Every day, thick, green, globs came out of my nose.  My head constantly felt stuffy and I always needed tissue to blow my nose.  Oddly, I felt ok…but knew that the thick gross stuff coming out of my head was a sign that I was still battling with something.  Regardless, even while training, I was able to have some great sessions.  Run paces and power on the bike were right where I expected them to be.  Breathing was getting easier and I become more and more optimistic that I would be ok to race in Arizona.

Race week- I flew out solo on Wednesday for the Sunday race.  I got in Wednesday evening and was able to get pretty settled.  I took the Wednesday flight since it was the cheapest option and also allowed me to adjust in case my head got clogged from the flight.  Sure enough, I was dealing with the thick green stuff and was pretty filled in the head upon arriving.  I struggled on my first run on Thursday and took some medicine to try and break it up to hopefully clear me out before the Sunday race. ​

Saturday I started to come around again.  Jacqui had arrived the night before and we were able to get our pre-race workouts together.  It was much easier to breathe even though I was still blowing my nose every few minutes.  I was excited/nervous to give racing one more big go in the 2017 year!

Reasons why we chose to race in Arizona...no words needed: photos say enough!

Race morning was one of the best yet.  Jacqui and I were up early and over to the race site with so much time to spare.  Parking and getting our race gear set up was a breeze.  That was until we were about to leave transition to go drop off our bags to start the race.  I saw something sticking out of the back of Jacqui’s tire, took a closer look, and realized it was a big bristle stuck into the tire.  I pulled it out and the air came screaming out.  That could have been terrible!  I had heard stories about all of the flat tires that happen during this race because the bristles of cacti get blown across the road and stick into the tires of the bikes that roll past.  I was going to take an extra measure of putting some sealant into our tubes before the race, but I had never done it before and got a touch scared that I would mess something up and cause more problems.  After pulling the thorn out of Jacqui’s tire, I instantly regretted that I hadn’t taken some time to figure the sealant out and test it.  For those that don’t know anything about sealant:  sealant is a thick, slime substance that you pour into your bike tube.  If you get a small needle or puncture in your tube, the sealant flows into the spot and fills the hole to block any air from coming out. It won’t help during a major blow out, but for some pin needle puncture, it can work well. ​

Crisis adverted as I changed Jacqui’s tube and put in a new one.  But it instantly left us both a bit worried that we could be getting some flats during the race.  After finalizing our gear and bags, it was off to line up at the swim start.

I decided to line up right around the 1 hour group with Jacqui a little bit behind me.  It was my first time using a sleeveless wetsuit in a race, and I was a little bit worried about it.  For some reason, I’ve struggled in just about every wetsuit swim that I have done.  I get really tired and run out of energy a lot faster than when I don’t wear one.  I was wondering it was from the extra material around my shoulders while wearing a full sleeved suit.  So I went with a sleeveless suit, but the water in Arizona is known to be COLD.  As the rolling start began, I put aside any fears and just concentrated on swimming as easy and smooth as I could.

Jumping into the water, I didn’t feel so bad.  It didn’t seem to shock me or feel that cold.  I was even swimming smooth and strong right from the start.  I’m not sure if I started too far back though as I was immediately passing quite a few people.  As always, the swim felt like it was taking forever to get to the far turn around buoy- the course itself was very simple:  swim straight down, make two quick left hand turns, and then swim straight back down.  The only thing was that the ‘canal’ was not exactly straight.  I had a slight curve to it, so if you swam along the side wall, you might swim further. ​

After I got to the far turn around and started to head back, I started to feel cold and losing energy.  I also wasn't thinking clearly anymore as I started to veer off to the side all by myself and was close to the side wall.  Before I knew it, nobody was around me and I was no place near the swim buoys.  How did that happen???  I think that I was more concerned about how I couldn’t feel my arms anymore and stopped paying any attention to what direction I was swimming in.  I really struggled to find any rhythm felt like getting back to land was taking entirely too long.  Sure enough, when I popped out of the water, I saw one of my slowest swims to date- 1:02.  I was really disappointed, but knew that Ironman was a long day and I could still salvage a good race if I had a good bike and run.

Onto the bike I struggled to get settled.  My feet and hands were ice cold and numb.  It was still in the upper 50’s, and after being in the water for too long, I couldn’t even push the buttons on my watch.  The bike course was simple just like the swim, out and back…only this time it was 3 loops.  I had heard about this bike course as being fast and easy.  The way out was a gradual incline, nothing too hard, but just enough to limit your speed from being too fast.  The way back would be fast as you would get the downhill.  While I didn’t notice the incline while going out, I did notice the wind.  Wow, it was pretty strong!  Good news was that my power/watts on the bike felt effortless.  I was able to ride along at good watts albeit only going anywhere between 17-19 miles an hour going out.  I was still moving past quite a few people and making up ground on those ahead of me.  I even questioned if my power meter was reading too high because of how easy it felt!

After I made it to the far turn around, I immediately felt the tailwind.  Wow- the way back was going to be awesome!  And it sure was.  What was 17-19mph turned into anywhere between 30-38 mph.  I was running out of gears and had to spin pretty quickly just to keep the power up.  I made it back to town in 34 minutes.  That same trip when first going out took me 56 minutes!  This put me at 1hr 30 minutes to finish one loop, and I got pretty excited to see that if I kept it up I would ride in the 4.5 hr range. ​

Lap 2.  I still was riding along with good power and spirits were high.  I could tell I was making my way up in the standings and nearing the front of the age group race.  But then the congestion set in.  I started to blow my nose every few minutes and the big green globs were back. The sleeves on my kit were covered in the thick mucous, but I needed to keep getting as much of it out as I could.  My body was still fighting the infection going on in my head, but I was feeling ok enough to keep fighting and pressing on.  It was also during lap two that I had something crazy happen.  As I was making the pass on a female rider that was on her first lap, she suddenly veered right into me for no reason and almost took me out.  I figured it was because a gust of wind caught her and pushed her over.  Nope.  As I looked back, she was in her aerobars texting on her cell phone!  I had never seen such a thing during a race and immediately screamed at her to put that away and watch where she was riding.  What has gotten into people?!

Past that, I continued to press on up the road.  Loop 2 was a touch slower as it seemed that the wind was a little stronger, but my power was still good and I was still making up ground on everyone up ahead of me.  I finished up the loop in 1:33, so I was still on pace for a bike split in the 4:3x’s.  It wasn’t until I started lap 3 that I knew I was starting to get into some trouble.  My body was simply fatigued.  Nutrition was fine, hydration seemed fine, it simply was fatigue.  I immediately began to question why I was out there and just wanted to be done.  But then I saw Jacqui coming by as she was finishing her second lap.  I did some quick math and realized she was having a FAST race.  It got me really excited knowing that she could have an incredible time if she held it together and then did her normal on the run.  Knowing that about Jacqui is what got me through that last lap.  Sure my power was a lot lower, but I was still moving forward and once I got to the far turnaround I would barely even have to pedal the last 18 miles because of the downhill and tailwind. ​

Back into town, I ended up finishing the bike in 4:41 which made my last lap 1:37.  I definitely had slowed, but still finished the bike averaging close to 24mph.  I felt awkward and in pain as I made my way into transition.  A quick change and off onto the run course I went.  I had a feeling that I was fairly high in the standings and as it turned out I was the 5th amateur onto the run.  Nothing felt right and I had a feeling that I was in for another long run, just like Kona.

In that first mile, I concentrated on trying to find some sort of rhythm, but couldn’t until I was finally able to relieve myself.  Once done with that, my pace immediately improved.  Through the first mile in 6:47 and then mile 2 in 6:30.  Things were coming around!  Mile 3- 6:15!  I continued to move through the miles and the pace was holding consistently.  I started to settle right in the 6:30-6:40 range and figured even with a small drop off I would be able to be sub 3 hours. ​

Around mile 8, the course took us up a small hill…and thats when the body started to shut down again.  It wasn’t as immediate as in the past, but my stride was gone, and I wanted to be done.  I also was noticing that I couldn’t get enough fluids in.  The dry air was making it seem like I could never ‘quench’ my thirst.  I knew that the second loop of the run was going to be quite a struggle because even before I started it, my pace had dropped into the mid 7s and it was extremely uncomfortable.

I made my way to special needs and grabbed my handheld bottle of salty lemonade with caffeine.  It helped just a touch, but realized that I drank it way too fast.  I forgot just how much salt I had put into my bottle.  All of that salt that I had taken in throughout the day was not helping how thirsty I had felt.  I dumped the rest of my bottle and used it to fill up with water for the rest of the run.  After getting through about 8 tough miles and a lot of water intake, I actually started to feel quite a bit better.  I think it was too much salt too early in the race (on the bike and early miles of the run) that made me feel really off.  My miles started to improve as I moved back into the low 7s all the way into the finish line. ​

When I finished, the only thing that I thought was, “my body needs a break.”  After racing quite hard year after year as well as finishing my 7th Ironman in the last 2 years, I realized that I had asked quite a lot of my body.  A break was needed as I was run down.  But to put it into perspective, an 8hour 59 min Ironman finish on a run down body is pretty good :)

I’m sure you all know that feeling.  You take a breath and it feels like your nose turned into exhaust pipes with fire coming out of them.  You don’t have that normal pep to your step and even the little day to day tasks seems to take a little more energy out of you than normal.  Sometimes you try to convince yourself that you are just a little worn down and just need some extra rest.  Ultimately we all know what is to follow…being sick and down for the count.

I specifically remember those feelings on Wednesday, Oct. 4.  I woke up just as every other day and got on with my day.  I had to run a few errands and headed out to Libertyville to meet up with Michael from Ice Friction to pick up my newly coated chainrings, cassettes, and chains for Kona.  While driving, I felt just ‘off’ and chalked it up from just getting through the bulk of my training.  But then I felt the hotter than normal air starting to come out of my nose.  Not good.  I made sure to get to bed early that night in hopes that the sleep would recharge my body and have me back to normal.  No luck.  I woke up a few times that night in a cold sweat dripping through my clothes.  NOT GOOD.  I couldn’t believe it, just over a week out and a day before leaving for Kona I caught a bug and was sick.  At first I was frustrated and tried to deny it, but knew that I had just over a week to hopefully kick whatever I had and be ready to toe the line at the 2017 Ironman World Championships.

That Friday (Oct 5), I really struggled to get through the day.  I had a lot to do between disassembling bikes, packing, finishing some coaching plans, and getting the house cleaned up before leaving for the week.  Every little task took much longer than normal and I felt extremely weak even just moving.  All I wanted to do was lay in bed, but had so much to do before leaving the next morning.  I made sure to take some cold and flu medicine which seemed to help in little bouts, but I knew I was pretty sick and just prayed that it would get better before race day. ​

The next morning, one week out from the race, I was planning on waking up early to get out and run 8 miles with Jacqui before out flight.  No luck there as I woke up feeling even more miserable than the day before.  I had started to cough a lot more, my throat had seized up, and getting words out took a ton of effort.  I opted to sleep in the extra hour before hopping into the car with my dad and Jacqui to head out to the airport.

If I learned anything from the trip, that one thing was that flying while sick is absolute misery.  Our flight took off Saturday morning with a few hours layover in LA.  I made it through the first flight ok, but then struggled quite a bit on the second one from LA to Honolulu.  With a quick stop in Honolulu, I felt the effects of flying and just wanted to be back in home and in bed.  I had completely lost my voice and could tell things were much worse than before we left.  Since our flight was quite a bit delayed over to Kona, we got in a lot later than expected, and I was wiped.  Between the time change, full day of travel, and battling the sickness, I was losing all hope for a good race which was then 6 days away.


