Memorial Day Weekend WIN!!

This past weekend I raced my 6th triathlon, 3rd one of 2011, and I WON. It was not the experience that I expected though. I see people win races all the time and there are a wide variety of celebrations. Mine was some subtle fist pumps and a smile. Nothing crazy. When I signed up for the race it was just to get another race in. This was a sprint triathlon, 200 meter pool swim, 8.65 mile bike, and 2 mile run, and I'm more focused on my upcoming half Ironman races than the sprint distance. As the event got closer and I looked at past results I started thinking that I could pull out a win if I hit on all cylinders. So when I did just that I wasn't really surprised by the result. Don't get me wrong, this is the first time I've ever won anything individually and I was happy about it. But I knew I could do it. If I played football I wouldn't go nuts if I scored a touchdown. That's what you are supposed to do, no need acting like you just won the lottery. My dad used to always yell at the TV during end zone celebrations, "act like you've been there before". That's kind of how I think of it. A win is good but it's just that, there are still areas to improve on and harder competition ahead of me. I still have to work to get better. So it's onto the next one.

The day started like any other race day. I got up and had breakfast and watched some sports center. There was one difference. I took my have fun mentality to a new level. Not only did I have the easy button in transition but I also shaved a
"foo-manchu" out of my beard and a mohawk. Check the pic. I know I look retarded. That's the point, to not take it too serious.

So I got to transition an hour before the start of the race like I always do. I set up my transition area then stood around and chatted with some of the other guys racing. One guy said to me "You've got to be the favorite". That was kind of cool but I had to dismiss it as soon as I heard it. Didn't want to start over thinking or get an ego boost. Let me go on record now. If and when I make it to the pro ranks and start to make a name for myself. DO NOT LET ME BE A DOUCHE!! Triathlon is full of humble kind athletes that are helpful and encouraging to fans and amateurs. That's what I want for myself. To be the same goofball I am now no matter what level I reach. So you have permission to call me out if you see me being the opposite.

Anyway, With 30 minutes until the start I drank the rest of my BASE sports drink. TRY THEIR STUFF IT'S AMAZING (www.baseperformance.com) With about 15 minutes until the start I headed to the pool. I was number 14 to enter the water. The RD would not let us go out of order either. After me and the others had talked and realized some were slower than others we adjusted our positions to avoid anyone getting run over. But as I said the RD put an end to that real quick. No worries it was only 200 meters. The odds of passing or getting passed were very slim.

Swim: 200 Meters
This was a time trial start so one swimmer every 10 seconds. By the time I started I think the first few had already made it half way through. The pool was 50 meters and I remember swimmers going by me while I waited to start. They called my number and boom I was gone. Not much had changed since Knoxville. I have let me swim completely fall apart. I just have not put in the time in the last month. I wanted to swim around 2:30 and I ended up with a 3:08. I knew after the first 50 meters that it just wasn't going to be as fast as I wanted. I still managed to pass two swimmers and get ridiculously out of breath like I always do in a sprint swim. I felt good, just didn't have the speed that I wanted.

T1 went well. Much better than any of my previous races. One thing I picked up from Knoxville was the speed that the pros came out of the water. They were flying to their bikes. I usually am not moving that fast out of the water. So my goal was to fly through transitions. I ended up with a 1:01. Which is awesome for the distance I had to cover from the pool, to the bike, and out onto the street.

Bike: 8.65 miles
My friend yelled that I was in 10th coming into transition. Not sure how because I only counted 2 people passed in the pool, and one going down the steps leaving transition. And I'm not sure how many I passed during transition but I'd guess another 2 or 3. The bike course was extremely fast out of transition before we hit the rollers and 3 big climbs. It was actually a tough course for the distance. I felt good on the bike and managed to pass the remaining athletes except for two. One was a relay so I wasn't really worried about him. They played leap frog about 200-300 meters ahead of me the whole time. I knew I wouldn't be able to catch them in the short distance so I was content to keep them in my sight. I also knew that the one guy wasn't a great runner or at least not faster than me. It was on the bike that I knew I had this in the bag as long as nothing crazy happened. I ended up with a 24:10.

T2 was a blazing blur. I knocked this one out in 40 seconds. The relay team was already on the run since they just had to tag but the last guy was fiddling with his shoes when I came flying in. I threw my shoes on and took off.

Run: 2 miles (13:18)
The run was an out and back inside of a neighborhood. It was downhill out and up hill all the way back. I wanted to run 6 min pace before the race. However, when it came time to actually run I didn't have it in me. The hills from the bike had left me a little zapped. I was running sub 6 for the first quarter mile trying to run down the last guy when I was like "duh idiot that's the relay team, you don't have to catch him". So I dialed it back a little. I kept him within 50-75 meters though. Nearing the end of the race I was quite out of breath and was starting to get closer and closer to throwing up. I looked behind me with a quarter of a mile to go and didn't see anybody so I pulled on the reins some more. Once I was about 100 meters away and could see people cheering I started smiling and pumping the victory fist and pulled on the reins some more. It's actually the first time I haven't run all the way through the line. I high fived a few and crossed the line. I had done it!! It was another minute or so before the next guy finished and about another minute before the 3rd guy finished. I congratulated them and waited on the first woman before I headed off.

The day ended with the award ceremony where I stood on the top of the podium for the first time. I ended up only winning by 6 seconds. Note to self finish the race strong if it's a time trial.

As always I would like to thank my Sponsors Base Performance Nutrition and K-Swiss. They both have amazing products.

Thank you to my friends and family who support me day in and day out.

See it. Believe it. Do it.