Camp Courageous

After finishing this race last year I knew that I needed a second go at it.  Wanted to patch a few regrets from my race a year ago, going back was a no-brainer.  Not only is this race fun but it's for a good cause too.  All to often triathletes/races get caught up in their own agenda yet this race is different.  Proceeds from this race went to improving the facilities at Camp Courageous, "a year-round therapeutic camp for people of all ages with various disabilities", in Monticello, Iowa.  I was more then happy to race while giving back to a local charity.

Driving to the race site during the early morning hours with Kennon and Kallie, who were also doing the race, we joked about the most ridiculous things.  As usual.  We followed their friends and fellow racers to the race and all unpacked our gear together.  Setting up in transition went without a hiccup and set me up nicely or a smooth race.  Unlike Omaha, I actually had some extra time to warm up the legs and lungs.  Kennon, Kallie, and I all went for a quick jog to preview a bit of the run course.  After doing some drills and stretches the legs were ready to go.  Now to warmup the arms and lungs.  The water was the perfect temperature and a wetsuit wouldn't be needed.  I swam to the first buoy and back twice which was enough to get the arm ready.

Getting all lined up in a good spot.
(photo cred: my mom)

Now time to line up for the start.  This race started with a time trial start.  One person going every 5 seconds.  I wanted to be near the front but not in the front.  I placed myself 6th in line and my confidence began to grow.  With other swimmers of my same ability around me I knew that I'd be able to hang onto the feet in front of me to make it a bit easier.  When it was my turn to start I was able to make up the 5 second gap within the first 15-20 seconds.  Because of my longer legs I was able to jump through the water farther than the people in front of me.  Catching a nice draft for the entire swim was more than ok with me.  I was even able to pass a few people in front of me within the last 100 metes to post the second fastest swim split.  Off to a good start!

My T1 went quickly.  19 seconds to be exact.  It was by far the fastest T1 split and I was out of the water and on my bike faster than ever before.  Getting on two wheels, I was in third place and moving up quickly.  I passed a biker on a team quickly and I could see the lead moto out in front of me.  Over the rolling hills for the entire bike course the leader was just out of touch.  I could see the leader and motorcycle from time to time but couldn't ever close the gap.  Besides making that one pass I was out on my own for the entire 15.5 mile course.  A pretty boring way to spend roughly 40 minutes of the race.  But I posted the second fastest bike split as well so I can live with the slight boredom.

This sweet pic some random guy took of me in 2nd place.
(photo cred: some random guy)

Coming in hot into T2 I jumped off my bike a little out of control.  I mean it's a sprint triathlon.  Every second counts.  I was in and out onto the run course in 20 second.  Another quick change from sport to sport.  This run course was advertised as "some cross country" running.  Ok, make that ALL cross country running.  Up, down, twists and turns.  For the majority of the run it was so bad that you couldn't see more than 10 yards in front of you because of another 90 degree turn through the thick forest.  Shortly after the first mile the forest stopped and there was the first straightaway.  But not really.  Yes it was straight but it was through the water way of a corn field so it doesn't really count.  I mean it's Iowa.  What else do you expect.  Dodging massive tracker ruts in the ground make for a very tricky run.

That shit was 100% cross country.
Football cleats would have been a better shoe choice.
(Photo cred: my mom)

Coming into the finish line I was greeted by the winner.  He won this round but I had beat him earlier in the year so I knew that climbing atop the podium, and not one to the side, is possible.  And hey, second place.  Not a bad day at all.  While chatting with my parents I watch as Kallie and Kennon finished up their day.  Both weren't to happy about the run course and neither was I.  It seemed to be a common theme among the racers.  But that's racing I guess.  Each venue has to have something unique.  Looking for results we learned that Kallie got second in her age group and Kennon got third in hers.  Everyone was a winner.  Triple bonus.

Winner winner chicken dinner
(Photo cred: Dan)

Oh and another big thanks for David R. for covering for me at the bike shop.  I was scheduled to work, but he was clutch once again and covered for me at the last minute.  Next for me is Age Group Nationals in Milwaukee, WI.  It'll be race number two of the three races in three weekends.  An Olympic distance race with 3,000 other people.  Wish me luck ha.  Until next time, thanks for the read and happy training!

Omaha Triathlon-Midwest Regional Championship

Before this season started I told myself that I wasn't just going to do all local races, like I did last year, so signing up for this race kept me honest to my word.  Omaha, and this race, is a solid 5 hour drive from my apartment in Iowa City so getting there was a bit of a chore.  However, I had set up a really awesome homestay so I was actually excited to get on the road.  Kennon and I finally got everything packed, hoped in the van, and got on the road Friday afternoon to make the trip.

We rolled into Omaha around dinner time and made our way to Sara's apartment, our friend we would be staying with.  This wasn't like any other college apartment I've ever been in.  A deck with a view of the pool, a fire place, full kitchen, laundry...I mean what more could you ask for?  I owe her a big "thanks" for letting Kennon and I stay there for the weekend.  It made my preparation in the days leading up to the race totally stress-free.  After an evening of gawking at her place and catching up with Sara it was off to bed early.

A deck overlooking the pool...now that's hard to beat.
Thanks for the homestay Sara!

The next morning Kennon and I got up early to check out the race site.  After navigating our way around Omaha we finally found where I would be biking/racing the next morning.  Thankfully I brought my bike along with us and I was able to get it out to get a more personal look at the course.  After a nice 40 minute spin I was able to get a really good feel for what I would be in for the next morning.  And the consensus: hills, hills, and more hills.  Post bike ride, Kennon and I went back to Sara's place where we spent the afternoon relaxing in the pool, shopping at a local mall, and getting my gear ready to go for race day.

Trying to eat breakfast while getting attacked by Sara's cat.