Our original plan was to build the bikes up after checking into our condo, but since we were delayed, and I was exhausted, I just went right to sleep after checking in.  We had a lot planned for the next two days, so I figured the more sleep I could get, the better.  Jacqui and I woke up Sunday morning with a full schedule on tap.  We planned on heading up to Hapuna beach, parking, and then riding out bikes from there to the turnaround point in Hawi, then ride back.  Since I wasn’t able to build the bikes up the night before, I ended up assembling them in the parking lot at the beach.  Even though it was 8am, I was sweating bullets and felt lightheaded / congested.  Being stubborn, I really wanted to get a ride in since I did no training the previous 2 days.  I also felt ok enough that I figured if I rode easy, it wouldn’t be too bad.  The ride ended up being pretty good given the circumstances (45 miles or so in 2 hours).  As soon as the ride finished we threw on running shoes and did a quick 2 mile brick run.  This is where I struggled…easy run pace was extremely difficult and my heart rate was through the roof.  It sure scared me, but I chalked it up to the heat/humidity and long day of travel.  I didn’t want the sickness to start playing games in my head and did everything I could to convince myself that race day would be ok. ​

The rushing continued as we immediately threw our gear in the car, zipped back to the condo, rinsed off, and packed an overnight bag.  We were immediately back at the airport to fly over to Honolulu to meet Jacqui’s parents for a luau and island fun.  This all sounded wonderful and great when we booked it all…but when my energy was severely limited, it was very difficult to enjoy the fun activities we had planned.  It was nice that the flight was a quick 35 mins and Jacqui’s parents met up at the airport to give us a ride to the luau.  At that point, I was ready for bed, but kept the eyes pried open and did my best to enjoy the food/show. ​

That night, I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.  I still felt really sick / nauseous and woke a few times in the middle of the night to take medicine.  The next morning was another busy day as we were up at 5am to head out for a full day of Pearl Harbor / Honolulu touring.  Our tour bus picked us up and we were gone until around 4pm.  A whole lot of exploring and walking around left me wiped again.  I definitely wouldn’t trade it for anything though as I learned quite a bit and had a great time.  I would highly recommend that if ever in Hawaii..make a stop for the day and see / learn more about Pearl Harbor.  Incredible stuff and left me in awe for many parts of the day. ​

After touring for the day, it was back onto the plane at night to zip back over to Kona.  It was a busy/packed 1.5 days, but still only Monday…so plenty of time to rest up and get race ready!  We landed back in Kona late Monday, grabbed some quick food, and went to bed right away thereafter.

For the sake of boring-ness, I won’t go into detail about the next few days as there really wasn’t much that went on.  I seemed to continue to improve and even had a voice to talk starting on Wednesday morning.  Some energy had come back, but I was still really nervous that going into the race less than 100% was going to be a tough task to tackle.  Jacqui and I did a whole bunch of the usual pre - race activities like swimming to the coffee boat, running in the underpants run, and drinking lots of Kona coffee.  I was even able to start getting some faster paced pick ups and efforts in while training for the few days pre-race!  By race morning, I knew I was in for a different kind of battle, but knew I would give it everything that I had given the circumstances. ​

RACE Day-​

Up at 3am, I felt ready.  I mentally was ready to have a good race.  I love the quiet time in the morning as I make coffee and sit outside on the lanai eating my pre race breakfast of oatmeal, banana, and PowerBar.  There is just a calmness where I can mentally prep race execution in different types of situations.  We all know that in Ironman racing, anything can truly happen.  So the more that you are prepared for it, the better you will perform!

Race morning at Kona is incredible.  You check in your special needs bags, hop in line to get body marked, get weighed in at the scales, and then are set off to your bike to get them prepped.  Time moves much too quickly and seems that you are in the water waiting for that cannon to blast.  I waited until 8 minutes before race start before hopping into the water and swimming over to the start line.  Kona is quite interesting in that you are required to swim the 200 or so meters out to the start line.  You then tread water with hundreds of your best friends (or enemies ;) ) before the cannon is blasted to start the race.  This year, I felt that I had the best start that I ever have had in Kona.  I kept a keen eye on my watch so that I would know when to expect the cannon as it always seems to come out of no where!  I soaked in the Hawaiian drummers and tried to really appreciate that I was out there doing something that I love and SO many others would give anything to be in my position.

I started my watch about 30 seconds before the start as I wouldn’t have to fumble it pushing start and then swimming.  I was able to get off the line quickly and took the first 200 or so meters out quickly.  To my surprise, I have completely clear water to my right.  It was oddly eerie as it almost felt like I was off course or not really swimming where I was supposed to.  I could not even see ONE body to my right.  Sure enough though, I converged with swimmers that started on the right and chaos began.  From about 500 meters until the finish of the swim, I was jammed in tight with hundreds of other swimmers.  I was feeling pretty comfortable and the effort wasn’t too bad.  Between all of the chaos of race morning, I realized that I didn’t say any prayers before the start, so took time as I was swimming to pray for all of those out there, especially Jacqui.  I think a lot about her as we are out there racing. Always hoping that her race is going well, that she is safe and healthy, and that we make it through the day to the best of our abilities.

When I got to the turn around boat, I took a quick glance at my watch and saw 28 mins.  I figured this was a good point to be at and set me up nicely to swim sub 60 mins which was my goal coming in.  The back stretch of the swim course is usually a little less congested, but there are still a lot of others around.  This year, I had another athlete cut in front of my as he was trying to hop on the set of feet that I was behind.  I got a quick kick to my eye which pushed my goggle in extremely tight.  I also swallowed a huge gulp of super salty salt water which sent me into cough gagging.  Other than that, the swim was pretty uneventful.  The tight goggle gave me a massive headache for the last 15-20 mins of the swim, but I made it out in 59 mins and knew I’d be in great position starting the bike.​

T1- just a few struggles getting my kit on due to the sleeves being stuck, but volunteers helped yank it on.  In and out with no issues.

Onto the bike I felt ok.  Nothing great, but it usually takes a few miles to settle and get going.  As always, it was very congested with athletes all over the place.  The first 10 miles or so are a bit crazy since there isn’t much of anywhere to go and then there is a no passing zone down Palani hill.  So athletes get a bit bunched and jostle for position.  Once out onto the Queen K, I started to really focus on my hydration and nutrition.  My watts looked good and I was riding well.  By mile 19 on the bike I had ridden up to 26th place in my age group (after coming out to the water in 64th).  But shortly after, everything that I was taking in started to come out.  Sorry for the detail here but water, nutrition…it was all coming right back up and spraying off the side onto the Queen K highway (also sorry for anyone riding behind me).  This continued and after counting a total of 8 bouts of spews within the first 90 mins, I gave up counting.

Being in race mode, I continued to press and rode my normal Ironman watts of right around 215.  Right around mile 40, it hit me.  My heart rate rose, my legs felt weak and wobbly, and I could tell something was off.  All of those nutrients and fluids that were coming out left me weak and barely able to ride.  This was also the point where the winds were picking up and the climb up to the turnaround was about to happen.  I watched as I went from 215 watts, down to 145, and just turning the pedals over.  All of those that I had passed were now going past me as if I was standing still.  The effort to get up the 7-8 mile climb towards the turn around was extremely difficult and I saw the race slipping away from me. ​

By mile 50 I had come to accept that the day wasn’t going to be how I had planned.  The sickness got the best of me and my body was shutting down quickly.  The only thing that I could do was dial things back to keep moving and take in any nutrition that would sit.  And it so happened to be that Coke was the only thing really sitting.  Each aide station on the bike I grabbed two bottles and was able to finish them before getting to the next one.  It was settling ok and kept me moving.  Luckily, the wind coming back after the turn around wasn’t too bad and I was able to ride fairly quickly even on low watts.

I ended up running the first few miles in the mid 6:30s and was passing others pretty quickly.  My competitive side really wanted to keep digging and fighting against my unwilling body.  I was even moving up in the standings and by mile 5 was in 13th in my age group.  As I kept pressing, my body had enough.  I started to get wobbly and lightheaded.  I knew I was in trouble and needed to do something.  I slowed my pace as much as I could and kept loading up on water, gatorade, coke, and gels.  Starting at mile 6, I decided that as much as I wanted to keep pressing, if I did it wouldn’t end up pretty.  There is only so much the body can handle, and mine definitely had enough already.  I convinced myself that if I just ran as slow as I possibly could and not walk, I might be ok.  With the slower pace, my heart rate came down a touch and settled.  Nothing felt good and every stride forward took all of my will power.  I still had 20 miles to go it frightened me thinking that if I walked, I would be out there for a REALLY long time. ​

By the time I got to mile 9, I was hoping that I would see Jacqui at any moment as she would be in the beginning miles of the run.  I typically see her and was shocked when I made the turn to start running up Palani hill.  All I wanted to do was see her crushing the race as I knew it would make something positive out of the day.  But I didn’t, and I got worried.  I kept pressing on and convinced myself that I must have missed her in my delirious state of mind.

The miles ticked by one by one, each anywhere from 8:05 to 8:30. I was actually completely shocked that I was running low 8 min miles as it felt like I was going closer to 12.  I ran to the level that my body allowed me to and there was no way that I could have gone any faster than that.  As I got to around mile 18, I started to notice that not only were people not passing me anymore, but I was starting to catch a few in front of me.  I kept trudging forward, fighting, digging, and said many prayers hoping that all the athletes out there were safe and could finish strong.

I finally saw Jacqui as I was nearing mile 23 which made me feel a whole lot better knowing that she was ok.  I knew she wasn’t having the race she wanted as she would have been a lot further up the road than when I saw her.  But I did a lot of reflection over those long, slow, miles.  I had a lot to be grateful for and am truly blessed to be able to do what I love to do especially with someone that means so much to me.  We really are incredibly lucky to have spent our first 5 years of marriage celebrating on the island of Hawaii and racing in the world championships.  I know of many that can only dream of ever getting the opportunity to be there even just 1 time.
​
Now don’t get me wrong…of course I was upset, mad, sad..you name it…pretty much all of the emotions as I was out there.  I worked really hard, made some big sacrifices, and put big time/money into that one day.  But in the end, I told myself that nothing in life is a given and you can’t have everything go the way that you always want it to.  All you can do is put your head down, work hard, and enjoy the journey / outcome whether it is good or bad.  So that is what I did…I put my head down and ran as hard as I could especially down that last mile and crossed the finish line completely spent.  I cried, I smiled, I collapsed.  It was over and I did everything that I could on that day.  So many emotions and feelings that I cannot even describe them all.  All I know is that in the end it was the most emotionally and physically demanding day that I have ever gone through. ​

​Finishing up, I ended as 14th in the Age group and 50th overall amateur.  Definitely not too bad considering all that I went through.  I waited for Jacqui and finally were able to celebrate the good and the bad and share our stories of they day.  She fought similar battles throughout and know that the entire experience is only going to make us better athletes in the end.  I cannot wait for what is to come next!

​As always, thank you to those that helped along the way especially in this action packed 2017 season:


EGO - power beyond belief.  4 years strong of support from such a great company.  They’ve helped Jacqui and I pursue this crazy journey and definitely could not have done it without them.


Sammy’s Bikes - Sammy has always been there, all the way back to our first year back in Kona.  Helping out any way that he can.  He is always someone that I can count on to help and his support does not go unnoticed.  His passion for those that come into his shop is reflected day in and day out.  Thank you Sammy, you truly are a great friend.


