Columbia Triathlon Race Report

This weekend I made the 2 hour drive north to Columbia, MD (well, 4 hours with DC traffic!) to race the Columbia 5150 Triathlon.  When I first started racing, this was one of the races I did regularly, so I was excited to come back to the familiar course.  Ashley, Ivan, and I made the trip just like the good old days so it was a great weekend from the start!  Being a relatively local race, we decided to drive up Saturday afternoon and drive back Sunday after the race.  We arrived just in time to go through registration and the pre-race meeting before relaxing the rest of the evening while following a few athletes at IM Texas.

Race morning came early with a 6:50am start time, so we were up around 4:30am and at transition just after 5.  It was cold and rainy, but not as cold or rainy as Knoxville so in my mind I thought it was a beautiful day.  I set up the bike, warmed up, and headed to the swim start ready to go with no issues.  The body felt good and I was mentally ready to race.  With the Rev3 series being my focus, this was a bit of a B race, but I knew I'd have to bring my A game with the deep field looking for HyVee qualification points.  After a quick, chilly swim warm up we were off!

The non-wetsuit swim is usually great news for me, but this time my swim was actually a liability.  There's a first time for everything!  The first 400m or so were pretty chaotic and I managed to choke on a huge gulp of water mixed with gas from the safety boat... twice.  I rolled on my back and coughed a few seconds before getting back to business.  I was now firmly stuck in the pack which made me feel boxed and almost claustrophobic.  I struggled to catch my breath for most of the swim and felt redlined all the way until swim exit.  The whole swim reminded me of the old Clif Bar commercial:

I came out of the water feeling like I was in big trouble, but was pleased to see I had only really lost a few seconds to the other good swimmers in the field like Cam Dye and Bevan Docherty.  Good news, but I was spent!  I grabbed the bike and went to work.  The bike course is a tough, honest course which favors those who have done it a few times.  Especially with the rain, knowing the ascents and descents is important so I knew I'd have a bit of an advantage over some of the other guys.  I settled in and took my first sip of EFS... and the gulps of gas/water that I took in on the swim came right out, along with whatever was in my stomach!  It was pretty nasty and caught me completely by surprise.  I felt better afterwards, but not exactly the way I was planning to start my ride!  I spent the rest of the ride trying to replace the fluids and electrolytes I'd lost.  Again, I was reminded of an old video, this time Family Guy (Viewer Discretion Advised and apologize for my childish mind!):

After I collected myself, I took off in pursuit of the leaders.  I slowly picked off a few riders using my heavier weight and knowledge of the course to gain time on the descents.  I came into transition in 6th place and with a split that was over 4 minutes faster than the last time I was at this race.  Given the rocky start, I was happy with my position and knew I had a shot to hold on to win a bit of money.  Similar to Knoxville two weeks ago, I had some great runners behind me.  I pushed hard up and down the hills, but Brent McMahon flew by me like I was standing still on the way to the fastest run of the day.  

I was just out of the money, but could see Mark Bowstead just ahead of me.  In the last mile, it was the reverse of Knoxville and I was the hunter.  I did my best, but in the end came up just 4 seconds short!  My time was over 3 minutes faster than I'd ever done on the course (5 min faster bike/run, 2 min slower swim with no wetsuit), but this was the first time I'd been out of the top 5!  I can't help but be frustrated with the result despite a good effort and solid numbers.  I am at the point where I expect to be in the money for any race I enter, which is a positive step for me mentally.  However I am realistic about my performance on a B level olympic distance race.  This was the first time my swim placement was lower than my overall place and the first time I have had the joy of vomiting during a race.  

Looking back, it was a solid day in the office and a stepping stone for the rest of the season.  I'm now moving up to the 1/2 distance for the next two races and am excited to get moving toward what I feel is a better distance for me.  I'll be racing in two weeks at Rev3 Quassy then three weeks later at Rev3 Williamsburg.  Based on the season so far, they will be cold, wet, and close races for me!  I can't wait!

As always thank you to my great sponsors and to the race organizers for putting on a great event.  Also thank you to the Young family for taking great care of Ashley, Ivan, and I.  Until next time... thanks for reading.

Rev3 Knoxville Race Report

The first race of the season is always a bit of an unknown. Did the off-season work pay off? How will I stack up against my peers? I had a small hit out two weeks ago at the local Chasing Chicken race, but this weekend was my first ‘real’ race with a full pro field toeing the line. It was an Olympic distance race with a tough bike and plenty of tough competition. To add to the challenge, the weather was mid-50’s and rain with a sub 60 degree water temp. The conditions were very similar to the Half Full race from last year, so I was optimistic as race day approached. The Rev3 Preview tagged me as a factor and referred to me as a “workingman’s athlete”. I’m not sure if they knew that I carry that mentality to my racing and training daily. Hardhat, lunch pail, sweat, and grit day in and day out. A bit of the old school Pittsburgh work ethic.  

READ THE REV3 PREVIEW ARTICLE HERE

The pro field was a pretty solid one including Cam Dye, Conrad Stoltz, Kaleb VanOrt, Dave Thompson, Chris Foster, Kyle Leto, and plenty of others. I knew that I could put out a pretty good effort over the Olympic distance, but with my focus being on the longer races this season I wasn’t sure how I’d stack up going it. I figured I’d swim hard, bike hard, and hold on for dear life.

