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!! 

Going for an easy run

So Kayla got me a GoPro for my birthday and I love it. I have used it for a few short video experiments to see what it's capable of as well as some picture taking. I took it out on my easy run yesterday. I kind of want to video document some of my training this season. So here is the first installment. I did this one with my Wattie teammates in mind. Since GoPro is one of our sponsors several people were wondering about quality and what it looks like on a run. I think next I'm going to take it to a B race and capture that. Check out the video below.

Easy Run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl0A8Pr9rzo

I also took one in the pool a week ago. check it here

2012...year of the W!!

So I’m finally getting around to a proper blog for 2012. Obviously if you haven’t figured it out already from the header, I have some pretty exciting news. I was 1 of the 50 picked for the Wattie Ink Elite Team!! When I applied I never thought I would get picked. My only results worth mentioning are at the sprint distance. However I was given the opportunity and I’m going to take full advantage of it. It’s been pretty exciting since finding out. Twitter and Facebook blew up with follows, RTs, and friend request as we all found each other and went nuts about how exciting this all is.

I had already planned to go big in 2012. This will be my third season so I feel I’m ready to capitalize on the lessons learned from the past two seasons at the Olympic and 70.3 distance. I’m also going to stick with my original plan to wait until 2013 to do a full Ironman.

This season I will be working with a running coach since that has been the weakness so far but should be my strength. I’m a decent open runner but have not been able to carry that over to triathlon. I had some great momentum leading into December but wound up with a stress fracture and missed three weeks. So we’ve been slowly adding my mileage back since I came back about 5 weeks ago. It wasn’t until this week that we even brought back speed work and hill work. All I had been doing previously was easy running. I know from what I experienced before the stress fracture and from results of some of the other guys being coached by Scott that I’m going to have a breakout season. I have set lofty goals for my triathlon running. I want to go under 40 minutes at the Olympic distance and I want to go under 1:25 at the 70.3 distance.

As far as swimming and biking go I am still self-coaching. Which means I pick up any tips I can along the way. This is where my new team has already begun to help. We have some pretty stout guys on the bike so I know I can learn from them. My swimming is going great as well. I changed my stroke mentally during my break from the pool and started working on it once I came back. I saw a detailed analysis of Andy Potts and liked what I saw so I went with it. I’ve only been back in the pool full time for three weeks and already I have had PRs for a few of my pool distances. I know that with my improved swim, improving cycling, and my run being coached that I should have some great times this season as long as I stay strong and healthy.

I have to thank Sean for giving me the chance to rep his Wattie brand (www.wattieink.com) as well as the amazing line up of sponsors that he has brought on board. I’m still in shock that this is all happening and I may not completely believe it until the team kit arrives in the mail. It really has been a new source of motivation. I came from team sports so this team mentality is really helping me. I haven’t thought once about skipping a workout, and everything I feel like slacking I think of the rest of the team out there hitting it hard. Also let’s face it, if you look good you feel good, and if you feel good you race good! We are going to stand out this season for sure. From day one the team has rallied around each other with encouragement, jokes, and insight. You would think we all knew each other already. Look for us on a podium near you.

Lastly and most importantly, Kayla and I are getting married in June and I could not be more excited. She is such a support and inspiration in my life. She has been to a few races already and is the first person to ever make me a sign. She keeps me grounded, keeps me happy, and absolutely completes me. When we met she was struggling to even run for 10 minutes. Now she has run a 13.1 a 10k a 4 miler, and this weekend her first 5k. It has been so fun to watch her develop. It inspires me to keep pushing when I feel like I can’t do something in my training and racing. I know she will always be there for me and always support me. I love you Kayla.

Well that’s about it. I’m going to make a better attempt at updating this season. Can’t wait to see this season start on April 1^st with the ADPI-Athlon at MTSU. Starting off the season by going for a W.

See it. Believe it. Do it.

Pumped for 2012. Gonna rock the W!!

I was picked to the Wattie Ink Elite Team and I'm pretty excited about that. Other than that, training is going well and I have even more motivation now.

http://wattieink.com/2012/01/2012-wattie-ink-elite-team-roster-announced/

Off Season

In an effort to not let this blog go to waste, I’m going to attempt to post here and there during the offseason. I’ve had some time to process since my last race as well as rest. I haven’t swam or biked but I have continued to run, which is what this is going to be about. I fought burn out for most of the summer. I had some great quality and volume in my training at the beginning of the season but my numbers trailed off pretty bad towards the end of the season which was bad. Both my 70.3s were at the end of the season. Anyway, I decided no swimming or biking until January. I wanted to get the passion back. I’m already starting to itch to get back into tri training. Which is a good sign.