Javelin Bikes - Knowing that I am on a custom bike made to fit my dimensions has been a dream.  Easy to ride fast on low watts and even better being able to reach out and have the support of a company is great to have.  The Maggiore has been a dream to ride and always sets me up to run well!


Ice Friction - Stepping in in a huge way this year, this company has really supported Jacqui and me in more ways than I can even express.  From making sure we are always ready to go before races and making sure our equipment is top notch all the way to stepping in and helping the athletes that I coach.  Thank you for everything!


Alto Cycling- Bobby and his crew have really supported me through the last few years.  They even jumped in and supported Jacqui which was greatly appreciated.  Knowing that the products are assembled and made in the US and having someone direct to go to is huge.  Having top of the line wheels that help me go fast (even on low watts! :p ) is a wonderful asset to have.


PowerBar- Been using their products for so many years now.  Always works well and delivers what I need to get through the training each day.  Thank you PowerBar for supporting and helping us each year!

Last minute races....that seems to be the theme of this year so far.  One thing is for sure though- I'm signed up for 70.3 Worlds and Kona- so I'll be fully prepared for those!

Madison 70.3 wasn't originally in the plans.  The plan was to be out in Boulder cheering for and supporting Jacqui in her Ironman for the weekend.  Unfortunately, the injury bug caught her and she was forced to make the call that racing most likely wouldn't be the smartest decision.  With 10 days until the race, I was able to get a spot on the start line for Madison 70.3 since the weekend was then open for me.  I debated a little bit as the Grand Rapids Half Iron race was the same day, but I had a few athletes racing in Madison, and I wanted to test the race out as I just LOVE the Madison area.  

Doing some pre race prep, I was able to make the quick 90 mile drive the week before the race and get in a course recon bike ride.  I knew this course wasn't the same at the full Ironman, and figured it would be nice to know what I was getting myself into.  After riding the course, I was questioning if I really wanted to race it!  What a tough one to race!  Hills and wind seemed to be the theme, but I told myself that if the wind wasn't so bad, the race itself would be a lot of fun.  

As race day got closer- the wind in the forecast looked scary.  20-30 mph sustained winds with gusts in the 45mph range.  Yikes!  As with every forecast, I tried to remember that weather changes in the blink of an eye... so instead I focused on what I would need to do in order to execute a good race.  

With the race being so close, Jacqui and I hit the road the day before the race around 1pm and made the quick drive up to Madison.  Check in was quick and easy and I was even able to meet up with athletes, Kati and Megan, before jumping into the lake for a quick swim.  Luckily, the water was much warmer than what it was the week prior.  Reports showed it went up over 11 degrees in the span of a week thanks to the 90+ heat wave that hit the midwest.  The only problem:  WIND.  WOW was it windy. 

After a quick bike drop off and dinner, it was time to finalize all the race gear back at the hotel and an early lights out due to the looming 4am wake up call.  

Race Day:

Immediately, I went outside to get a check on the weather.  Wind was still there!  But definitely went down from the day before.  As long as it held off we would all be ok.  The other problem: HOT.  Even at 4am, the temps were already in the low 70s.  It was going to be a scorcher of a day.  Over the last few years, I have preferred the heat as it tends to really open up the field of racing.  I've learned how to cope well and adjust in the heat and even have put out some great races in 90+ degree days such as in Kona.  

It was a fairly relaxed morning.  Nothing out of the ordinary- got the bike checked out, got in some pre race nutrition, and had plenty of time to spare.  I was hoping for a swim warm up, but the lifeguards didn't seem to get the memo on what time they were supposed to arrive and left all the athletes overheating on the beach standing there in their wetsuits.  

The start of the race was a rolling start.  I've come to love these as it lets you self seed yourself.  With age group waves, you end up catching others and fighting to make your way through the swim (unless you are first wave).  It just makes a messy start and overall swim as people of different swim speeds are spread out all across the course.  I seeded myself in the 27-30 min group as I was thinking a 28 min swim was right around where I would be.  

As we rolled out into the water, I got out to a quick start and was swimming right where I wanted to.  I focused on strong and efficient pulls and was feeling great.  About 7 mins into the swim though, something clicked and I felt drained.  No energy, no focus...I went from good to bad quickly.  My form was junk and I felt like I was fighting the water.  At the first turn buoy, I wanted to get out and be done.  I wasn't sure what had happened, but it just wasn't pretty.  Others were quickly passing me and I tried to refocus and tuck in behind them, but they would be gone and out of sight before I could even respond.  Maybe I had taken it out much too fast?  Whatever it was, I thought that my race was over with and that there would be no way I could make up the ground lost during the swim.  

Eventually I rolled up onto shore feeling completely out of it.  I was tired, dizzy, and not really knowing where I was.  I didn't even look down at my watch because I didn't want to get discouraged.  I did hear my dad shout out 32...which I figured was 32 minutes.  So I was definitely a bit disappointed with that, but it turns out he was yelling out what place I was in.  Swim time: 29 mins.  Not that bad considering how terrible I swam.  

As I made my way through T1, things were not pretty.  I have never felt so 'off' and out of it.  My head was spinning and the only thing keeping me from knowing where to go was the fencing to my sides.  It was the first time I felt like this and hoped that once I could get on the bike, things would settle down a little.  

The bike didn't get much better.  

Immediately, I started riding and the watts that I typically ride at just were not there.  There are some races where I come out and I have to control myself to dial back.  Not today.  I was fighting for every watt and they weren't coming very easily.  I made the decision to dial back a little as I knew it was going to be a long day in the heat, wind, and hills.  Early in the ride, I hit a bump pretty hard and it seemed like from then on, my power meter acted up.  It gave me numbers all over the board, primarily reading 0 watts.  This may have been a good thing as seeing low numbers the entire ride may have frustrated me even more.  Instead I had to ride on feel and effort. 

Early in the ride, I was passed by another rider.  I made it a goal to not let him get too far away and let his efforts hold me accountable and dialed in.  As I neared the initial climbs around mile 14, I made the pass on the rider as I was a bit smaller and figured it wouldn't have to work as hard to get up.  My legs and body were coming around a little bit, but I still just didn't have the normal 'snap' that I feel when racing.  It was going to be a big mental test to see how hard I could press on for the remaining 3.5 hours of the race.  

I rode hard when I was able to, but needed to dial back at times to regroup and refuel.  The course itself was just as hard as it was the week prior.  Hotter, still some wind, and those hills definitely didn't get any smaller.  To add to the difficult course, many of the hills (I'd call them small mountains) had turns at the bottom.  So after you worked so hard to get to the top and then enjoy the free speed coming down the other side, you were forced to break and slow down considerably to make a sharp turn at the bottom.  Then go right back up!  It was on one of these tricky sections that I had a friend join me making the course even more difficult.  The friend?  A big german shepard sprinting at me as I'm trying to make my way up a hard climb.  I was barely moving at 9mph as he popped out of no where and had his mouth wide open ready to take a chunk out of my right calf.  I unclipped my right foot ready to defend just as he was about to get me.  He seemed to stop just as I unclipped, but then came charging back at me.  I had a little gap and sprinted to try and hold him off, and it worked!  The only problem....my heart rate was through the roof it took me the next few miles of easy riding to regroup and feel normal again.  

The rest of the race wasn't too eventful.  We had a nice tailwind to push us back into town, but the hills never went away.  I missed a turn on the crowded bike path as we were finishing which was a little frustrating, but I was able to stop and turn around to get back on track.  

Into transition, I could tell my body was zapped.  Still no energy and the heat and hills of the bike really fatigued me.  I had a quick transition, refueled to keep the fluids coming in, and made my way out onto the run course.

HOT- it was a tough run.  I got the update that I was in 3rd place coming out of transition and starting the run.  3 mins down to 2nd place and 7 mins down to 1st place.  Lots of ground to make up!

I didn't count myself out, but I had not felt that miserable starting a run probably in over two years.  I tried to focus on good form, fast turnover, and making sure I was staying on top of hydration and nutrition.  But my legs felt like big weights and it was hard to get rolling.  Through the first mile, I took a glance and saw 5:40.  Not too bad, but I typically will go out in 5:25 range (and feeling A LOT better).  I caught 2nd place shortly before mile 2 as he walked through an aide station.  It was then that I figured I wasn't the only one hurting.  I was able to get the update that 1st place was just up the road so from there I completely dialed back.  I caught first around mile 3 and had a big sense of relief as I was able to go into cruise control.  From then on, I never looked at my watch to see what I was running.  Rather I just stayed as comfortable as I could.  

The run course was fairly challenging...every hill stung quite a bit more than the previous one.  Luckily the first 8 miles or so were pretty shaded which kept things cool, but the hills made things interesting.  A few more updates were that I was around 4 mins ahead of the 2nd place guy which was nice to hear.  But I didn't know how fast they were running and my entire body was not cooperating.  Step after step, I trudged my way through the miles.  The last 2 miles seemed to take forever as there was a STRONG head wind.  The wind normally doesn't effect me too much, but on that day, I struggled with it.  I took a quick few glances back and couldn't see anyone, so I took it very easy to finish up the race and get to the finish line.  

The race itself never seemed to click for me, but its good to know that even on an 'off' day I can perform at a high level.  I realized that I need to make a few changes in my training and dial things in as 70.3 worlds will require an 'A' game performance to do well at.  I've been looking at other 70.3 races as I'd like to do another before worlds.  It might end up being another last minute race decision :) 

After the race, I was able to spend some time with all of the others that raced and you could tell the race took a toll on everyone.  So BIG congrats to everyone out there that raced!!!

To cap the day, the most exciting part happened just as everyone was about all packed up and ready to head home.  

Good friend and pretty much my first athlete that I started coaching, Megan Hode, was targeting a 70.3 Worlds slot.  She raced Chatty 70.3 early this year and came up just a touch short.  So she too signed up for Madison in hopes to try again.  As we sat at the awards, her age group was allocated 2 spots for Worlds.  The two spots were taken pretty quickly and I could tell she was pretty defeated.  We all sat in silence waited for them to finish up.  The last age group (female 18-24) had 1 slot for worlds.  And guess what...nobody took it.  The announcer fumbled through his papers and said the slot would go to the next biggest age group.  And wouldn't you know it...it went to Megan's group (30-34).  Two spots passed, and the announcer called Megan's name for the spot.  I still get chills sitting there watching it happen.  You can get a full read on the details on her blog:  meganhode.blogspot.com/2017/06/punching-my-ticket-to-worlds-wisconsin.html  Give it a read...it really is a great story!  So congrats to Megan- all of that hard work paid off!!

As mentioned, it is a little unknown what is next for me.  I'll try to get the next one planned out a little more in advance, but no promised.  I do know that I will be cheering Jacqui on as she targets her Kona slot at Ironman Lake Placid next month!  Should be a great summer and big finish to the year!

Thanks as always to my great sponsors and supporters:

EGO
Sammy's Bikes
Javelin 
Alto
PowerBar
Ice Friction


​Until the next one! 

Before getting into the nitty gritty, lets go into how I decided to race in a mere 2 hours on race week….

