2012 ADPI-Athlon

Yesterday was my first triathlon of the 2012 season. This will be my third season. The ADP is a local sprint race run by the ADPI chapter at MTSU. It's a 300 meter pool swim, 10 mile bike, 5k run format. Unfortunately the day did not go well for the race director and most of the racers. The bike was royally screwed by the city police, who kicked the county police off the course with claims of the race not having the proper city permits to run a race. Due to construction the run was also only 2.9 miles. Many of the racers were left to fend for themselves and had to wait at traffic lights or were told to turn around and go back. Some that tried to continue were actually blocked. Some were sent off in completely wrong directions. Luckily no one was hurt. I did see one guy with a pretty busted up face but I think that was from a transition fall. In the end the results were a mess because of the folks that didn't actually complete the entire course. The top 3 times were recorded wrong because of that. Another unfortunate thing was that they sent out the "results" last night, knowing that they were wrong. On paper I was 9th overall and 3rd in my age group. Take out the top 3 and I'm 6th overall, 1st in my age group. Make it a sanctioned event and i'm 4th overall and 1st in my age group. That gives you an idea of how bad things went, for the race director. Most of the people I talked to had the same mindset as me. It's a non sanctioned  sprint run by a sorority in April. It's a tune up and nothing more. You can't take it that serious. Yes I had to weave through some traffic at the light, but that was an improvement from almost getting hit by a car the previous year at that light. If you aren't getting paid and you aren't having fun, then don't race. I also know that's easy to say since I was not affected by the chaos. I can hope that my attitude would have been the same had I been affected.

So let's get to the race. I was pretty pumped to find out a local pro would be racing. On race morning I found out several other pros showed up. Some didn't like this. I love it! No better way to improve then by going up against people better than you.

Swim - 300 meters - 4:00 (3:53 in the pool) PR!! 2011 swam 4:05

Thank you Blueseventy for the amazing gear! I was seeded 4th which was a shock. I didn't sand bag my time to get up close. I'm pretty sure I said 3:50. Number 1 and 3 didn't show so I went in 2nd. That was awesome. There were some strong swimmers behind me and I did not want to get caught. We were started at 10 second intervals. As always I could not breath and had to resort to breathing every stroke. Not sure why this happens during pool races. I felt good and just told myself to stay relaxed.

exiting the pool. stupid ladder!

Bike -10 miles - 25:20 PR!! 2011 rode 26:14

Thank you Speedfil, ISM Saddles, Easton Wheels and Challenge Tires for some amazingly super fast products. I rode an Easton EC90TT front/ Renn 555 disc combo with the Challenge tubulars, Adamo Prologue saddle, and the Speedfil A2 hydration system. I had an absolute blast.  

Didn't look at my time on my computer so not sure about this split. My average coming off the bike was 24.5 I know that much, and the distance with transitions was 10.4. The course, if you were able to ride it, was an out and back loop. Head wind going out, tail wind coming back. I exited T1 first with one of the pros right behind me, Craig Evans. This was a sloppy transition. I got on my bike fine but had to mess with my shoes quite a bit. In the fiddling Craig passed me. I tried to stay with him but quickly knew if I did I would have no run. I did keep him close for a mile or so. Then was passed by the second pro, Andrew Hodges. Once he caught Craig they started battling and slowly getting farther and farther away. On the back stretch I did look to see my actual speed and I was sitting around 32 mph with a cadence of 95-100. I held that for about 2.5 miles. What an amazing feeling to have a fairly relaxed spin going and that kind of speed at the same time. Thanks mostly to the tail wind and my wheels. However, I have stepped up my bike training a lot so I know a lot of this was my fitness as well. So at least the toys don't get all the credit.

coming in from the bike. loved my bike set up!

Run - *2.9 miles - *18:43

Thanks to K-Swiss. My trusty K-Ruzz did not let me down! They are perfect for a forefoot/midfoot strike!!

T2 was pretty funny. I got my socks shoes and head band on...but not my watch. Now most would say just leave it, it's only a sprint. I however turned around before hitting the mats and sprinted back for it. Here's why. My heart rate coming out of the pool was super high, on the bike I didn't get it much lower. I needed the watch more for bonk management. For whatever reason, if I get over 180 my day is done shortly after. I was at 174 coming off the bike. 

So anyway, at this point it had started to heat up some so parts of the run were hot, but it was less than three miles so no big deal. I got right into my groove and had to work to settle my heart rate. My legs felt pretty good despite what I considered to be a huge effort on the bike. More testament to my fitness and my running coach. He's got me accustomed to running a LOT of miles and I know how to dig even on tired legs. I saw Craig and Andrew on the first out and back. Was definitely not going to catch them. They were flying! So step two was to not let anyone catch me. When I turned around I had a few folks behind me. Only the first guy behind looked strong enough to challenge. the rest looked spent. I stayed around 6:15-6:30. I figured he was gonna have to throw down to catch me in a short time. There were a few chances to see his progress as we had a lot of corners to navigate. He was not gaining much at all. I used every slight downhill to pick the pace up without spiking my heart rate much. I stayed around 178-180 the entire time. At mile 2, and the last little downgrade, we had the last turn around. I could tell the guy behind hadn't closed much if any so I knew I was safe. I ran the last .9 in 5:38. 

In the end I finished stronger than last year and with a about a 1 minute PR, kind of. With the run being short I can't call it a race PR. 

chillin after the race, that's not Kayla though lol.

It was amazing to race as a Wattie Ink Elite Team member. I've been so inspired by the times that the other men have thrown down already this season. Including one teammate who has already claimed a Vegas World Championship spot for the 70.3!! I'm looking forward to a great season. Next stop is the Rev3 Knoxville Olympic distance race. I have some major revenge to take out on this course.

Thank you to all that support me, especially my soon to be wife Kayla!!