this.  I tried to push through it for a little, but it hurt bad.  I also lost my only bottle on the cobblestone section, which I later learned would have given me a 2 min penalty.  I tried throwing it in the small chain ring to spin easy and see if my quad would loosen up but there was nothing I could do.  It hurt just to pedal at 50 watts.  I coasted/spun easy to the first intersection while everyone was passing me (frustrating experience) and I hopped off the bike.  I tried to stretch but I couldn’t bend my knee past 90 degrees.  I already knew the race was over when everyone was passing me but I had hoped I could at least finish the bike and have a decent run.  I stood on the side of the road and I could barely walk.  Not wanting to do any more damage, I circled back to transition and called it a day.  It was a tough pill to swallow but it absolutely was the right decision.

What happened?  Honestly, I don’t know.  I had plenty of electrolytes and salt the day before the race and morning of.  I had some lingering calf and shin issues for a few weeks prior that may had some kind of effect.  I did feel like I kicked more than usual during the swim.  The swim was pretty fast and it was wetsuit legal.  My shoulders had started feeling it pretty early on so I think I tried to compensate with kicking more than usual.  So maybe it was the swim or maybe it was one of those “stuff happens”.

I was pretty disappointed with the outcome as I felt I had a chance for the overall amateur win.  I also wanted to get in a race before Raleigh 70.3 to test my fitness.  My bike had been stronger than ever and my run speed was finally coming around.  There wasn’t much I could do after the race other than forget about it, and get back down to business for Raleigh.

For the first time in 799 days, I got to race this past weekend in what has become a long anticipated and frustrating return to racing.  Words cannot even begin to describe my emotions leading into the race.  I’ve been through the ringer.  I’ve had 4 surgeries in a span of 13 months.  I’ve shed more blood and tears than I care to remember.  I’ve been to too many doctors visits and have been stuck with more needles than I can count for a young, healthy, and not yet 30 year old.   But in the end, I’ve stayed strong and fought through it all to get me back to what I love to do…. racing.

I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen on Sunday and I only had one goal: “compete”.  I didn’t care if I won, got second, or came in last.  I just wanted to compete.  Competition and sport has been a part of my life for so long, I get lost in life without it.  Competition is what motivates and drives me to drag myself out of bed before 4 AM to drive an hour to the pool to swim before work.  It’s what drives me to push myself to new limits and strive continuous improvement.  It’s what drove me not to throw in the towel and give up on sport after the last 2 years.  Now don’t get me wrong, I still wanted to win and I knew I had a chance…. I just didn’t have the Ricky Bobby attitude: “If you’re not first, you’re last”.

I barely slept Saturday night…  maybe only 3 or 4 hours of total sleep.  I rode over to the race, got my chip and setup transition.  I then rode another 10 minutes and got some 1 min efforts at race effort to get the legs moving.  With the race being so short (300 yd swim, 5 mile bike, 1.2 mile run), Eric and I knew warmup was critical, not only to the race itself, but to getting through the race without getting injured.  I then racked my bike and went out for a quick run and did some pickups.  I did a run through of transition and headed up to the beach to get a quick swim in where I was pleasantly presented with rough waters.

The swim started and I got a pretty good jump and made it to the first buoy first without getting pummeled by a wave.  I was hoping for a 30 second gap to Johnny and Bill from the swim.  That would get me a little out of sight and I could hammer and ride away on the bike.  I was fortunate to catch a wave back to the beach on the swim exit.  I made a quick T1… or so I thought.  Results show I lost 12 seconds to Bill on T1.  I have video of T1 and I could maybe find 2-3 seconds where I could have been faster but not 12.  Not sure what to think of that right now but I’ll chalk it up to being rusty.

I hopped on the bike, got up to speed and got in my shoes.  The plan was to ride around 315 watts and not ride 400+ that first minute or two.  The roads were wet and there was a slight drizzle so I was careful to stay clear of the white painted lines (they are extremely slippery).  Beach road can be very bumpy, especially in the bike lane, so I was always trying to find the smoothest part of the road. After passing a few guys in the first heat, I got the turnaround and took note where Bill was.  I was a little concerned when I saw he wasn’t that far behind me.  Some negative thoughts started to roll through my head but I knew I just had to put my head down, ride hard back to T2, and take what I could get.  I started to feel my legs burning on the way back and wasn’t sure how they were going to respond on the run.