Going back early February, I was starting to build some endurance with the lead into Ironman Texas.  Training was going great:  my swim was faster than it ever was, my bike was on par with past performances, but my run speed was what was finally back.  I was back to running sub 10 minute 2 milers in training and was just about to get into the build of endurance.  On an early February Saturday, I came back from coaching practice and rushed into a 10 mile endurance run on the treadmill.  I was on a time crunch, rushed through the run, and immediately set out the door for a surprise birthday party.  I noticed that my back was in some pretty bad pain with any slight bending over motion.  As with most athlete mindsets, I shrugged it off and figured it was just some soreness from having a busy day and rushing around.  Day after day, the soreness never improved, and steadily started to get worse.  I continued running as I never experienced any pain while doing so.  I even was able to log a great 15 mile run down in Champaign averaged 5:50 pace in mid February…but the pain was still there when finishing.  The pain was radiating from my lower back, almost pelvis area, so I started to worry that it could be a sacral stress fracture.  As soon as the pain started to get bad when flip turning in the pool, I knew it was time to take action.  

Late February, I decided it was time to stop running and seek some help.  Luckily, I had the help of Olympia Chiro and PT in Elmhurst to get me back (pun intended) into a normal state of functioning. 

I received treatments from Dr. Mike Calcagno 4x a week for 3 straight weeks.  Adjustments, deep massage, strength, stretching, core, and stim for over 2 hours each session.  Slowly, I was starting to feel better, but decided that I wouldn’t run until the pain was completely gone.  I instead upped the amount that I was swimming (about 6x a week) and continued to bike.  After about 3.5 weeks, I noticed that the pain was slowly gettingg better doing flip turns in the pool and shortly after decided to incorporate short running back into the plan.  At this time it was mid-March. 

​Jacqui and I made a trip out to Boulder, CO for her spring break right around when I was starting to add some running in.  Unfortunately, I came down with a bad sickness for the week and only was able to get out and run 1 time that week.  The good news was that my back held up and didn’t feel worse post run.  I still had some slight soreness in my back, so I decided to start running every 1-3 days and would stop if the soreness ever got worse.

Race Day:​

Crazy enough, on race morning the water temp went to non-wetsuit legal.  Every day leading up to the race it was non-wetsuit (78 degs).  I was actually happy as I prefer no wetsuit and knew that I would need to wear one if it was 77.9 deg.  I was worried that I would overheat and struggle a bit.  

For the swim start, I lined up about 6 rows back for the rolling start.  I am really starting to enjoy the rolling start as I can usually find some open water quite quickly.  Mass starts are still a bit scary and hectic as you never know what is going to happen.  When the horn blew, I was out into the water and followed my prescribed plan and line to take.  I actually was swimming all lone for the first out section of around 1200 meters.  This is nice as I don’t have any contact, but also not the greatest since I have no feet to hop on.  I knew my line was the shortest/fastest, so stuck to the plan and knew as soon as we got to the turn buoy I would be with some faster swimmers.  
Sure enough, at the first turn, I was able to latch onto one swimmer and stuck to those feet for the next 1200 meters.  I felt good and strong pretty much the entire way through but could tell some fatigue was starting to set in as we neared the final canal stretch.  After a quick right turn, we entered the canal and I immediately could tell the water tasted a little differently…almost chalky.  There has been talk about swimming in the canal being less than sanitary, so that worried me a bit, but I focused on not getting to close to other swimmers and keeping any water from getting down my throat.  I will admit that swimming down the canal was a lot of fun as the spectators were lined up cheering and there was no need to sight as it was narrow enough to just swim down the middle.  

I hit the final turn buoy to head into transition and glanced down at my watch….59 minutes.  HUGE.  I was really happy with the time as I had never been under one hour in a non-wetsuit non-salt water swim.  Transition wasn’t the greatest as I struggled getting into my cycling shoes and getting my tri sleeved top up over my shoulders.  I moved as quickly as I could and knew it was a long day, but still need to work on that a little bit.  
​
Overall, looking back at swim stats- I was the 30th overall amateur out of the water.  This was out of 2500 athletes…not bad for someone that learned to swim in college.  This was a highlight of the race for me and definitely the best that I have ever swam.

Before getting to the last turn around of the first loop, I tried to get a gauge on where Clay was at and how much time I had on him.  The announcer confirmed that I was the first amateur to come through and then the counting began.  2 minutes.  2 minutes was the gap, but my pace was starting to drop.  I still felt great but could tell that my legs were getting heavy and the end of loop 1 (about mile 8.5).  Even with the tired legs, I trudged through mile after mile and continued to hold a lead.  Miles started to continue to creep up.  At mile 10 I was still running 6:45/mile and hit the half way point in 1:22…on pace for a 2:45 marathon.  Miles 14 and 15 was when I really knew I was in trouble.  My legs had enough and the pace continued to get closer to 7min/mile..  I was nearing the turn around at mile 17 and still holding the overall lead.  I was hoping that I wouldn’t see Clay at the turn around for loop two….and as soon as I started running back, I saw him.  He was only about 30 seconds down and it was there that I knew I was done.  He passed me shortly before starting loop 3 (about mile 18) and made me look like I was barely moving.  ​

The final 8 miles, I knew I had to just dig deep and keep moving forward.  I tried to look at any positive, such as my back felt great with no pain at all.  But mile after mile, I was slowing.  7:18, 7:22, 7:44, 7:53…I then caught good friend Megan Hode.  She was on her first loop and it was a huge mental distraction seeing her.  I gave a quick tap on her shoulder and said I was done.  She turned into the coach and picked up her pace and started to run with me.  We talked and ran…all I remember was telling her how much pain I was in and how badly I wanted to stop.  Mile 22 ended up being an 8:13.  Nobody had passed me yet, and at that point I didn’t even care.  I just wanted to be done.  After running with Megan for the mile, my legs rebounded just enough to start rolling a touch faster.  Only 4 miles to go and the last few were along the canal that had incredible crowd support.  Mile 23 in 7:28..only 3 to go!  Step after step, I got closer.  A great friend of a friend, Jennifer Heinton, gave me one big final push with 2.5 miles to go and was going crazy for me.  7:22 for mile 24..only two mile to go.  I made my way to the turn around, could hear the announcer brining Clay into the finish, and saw that there were no other amateurs near me.  I was able to soak in the final 1.5 miles and even saw that I was going to have a new PR for the Ironman distance if I just jogged it in.  7:30 for mile 25...slow but still moving.

As always- a huge shout out to my 2017 supporters as this racing wouldn’t be possible without them:

EGO- Continuing to support athletes with big dreams.  Look for further for the best in battery operated lawn care equipment. There is a reason they are tagged as #powerbeyondbelief

Sammy’s- One of my longest supporters.  Sammy truly cares about his customers including me.  He always makes sure my bike and gear are race ready.  Only the best.
Javelin BIkes- My Javelin Maggiore continues to turn heads.  Custom built to my specs, its easy to dial in a super position and ride fast on low watts!
Ice Friction- Fastest chains out there!  My bike never felt so fast before…a clean drivetrain is a fast drivetrain.  Go save yourself some valuable watts with an Ice Friction chain

Alto Cycling- Smooth spinning and flat out fast wheels.  Choices from clinchers to tubulars, shallow profile all the way up to their new disc!  Options for all courses and races!

PowerBar- Nutrition to keep me fueled before, during, and after racing. 

Getting out of the water, I had no idea what my swim time was since my watch didn’t start on time.  I felt like it was fast, but what mattered most to me was that I felt good.  Through the showers and into transition, I struggled getting my Wattie sleeved suit up and over my shoulders.  Two wonderful volunteers helped and tugged on the suit pulling it up and over.  I heard a few rips, which is never good, but eventually it was on and zipped.  I tried something new this year and put my bike shoes on in transition.  Since I come out with such a large amount of others, getting on the bike and messing around with my shoes is tough.  So I clunked through transition, but hopped on the bike zipping past the others putting their shoes on.  I will most likely stick with this strategy in the future. ​

Official Swim Stats:
59:51
75th in Age Group
474th Overall

Bike-
Ok, so here is where the race gets real.  The first few miles loop around town with guys jockeying for position and riding usually like crazies.  I tried to stay relaxed and hold my position / work my way through some of the weaker riders.  After a few miles, I noticed one guy absolutely flying.  His calves were the size of my quads, and I immediately thought he was going way too hard and would explode.  Well….that didn’t happen.  This dude turned out to be a pro cyclist and rode a 4:29.  Only a handful of pros rode faster than him, and not by much.  He came off the bike over 10 minutes ahead of the next amateur in the race.  Insane.  Fast forward a bit, the guy was in the lead for the majority of the run as well, but then struggled a bit later in the race but still put up a great and respectable finish.

At first, I was unsure what to do.  I stood there with my crank arm in my hand thinking my day was done.  But then I remembered seeing a support vehicle that had just gone by.  Maybe they could help me?  But since they just went past, I would have to wait until I see another one.  Instead of standing there, I started to walk down the highway.  Then I realized that the faster I move down the road the better, so what better way to move faster than start running.  There I was running down the highway, waving my crank arm up in the air looking for anyone that could help me.  

After only 3 minutes of walk/run, I saw help!  I was surprised there was one so quickly, but they immediately stopped, pulled over, and ran over to see how they could help.  Unfortunately, the mechanic did not have a crank arm bolt tool, so he took his pliers and tightened it as much as he could.  He was only able to get the bolt in about half way, then cranked down the other two crank arm bolts.  It took him a while to figure it out, then did a quick adjustment on my front derailleur since there was still play in my crank arm.  It wasn’t all the way tightened, so there was movement, but he said he thought it would hold and be ok.  He handed me my bike with the bolt half way in and said good luck.  I said “anything that gives me a chance to get back and finish the race was better than walking 50 miles to the bike finish.”  ​

Going back through my Garmin post race, I was able to find exactly where and for how long I was stopped with the problem.  Here is a screen shot of my Garmin’s data during the mechanical.

*side note* -  a few people asked me how it happened.  That blame is all on me.  When transporting the bike, I take the bike apart to fit in the travel bags.  There are a lot of bolts to tighten and unfortunately, I must have forgotten one.  I had no issues riding the bike all week as it rode smooth and fast.  My best guess is that as I spun into really high cadence on the descent, the untightened bolt slowly undid itself and got to the point that it came loose. From now on, I plan to double and triple check each bolt on the bike after travel! *end of side note*​

Back in action, it was honestly very hard for me to get motivated and ride hard.  I told myself that any shot a podium was lost.  That was just too much time to make up especially when in such a competitive race like Kona.  But after a few minutes, the competitive drive kicked back in.  I started to notice people that I had passed early in the bike ride, and from then on made it a goal to catch as many people as I could.  

Official Bike Stats:
5:00:52 (22.34mph avg)
29th in Age Group
180th Overall

Into transition, I made sure to not step on any pavement.  Last year was misery as I scorched the ball of my foot.  Overall, I was in and out of T2 and out onto the run.

Run-

Immediately, I did not feel good.  I don’t wear a heart rate monitor, but I could tell my heart rate was higher than normal.  The only good thing that I had going for me was that I zoned out all negative thoughts.  I didn’t care how far back I was and I didn’t care how terrible my body felt.  I forced my legs to move and turn over as efficiently as I could and started to make my way through the field.  

Back onto the Queen K highway for the final stretch, I was digging deep.  2nd and 3rd were still too far up the road and nobody was really around me.  I used my special needs bottle of salty Rockstar lemonade and did my best to get from aide station to aide station.  Cloud coverage finally came (as it usually does in the afternoon), and I started to feel a touch better.  I kept an eye on anyone coming up from behind and told myself that I just needed to get to mile 24.  The last 2 miles of the race are fast and easy as you get the long downhill from Palani and then the final stretch where adrenaline is at an all time high.  ​

I caught up to an athlete in the 35-39 age group and we worked together to keep moving forward.  We urged each other to keep the pace and he kept thanking me for pulling him along.  He said he would let me finish in front of him if I could keep pulling him along! 