The main thing I learned from this past season, and the one thing I’m going to make big strides to change, yes pun intended. My run. I ran great in the two sprints I did, but still struggled a tad. I ran ok in the oly’s I did. Both were hard courses that I fared well on. I ran flat out terrible in both 70.3s, 1:55 and 2:08. Both times are slower than my first ever ½ marathon, 1:54, which I ran in clunky 10 oz training shoes in pouring rain without stopping to walk. I walked a ton in both 70.3s. Now I knew that I would struggle with this distance since it was new to me. I struggled with the Olympic distance two seasons ago but did much better this past season. So I’m expecting to do much better next year.

My stride. Leading into Augusta I had some calf/soleous/ knee pain from the shoes I changed to. I also had major knots in my right hip flexor all season long as well as low back pain and sciatic pain. My legs were always sore if I did any type of long run and most of the time felt beat up. It was around this time that I started researching shoes and I found Newton (www.newtonrunning.com) I knew something needed to change. Don’t get me wrong I love my K-Swiss Kwicky’s but I knew I needed to change my shoes and my form. As I began to research natural running on Newton’s website it didn’t take long for me to see the value. It wasn’t the bright colors of their shoes that sold me. It wasn’t the cool technology that sold me. It was the testimonials of countless runners that had made the switch and were now running without knee, hip, and back pain. While in Augusta I saw several athletes running in Newton’s. They all had crazy defined calf muscles. Why did I pick this out? Well I have nice calves, but not like they did. That’s because they were using a natural running motion which puts much greater use on your calves. I was more of a heel/mid foot type striker, so my calves didn’t do as much work.

The shoes are quite expensive and I couldn’t buy them right away, and actually still haven’t bought a pair. I will in two weeks though. However, I knew from reading all the advice online and talking to a training partner who happens to be a Newton Certified coach, that I would have to ease into this. What I knew for some reason didn’t translate into what I did. I ran 1 mile on September 26th to get the soreness out and to test the running motion. It was awkward. On September 28th, 3 days after Augusta, I went on a three mile run. I had reviewed the natural running motion…found here http://www.newtonrunning.com/run-better/optimal-running-form and I had watched a few videos, and I had my 1 mile attempt of it. Of course I knew Craig Alexander was a Newton runner and we know how awesome he is. So I had a pretty good idea how the form should look which gave me an ok idea on how to execute the new running motion. Most people said to only try the new motion for ½ mile to a 1 mile at a time, a few times a week. I tried it for the entire 3 miles of my first run back. I had to switch back to my old form 3 or 4 times to let my heart rate drop. I didn’t run slow like suggested. I tried to run my normal paces. Natural running requires a much higher cadence than my old stride did. So my slow pace was spiking my heart rate because of the higher cadence. After that run I was sold. Yes completely sold, after one run, and without even using the shoes. I was sold on the motion. Despite the run being difficult because of my heart rate. I noticed my legs felt great. They didn’t feel like I had run 3 miles. Heck they didn’t feel like I had run at all. That’s the benefit of the natural running motion. It is much more efficient and less damaging to your legs. The next day my calves were pretty sore. Yeah, way to go bonehead. That’s why they say ease into it. My second run was on a lunch break with a new running buddy who is more of a jogger. He’s in his 60s. It’s good for me because it forces me to just go slow and enjoy the time on my feet. I had a lot of soreness but did the entire run without switching to my old form for a break. The next day I ran 8 miles!! I took 30 seconds at the 4 mile mark to catch my breath and to let my heart rate go down. I ran this entire run with the new motion. The following day I ran 6.2 miles with my Ragnar team. The pace ranged from 10min to 4:53. So this run was all over the place pace wise. My calves hurt on this run for sure. But being a full blooded American male running with my new team I had just met and my brother. I sure could bow out or not accept the speed challenge from my brother. So in the first 7 days of attempting the natural running motion I had run 5 times for a total of 21 miles! Including 3 days in a row which I NEVER do. Because usually I’m too sore and drained to pull off multiple days in a row. I was over joyed that legs felt great. I didn’t feel like I had run three days in a row. I didn’t feel like I had run 5 out of 7 days. My hip didn’t hurt my back never flared up. My calves…WERE STRAINED. I mean completely shot. I have having to ice and wear compression socks at this point. But continuing to be hard headed. I took one day off to let some of the soreness subside.