I got through T2 without any major incident, and headed out on the run.  To my surprise, my legs felt great and I focused on my form.  I’ve only ran on the mulch trail 1 other time and it was 3 or 4 years ago and I remembered the footing being very shaky at best.  After the first couple of steps on the trail, I remember it being much worse than it actually was.  It only slowed me down a bit but I had decent footing and was really only concerned about breaking an ankle or injuring myself.  Before even half way, I knew this could turn into a sprint finish.  Mandy had asked me earlier in the week what I would do if it did.  I’ve never had another gear at the finish of the race.  I’m usually redlined the entire run and I’m happy to be running the same the pace at the finish than when I started.  So my response to her was: “I don’t know”.  I started to conserve a bit of energy knowing I would need a kick at the end.  I looked for Bill at the 180 degree turns.  He was closing the gap but not as much as I had expected and by the last 180, I realized he was running out of real estate.  I forgot to look where the actual finish line was before the race so I could time my kick.  I got back on the asphalt and knew it was time to go.  I kicked hard and then kicked hard again once I got into the parking lot.  Everybody was screaming and I knew he was coming and coming fast.  There was a dicy 90 degree left hand turn into the finish where there was a big puddle of water right in my line.  Not wanting to slip or trip, I took a wide turn avoiding the puddle and the white painted lines and crossed the line just 2 seconds ahead of Bill. 

I want to say hats off to Bill and Johnny for a fun competitive race.  Both are always tough competitors and they lay it on the line every time they toe the line.  They both make me a better athlete.

A special thank you as I couldn’t have done it without my fiance Mandy.  She’s been by my side this whole time and stayed strong when I wasn’t.  I would never have gotten through the past 2 years without her.  A big thank you to everyone that came up to me before and after the race.  All of your words of encouragement were very much appreciated. 

Here’s a great video Tommy Allore made of the race and showed the sprint finish…

I was a bit skeptical when I signed up for this race 3 months ago but I needed to prove to myself that I could race this distance.  The last time I raced a 70.3 was at Eagleman in 2012 (which did not go as planned) and I’ve been itching for redemption ever since.  I also wasn’t sure if 12 weeks was enough time to get in the shape I wanted to be in, especially coming off an injury.  As the weeks progressed, things were looking really good.  I wasn’t broken down nor had any lingering aches or pains.  With 5 or so weeks until the race, we decided to go all in and see what happens on race day.

Friday came and I got in a short run in the morning around my neighborhood before packing up and heading west to Naples.  Once getting into Naples, I saw Pittsburghers Chad Holderbaum (pro triathlete) and Bruce Jenkins out on their bikes riding the course.  I was pretty excited to be racing Chad as I wanted to use this race as a measuring stick going forward.  I got in a quick 30 minute ride on the course to make sure everything was good to go on the Trek Speed Concept (Thanks Tri Bike Run!).  Mandy and I then headed to the hotel to get situated and found some excellent Italian food for dinner so I could have my usual chicken parmigiana.  If you are ever in Naples, be sure to check out Sophia’s Ristorante Italiano…. by far some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had.

If you ask me, these longer races really start as soon as you wake up in the morning (possibly even the day before).  Proper nutrition and hydration is absolutely critical for a successful day.  On race morning I ate two packets of Quaker Instant Oatmeal – Maple & Brown Sugar and a banana.  I also got in a bottle of First Endurance EFS with a scoop of pre race and later had a couple sips of a FE liquid shot just before heading to the swim start.  After a quick warm up in the Gulf of Mexico (that water was much colder than I expected it to be…. apparently the west coast of Florida is much colder than the east coast), I was ready to go.

SWIM – 1.2 miles (23:19 *PR, 1st Overall)
It was an out of water start and everyone was inching forward trying to get to the front.  The gun went off rather quickly and I got a decent jump with a few others just ahead or right next to me.  I had 2 or 3 guys with me for those first 30 seconds, which gave me a glimpse of hope that I would have some people to swim with.  Unfortunately that glimpse was short lived as they faded quickly.  I got to the first turn buoy with a pretty sizable lead where I was met with a little bit of current coming towards me.  I put my head down, kept my heart rate in check, and hit the cruise control button.  Overall I had a great swim and I was feeling good heading into shore.