I saw Jacqui running along as I hit mile 23, she was near mile 11.  She said, “Must be nice to get on the podium again!”  I smiled and tried to let her know to keep working hard.  As I made my way to mile 24, I pulled a bit ahead of my new friend on the course and saw two more athletes up the road, both not in my age group.  I was making up ground quickly on them, but as we neared the final stretch, they took off in a sprint battle to the line.  As much as I would’ve liked to join, I was content where I was and soaked up the last stretch.  ​

The finish line at Kona is always incredible.  Good race or bad, its hard not to let out a big smile and sense of, “I did it!”  I closed my eyes and really couldn’t believe that after all that happened on the bike, I had moved myself all the way up to 4th in my age group and 8th overall amateur.  As hard as it was, I kept trying to push away the thoughts of what could have been or what would have been without the mechanical.  Rather I had to focus on how incredible it was to even finish where I did.  

Official Run Stats-
2:57:39 (6:46/mile avg)  
4th in Age Group
8th amateur overall
44th Overall with Pros
*1 of only 3 amateurs to go sub 3 hours in the marathon*

And some bonus photos:

Shortly after picking up the rental car, Jacqui and I went straight on over to the All World Athlete breakfast.  Knowing how expensive the trip in Kona is, we tried to take advantage of any saving we could  on our meals.  So the first meal was a free buffet at Splashers Grill since we both are Gold status athletes.  It also gave us something to do before we would be able to check into our studio apartment. After the breakfast, we made our way over to athlete check in as it just started and we figured it would be good to get it done and out of the way.   ​

Athlete check in is always a fun and exciting experience.  You are walked through the lines, sign your life away in waivers, get your official race athlete wrist band, and then get an athlete backpack. The bag didn't disappoint this year, although I thought the colors were a bit wonky.  It’s also getting to the point that I have too many backpacks, so hopefully one of these days Ironman can switch it up!  After all was done, we made our one and only trip into the merchandise tent and ended up buying a coffee travel mug and water bottle.  No more shirts or gear as our closet sees enough of those!  

The Saucony dinner was AWESOME!  Short story- Jacqui and I are part of the Saucony Hurricane team.  This team is primarily a road running team that we have been part of for the last 5 years now.  Since we both do quite a bit of open road races, Saucony has graciously put us on the team.  We have loved the shoes, apparel, and support from them over the years.  Since Kona was also the Chicago Marathon weekend, we received an email from the team director asking if we could meet up in Chicago to have dinner with the team.  Jacqui notified them that we could not make it as we were in Kona for the Ironman.  The team director then said that they were having a dinner for all of the Saucony sponsored pros and we could join them if wanted.  Sponsored pros….this means all the top names in the sport of triathlon including:  Heather/Trevor Wurtele, Linsey Corbin, Meredith Kessler, Tim Reed, Sarah Piampiano, and Susie Cheetham.  To say Jacqui and I were in awe and somewhat speechless is an understatement as we sat down at a table with such a small and select group.  These pros were incredible and down to earth, asking us questions and treating us as equals.  It sure did not feel like it though as we were “just” the age groupers.  Dinner itself was delicious as I had a lobster and filet meal!  Soooooo good!  Icing on the cake was when the manager of the pros handed Jacqui and I a bag that had custom Saucony Originals that were made specifically for their pros at Kona.  Only about 10 pairs of these were made, and Jacqui and I each got a pair!  How cool is that?!  We left on cloud 9 and couldn’t have been more grateful for that invite to the team dinner. ​

After the swim, Jac and I kitted up and hit the roads for one final bike spin.  As with all week, the bike was rolling and ready.  Unfortunately we rode a new route and ended up going uphill pretty much the entire way.  It was hard and we both felt really sluggish.  Being frustrated with how terrible we both felt, we turned around fairly early and just spun back to the apartment.  Then it was off for one final run.  I went up Palani Rd to mentally prep myself for the pain that it causes on race day!  ​

Now, a quick side note about the lead into race day.  I won’t lie…..it was VERY difficult for me to get excited about racing this year.  I raced A LOT.  Two full ironmans, three 70.3’s, one olympic, and two sprints.  Mentally and physically I was done.  I told those close to me that I honestly just wanted to race and whatever happened I would be fine with.  I had an incredibly rewarding season that was capped with two overall ironman wins and an age group world championship 70.3 title.  But I struggled after 70.3 worlds.  I had a hard time adjusting back to the time, wasn’t sleeping, and felt extremely fatigued.  My workouts never went well and instead of doing my own workouts, I typically would jump in and just swim/bike/run with Jacqui instead of going at my own paces.  All week long while out in Kona, it was extremely hard for me to get excited to race.  I woke up each day stiff, tired, and hurting more than I did from the previous day.  Of course I wanted to have a great race in Kona, but it was extremely difficult to get pumped for it when my body was just shutting down.  The negative thoughts were hard to push aside and they lasted all the way up until the the race day itself.  End of side note.

Back to Friday, after working out Jacqui and I prepped our bikes and got them ready for bike check in!  Bike check in is always a really fun experience as it feels like once your bike is there with your bike / run bags, there is a sense of relief.  All is done, taken care of, and all that is left is to sleep and get ready to race.  We spent some time lounging around, relaxing, and putting final touches on race prep for the remainder of the day before we hit up Lave Java for our usual pre race meal.  As normal, I mixed it up and went with Ahi Tuna (poke style) with brown rice and veggies.  It was delicious and hit the spot.  Dinner was quick, so we made it back to our rental plenty early to rest up for the remainder of the night.

​Next post will be race day and all that went down!

After breakfast, I really wanted to get a swim in but had no goggles, wetsuit, or swim suit.  But I was able to get over to the race expo and buy a pair of goggles and just swam in my running shorts from the day before.  I was definitely jealous walking around town seeing everyone riding their bikes and getting ocean swims in.  I had no choice but to wait and just hope the gear would show up.  I never like to workout two days prior to my races, so my time was getting very limited to get any riding in even if it did show up.  ​

Finally, later in the afternoon I received a call from the front desk that bags had showed up!  I’ve never put a bike together so quickly before as I really wanted to get out and ride.  For those that don’t know, Australia just had its last day of winter.  So just like back in the states in the winter, it gets dark early.  Around 5pm its already dark out, so I was out the door at 3:30pm and got in a quick preview of the bike course.  I kept hearing about “the hill” about half way through, so riding it was my was number 1 priority.  As soon as I saw the hill, I was quite surprised at how steep it was.  Not extremely long, but close enough to a 20% grade.  I was able to do the looped section of the course 2 times which included the climb, so I got a good feel of it.  The roads themselves had some rough teeth rattling sections and I feared the worst of getting a flat in a few of sections.  A lot of curves, some diving descents with sharp turns at the bottom, and narrow shoulders meant it could be a fairly dangerous stretch during the race.  I was relieved that I was able to get out and ride a good stretch of the course though.  And even better was that I had fresh clothes to change into when I got back!

From the start, I wasn't feeling the watts come too easily to me.  I had to work for each and every one of them.  But I was determined to work myself into a good position and started to really settle in once we hit the first highway stretch.  

FLAT and FAST.

Not a good recipe when you have 100's of highly talented athletes all jockeying for position.  At first this highway stretch wasn't too bad.  I was able to dial in my power and had smooth sailing passing other rides fairly easily.  As much fun as it was hitting 28-30mph going out on the highway, what I feared most was lurking behind me.  

After the first 15 miles, I made the turnaround on the highway and saw it behind me.  THE DREADED PACK.  I could see the packs forming behind.  Groups of 30+ tucked and absolutely flying.  New goal, stay away from the pack.

I did the best that I could, tucked, and was riding smoothly.  I was excited that I was passing riders and making my way through the field.  On my return trip on the highway, I glanced down to check my power numbers, looked back up, and WOAH!  

A KANGAROO!  He decided it was time to cross the road and just happened to end up inches in front of my front wheel.  I had to do a quick swerve to narrowly miss him.  There was a shot of adrenaline! 

Back on track, I made my way off the highway to begin the hilly section of the course which was around half way through the ride.  
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 A few miles before the heavy climbing, it happened.  

The pack had caught me.  Now about 40-50 riders deep riding in a pure peloton.  Jockeying for position and riding inches from others wheels, they came by like a freight train.  I had been dreading this moment as it happened the year before in Austria.  So hear me out...this is what happens:

The wave start in my mind was set up terribly.  
First wave of 35-39 year old men
10 mins later- Second wave of 30-34 year old men 
5 mins later- Third wave of 25-29 year old men

So there are 10 mins between the first wave, then only 5 mins between arguably the strongest two age groups.  The 25-29 year olds end up swimming strong up front coming out of the water with a HUGE group of 30-34 year old men.  They start riding and every one is riding with an ego.  On a flat and fast course, there is nothing to break them apart.  Slowly, they ride through picking up riders as the pack grows and grows.  35-39 year old men are already way up the road since they actually had a big time gap between them and the second wave.  

So my solution...either put in bigger time gaps between the waves (15 minutes) or alternate male to female waves.  Having all of the top male age groups right away creates a bunch of strong athletes all fighting for position.  There isn't enough dropping back, and honestly is very difficult to do when you have a flat and very crowded course.  There isn't anywhere to go.  

Back to my race.  

Luckily, when the group caught me- we hit the climbs.  The first climb was tough, but I was very grateful for it.  I pushed some big watts and could see the separation start between the riders of the pack.  Once at the top of the next small climb, even more riders cracked.  I continued to ride well over my intended race watts, but there was no way I was going to sit in the pack and be content.  I refused to get sucked in and rode off the front as much as I could.  

Every now and then a rider would come back around me, and I would immediately drop back and let a gap form.  Usually it would end up being a few riders that would come around.  But as soon as I had an opening I shot to the front again and hammered.  This up and down riding lasted for around 15 miles and it was definitely sucking all the life out of my legs.  It was MUCH MUCH MUCH harder than riding a steady state race.  My normalized power was sky high (higher than my olympic distance race watts), so I knew I was going to pay for it.  But I had committed to doing all I could to stay out of any draft.  

Eventually it all paid off.  I cracked most of the riders and rode off the front.  I settled and pushed high watts to keep them away, but then it happened again.  I caught the next group of riders up the road around mile 40.  This pack was primarily composed of 35-39 riders (they started 10 minutes ahead of me).  I rode straight through them, but had around 10 of them latch on as I went past.  It was frustrating as I was forced to yo-yo ride again, but this time since it was a much smaller group, I was able to drop back easily and keep distance between myself and any riders around me.  The draft marshall even rode the final 15 miles next to the riders around me and gave out penalties to those that were riding too closely.  I ended up pushing the ride fairly hard and rode through the front of that pack as well.  

By the time the ride was done, I had moved myself all the way up to 5th place in my Age Group.  From 110th out of the water to 5th off the bike (or 572nd overall male out of the water to 50th overall male starting the run).....not bad!!!  The only downside, I had rode with way to much variability (spiking the power and pushing too hard for short periods of time).  It was the only way that I was able to ride clean and I wouldn't have changed how I rode it in any way!

Into transition, I noticed not too many bikes!  Always a good sight to see.  

I was able to rack my bike right away and flew through the extra long transition.  Time to run!

Starting the run, I might have been a little anxious.  