Race morning came early.  At 3:30am to be exact.  This race started at the ungodly hour of 6am so the wake up was brutal.  Luckily the race site was only about 10-15 minutes away from where we were staying so we slept as late as possible.  The morning of the race had the usual greeting of teammates and friends at the bike rack.  It was good to see that other Trihawks had made the drive to race in Omaha.

There's no room to joke around before racing.
It's strictly business.
(Photo cred: Kennon)

This race was a little bit rushed...ok, it was actually really rushed.  Transition opened at 5am and we had to be at the water at 5:45.  That isn't very much time to get all your stuff set up, get a solid warmed up in, ect.  Actually there was no time to warmup.  By the time I stood in line to get my race number and got my running shoes all situated it was time to meet at the waters edge.  Without getting a chance to warmup I was just hoping for the best.  Going from calm and relaxed one minute to an all out effort the next is always a little bit dicey.

The slow walk to the water. (Photo cred: Kennon)

When the gun went off I was able to put myself on the back of the front pack.  I was catching a really good draft and I felt solid for about 500 meters.  At this point the front pack of five broke into two smaller packs with me being stuck in the second.  I was able to hang onto the feet in front of me for the rest of the swim which made my swim a touch easier.

Rolling out to go battle the hills (Photo cred: Kennon)

Getting out of the drink and onto the bike I had a nice bit of coaching from the sidelines from Kennon.  As I was getting my helmet and sunglasses on she was yelling my current place and time gap at me.  I didn't tell her to do this before the race but it was much appreciated.  I think that she's actually learning about racing on her own.  Which was/is really cool.  As I jumped on my bike I was in 5th place with two people in my sights just up the road.  Within the first couple miles I was able to move into 3rd place.  I've never been on a bike course with so many hills on it.  I was either going 30+mph or <15mph and no where inbetween.  No flats, only hills.  Flying down the descents and granny-gearing up the ascents made for a hard bike course.

It was a bit toasty this weekend

As I got off the bike, in 3rd, I was hoping that the hills were behind me.  Sadly, I was wrong.  We went running through a frisbee golf course, cross country course, and up and down some of the steepest hills/dirt paths I've ever been on.  It was either a struggle to move your legs fast enough so that you wouldn't fall on your face or a struggle to even turn the legs over and not walk up the small dirt mountains.  As I pushed to the finish line, with a competitor hot on my heals, I was glad the race was over because I was deep in the hurt box. 

3rd place finish. Not bad. (Photo cred: Kennon)

With a bottle of ice water and a finishers medal in my hand I was happy to have finished in 3rd place and on the podium.  My race time wasn't anything to write home about because each discipline measured long.  Combined extra distance with continues hills and it made for a tough and slow race.

Post race my parents, Kennon, and I found a local burger joint, Danny's.  It was Green Bay Packer themed, so I was really enjoying taking it all in.  The big laughs and big burgers was an awesome way to refuel after the race.  Kennon and I than made our way back to Sara's and immediately to the pool to relax a bit before making the drive home.  

Nothing to do with triathlon or racing but we
saw a pretty nice rainbow on our drive back
so I thought that I'd include it

Up next I have three races in the next four weekends.  It's going to be a big month of racing with all three races being different distances.  I'll sure have a lot to say over the next month!  Thanks for reading!

Holiday Lake

Every race is a learning experience, and the lesson for this race: double check what day your race is on.  Two days before this race I was surfing the web, just checking out different races for the summer, and noticed something about this one.  I had wrote it down when I registered...months ago...that this race was on a Sunday.  But as it turns out, I was lucky to be online randomly checking things out.  If I hadn't, I would've been the only person at the lake on Sunday morning.

Because I thought this race was on Sunday I hadn't taken Saturday off from work.  I was suppose to start at 9 A.M. (the same time that the start gun was to go off) and had to do some (very) last minute scheduling changes.  Thankfully, I was able to wiggle my way out of work for a few hours thanks to David covering for me.  Even at the last minute, he came through in the clutch!

(early SATURDAY morning) Packet pick up, gear set up, and warmups ... check ... check ... and check.  All went according to plan and all went without any hiccups.  My family got to the race about 5 minutes before the gun so I was able to have a little alone time pre-race.  Walking to the waters edge, as the race neared, I placed myself in between two of the fastest swimmers in hopes of catching a nice draft for the short and sweet swim.

I held strong in the opening meters of the swim and my plan was going exactly according to plan (insert evil laugh here).  I was in the lead pack and lovin it!  All the men started in the same wave, so it was easy to see exactly where you were in the race.  Due to this race being on a lake there wasn't any current in the water, but thanks to my pre-race placement strategy, I was able to post my fast swim split...by a long shot!  After a swift T1, I was out onto the hilly bike course within sight of the lead motorcycle.  

Getting onto the bike I was in third place and not far off the pace of the leaders.  I was determined to catch the two in front of me.  It took me a littler longer than I would've liked but eventually I was in the lead!  After the first mile I was in second, and another 2 miles after that I had taken over the top spot.  Good deal!  I had found out before the race that there were two pros and the person who won this race last year competing...and I was ahead of all them!

Sadly, I wasn't able to keep the lead for very long before the train of the two pros came around me.  For the remainder of the bike leg it was a dog fight for third place.  Two other guys and myself had our own little mini battle royale with each other.  Putting in attacks on the hills and taking corners hard made for a fun three-way sufferfest.

Coming into T2. The other two just outside the picture. (Photo cred: Allie)

The two other guys put in a nice attack on the final hill, dropping me off the pace by a few seconds.  Coming into T2 and out onto the run I was only down by (maybe) 10 seconds to third place.  I was in 5th place and looking forward to a very challenging run course.  I tracked down 4th place by the first half mile and never looked back.  I could even see both second and third place for the entire run.  If either person were to falter I was right there to capitalize on the opportunity.  But unfortunately, that opportunity never came and I just couldn't close the gap to them.

