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

Holiday Lake Triathlon

Race Prep:

I choose to do the Holiday Lake Triathlon for a couple of reasons.  First, this race was about 45 minutes away from home so being able to sleep in my own bed the night before was a hugh plus.  Second, I wanted to do a race in the beginning of the summer to judge my fitness level and find out what I needed to work on the most throughout the summer.  Last, I was reading a lot about this race and it looked like a good one to check off my list.

Race Day:

Sleeping in my own bed the night before the race set me up for a great day and race. I got to the race site when transition opened and I put my stuff in a great spot.  While warming up in the water I found some old friends and we chatted for a few minutes.  Catching with old friends is always a good time and helps to calm the pre-race jitters.

When the gun went off I was in the first of two swim waves.  I got off to a pretty good start but then got into some trouble.  All of the swim buoys were tied together with a rope but there was some slack in the line.  The problem with this was that, when trying to take the most direct line along the buoys, my arms and legs got wrapped around the rope several times.  This caused me to stop many different times to untangle myself.  It slowed me down a little bit but I was still able to post the 13th fastest swim of 7:27 (1:22/100 meters) across the .5K swim course.

Getting onto the bike I knew I was in a good spot and was feeling really good.  I powered my way into 5th place after the quickest T1 of the day and a solid bike ride.  The course had a fair amount of climbing and coming into T2 I could see 1st place just up the road on the run. I bettered my position from the swim by posting the fastest combined transitions and 7th fasted bike split of 42:44 (21.8 mph).

The race website said that the run course would "challenge even the best runners" and that was no joke!  Right out of T2 the run course started straight up a huge hill.  The 5K run was more of the same. I wish I was kidding but there wasn't a single flat spot on the run.  It was all up and down and the hardest run course I've ever been on.  I ran into 4th place right after the turn around but with about a mile remaining I was passed by another competitor to go back into 5th place.  After the 10th fastest run of 22:50 minutes (7:20/mile) I was happy that it was over.

This was only my second sprint race ever and I am stocked about placing 5th!  Although I had some struggles on the swim and a very hard run I was happy to win my age group and place 5th overall.  I was within one minute of the podium so I'm excited to go back next year and try and improve on my place.  I have this race on next years race calendar already and cannot wait to go back!

Before the race during race prep

Taking some time off

After the first two races of my 2012 season I wanted to take some time off from writing about them.  I wanted to see how things came together privately and then post the reports at the end of the season.  I wrote about them after they happened but I didn't make the posts open to the public until I had a chance to take a step back and really reflect on my season.  After the 2012 season, the off-season, and as I prepare for this upcoming season, I wouldn't be more excited to start the 2013 season.  And what better way to start off the season than to get my site up and running again...no pun intended