The run was a simple out and back 2 loop run course.  Just over 3.3 miles out, 3.3 miles back and repeat.  Right at the start of the run, there was the famous 'Alex Hill.'  I barely even noticed going up and over and actually went through mile one in 5:12.  DEFINITELY TOO FAST.  But this was the world championships, and I was there to compete.  

It felt a touch labored, but nothing harder than what I normally felt in a half iron distance race. Rolling into mile 2, I hit 5:14.  Now I knew this pace was a touch too hot, but I figured that if I could move myself right to the front of the race, I could hang on and finish high.  As I made my way nearing the first turnaround, I could already feel my legs start to act up.  They felt heavy and didn't have the 'pop' that they normally had.  

I also noticed that shortly after turning around, we were then going into a headwind.  That explains the quick first few miles.  I was then battling a stiff wind and had to make my way back towards going up the other side of Alex Hill.  

Once down the back side of the hill, it was time to turn around and repeat.  I was able to see my dad, and he confirmed that I was leading the age group.  Definitely was a sense of relief.  

But I had trouble ahead.  

My legs and body started to refuse to move fast.  I struggled to hold my normal pace and each mile started to dip.  Slower and slower.  A runner that I had passed earlier went by me like I was standing still. Luckily he was 35-39, so I knew I was 10 minutes ahead of him.  But I still had no response.  And couldn't go with him.  It was the first time this year someone has passed me on the run, and it is not a good feeling!  

From mile 9-12 I had to dig DEEP.  I was physically checked out.  And the more that I thought about it, the more it made sense.  The bike effort had finally caught up to me.  All of those power surges had zapped my legs and they had enough.  Called it quits and didn't want to go anymore.  But mentally I was strong.  I forced them to keep moving.  Step after step, I kept going.  And constantly was looking at my surroundings to see if anyone was coming up from behind.

As I made it to the top of Alex Hill the final time, I had dipped into the 8's for a pace.  Slow, but I couldn't muster anything better.  Luckily, once at the top, I was able to use the downhill to propel my legs forward and got them to move back into the low 6's.  Two runners went past me in the last quarter mile, both in the 25-29 age group and again I had no response.  

I finally made it it down the final stretch, with no 30-34 age group men passing me.  I had done it.  Accomplished a goal that I had been shooting for the past few years.  30-34 WORLD CHAMPION!

I barely even knew what happened as it took every bit of strength physically and mentally to get across the line.  And it shows in my finish photo:

It took a little time to digest what happened, but all I could think about was how happy I was to finally just stop racing.  I had dug dipper than I ever had to get to that finish line, and it sure felt amazing to finally stop and breathe.  

My dad was there and confirmed, 1st in 30-34 age group and 4th amateur overall.  Top 3 amateurs coming from the 25-29 age group.

Post race, I could finally relax.  I grabbed a quick lunch with my dad, caught up with Jacqui back home, and let it all sink it.  After all the 'bad' that had happened one year prior, I was able to learn and fix what was needed.  

The next day was the awards ceremony- each age group was called up to the stage and the age group winners received their champion jackets.

After the awards, it was a quick turnaround with not much time to explore.  As much fun as it would have been to stay and enjoy some time in Australia, it was time to head back home and start the prep for the final big race of the year:  Ironman World Champs in Kona.  One more championship race meaning another goal to target checking off.  

Overall, the trip to Australia was incredible and one that I will never forget.  

Thank you to everyone that has supported me along the way!

And some bonus photos!

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Two weeks- two races!  

​Starting off with Leon's Olympic Distance.  The race marked my 4th triathlon of the year and completed the distance sweep of a sprint, olympic, half iron, and full iron in a span of 2 months!  Recap of what went down at Leon's can be found HERE.  A head to head battle for nearly 2 hours left me wiped. 

Onto the following week:

After having a great race experience at the 2015 edition of the Grand Rapids Tri and a few teammates / athletes / friends racing, I knew I wanted to go back.  But early in the week, there was some doubt.  The day after Leon’s Triathlon, I attempted to get in a long bike workout.  The plan was to get in around 80-90 miles, but I woke up feeling miserable.  My body was worn down, I was tired, and the last thing I wanted to do was work out.  But I always give workouts a go and do my best with them and reevaluate after warming up.  So I loaded up the bike, hit the roads, and from the gun could tell that I was off.  It was a struggle to get over 200 watts (even when putting in a good effort).  Usually I do a two part long ride- the first part goes out through Barrington and loops back past my house.  It gives me a chance to reload on nutrition/fluids, and then I head out the opposite direction towards Wisconsin.  But on Monday, I did the first part of riding through Barrington, and struggled to even make it back to the house.  I called it quits after 50 miles, plopped on the ground, and contemplated about racing over the weekend.  Doubt and question of what I should even race were lingering.

After laying low the rest of Monday, I woke up Tuesday and decided that I was going to continue to train hard through Thursday and then cut it off completely to rest on Friday/Saturday.  The plan seemed to work perfectly.  I had really good run/bike/swim workouts on Tuesday through Thursday giving me a bit of confidence heading into the weekend.  I knew that with some rest, I should be recharged and ready to race Sunday.  
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On Friday, Jacqui and I hit the road to Fort Wayne, Indiana to attend her cousin’s wedding.  We had a great time and enjoyed spending time with the family. 

The only downside was my dress shoes.  After getting back to the hotel around 11:30pm, I took my shoes off and my big toe was in pain.  Going back to Ironman Texas (4 weeks prior),  I banged up my nails and lost 3 of them (one being on my big toe).  The problem with the big toe was that the corner part of the nail didn’t want to budge...and it was too painful / lodged into the skin that I couldn’t pull it off.  So 95% of the nail came off, leaving that small corner stuck.  Well after wearing my dress shoes that are a little more pointy, the small sliver of nail was wedged deep into the skin (like an ingrown nail).  It felt like a sharp shard of glass was stuck.  So I went into operation and yanked, pulled, and tugged until I finally was able to get the remaining toe nail pieces out.  Very painful, but it was a big of relief when it finally came off. 

While trying to fall asleep, my toe started to throb.  And it got worse as the minutes went by.  It felt like my big toe had its own heartbeat, each beat making me wince in pain.  I was afraid it was infected and could not fall asleep.  I laid there hoping that I could sleep, wake up, and be better....but it never happened.  At 3:30am, I had had enough.  I got up, grabbed my keys, and wobbled out the door to go to the grocery store down the road.  I barely was able to walk as any pressure put on my foot was painful.  I had serious doubt that I was going to be able to race a mere 30 hours later.  At the store, I picked up some triple antibiotic with pain relief and rubbed it into my raw, painful toe as soon as I got back into the car.  By the time I was back in bed, it was 5am.  So much for sleeping two nights out from a race!  
Luckily, the antibiotic kicked in a bit and there was some relief.  Enough of a relief that I was able to close my eyes and fall sleep for a few hours.  Since we didn’t have to be anywhere, it was nice that Jacqui and I could sleep in and take our time Saturday morning.  I could tell that there was improvement when I woke up, but still could feel how sensitive it was when putting pressure on it.  Our hotel had a nice outdoor pool, so before heading out, I was able to go soak my feet in an attempt that the chlorine would help clean and dry it out!

Around noon, Jacqui and I hit the road for a quick 2 hour drive up to Paw Paw, Michigan as were were staying with our teammate, Alex at his family’s lake house.  We did the same in 2015 and it worked out perfectly.  His family’s lake house is just over an hour away from the Grand Rapids area, and you can’t beat staying with friends! 

Once in Paw Paw, Alex’s family took us out on their boat to have an evening cruise.  It was absolutely wonderful (and relaxing) and we were even able to hop into the lake and get some warm up swimming in!  After our boat cruise, we did some pre-race bike preparations...and it sure was nice having a knowledgable bike guy like Alex around as he was able to help me make sure the bikes were in tip top race shape.  We had a great dinner all eating together while sharing stories.  I absolutely love eating in (rather than going out to restaurants) and relaxing before races.  It is much less stressful as you don’t get stuck waiting to get seated or stuck at the restaurant past bed time.  Post dinner, we all tried to get some sleep---but it sure was hard as the sun was still out at 9:30pm (crazy how that sun stays out right on the border of the Eastern time zone!). 

I had a much better sleep as my toe cooperated and seemed to be healing.  But it was still an early wake up call of 2:50am!  Unlike the previous week though of where I wasn’t too excited to race, I felt ready for this one.  I woke up excited especially since my foot seemed to be just about 100%.  Bananas, raspberries, a PowerBar, and some coffee were the pre-race meal.  I never really stick to the same thing, just simple easy to digest foods and it seems to do the trick.  We were out the door shortly after 4am and onto the race!

Swim-

The gun was off at 7am.  Coming in, I learned a little from the previous year about where I should start and aim to swim.  I wanted to stay relaxed and in control as I know that swimming hard can wreck havoc on the rest of my race.  I had looked at the start list prior and knew this year was going to be very competitive with athletes such as Dan Stubleski (overall Ironman World Championships amateur winner!), teammate Alex Arman, Ben Hammer, and a slew of Teram Every Man Jack guys... so knew that my race was going to be determined by a super strong bike/run combo.  

Surprisingly, the gun went off and I found clean water immediately.  I think this was due to the fact that I took the line that I wanted while others seemed to go another way.  I stuck to my pre-race plan and swam my own angle.  After the first few buoys, I could tell that I was swimming well and that there weren’t too many guys up ahead of me.  As much as I wanted to hop on someone’s feet, there wasn’t anyone around me.  There was a small group of about 5 ahead, but I just could never bridge up to them.  I also didn’t want to burn any matches and throw in a massive swim effort, so I swam my own pace.  

After the far turn around, we had to swim straight back to shore into the sun.  It was very difficult to see anything and every time I tried to get a sight of where I was going, I’d get  a sharp sting of the sun bursting into my eyes.  Even with the tinted goggles, it was near impossible to see anything.  So instead, I had to rely on the guys ahead of me.  I would use their small splashes just ahead to make sure I was going somewhat in the right direction.  I could also tell one guy was right on my feet as he was hitting my toes every few minutes.  I thought for sure that it was Alex as he told me he wanted to try and stay on my feet.  I was hoping it was since if we came out of the water together, we could work off one another on the bike.  

Out of the water, I was pleased with my time of 30 minutes.  I was full of energy and could tell I would be ready to hammer on the bike.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t Alex that was right on me during the swim, so I was counting on him working his way up to me during the ride.  Transition was flawless and I was off onto the bike quickly.

For the bike- the only goal was to ride hard and not let the other racers put too much time into me.  I somewhat threw any watt goals out the window and rather focused on riding hard and in control.  With rested legs, I had a feeling that I would be able to ride higher watts than normal, so I didn’t want a goal number slowing me down.  

Through the first few splits, I was riding hard.  My watts were higher than normal for a half iron distance, and I was moving through the field pretty quickly.  I was surprised that  my speed wasn’t too fast considering that watts that I was riding at.  It seemed similar speed to last year, but my watts were much higher.  The roads were a little beat up which slowed the speed down a bunch, but overall they were manageable.  Compared to some of the roads that I ride on at home, these were nothing!  

I kept waiting and expecting to see Alex out of the corner of my eye and even took a few looks back when we had some of the longer straight aways, but I could never see him.  Around 25 miles, I knew I was approaching the turn around- so I would get a gauge at who and how many were up the road on me.  At 27 miles, the leader was coming back, which meant he was around 2 miles ahead.  Then two more riders came by but were only around 45 seconds ahead of me.  So I hit the turnaround at 28 miles in 4th place overall.  Heading back, I was able to see who was behind me as well as how far back they were.  Sure enough, Alex was right there and only about 40 seconds back of me.  I was now really hoping he would bridge up to have another strong rider to work off of. 