Crossing the line in 4th place I had an awkward mix of emotions.  A weird combination of excitement and sadness.  It was discouraging to be finishing only one place out of some prize money, but I was happy to have put in a good fight to come away with 4th place.  I had got beaten by two professionals and the person who won this race last year.  Not bad company I guess.

4th place finish (Photo cred: Allie)

Coming away from this race I can sleep well knowing that:

• I was in the lead of this race at one point...even if it wasn't very long
• I was in a position to capitalize on any mistake from my competition to put myself into third and/or second place
• I had improved on my finishing place from last year
• And I knocked 5 minutes off my time from last year

Now after two races on back-to-back weekends I will finally have some time to get in some quality training.  Until next time and the next race, thanks for reading! 

Pigman Sprint

Race Prep:

Growing up only 30 minutes from this race I had heard about it my whole life.  I've watched it in the past and heard about classmates doing it.  This year it was my turn to have a crack at it.  Although I had zero expectations going into it, I was still excited to get out and enjoy the racing environment.

I didn't have an A-grade lead up coming into this race by any means.  Two days prior I was dressed in my suit and tie and dancing the night away in downtown Chicago.  I had some pretty big reservation about going to a sorority formal only 48 hours before a race.  But hey, ya gotta live a little right?  Drinking, dancing, and discussing sorority sister drama isn't really my cup of tea.  Thankfully, it turned out to be a great night and a good way to get my head off the race.

After driving back to Iowa, doing an easy bike ride with my dad, and getting my race packet it was time for an early bedtime.  Sadly, this "early" bedtime turned into me staying up well after midnight.  I had to get up at 4 A.M. and tossing and turning for several hours only put more unneeded stress in my head.  But my alarm actually woke me up at 4 so I did in fact fall asleep at some point...although it didn't seem like it.

Race Day:

I was doing this race with Kennon and Kallie (Kennon's mom), so we packed the cars, stopped for a cup of gas station coffee, and caravanned our way to the race site.  Standing in line outside transition waiting for it to open, we of course, as usual, joked about the most ridiculous things.  I'm almost certain that everyone around us was annoyed, but whatever, it was early and joking around made it a little bit more bearable.  While spitting out joke after joke, we started to feel the combination of cold temps and strong wind...these would later wreak havoc on the race.

Post transition area setup, warmup run, and last bit of food, it was time to go down to the water.  After only 20 yards of walking through the sand to get to the water my feet were totally numb.  The sand was THAT cold.  I was absolutely dreading getting into the water.  I figured that it would undoubtedly be freezing.  However, the 65 degree water temp was actually warmer than the air temp.  A pleasant surprise for sure!  I mean 65 degree water isn't warm by any means, but compared to the 50 degree air temp with 20-30 mph winds, it felt a lot warmer.

Exiting the swim by myself (Photo cred: Jacob M.)

Instead of doing the massive wave swim start, the Pigman race series does a time-trial start.  One person starting every 3 seconds.  This avoids the MMA-esk fighting match of trying to find open water, yes, but did it solve the problem of swimming around/over people, no.  I didn't get a swim warmup in because I didn't want to stand around freezing in the wind, but I was happily surprised that I found my swimming rhythm right away.  I caught the person who started in front of me within a couple of seconds...then another...then another...then another.  I kept that pattern up for the whole swim...actually, I kept that pattern up for the whole race.  I didn't get passed a single time during the swim, or the remainder of the race.  I was able to zig and zag my way through the crowded water with minimal trouble.

I exited the water, feeling fantastic, and had smashed my pervious sprint-distance swim time.  Good deal!  A quick and smooth T1 and it was time to fight the wind.  And I mean FIGHT the wind.  It easily made my "Top 5 Windiest Days On A Bicycle" list.  Heading South was smooth sailing, but going North.  Ouch.  I was averaging in the mid 30's heading with the wind.  But after taking the turnaround, that all changed.  Not truly knowing how strong the wind is until you turn to face it sucks.  I was smashing the peddles, just trying to get a nice turnover going.  But even with this effort I was struggling to even touch 20 mph.

An empty T2...sweetness! 

As I got off the bike I hit the road with numb feet and jelly legs.  Getting my shoes on and exiting T2 was a bit difficult without being able to feel my feet.  Slowly but surely I got the feeling to come back into me legs and toes.  Sadly, when I was able to really start running I got really bad abdominal cramps.  I had to slow to a jog in hopes that they would go away.  It wasn't until about the halfway point until I could actually start running problem-free.  Thankfully I was able to finish strong and post some pretty sweet results!

Anthem for this race: All By Myself by Celine Dion (Photo Cred: Jacob M.)
Never got passed. Alone the whole time.
*note the sweet sideburns I was rocking for the race 

Without being passed a single time the whole race I had absolutely no idea were I was in the race.  After watching Kennon, Kallie, and my Uncle Todd and Aunt Shari finish we picked up our finishers ticket and compared times.  These tickets had splits for every discipline and your overall finishing position.  As I looked at mine I noticed that I finished in the overall top 10!  What?!  At first I thought it was a mistake.  There was no way that I was in the top 10 overall in a field of over 600 people.  But the result was correct, and I actually was in the top 10!

I had seen this race in the past and looked at pervious results and I had always thought that those people weren't human.  "Those" people didn't seem to be actual people to me.  But now I get it.  The light bulb went off after this race.  You put in the work, you get the result.  Period.  I never knew if there was some magic pill or food or something that "those" people ate.  But no, it's all about doing the work.  After a quick look over the results I noticed that at least 6 of the top 10 were pros.  To be right behind them was an awesome feeling!  I never would have guessed that I would finish in the top 10 and/or with people who race for a living.  It is a huge confidence boost for training/other races the rest of the season!