BIKE – 56 miles (2:08:11 *PR, 1st Overall)
I headed out on the bike and figured I would have a 2-3 minute lead.  Eric warned me the day before not to over exert myself the first 30 minutes on the bike as this could kill the rest of my day.  I was very cognizant of my power numbers and made sure I was getting in my nutrition.  My nutrition plan included: 1 bottle with 2 scoops of EFS lemon lime and 1 scoop of pre-race (200 calories) and another bottle with 2 servings of First Endurance liquid shot kona mocha flavor mixed with water (800 calories) and take water at every aid station to wash it all down.  I learned in training that I need a lot of water as I’ve often finished training rides extremely thirsty.  So I forced myself to hydrate early on the bike no matter if I was thirsty or not.  This played out very well as everything was going down smoothly and I never felt my energy level drop.  I knew Chad would be hunting me down on the bike but I wasn’t sure where my biking was compared to his.  I knew if I biked well, I could possibly ride into T2 just in front of him.  The bike course wasn’t closed to traffic and we were riding on some busy roads, but I was lucky enough to have 2 motorcyclists leading me out on the roads for the entire ride.  At the turn around, I grabbed a bottle of water but I wasn’t paying attention to the turn around point so I overshot the turn around and missed the timing mats for the 28 mile split (hopefully no one was too worried when that split didn’t come in for me).  I took note of my computer time and started to watch for Chad going the other way.  We didn’t cross paths until 3-3.5 minutes later which seemed odd (I later found out Chad went off course and added 6 minutes to the course).  I put my head down for the last 28 miles and focused on my race.  I was banking on an aid station at mile 45 to grab another water but it never came.  This made me a bit worried but I still had my liquid shot bottle to finish off.  I rode into T2 feeling great and ready to tackle the 13.1 mile run.

RUN – 13.1 miles (1:31:37 *PR, 3rd Overall)
The plan was to run around 7 minute mile pace.  My legs felt great and my heart rate was in check.  I glanced at my watch after a few min and it said 6:20 min/mile.  Whoops!!  Slow your role Steve.  Nutrition wise, I carried a FE liquid shot flask (400 calories) and planned to take water and/or cola at the aid stations.  My stomach was feeling relatively good (does it ever really feel great?) and I was clicking the miles off just under 7 minute mile pace.  After the turn around, my pace began to slow.  The legs just wouldn’t go any faster.  I thought there was still a chance of Chad catching me if he was on his game.  I started doing the math and figured if he was running 6-6:15 minute miles, he may get me in the last mile.  I tried to keep those thoughts out of my head and kept putting one foot in front of the other.  “Just get to the next aid station” I told myself.  What also wasn’t helping was the fact that it was brutally hot and sunny out there for January and there wasn’t much shade on the course.  The last mile finally came and I got a big burst of energy so I picked up the pace.  I was pretty excited to finally see that finish line and crossed it first in just my 2nd attempt at this distance.

OVERALL – 4:05:12 *PR 1st Overall
Results 

Looking back, it would have been nice to have Chad with me on the bike or run.  I really could have used the extra push on the run as I just ran comfortably not wanting to completely deplete myself.  Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the result and I was really surprised with the overall time. I knew the course was fast but not THAT fast (I did have the bike and run courses a bit short according to my Garmin).  It’s nothing new but running is still my achilles heel.  I’m going to need to put in some run focused training in order to keep anyone from running me down.  With a little more training and speed work, I think I can find 4-5 minutes on the run.

I was fortunate to have my Aunt Beatrice in town, so she came by the race to cheer me on.  It was really great to share the experience with her and Mandy.  Thanks again to everyone for the support, especially my sponsors: Tri Bike Run, First Endurance, and Blue Seventy.