The stretch shortly after the turn around was the worst.  Very rough roads, slow speeds, and I was getting tired.  I made sure to stay on top of my nutrition and fluids and tried to keep the watts high.  They were starting to come down, but still were in a great range for me for a half ironman distance bike.  A few miles later, I was able to bridge up and pass the third and second place riders, so I was then in 2nd place overall.  I knew the leader was way up the road and likely would stay that way through the finish of the bike.  Mile after mile, I would take a few looks back, but never saw anyone gaining on me.  I focused on riding steady all the way in and avoiding any big bumps on the road (as there were quite a few!).  

I was surprised as I hit the finish of the bike with my split being nearly identical to last year.  My watts had gone up quite a bit and it didn’t seem that windy, so I thought that I was going to have a quick time.  Regardless, I was in 2nd place off the bike and had averaged right at 25mph.

Into transition, I again had a very smooth bike to run.  The transition area was VERY long and narrow, making it difficult to find where my bike rack was.  Luckily for me, my Saucony Type A’s are bright, and they stuck out making it easier to find where to go.

​Onto the run, I had no idea on how far up the road 1st place was.  I did know that I couldn’t see him.  So it was a big gap.  Onto the road, my legs felt miserable.  My foot that had the big toe problems went numb, and I was worried that maybe my body was going into shock because of it.  The numbness continued up into my lower leg---definitely a strange and scary feeling.  But as I continued to run, the numbness started to dissipate.  Through mile 1 in 5:25, I was happy to be running faster than I was during the olympic distance race of the week prior!  

The run course as Grand Rapids is not the easiest.  There are a bunch of small, punchy, rolling hills that just suck any life out of you.  The good part is that you can get some speed back on the downhill sections.  You just need to stay smart and in control.  A few miles in, I still could not see the leader.  I started to question if I would be able to make up the time gap by the end of the race!  I knew there was a turn around about 4 miles in, so that is where I would be able to get a better idea of what the damage was.  

Through mile 2 in 5:40, mile 3 in 5:25, and mile 4 in 5:45 (up and down due to the hills!), I finally was able to see the leader as he was coming back from the turnaround.  The gap was around 2 minutes, so I had my work cut out! 

Interesting enough, as he went by me he said, “come and get me.”  

Somewhat caught off guard, it took me a second to process what he said.  But a split second later, it clicked in my head and I thought to myself ..... GAME ON!

Thank you for those words as they sparked me to kick it up another notch.  I dropped the next mile in 5:20 and made up some ground immediately.  By mile 6, I was within seconds of the leader and made the pass shortly before mile 7.  With each ticking mile, I was feeling stronger and stronger.  The hills felt easier, my breathing was much more in control, and I was started to finally enjoy the race.  Tackling the hardest hill of the race, my pace dropped a touch, but then kicked back into the gear as I rolled down the other side.  I could tell that I had the win just about locked up and soaked in the last few miles.  

Near the finish, I put in one final surge hoping that I could crack the 4 hour barrier, but came up 40 seconds short.  The good news was that my final run split came out to a 1:12:58...a huge PR in the half iron distance.  I will say the course was a touch short (.2 of a mile, which would add 1 minute to my time), so it still would be a half distance best run.

I waited at the finish and was very excited to see my teammate Alex finishing up strong with a massive PR and breakthrough run performance.  I knew he had it in him and even had told him a few days before the race that there should be no reason he shouldn’t break 1:17 off the bike (Alex ran a 1:16!) after his run performance at Leon’s the week before.  He finished in 4th place overall putting two EGO p/b Sammy’s Bikes racers into the top 5!  

Overall, the Grand Rapids Tri was a great success.  It showed me that I can run very well off of a big bike effort.  I will take this into consideration when coming up with a race place for half ironman world championships later this year in Australia!  For now, I will be taking some time off of racing as I will be putting in a few big weeks of training before doing a quick taper into Ironman Lake Placid at the end of July.  Looking forward to continuing the momentum on the great season so far!
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The 2016 Ironman North American Championships held in The Woodlands, Texas.  Full nitty gritty report:
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Above- a text that I sent to good friend and teammate, Alex Arman, before Ironman Texas.  Typically I keep goals to myself, but sometimes I like to put them out there as a way to keep myself accountable. 


Starting in early January, I wanted to make sure I would stay on track and keep training hard even when the weather was below freezing and I’d be stuck biking/running without going anywhere.  So I made a list of goals in order of importance to keep the fire lit underneath me even when the weather outside would try to put it out.


Here is the list, first one being most important-


Goal 1:  Qualify for Kona.  I have been to Kona the last three years and have been fortunate to qualify each time that I’ve tried.  But I still do not take this for granted.  Ironman is a LONG day and anything can happen:  kicked in face during the swim, flat tires, bike mechanicals, crashes, dropped nutrition, or just simply an “off” day where the body doesn’t respond to the stress you place upon it.  One nice thing about Ironman Texas was that there would be around 6 slots in my age group to qualify for the Ironman World Champs.  The downside- with so many slots the race was guaranteed to be competitive!


Goal 2:  Win the 30-34 Age Group.  With Ironman Texas being the North American Championships, there was a little bit more on the line.   As strange as it sounds, small give-aways or special recognition have always driven me to perform.  I remember in high school track that we had a meet where the winner of each race received a t-shirt with the words, “CHAMPION” on the back.  I ended up winning my races sophomore through senior year primarily because I REALLY WANTED that t-shirt.  Even when the local newspaper interviewed me after the track meet, I remember telling them I really wanted to win to get the champion shirt.  Well- at Ironman Texas in 2015, the winner of each age group received an Ironman North American Champion jacket.  That little perk was always lingering in the back of my mind. 


Goal 3:  Win Overall Amateur Title.  Coming into the race, I was still searching for an overall Ironman win.  I came closer and closer with each one that I’ve done.  It started at Ironman Cabo where I was 5th amateur and 2nd in my age group.  The next one was Ironman Cozumel where I was 1st in my age group, but 2nd amateur overall.  So I was still gunning to take down every other amateur in the race.  I knew this would be a tough goal as Ironman Texas is known to be competitive, but based on previous performances, I knew that if my run came around at the end I would have a really good shot at this one.


Goal 4:  Run a sub 3:00 marathon at the end.  Again- with each Ironman, I’ve improved my run.  It started back in 2000 when I did Ironman Wisconsin and ran 3:45.  Then 3:19 in Kona, 3:17 in Cabo, 3:07 in Kona, 3:02 in Cozumel, and 3:04 in Kona.  Something about dipping down into the 2:xx just has a nice ring to it.  Sure a 3:02 is fast, but 2:xx ‘sounds’ incredible.  Based on my open marathon of 2:29, this should be a fairly easy thing to do, but for some reason I always felt dead legged getting off the bike.  Each race was getting better, so it was time!
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Goal 5:  Go sub 9 hours overall.  Hitting 9:02 is a bit frustrating as my best time.  Unfortunately, shortly before the race, our bike course was shortened by 17 miles---meaning this goal became meaningless.  Still- through training, I kept it in the back of my head that I wanted to get a new Iron PR.  


Leading into the race- my confidence grew week by week.  After having a great performance at New Orleans 70.3 and a few good big training weeks I thought that I was ready to go.  Two weeks out from Ironman Texas, I had my last big training weekend.  I tackled the Palos Southwest half marathon on dead tired legs in 1:09, then rode a 100 miler at race watts with a 6 mile run at 5:55 pace off of it.  Yes, a great weekend, but I had seriously dug myself in a deep hole.  Each day passed and my legs were not responding.  I started to question if I had overdone it as I was tired 24/7, had no energy, and just wanted to rest.  One week out, I went out for a 45 mile ride and felt a little better, but was still tired when I finished.  Not a great feeling heading into race week!!!

Monday of race week I took completely off to spend time packing, getting the bikes race ready, and making a few stops to pick up last minute race gear/needs.  My plan was to make the drive down to Texas and luckily for 2016 the EGO p/b Sammy’s Bikes team was blessed with a team vehicle from the great people over at Toyota Arlington.  The team graciously allowed me to take the team van (a sweeeeet Toyota Sienna) for a week so that I could fit bikes and gear without worrying about the flight travel.  Jacqui would be flying out on Wednesday evening as she still had school, so I hit the road on Tuesday afternoon.  A quick stop in Memphis to visit Jacqui’s good college friend (thank you Ty and Mary!!) and get some sleep Tuesday night, followed by the rest of the drive down to The Woodlands, Texas on Wednesday.  It was nice having a Life Time Fitness available in Memphis to get a quick 1500m swim and 3 mile run in before heading out for the remaining 9 hours of driving.  
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We were also VERY lucky to have Aimee and Rob Newsom (Aimee grew up in Crystal Lake and ran with Jacqui in high school) house us for the week.  And I can’t forget their mini cow, Dunkin, for all the love on race week :)  They live in The Woodlands, and had the perfect set up to prepare and relax leading into the race!

I arrived pretty late (8pm) on Wednesday and was able to get in a quick 3 mile shake out run before heading back out to the airport to pick up Jacqui, Megan (good friend and athlete that I coach through my coaching business-  Rybread Racing!), and Megan’s boyfriend, Rob.  By the time we got back to the house, it was late and I was wiped!  


Thursday was a day off of training which was nice as we needed to get checked in for the race and then relax.  We all went to the All World Athlete breakfast for a free meal and listened to Matt Hanson and Kelly Williamson talk about their race experiences.  One thing that stuck out was when Matt mentioned battling the heat and he simply stated, " STAY WET."  As simple as it sounds, it makes sense.  As soon as you are dry, the body is going to roast.  I made it a goal to stay wet on race day.  


Check in was simple and a breeze- although I wish there was a breeze!  It was already a scorcher and just walking around outside the sweat was dripping.  We didn’t stay out too long, rather grabbed our gear, made one pass through the expo, and then went out to a local coffeehouse/restaurant.  We spent a few good hours there drinking coffee/water while getting some work done. While leaving, I put my jacket on and started my mini heat training session.  I don’t think the others were too amused when I cranked the heat on in the van and said, “we need to get used to it.” 
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Thursday night- the night when sleep is most important.  I COULD BARELY SLEEP!  Was it because I was nervous?  Nope.  Was it because I had so much energy seeping and oozing out of every muscle fiber?  Nope.  Was it because mini cow dog Dunkin was hogging the bed?  Nope.  I could barely sleep because Friday was Jacqui’s big 30th birthday!  I had a little surprise for her and was excited to set it out and wanted to make sure I could do it secretly.  Leading into the race week- I knew Jacqui had to be filled with question/doubt/A LOT of unknown of how race day would play out for her.  She dealt with a bad tear in her plantar fascia which resulted in her not running from October to April.  She finally kicked it and was running well but only was up to 11 miles on her long run.  I wanted to show her how much she meant to others / what an inspiration it has been to see how tough mentally and physically she has been.  Injuries are tough to deal with, and I can’t imagine how hard it has been for her to watch everyone around her doing what she would give anything to do again.  So I asked friends/family/those that have helped her along this painful and frustrating time to send a card or message letting Jacqui know how much she means to them.  The response was incredible- just showing how much of a positive influence she has on those around her.  Thank you to everyone that helped out and sent Jacqui messages!  I tried to get my creative juices flowing in a way to display all of the love that was poured out for Jacqui and came up with this:
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So that is what I was so excited about.  I couldn’t wait to surprise Jacqui on her 30th.  Additionally, one of Jacqui’s best friends, Jess, was flying in to support and surprise her.  So keeping that a secret was always on my mind as well!  Early morning, surprise gift was a success!  
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After the fun of Jacqui’s 30th bday surprises, we got ready to do some pre- race workouts.  I debated about going to do the practice swim, but figured by the time we got there, swam for 15 minutes, got back...the whole ordeal would end up taking up too much time.  Instead, we went out for a practice ride around the house to make sure the bikes were ready to go as well as wake the legs up from another rest day the day before.
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Off and onto the bikes- everything was going great.  Bike was fast, body was starting to feel much better, and race day was right around the corner.  