Now it's time for some recovery and prep for my race next weekend.  Holiday Lake is up next.  Until then, thanks for the read!

Winner winner chicken dinner.
1st in my AG and Kennon got 2nd in hers.
We got little pink piggy banks for a prize.
(Photo cred: Kallie M.)

Nationals Recap Video

A sweet video recapping the race at Nationals was just released.  I had the camera on me a couple times during the race...which was super pro like.  I had my fingers crossed that I'd be in the video this year, and I actually made it.  Not once, but twice!  I was reppin Iowa with the mens team and once by myself.  See if you can spot me! I'm number 379.

It goes by quick so don't blink!

http://www.usatriathlon.org/multimedia/media-center.aspx?id=2298ee5b-a274-47df-992f-173bc9d5ef7f&type=video

Collegiate Nationals

Race Prep:

I'm not really sure how to start with this one.  After finishing last years Collegiate Nationals in Tuscaloosa, AL I already had my eye on this race...so do I start there? Or do I start describing the day six months ago that I specifically started training for this race? I'm not sure.  Either way, preparation for this race was a long and arduous process.

I had run the numbers over and over again to come up with a goal for this year.  I looked at what kind of time I could dedicate towards training while still being a full-time student.  I looked at past results and how much I honestly and realistically thought that I could improve in 6 months.  I looked at my goals for the future and what type of projection I needed/wanted to be one.  So there it was...a goal of 2:13 for an Olympic distance triathlon.  To "set it in stone" I took all my race numbers from previous races and pinned them up on my bedroom wall in the shape of a giant 13.  Medals and trophies on either side.  There it was.  It was the last thing I saw before going to sleep, and the first thing I saw in the morning.  It's what I stared at during the countless hours I spent on the bike trainer and when I was day dreaming about triathlon when studying.  My goal was right there in front of me for 6 months and it was up to me to go after it.

I couldn't have been more excited to get out of the cold Iowa spring

Now it was onto Tempe, AZ to see how my preparation would pay off.  Somehow all the Trihawks congregated in Tempe after many different travel schedules.  About half the group left early in the week to drive the 30-some hours down there with the trailer full of our bikes and equipment.  Others left Iowa at different times according to when they could get out of class, which races they were doing, and which plane tickets they bought.  But, thanks to a small miracle, we all made it to Tempe.

The Trihawks have touched down in AZ

I arrived in AZ late Thursday night and the anticipation was already building.  When we got to our hotel it was straight to bed.  There was a draft-legal Sprint distance race the next morning (I wanted to race it but didn't) that we wanted to watch so we had to get our beauty sleep.  Because I wasn't racing, it gave the opportunity to get an easy spin in.  We road through a state park near our hotel and took in all the cool sights.  I would have never guessed it, but AZ is really beautiful!

Enjoying the weather...and Dan's bike I guess 

We spent the better half of the day watching the draft-legal race which was really fun.  I had only watched this style of racing on TV so seeing it in person was pretty exciting.  We had two Trihawks post some sweet results which got us our first team points of the weekend (Justin got 4th, Allison got 10th, Alex Libin unfortunately got a DNF with a flat...which gutted me and the rest of the team.  I couldn't help but feel bad for a training partner and a newly acquired friend).  Later that afternoon we had a chance to ride some of the course that we would be on tomorrow.  The bike course was pretty technical so it was beneficial to see what kind of lines to take in the corners before the race was underway.  As we cruised back to our hotel we took in more of the beautiful Arizona scenery.

Sweet mountain rangers everywhere you looked

Later that night we had the traditional pre-race shaving party.  Typically I'd be doing this task by myself...but I found out that that isn't the Trihawk way.  So I jumped in the tub/shower with Dan and Kyle.  It was a little intimate to say the least.  It quickly turned into a giggle fest watching two other grown men shave their legs.  One of the more funny moments on the trip for sure! After filling the tub with leg hair, shaving cream, and a good amount of blood, it was off to bed.

Space was at a minimum at this party
*note the sweet kit tan lines we already have going

Race Day:

Our hotel was about 2 miles from the race site so we all biked there with our transition bags on our back...a real "pro" moment.  After the couple mile warmup we jumped in the massive line of other college-age triathletes.  Our bikes were racked shortly thereafter and the frantic transition area race setup was in full swing.  Having packed everything the night before I thought that I had everything I needed to race.  Thankfully, Kennon gave me a little race care package before I left Iowa which, without question, saved my entire day.  I spent probably 15 minutes looking for the GU's that I was going to us during the bike portion of the race.  I looked absolutely everywhere.  Luckily, she had given me some gel Blocks as apart of the care package.  I had used them before in races and training so it wasn't that big of a deal that I had to use them instead of my GU's.

The care package full of all my favorites

I was in the third wave of this years race.  There was a 10 minute gap between waves so I had a little more time to kill than other people.  I got my wetsuit on with the other Trihawks in my wave, Dan and Jack.  Wave 2 was off, and it was finally our turn to get in the water.  They made us get in the water right after the second wave started (which was dumb).  Having to tread water for 10 minutes turned out to be not all that bad thanks to the ol wetsuit.

Im in the middle of the washing machine (photo cred: my mom)

When the gun finally went off it was more of a wrestling match than a swimming event.  I finally got comfortable in the water and found a nice pack at about the 400 meter mark.  When we turned around I was feeling great and the sun was no longer in my eyes...double bonus!

Thanks for the sweet pic mom (photo cred: her)

My T1 went a lot more smoothly than in FL, so maybe I did work some of the kinks out after all.  Hoping on the bike was pretty slick thanks to the flying mount practice that we did the night before.  Once I was rolling I was really cookin...in a good way.  Taking corners at 30mph was awesome!  I had focused more on my biking skills during the winter months and it seemed to finally be paying off.  Picking off one competitor after the next put a lot of confidence in my head about my ability.  The 57 minute bike split helped to add even more confidence!