Next up is a little rest and recovery this coming week and then its time to get back to work… stay tuned…

Let me say this: Milwaukee is an awesome city!  Mandy and I were pleasantly surprised. Mandy commented all weekend how nice everyone was (hotel staff, restaurant staff, race volunteers, etc).  I’m sure there were some complaints from the locals with thousands of triathletes riding very expensive bikes on the city roads with funny looking helmets.  But overall, everyone was very welcoming.  Our hotel was 5 or 6 blocks away from the race site and there were plenty of restaurants all within walking distance from our hotel.  I didn’t have one bad meal while I was there.

This past weekend I raced USAT Age Group Nationals – Olympic Distance (0.9 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) in Milwaukee, WI.  To say the race was a success, is an understatement.  This race has been my key race all year and I really wanted to make a statement against some of the top amateur triathletes in the country at one of the biggest Olympic distance races in the country.  After racing a 2:04 at St Anthony’s in 2012, I really wanted to break the 2 hr barrier.  With a big break through in my biking earlier this year, and finally running consistently without injury, I knew this season would be my best yet. Unfortunately, all my Olympic distance races this year have had shortened swims which set up Nationals to be the perfect place to achieve this mark.

Race week started out pretty rough.  After Loggerhead, I was having some pretty bad stomach pains for a few days.  My mind was all over the place for those couple days after Loggerhead. I’ve had stomach issues after races before but they usually only lasted for the rest of the day and I was feeling normal by the next. Why was a sprint race, that only took an hour, causing me all kinds of issues?  Did I push myself that hard during the race?  Was I going to be recovered by Saturday to race?  Fortunately, I started to feel better on Tuesday and things were back to normal.

With the race on a Saturday, Mandy and I decided to fly out Thursday morning in order to have plenty of time to get situated in Milwaukee, put the bike together, familiarize myself with the course, and just relax. Upon getting to PBI, the Delta agents immediately asked me if my Aerus Biospeed bike case had a bike in it. This is one of the few bike cases that doesn’t scream “bike”.  This has helped bypass the airline bike fees before but the Delta agents at PBI have apparently been trained pretty well as this is the 2nd time I’ve flown Delta out of PBI with a bike, and I got stuck paying their outrageous bike fee ($150) both times.  We and the bike made it to Milwaukee with no issues but upon building the bike back up, I stripped one of the screws where my stem fastens to the fork (yes, I even had a torque wrench with me and I didn’t go over the max torque setting).  I took the bike over to bike support at the expo and fortunately they were able to take care of me.  They had to re-tap the the threads and put in a larger screw in order for the screw to engage.  Looks like I may need a new fork as a long term solution (not sure if  I can get one from Trek or not) but needless to say, a trip to Tri Running Sports & Cycle is in the works.  Later on Thursday, I picked up my packet, talked with some vendors at the expo (I really want a computrainer now), and got a quick ride in on the first part of the bike course.

(I stumbled upon this thread on Slowtwitch and now I’m searching for a hard case to travel with my bike. There are just too many risks you take with using a soft case.  Anyone have any suggestions on a hard case?)

Friday was pretty low key with a quick run, bike, and swim in the morning to get the blood flowing. We then drove the bike course to get a feel of what I was up against and eventually dropped off my bike at transition.  We had dinner at Ryan Braun’s Graffito restaurant, where I had what has become my pre-race ritual (out of superstition and it doesn’t seem to cause me any issues), chicken parmesan. Very good food there and a great view of the water if you sit outside.

The course was very straight forward.  We swam in Lake Michigan but we were protected from the “chop” of the lake.  The swim course was narrow and I thought this would cause problems with all the waves going off but fortunately it wasn’t an issue.  Swim exit was interesting as there was a very steep ramp out of the water with volunteers helping you get out. No matter how strong of a swimmer you were, you needed the volunteer to help you out and up the ramp.  I think there was some misconception on the bike course as someone called it flat as a pancake.  It is not flat as a pancake.  I train daily on terrain that is flat as a pancake and this course is not that.  I would define the course as “wavy” more than anything. There are 3 small climbs on the course.  One is right at the beginning, and the other two are the bridge you go across twice on the highway.  The course has two 180 deg turnaround’s and is relatively flat.  The run is flat and fast…. plain and simple.   If you are thinking about racing next year, I highly recommend it.  It’s a great city and a great course.