Race morning was pretty miserable, but everyone had to deal with the same conditions so I went about business as usual. Luckily, transition was in a parking garage, so we were dry as we set up our bikes and did some light jogging to ‘warm up’ in the cool morning. I put on my BlueSeventy wetsuit early to stay warm and headed down to swim start. The ¾ mile walk in the rain was enough to numb up the feet and the jump into the river was enough to numb the face and hands. We swam for 2-3 minutes before the gun sounded and we were off.

I had a solid swim, but didn’t have the early speed to catch a hold of Cam’s feet. I swam steady and keep him in check the entire swim while putting distance into the main group. I came out of the water in 2nd a few seconds back with a decent gap to the group. There was a 1/3 mile run to transition and I did my best to maintain the gap on the solid runners in the field. I mounted the bike and did my best to keep Cam in my sights. I had planned to pace at around 350 watts early, push it up the hills, and be cautious on the wet, technical downhills. Unfortunately the heavy rain played havoc on my Quarq, so my average power for the first 5 minutes was over 2000 watts…. Ooops!

I went by effort and pushed hard, but still lost a minute to Cam by the mid point turn around.  I had about: 30 on the main group, so I knew I had a chance to stay away until the run.  I was probably a bit too cautious on some of the downhill portions, but I am not about to spend another season on the injured reserve!  Heading into T2, I had a small gap to Xterra legend Conrad Stoltz and couldn’t see anyone else.  I took off on the run knowing I’d have to really push to maintain my position with the strong runners in the field. 

The run was relatively epic as the constant rain created ankle-deep puddles every 100m or so for a majority of the run! A few guys even wiped out from the treacherous terrain! I felt like I was running well and was able to hold my 2nd place through the first 3 miles. Soon after, Chris Foster came by me and I knew there would be a few more hot on his heels. I did my best to keep my turnover moving, but about a mile later Kaleb VanOrt came by as well. Both Chris and Kaleb are phenomenal runners, so I thought to myself that I might be able to hold off the rest of the pack. With ½ mile to go, I looked back and saw a fast-moving Russian ITU racer coming past Conrad with me in his sights! I’m not exactly known as a sprinter, so I gave it everything I had for the last 800m to stay in 4th. Luckily, I made it with 6 seconds to spare (and around 12 seconds back to Conrad in 6th!).

I was pretty happy with the result after a very tough race. It’s a good way to start the Rev3 Series and a promising way to start the season. I’m looking forward to building on the race and building up to the half distance races at Quassy and Williamsburg. Before I move up in distance, I’ve got another Olympic distance race at the Columbia Triathlon in two weeks. Hopefully I’ll have the run legs there to hold off the runners’ charge!

Thanks to Rev3 for putting on yet another stellar race. My travelling companions Jay and Don helped put on the race and I know first hand how much time and energy go into making it all happen! Also, thank you to my great sponsors: BlueSeventy Wetsuits (and neoprene hoods, which came in handy this weekend!), First Endurance Nutrition, ISM Saddles, Utopian Coffee (hot coffee never tasted so good with the cold, wet weather), 3Sports in Richmond, and The Sport Factory. I was able to win a few dollars this weekend, so I will be donating a portion to the Blazeman Foundation. I encourage you to do the same.

That’s all for now.  More to come from the Columbia Triathlon in two weeks!

2013 Race Season is HERE!

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally decided to sit down and update the site for the 2013 season.  For those of you who were holding your breath, you can go ahead and exhale!

The past few months have been very productive and most importantly, injury free.  I've been able to put in consistent work and slowly build up to race fitness.  Looking back one year ago, I wasn't even walking without pain so in a way the season is already a success!  I'm currently fit, lean, and ready to race at Rev3 Knoxville this Sunday.  It seems like the winter took forever, but it's nice to be prepping for the start line once agin.

In order to make sure all systems are go, I had a tune up race weekend last weekend with the local Chasing Chicken Triathlon put on by Richmond Multisport.  It was a short 300m swim/13 mile bike/5k run, but it was long enough to work out the racing kinks.  I tested out new race wheels and aerobars as well as making sure I remembered how to do a flying mount/dismount!

I look like I know what I'm doing!

I passed the race test with flying colors (and no broken bones).  My power meter battery died right before the race, which would have been miserable right before a big race but since it was only 13 miles I just put my head down and pedaled hard.  I wish I had data on the ride as I averaged over 26.5mph on a not-so-flat course.  In the end, I finished in 52:41 and a new course record.  Not bad for a guy looking towards long course racing this year!

Short, but PAINFUL!

After the race, I made a quick drive over to a 1500m open water race put on by Peluso Open Water.  The river was cold and the current was strong, so it was a great challenge considering I'd just redlined for close to an hour!  I survived the test yet again (partially thanks to my BlueSeventy Wetsuit) and came out of the water in just under 20 min.

Swimming close to shore to fight the current!

After the trial race weekend, I've been busy taking care of the little things that come with the race season.  I've got my new race kit being printed, my bike fit being dialed in, and will have shaved legs shortly!  Now I just have to find a way to get a bit of a tan before any sunny races roll around!

Pale, but fit! 

I'm looking forward to starting this season in earnest next weekend and competing in the awesome Rev3 series yet again.  They put on top notch races and treat athletes right!  I'm also looking forward to continuing to represent my great sponsors.  BlueSeventy, First Endurance, ISM Saddles, Utopian Coffee, and The Sport Factory keep me equipped,healthy, fit, fast, comfortable, and caffeinated!

Finally, I'm always racing for a cause bigger than myself and will continue to do my best to raise awareness for the Blazeman Foundation.  Click on the link on the right of this site to help out.  I've got a new top tube reminder that I can always dig a bit deeper and a live a bit more...

That's all for now, more to come after Rev3 Knoxville!