Putting my running shoes on in T2 is where I found my GU's.  They were in the very toe of my left shoe, so I must have picked it up and held the GU's in the shoe while I was shaking it.  But whatever.  The Blocks/Kennon saved the day.

Out on the run I had no idea what was going on...literally.  Talking to Alex Libin the night before he said "if you're using energy to look at your watch, you could've used that energy to run faster".  So taking his advice I kept the watch at home.  I was just going to let it fly and see what happened.  Maybe he was onto something because I clocked my first ever sub-40 minute 10K in a triathlon.  I wasn't real sure how my run would be because of some nagging injuries that I've had the past few months.  In training I could never hold a sub 40-minute 10K pace for the whole distance, so being able to post that was really gratifying.

About to finish up and absolutely gassed

I crossed the line in 2:05 which was a.) 13 minutes faster than my previous PR and b.) WAY faster than the goal I set for myself.  I couldn't have been more happy with my performance! My first every triathlon was two years ago at Collegiate Nationals so this event is always special to me.  In that two year period I've been able to take off 42 minutes from my original time...an awesome feeling to have!

Post Race:

That night the team went to the awards ceremony.  Alex Libin got 3rd place overall and we all wanted to show our support for him.  We also thought that we would have an outside chance at placing as a team.  A few guys had talked during the fall about us having a spot to do something special at this years race.  After comparing everyone results from the race that morning, we felt that we had put together that "special" performance that we would need to get on the podium.

When it came time to announce the team awards the anticipation began to build.  The announcer began with the mens team awards.  He said "in 5th place with lkndoisdknf points...The University of Iowa Trihawks".  I say "djlqd;jnqdwoj" points because all I remember hearing was "5th place...University of Iowa Trihawks".  We. Went. Nuts.  My body was killing me the entire time after the race until they said our teams name and magically it was totally healed.  The pack of Trihawk guys all went running up on the stage.  We got...no, we earned 5th place in the nation.  I'll never forget looking out across the crowd yelling "Go Hawks" and signing "In Heaven There Is No Beer".  It was...I cant even describe it.  Just absolutely the best feeling.

On the podium/stage signing "In Heaven There Is No Beer"

5th fastest collegiate tri team in the country right here

I couldn't have asked for a better race.  Both crushing my PR and my goal time AND getting 5th place in the nation.  Now thats just icing on the cake.  We got off the stage and all got our picture taken holding the trophy.  It was like our own little Stanley Cup.  Everyone got their own little moment with the trophy.  It will, without question, be a moment that I will never forget.

It was a special year with a very special group of young men.  I can't wait to see what each and every one of them does in the future both on and off the race track.  I'm honored to call each one of them a friend.

5th PLACE!!!

Proud to call myself a Trihawk

Spring Break / Great Clermont Triathlon

Race Prep:

Wanting to get out of the bitter-cold winter in Iowa, a group of Trihawks and myself packed our bags and bikes and vacationed in Clermont, FL for spring break.  We had a solid group of 9 Trihawks making the trip down south.  To make things a little less expensive we decided to drive down instead of flying.  Although I wasn't too excited to make the drive after checking Google Maps...the 20 hours in the car was well worth it once we got there.  The 80 degree weather sure beat the mid30's that Iowa had during that week.  Because of the awesome weather we were able to get in some really quality training...and tanning.  Normally the week before a race I would be putting my feet up and decreasing my training volume, but staying inside and not enjoying the beautiful weather just wasn't an option.  The 20 hour training week left me flat for the race, but I was okay with it.  I wasn't expecting to do very well at this race so I figured that I might as well enjoy the nice weather before I had to go back to the snow-covered roads of Iowa.

Enjoying a beer during our day trip to Coco Beach

I was actually really impressed with the group that we had once we were down there.  Everyone was trying to push the pace on our group rides.  Our "easy" days of riding quickly turned into multiple 40+ mile days of people flying off the front and sprinting for glory to the nearest stop light.  I was guilty of this from time to time...I mean I couldn't let everyone else have all the fun.  These rides really took the power out of my legs on race day and left me feeling pretty flat...although my diet during the week probably didn't help much either.  I normally eat pretty healthy and try to limit the amount of sweets/alcohol I consume...but this week was a little different.  Eating a lot of ice cream, chips, candy, fried gator tail, and beer & wine isn't normal for me and especially not the week before a race.  But being on vacation I didn't care and was okay with straying from the normal diet.

Fried gator tail

The day before the race Jack, one of the Trihawks on the trip, confided in me that he loves the song Love On Top by Beyonce (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7vObnFUJc)...which I luckily a.) love too and b.) had on a cd in my van.  So naturally, being dumb college students, we decided that rolling into the parking lot race morning would be the perfect time to jam out to this song.  So sure enough race morning comes around...we roll into the parking lot...put the windows down...and BLAST Beyonce.  I mean we had to up as load as my van's speakers would go.  Quite the way to start race prep.  The other triathletes unpacking their bikes and getting their gear ready were giving us many weird looks, but it's whatever.  It was out last day in Florida and we were going to enjoy ourself no matter what.

Dan, Jack, and myself did some serious swim analysis in the pool at our condo

Race Day:

Like I have said earlier, I felt really flat during the race.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of my problems.  Combining two of my biggest fears made for a really bad start to my race.  I am absolutely terrified of open bodies of water and alligators, and down in Florida the two go hand in hand.  I have NEVER throughout about pulling myself out of a race like I did during this one.  About 300 meters into the swim I was freaking out more than I had during any race in the past.  I had already peed in my wetsuit prior to the race, so even peeing my pants (or wetsuit) wasn't an option.