On the following Tuesday I went out for 7 miles with speed work. I knew within 10 feet of leaving my driveway that my calves were not ready to run. It was stupid in all honesty and I’m lucky I didn’t tear them. Not only that, but I was in my racing flats so I had less cushion. But I pressed on. I did a two mile warm up, then some mile and half mile repeats then hobble jogged home. All of this was with the new natural running forefoot strike. I haven’t used my old running form since the very first run. I took another day off then ran, painfully, a moderate 5k, followed by lots of ice and compression. Another day off. Then I ran with my running buddy again at lunch. That was last Friday. I had a 10 mile run on my schedule for Saturday but finally got smart and listened to my severely strained legs. I took this past Saturday and Sunday off but still iced a few times. Yesterday I ran 3 miles and my legs were much better. My calves were probably at 95%. But yesterdays run is what made it all click for me. A twitter friend posted this video (http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/craig-alexander-running-analysis/ ) a 10 minute analysis of Craig Alexander’s running form compared to Chris Lieto’s. Chris runs like I used to, and Craig runs like I’m attempting to now. It was the perfect way for me to see the old vs the new. It showed me the one piece I wasn’t quite getting right, and the reason that my calves were so strained. Newton uses the 3 L’s. Land Lever and Lift (http://www.newtonrunning.com/run-better/land-lever-lift) . I had the land and lever part down. But until last night’s run I didn’t have the lift. They tell you not to excessively push off of your toes, but to lift your foot off the ground. Once I saw the analysis video and heard them explain how Craig uses his hamstrings it clicked. I went out for my run and although I felt awkward, I got it right. and like all the runs before. My legs felt great during and after and they feel great today.

So that’s my ramble for the day. I’m going to start working with a running coach in November and I think with the new running motion and the coaching that I will be quite different next tri season. I’m pretty excited about it. Until next time, happy training and racing to you all.

See it. Believe it. Do it.

Augusta 70.3; When dreams don't become reality

I ended my 2011 triathlon season this past weekend with the Augusta IM 70.3. This was my second IM70.3 but technically my first. My first was IM Steelhead 70.3 but the swim was canceled so I don't count it. It was more of an expensive training weekend.

Anyway, why the title you say? I had looked forward to Augusta since August of 2010 when I decided that I wanted to make it my A race of 2011. So over a year of anticipation. I told myself that as long as I stayed healthy then I would be more than ready. Famous last words. About 4 weeks before Augusta I changed my shoes up but not my mileage. I didn't realize I had changed from a neutral shoe to a mostly neutral with some stability type shoe until it was too late. Yes I should have researched but I've never really payed much attention to shoe types. LESSON LEARNED. After the first long run I had strained my calf and soleous and was unable to bear weight. I should have known it was my shoes when I couldn't tie the injury to any specific incident. So of course I kept trying to run and just had no improvement. My training dipped pretty badly. 2 weeks before Augusta I was contemplating not even going because I wasn't sure what the injury was and what damage I would do in competition. I ran a total of 10 miles that week. One week before Augusta I ran 6. I knew at this point my A race was shot. I had barely trained on the run for nearly a month. My goal had been to run a 4:40 but that was replaced by just finishing the race.

Race Morning
It was kind of a blur. I woke up at 4:30, 3:30 my time. I need to pick A races that are in my time zone haha. Went downstairs and had some breakfast, eggs and a waffle and drank some gatorade. After that I headed downtown to catch the shuttle to transition. This was the first race I had done where the start, finish, and transition were not in the same place. But the volunteers did a great job and the logistics were flawless. When I got to transition I dropped my stuff off and then went to meet a twitter friend. We talked at his bike for a few minutes before I headed back to set my transition up. As usual I was not nervous. Once I had set my transition up it was time to throw everything I would need after the race into my "dry clothes" bag and head to the second shuttle to get a ride to the swim start. I got to the swim start about 3o minutes before my wave. So I dropped my clothes off and jumped in the porta potty line. Now that I had taken care of that it was time to head to the start, which was now 10 minutes away. No time to stretch. I got my wetsuit on and into my wave about 5 minutes before they ushered us onto the dock.

Swim - 1.2 miles 24:28
This was a pretty fun swim for two reasons. It was all down river and it was wetsuit legal. So it was like floating on a small raft while going down a water slide. The current was strong enough that we kept having to swim backwards to get behind the line while we waited for the countdown. They counted us down and I was off. The first 200-300 feet were pretty rough. It was like a cross between a water polo match and a Slipnot concert. Actually since we were all in wetsuits, it probably looked like a bunch of seals trying to make it to land without getting hit by a great white shark. Anyway, once the chaos cleared and we all found our way it was a pretty smooth swim. Apart from the constant sea weed getting wrapped around my head and arms it was a blast. I kept feeling like I wasn't swimming hard enough then I would look over and see the bank just flying by as the current propelled us. I'm pretty sure I barely kicked the whole time.