What I was assuming was going to happen to me

All I could think about was "alligator. theres an alligator near by. you're going to get eaten by an alligator. stay close to people in case of an alligator attack. i hate alligators. i've seen alligators eat animals in one bite on animal planet. please god keep the alligators away from me".  I was freaking out hard core.  Along with the thoughts of alligators there were huge waves that made the swim really hard.  The wind was really blowing causing us to swim through white caps for 20 some minutes.  This made breathing really hard and really unpredictable.  I would turn my head to breath, expecting there to be air and not water, then a wave would come over me, my head would still be turned but completely under water, and I would suck in a mouth full of water.  Needless to say this made for a very difficult swim.  Trying to breath but only getting water, I was sucking down one mouth full of water after the next.  By the time I was done with the swim, my stomach was completely full of dirty lake water...which I paid for later in the race.

Getting out of the water and onto dry land is my favorite part of every triathlon.  This was especially true for this race.  The bike portion of this race had many problems of its own.  Dropping my chain, not being able to shift, and throwing up twice made for a dreadful ride.  I couldn't catch a break with bike issues and a stomach full of lake water came back to bit me.  I never felt like I had that "pop" that you want/need during a race.  Even with all this, I came off the bike in third position and I really wanted to put together a nice run to catch the leader.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen...I mean not even close.

Letting the cleavage fly

I felt good for about the first half a mile and then more problems came about.  I threw up twice more on the run (yes that's a total of 4 times in one race) and was battling abdominal cramps and blisters the rest of the way home.  The run was pancake flat so not being able to preform well was really disappointing.  I've never felt that bad during a race...and I hope that it never happens again.  Once I crossed the finish line I had to lay down because I thought that I might throw up again.  It just wasn't my day in any way, shape, or form.  I was beyond happy to be down with this race.  It was my first of the season and I hope that I have put the worst behind me and worked out all the kinks for the other races this season.

Somehow I managed to get 5th place in the collegiate division.  This was the Florida Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championship Race so placing well even though I had a bad performance gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the races this season!

Trihawks with a random trophy we found two days before the race in a garbage
can curbside by our condo...naturally we had to stop and pick it up.  It got us
many weird looks the morning of the race, but by the afternoon people
we're wanting their picture with it.  It was a real crowd favorite.

Cop Car Ride

I want to take a minute and explain the tweet I sent out on the 16th about how small the back of a cop car is.  It actually turned out to be a funny story and something that I will never forget.  So here we go (I hope I can do it justice because it was a hell of a time!):

After driving for 20+ hours from Iowa City, IA to Clermont, FL the group wanted to do an easy ride to get the legs moving again.  Jackson, one of the Trihawks, came to this area last year and knew of a bike path that he thought we should check out.  He said that he knew where it was and that it would be "an easy hour".  I thought to myself "what could possibly go wrong. only an hour of easy riding. we'll be back in no time"...turns out I was dead wrong!  So we jumped on our bikes (*note: we hardly brought any food or water because we thought that it would only be an hour) and took off for this trail system that Jackson knew of.

It took us about 45 minutes to find it, so there was no way that we would be getting back within our hour time frame.  But whatever.  We were in Florida and I was just glad to be riding outside without 7 shirts on.  We took a trail map and decided to ride on the trail instead of turning back the way we came from.  This would turn out to be our fatal mistake.  On this perfectly flat, perfectly straight trial there were NO signs of life...besides the occasional turtle.  This trail had thick tree cover on either side, but when there was a break in them there was nothing but farm land as far as you could see.  We were on this trail for about 40 minutes before coming to the trail head.  According to the map that we had we weren't to far from home...which couldn't have been farther from the truth.

We turned onto a road that we all thought would get us back to our condo, but we were again wrong.  On this road we had to flag down 3 different cars to ask for directions.  Each vehicle said something a little different so we weren't sure what to think now.  By this point our food and water supplies were being rationed out according to who needed them the most.  We took the directions of the final car that we talked to because we weren't sure what else to do.  This took us to a highway that luckily had a big enough shoulder that we could ride on...and by this point of the day it was getting so dark that we had to turn on the (few) bike lights that we had.  One front light and two back lights split between 5 bikes isn't the best ratio to have when trying to find your way home in a foreign state.

After another 20 minutes on this road we stopped at a gas station to ask for direction again.  A group of about 8-10 men gathered around us...probably wondering why our skin was so pasty white being from Iowa and all.  I wasn't sure what was about to go down but they turned out to be really cool.  We told them where we were trying to go and they all turned to look at one another...and just died laughing.  Not a good sign.  They gave us directions, that seemed pretty easy, and told us "good luck".  So we set off again (keep in mind that it's about 9 pm at this point and we cant see more than 10 feet in front of our front wheel) in hopes that we would find our condo shortly.  We followed what the group at the gas station said but shortly realized that we were more lost than we thought we were.  We ended up on a highway, riding against traffic, trying to take advantage of their headlights, fearing for our lives every time a car or semi went past us.  Not knowing if a vehicle saw you in the dark while passing you no more than 5 feet away at 70+ mph will put an uneasy feeling in your stomach!

So after about 30 minutes of defying death on a highway in the middle of nowhere Florida, we decided to turn back and go to the closest store and call a cab.  We were now riding in the grass and dirt (on TT bikes) on the side of the highway because the shoulder of this highway was getting far to scary.  It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes of us trying to get back to town that two cop cars pulled up behind us and turned their lights on.  Right then I thought "great. the first night in FL and we're going to get arrested. who am I going to call. what will I tell my parents. i'm dead".  However, these were two of the coolest cops ever!  They were really nice about everything and they were really loving us up.  We told them were we were trying to go and they too just looked at each other and laughed.  They said that we were about 10 miles from our condo, with about 9 of those being on this highway.  Looking back I'm actually really glad that these cops found us or else we would've been walking our bikes for hours!

Because there were two cops there one of them stayed with Jackson, Dan, and the bikes.  Leah, Shane, and myself all got in the back (handcuff-less I might add) of the other squad car.  The cop drove us back to our condo so I could get my van, drive back, and pick up the guys and the bikes.  I never thought that I'd be able to speak from first hand experience about this, but the back of cop cars are really cramped and really uncomfortable.  It was kinda one of my personal life goals to never end up in the back of a cop car but I think that this is the exception.

This was definitely the craziest "easy hour" bike ride of my life.  It ended up being about an 3.5 hour, 50+ mile ride.  Needless to say we didn't let Jackson pick the bike routes for the rest of the week!  No matter how long I ride a bike for I don't think that I'll ever have an "easy" ride quite like this one.  It's definitely a ride that I'll never forget!

2012 Results

The 2012 race season was a great one for me.  It was my first year of competing in triathlons and here are my results from it:

Collegiate Nationals (AL): 35th place my age
Bluff Creek: 5th place collegiate division
Holiday Lake: 5th overall, 1st age group
Lake Geode: 2nd place age group
Camp Courageous: 2nd overall, 1st age group
Pigman 70.3: 4th place age group

Overall, the 2012 season went pretty well for me.  I went ok at some races and others not so much, but thats racing.  The thing that I value more than the results is the learning experience from each race and what things to do differently for this upcoming season.

Early Season Training

I cant believe that it's already March!! This year is flying by and I only have 3 weeks until my first race of the season.  I wanted to recap how my training for the first two months of the year went.   I'll break them down month by month, but if I could use one word to sum them up it would be: really awesome!

January:
I started the year off on the right foot...by taking a rest day.  I figure it'll be a long year so we'll take it slow to start off.  I was on winter break from school so I was able to get some really good training in without having to worry about when my next test was or making a paper a half a page longer to fulfill the assignment requirements.  The first week of the year I used as a building week soI could really put in some long hours during the second week and make it a mini training camp.  It was warm enough this year that I could run outside, which was really nice! A treadmill is great and all but you cant beat getting outside.

Week 2 of January brought some hard sets, long hours, and a lot of work.  Because I didn't have anything else going on I wanted to see if I could set a PR for amount of hours trained in one week.  Not only did I get there, but I blew my old number out of the water! Just crushed it.  That great week was a combination of a couple things.  I felt great all week, I didn't have anything else to focus on, and I wanted to get a good mini training camp in before going back to school.  Putting up the number I did during that week gave me a lot of confidence about this upcoming season!

February:
After completing my training in January I didn't think that I could ever get more fit than I was.  I was on top of my game when February started and it only got better from there.  I figured that I couldn't improve much more but February brought many different PR's, even longer training hours, and even more fitness.  To kick February off I started a 12-day training block.  12 long, hard days of honest work.  During this training block I was able to ride outside twice...which is always awesome given how cold February in Iowa can be.  I clocked 45 miles on the first ride and 55 miles on the second one.  I was stocked to not only be outside on my bike, but being able to get quality miles is an added bonus!

I was also able to get in some really good swimming and running to go along with my biking.  I set new PR's in every swimming distance between 100 and 800 yards.  I really enjoy swimming (except getting wet. It's the worst part) so my swim training come really easily to me.  What I once though I could never swim I now do repeatedly, and with relative ease.  My running is also improving on a daily basis.  I've been focusing on speed work and leg turnover rather then long, slow runs.  With that, I was able to lower my 5K PR as well as my mile PR.  Not only am I excited about my new times, but I know that I can go faster too!  When I was done with each of those I still had something in the tank so I'll be looking to lower those even more in the coming months.

All in all I couldn't have asked for a better two months to kick off my 2013 season.  Setting PR's in training, getting some quality time in outside, and having more fitness then I ever thought was possible for myself has given me a lot of confidence for whats to come. It's been a heck of a ride so far and I can't wait to see what the coming months have in store for me!

Pigman 70.3

Race Prep:

Growing up I had always heard about this race because it's so close to my house.  Being only about 20 minutes away from my house I always wanted to do it.  Throughout the summer I had done some pretty good training and was feeling really excited about this race.  It was my first 70.3 so I had no idea what would happen.  The morning of the race I felt really well rested and was ready for the challenge ahead.

Nervous as hell with Kennon before the race...don't let the smile fool you

Race Day:

I got to the race site before transition opened so I was able to get a really good spot.  After I set everything up I was able to take some time to get my head in the right spot for the long day ahead.  I spent a few minutes doing some stretches and warmed up in the water.  Just before my race wave I gave a fist bump to each one of my family members and I really had no idea how long it would be before I saw them again.  I was going into this race totally blind. I had said my goodbyes and was ready to be crucified by this race.

The swim was in a time trial format, a person leaving every 3 seconds, so I was able to get away nicely and find some open water.  I had never swam this far before so I was happy with just making the distance.  I not only made the distance but I had the 17th fastest swim with a time of 31 minutes (1:30/100).  Although there is only about a 500 meter different between an Olympic distance swim and a 70.3 swim, it felt like I was in the water for at least twice as long.  However, exiting the water I felt pretty fresh still so I was hoping that this trend would continue.

This "fresh" feeling did in fact continue during the majority of the bike.  I had never road this distance without stopping so I had no idea what I was in store for.  Much like the swim I felt really good the whole time. I had some goals set out before the race and was way ahead of all of them so I was really excited going into the run.  By this point in the race it was starting to get really hot out and I was doing all I do to try and lower my core temp. by taking on ice and water.