Tranistion 1 - 3:17
This was a pretty long transition distance wise, which for me worked out for the best. usually i'm still huffing and puffing when I hit the bike. But this was long enough that I had settled down by the time I jumped on my bike.

Bike - 56miles 2:36:46
The bike was a little more calculated this time compared to Steelhead. Since I didn't count Steelhead, I ended up just going all out to see what I could do. I rode a 2:30 that day and had 0 legs. I mean they were fried. So for Augusta I knew I wanted to back off about 1 - 1.5 mph on my avg for the day. Which I did. Unfortunately with my lack of training it didn't really do me much good on the run, but we'll get to that. So the Augusta course is one rolling hill after the next. Which I'm used to. The night before I had dinner with the Central Flordia Tri team and I listened as their coach explained how to pace and to watch out for these "hills". I think I heard the word steep at one point. I knew coming from Flordia that the hills he had seen would not look nearly as big to me, but I still listened. It was a fun course aside from a few rodes that were in bad shape. I felt good until about mile 50 and that's when I knew the day was going to get a lot harder. The lack of training had finally hit me. I began to struggle to maintain my speed. In hindsight I probably should have just let myself slow so that I could have taken some juice with me on the run. But I didn't. I held my speed until the end of the bike. I had wanted to hit the run at the 3 hour mark because "Surely I can run a 13.1 in under 2 hours". More famous last words. I ended up hitting the run at the 3:07 mark. Now I needed a 1:53 13.1.

Transition 2- 1:58
Pretty simple as always. Run in and put your bike up then put your running shoes on and leave.

"Run"- 13.1 miles 2:08:19
As I left for the run I knew I was going to struggle. I didn't know I was going to suffer, although I should have expected it. The temps were rising and the humidty was kicking in. I barely made it to mile 1 when the wheels began to come off. Yes you read that right, M I L E 1. That is a bad feeling when you know you have 12.1 to go on a two loop course. I ended up having to run walk the rest of the way. My 6.5 mile split was 57:59 and my second loop was a whopping 1:10:20. That's painful to even admit but it is also the fuel for the offseason. As the run drug on I continued having to walk and run, walk and run. I knew I wouldn't break 5 hours, I knew I would be under 5:30. I just had nothing in my legs. If I tried to run a long stretch, the heat and humidity would get me and I'd have to walk to get my heart rate back down. At two stations they had sprinklers. I stood in them. Yes stood, as in stopped moving and just stood in them.

Knowing that my A race was over and I would not be putting in some phenom level time, as I had dreamed nearly a year before, I had to distract myself and stay positive. So I watched the other athletes, some struggling and some excelling. I read the signs of people watching. I thought about my season and all the things I thought I would accomplish and how I had fallen short on all but 1 of them. I thought about next season and how I wanted to do it different. I was happy for the older men who seemed in such amazing shape. The oldest I saw pass me was 58. It encouraged me and reminded me that I have time and success doesn't happen overnight. It was during the run that I decided I was not going to remove my athlete bracelet until next season. I decided I would wear it as a constant reminder that if you don't put in the work, you will not reach the result that you aim for. I also decided on the run that I would not attempt a 140.6 until I had properly prepared and competed in another 70.3.

When I crossed the line, which happened to be with a twitter friend of mine that I had met the day before at the CFL team dinner, I stopped my watch and looked down. 5:14:48. I knew most of my friends would say how great that was. I knew I would be told I should be proud. I also knew I had started slacking off in my training and my diet since July. I knew I had shown up at a race, injured or not, under trained. I had merely survived a 70.3. Then I was encouraged. If 5:14 is what I get for being un prepared and just merely getting by, then look out when I show up ready. Look out when I train hungry. Look out in 2012 when I come back with a vengence.

Today I start my off season training and the images from Augusta will be in my mind every single day until I toe the next line at a 70.3 next season. The memory of being embarrassed on the run and being cheered on by bystanders to try and keep running and to not walk, will give me the fuel I need to put in the time and training needed to not survive a 70.3 but to burn up a 70.3.

With that I would like to say thank you to all my friends and family who cheer for me and encourage me everyday. I know you don't like to see me be hard on myself, but that's just how I am. I will never be satisfied with a performance until I feel that I fired on all cyclinders. But I know I couldn't do any of this without the support that I get.

Thank you to my beautiful girlfriend Kayla. You will never know how much you inspire me to be better at everything in life. I love you so much.

Thank you to Base Performance Nutrition. You truely are an amazing company with an amazing product. The friendly service and great products make it easy for me to be a continued customer. Whether I'm sponsored or not, I will use BASE.

See it. Believe it. Do it.

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.