At the beginning of the run I started out great but than began to fade towards the end.  My legs felt great after getting off the bike and I started out running about a 6:30/mile.  I knew that I couldn't hold up this pace throughout the distance so I knew that I had to slow it down.  I slowed the pace a little but still kept it consistent over the 13.1 miles.  One of the pre-race goals was to finish under 5 hours and I did just that.  I crossed the finish line in a time of 4:58 and I have never been so glad that a race was over.  My body was beginning to shut down on itself and every step was extremely painful.  When I crossed the finish line I didn't want to take another step!  My whole body was absolutely killing me but it was all worth it...in a weird kind of way.  I was dizzy, sore, tired, sunburnt, dehydrated, hungary, and excited to give this race another try next year.  It only took a few minutes after crossing the finish line for me to begin thinking about next year and what I could improve on.

I had never been to "that" place physically or mentally so I was very proud of myself that I got through it without giving up.  Even though this distance race was more painful than an Olympic I actually really enjoyed myself the whole time and I am excited to do another one (or a few) in the upcoming season.

100 meters from the finish. Note that all my bottles are empty after the long day.

Camp Courageous

This race was an extremely emotional one for me.  My grandfather passed way unexpectedly two days prior to the race so not only doing the race but being on the start line was difficult.

Race Prep:

This race was within 45 minutes of home so I was again able to sleep in my own bed the night before.  My family and I had been dealing with funeral arrangements the past few days so I not only wanted to do this race in honor of my grandpa but also to get my mind off of everything that had been going on.  The sport of triathlon has such a big mental aspect to it that I wasn't able to get my head in the right place for this race.  Physically I felt great, but mentally I couldn't have been farther from the race.

Race Day:

Like I said before this race wasn't an easy one to start and my mind was on everything besides the race ahead.  The morning of the race I was notified that the swim had been moved from a nearby lake to an indoor pool because of the drought during this summer.  This changed added an element of mystery to my race.  I had never done a race with an indoor swim leg before so I wasn't sure how it would go.  It turned out to be an alright change after all.  On every other flip turn you had to flip under the lane rope...needless to say it's not something I practice during my swim sets so it was a little awkward.  I covered the 300 meters in the 6th fastest time of 4:29 (1:22/100).  This was the beginning of a very good day for me.

When I got out of the water and onto the bike I could see a car leading the rider in 1st pace a little ways down the road.  I made it my goal to go after them no matter what.  About a mile later I passed the lead rider and I was now in first place.  Being in this position felt a bit weird.  I had never been in the lead of a race before.  Because of this there was no one to track down in front of me so I didn't know how hard to push.  When I road into first position on the bike I never looked back.  I wouldn't be passed again for the remainder of the race.  Having the 4th fastest bike split of 42 minutes (22 mph) certainly helped with that.

Heading out on the run I had about a 30 second gap on 2nd place.  I started off slower than I would've liked because I wasn't sure if I would need to save energy for a kick at the end. As it turns out I wouldn't need that kick and that slower pace hurt my time.  The run course for this race was really cool because it was mainly through the camp grounds.  It felt more like a cross country race rather than a road race.  The run went okay and I was the first person across the line.  I had the 8th fastest run in 18.5 minutes so I was pretty happy about my overall performance.  When I crossed the finish line I shared a long hug with my father and we both got rather emotional.  We didn't speak to one another for a few minutes because we both didn't know what to say.  Me crossing the line first was a very bitter sweet moment.  It was a moment that I will never forget.

I waited for my fellow competitors to cross the line and congratulated the people who pushed me all day.  When I went to check the results I actually finished second and not first.  Although I crossed the finish line first I placed second because of the difference of the swim waves in the indoor pool.  I was only beat by 27 seconds so even though I didn't win the race I'm still happy with the result.  This slim margin will definitely motivate me during training for the next season.

Lake Geode

Race Prep:

The day before the race my dad and I drove down to the race site and checked everything out.  We drive both the bike and run course and found some pretty sizable hills on both.  This race was in Burlington, Iowa so we decided to go to a local bike ship.  There weren't many people shopping while my dad and I were so we chatted up the workers.  It's always fun nerding out with other people who share a passion for cycling!

Race Day:

My dad and I woke up early and drove from our hotel room to the race site to get ready for the day.  When we got there I was pleasantly surprised to see two of my Iowa teammates there.  After getting my transition spot all set up I went to the beach and took a dip in the water.  There I found my teammates and we talked for a little bit before the race got started.  I hadn't seen them since school got out about two months ago so it was good to catch up.

The swim was an "in-water" start so standing on the seaweed was really nasty!  I was glad to get off the seaweed when the race got under way.  During the whole swim I felt really strong and I could tell that my swim training had been paying off.  I exited the 1.5K swim in 19:36 (1:14/100 meters), which was a new swim PR for me.

Swim exit with a super pro photo thanks to the event photographer

After the short and sweet swim I was ready to get going on the bike.  The bike leg got off to a rough start when I dropped my chain not once but, twice on the first hill.  When I was finally back in a saddle I was actually feeling pretty good.  I lost some time trying to get my chain back on so I really tried to push it on the bike.  My bike split was a little slow after having some trouble with my chain and I got off in 1:12 (20.5 mph).

My plan of pushing the bike leg came back to bite me on the run.  It was a very hilly 10K and I was out of gas at the halfway turnaround.  The course went winding through the woody park so I wasn't able to see down the road all that far.  I was looking for the welcome site of the finish line because I was in a good amount of pain during the run.  This run course was really challenging with a lot of hills and turns so I was more than happy to be done after 45 minutes (7:19/mile).

Overall, Lake Geode was an awesome event!  All of the volunteers were VERY friendly, the course was hard but gave you a good test, and lowering my PR made me that much more happy.  I was able to knock off 5 minutes and lower my PR to 2:18.  I was able to get 2nd place in my AG.  Just like Holiday Lake, I am already looking forward to going back to this race.  It is a race that I'll definitely do again and I would suggest it to everybody!

Finishing the run...en route to a new PR