About 5 minutes away from being done with the ride, I hit a small bump and thought, “woah, that was a little rough.....” and a split second later I hear the noise nobody ever wants to hear.  CRASH.  Carbon parts a body hitting the pavement.  If you’ve been around cycling, you know the sound.  I knew Jacqui was behind me.  I looked back and she was on the pavement motionless.  Cue...freakout.  Slamming my brakes and practically throwing my own bike on the ground, Megan (who was behind Jacqui, but managed to swerve around her) and I ran to Jacqui.  The good- she kept saying she was ok and fine.  The bad- she wasn’t moving.  


Jacqui was able to get back up and move so that was a good sign.  But she was beat up...scrapes, cuts, and road rash.  My heart sunk for her.  Her 30th birthday, finally just kicked the plantar pain she dealt with for 6 months, and now crashes the day before an Ironman.  I looked over the bike and all looked ok, just some mark ups.  The reason for the crash?  Still a little unsure.  Although there was a somewhat mini tree/branch next to her bike.  The only thing I can think is that the branch got wedged into the front wheel and flung her over the front.  Just terrible bad luck.  Jacqui was able to get back on the bike and ride back to the house- so we thought all would be ok.  


We all did a short run, some strides, and then it was time to pack everything up and get to bike check in.  
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Thank you Javelin for the Javelin Lugano and Alto Cycling for the wheels! Paired together made for one FAST ride!

Just checking in the bikes I could feel the heat.  I was drenched...sweating profusely and started to get a bit nervous about how the next day would go.  


Off to pre race dinner- we opted for a place that had bison burgers as that is the typical meal the night before for Jacqui and Megan.  It was also when the surprise number 2 of the day.  Jacqui’s great friend, Jess, flew in to surprise her and was waiting at the restaurant.  I really wish I took a photo of the shock on Jacqui’s face when she saw Jess.  It was even hard for me to keep the tears in!  Pretty neat to see what great people Jacqui is surrounded with!  
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After dinner it was off to bed fairly early as race day was one night’s sleep away!!


                                 RACE DAY!!!!


Race morning was nothing out of the ordinary.  I slept a little longer than I had hoped, but I was tired!  Up at 3:45 to eat my breakfast of muesli and milk, coffee, banana, and fruit smoothie.  I try to get as much in as I can as I have time to let it digest.  I then went back into bed and rested.  At 4:30, I started to prep all my gear to make sure I had everything.  Out the door by 5:15, we had to make three stops - one to drop off the van, two at T2 to drop off run nutrition, and three- T1 / swim start to pump tires, go over the bikes, and fill em with nutrition.  


We were a little pressed for time, but all it took was a quick hop over the fence and I was near the front of the swim start!  

Swim- 1:03:51    20th place in Age Group


The swim was a rolling start, meaning you start where you want.  They blow the horn and swimmers walk into the water.  This is similar to an open road race where everyone lines up and they fire the gun.  Your time starts when you cross the mat getting in.  


I was able to get a really clean start and immediately stayed far right.  From what I read, staying right and aiming for the land far out was the best route to take.  This ended up being a good move as I had open water while all other swimmers were following buoy to buoy.  I felt strong and relaxed making sure not to push the pace, but rather swim comfortable.  Normally swims seem to take FOREVER, but not in Texas.  I felt like I reached the far end of the lake really fast.  I was excited that I was over half way done so quickly.  


Around 3/4 of the way through, I noticed my goggles seemed to be squeezing my head a little too much.  A massive headache set in and I was hurting.  I thought about stopping and readjusting, but was happy that no water was leaking in.  I didn’t want to stop to adjust and then have something else happen, so I dealt with it.  As I was hugging the shoreline back to transition, I actually touched bottom a few times.  I even stood up once and dolphin dived back in!


Overall, the swim was really uneventful.  After having two rough water swims for the first two races of the year, this one felt like a breeze.  I also now prefer to actually swim without wetsuits.  Sure I’m slower, but I feel a lot more comfortable.  As I neared the swim exit, I felt like I was going to have a great swim time and even secretly in my head thought I was going to be sub 1hour.  Nope.  Looking down I saw a 1:03 as I touched land.  Not disappointed as I typically will swim around there.  Good part was that I felt like a million bucks and was ready for my dry land racing to begin! 

Bike- 3:48:53 (24.90 mph avg)


Starting the bike, I was fresh.  I felt ready to go and the watts seemed to come around very easily.  I knew the bike course was going to be fast, but wasn’t sure just how fast with the 60, 70, 80+ turns (not quite sure, but there were a bunch).
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I settled in and within the first 5 miles, I hit a bump and didn’t think much of it.  A few miles later as I went to reach for my rear nutrition- it was gone.  Oh well, it was a back up and spare emergency bottle.  It is key to roll with the punches in Ironman racing as nothing will ever go exactly to plan.  


I started strong and was holding between 220-235 watts.  Speed was fast and I was excited as I seemed to be going by many with ease.  Around 10 miles in though, a rider that I had passed earlier came back around and repassed me.  I slowed up, dropped back and then another rider came around.  I take a look and around 8 of those guys that I had passed had latched on and now riding a train.  There is nothing more frustrating than this as it makes riding smooth nearly impossible.  After dropping back, the pace was entirely too slow which forced me to gun it and repass the entire pack.  Once at the front end, I dialed in a steady 230 watts and held my speed.  I kept an eye behind me noticing they all stayed right on.  Not cool.  The rider immediately behind me decided to repass again, only to drop in front of me and immediately ride slower.  It didn’t take long for me to repass again.  Luckily after the 3rd time and around 20 miles into the race, they all stayed behind me.  It wasn’t as frustrating when they were just staying back as I was able to ride my race and not worry about slowing down.  Eventually they all dropped one by one leaving me to my own race.  


**edit** Actually just read a fellow race report from someone that was behind me.  ...According to his report, a draft marshall came by and gave 3-4 of them drafting penalties!  I guess that is why they all disappeared out of no where!

About 10 miles later (around 40 miles in), I caught another small group.  Same thing- they latched on as soon as I passed.  This group stayed behind me for a LONG time.  As I went through special needs, two of the riders behind me had to stop to grab their bag (I didn't need mine), which let me free of towing anyone as I rode away solo.  


The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful as I knew I was nearing the front of the amateur field.  I passed a bunch of female pros (they started 10 minutes ahead), stayed on top of my nutrition, and enjoyed the flat Texas roads.   As I neared the end, around 15-20 miles to go...I suddenly felt that I was off course.  It was a strange feeling as the road was not closed and traffic was just zooming by like a normal Saturday training day.  There was also some construction on the side of the road making the shoulder fairly narrow.  It turned out that I was actually on the course (phew!)...but I was honestly shocked not to see cones separating the traffic from riders.  It seemed very dangerous----that was the only part of the course I will say I was a little disappointed in.

Back to the race.  

Highlight of the bike:  guy on the side of road as I went by at close to 30mph said, “holy smokes, its the green lightening!”  Thanks to me sweet Wattie Ink Ego kit, I would agree!

The last 10-15 miles I slowed my pace down a bit and averaged right around 205-210 watts.  My legs were definitely starting to get tired, and I was thankful that the ride was only 94 miles instead of 112!  
As I entered transition and handed my bike off, I took a quick count while running to grab my T2 bag.  I only counted 6-7 amateur bikes in transition!  

In terms of nutrition:
1800 calories taken in- not sure on fluids as I grabbed water at every stop.

T2 was quick as I put on socks, my Saucony Type A shoes, race belt, hat, and cooling towel on.  Race volunteers were the absolute best in helping making it a quick change.  
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Run- 2:55!  1st in Age Group and 1st Overall Amateur!

Out onto the roads, I felt like I was running comfortable and in control.  About half a mile in, I took a quick glance at my watch to see that I didn’t lap split, so my watch was still on transition time.  I had no clue how fast/slow I was going.  I would have to run close to another mile to see where I was at.  Turns out my first mile was right around 5:30!  Yikes.  Truth be told though, I was not too surprised as all of my training runs were close to 5:40 pace off the bike.  

Through mile two, I was 5:48, and feeling great.  I had passed a few amateurs already and knew I was right near the front of the race.  Shortly half way through the first run loop I was running with the female pro leader and went past quickly!  
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Around 6 miles I saw my cheering crew and they said they thought I was first amateur to come through!  I got excited as my pace was lingering around 6:00-6:05, and I wanted to slow down a bit in order to conserve energy.  


Nutrition plan for the run:  150 calories from my nutrition bottle every 3 miles, water, ice, coke, gatorade (basically as much as I could grab) from every aide station every mile.  


It was then 93 degrees with a 99% humidity and high dew point.  I always laugh to myself thinking how marathons are cut short or cancelled when weather extremes like that hit.  Yet, there we are running in that after swimming 2.4 and riding for 4-5 hours!  


Shortly before finishing the first loop (run is a 3 loop course of just under 9 miles a loop), there was a small out and back section.  While going out, I spotted an amateur coming back.  NOOOOO.  As I hit the turn around, I didn’t see anyone else and a DJ announced that I was the second amateur to come through.  Back to focus!  I turned up the run a little bit as he was still close to 6 minutes ahead of me.  


All I could think about for the next 5 miles was finding the first amateur and making a pass.  
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Over a bridge, I spotted the leader and did a quick time check to find out that I was still 2 minutes down.  But I had made up close to 4 minutes in those short 4 miles since I last saw him.  


Mid-way through the 2nd lap- I was burning up and really starting to hurt.  The good news was that everyone else seemed to be in the same boat.  I made the pass on the first amateur and told myself that I would go a few more miles pushing, then I could dial back and suffer the best that I could until the end.  


I saw my support crew on course again and tried to take my mind off of my race and asked how Jacqui was doing.  I was told she was actually just ahead of me on her first loop.  
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More ice, more fluids.  It seemed like I could never get enough.  Even though aide stations were spread about a mile apart, I was getting thirsty mid way through each mile.  Near the end of my second loop I saw Jacqui and caught up to her.  I asked how she was doing, and the news wasn’t good.  As well as my race was going, it really hurt to hear those words come out of her mouth.  She said that her hip was hurting and she might need to drop out.  I ran with her for a little while until I started the last loop.  I didn’t want anyone to catch me, so it was time to refocus and hang on for lap 3.

Lap 3 was definitely painful.  The heat, the soreness, and exercising for that long was taking its toll.  I also started to have bad stomach pain and thought I was going to keel over at any second.  I had to use the bathroom BADLY.  But the image of back in 2012 when I ran the Milwaukee Marathon kept popping into my head.  I was leading the marathon, had stomach pains, stopped to use the bathroom, and ended up losing the race.  THAT WAS NOT HAPPENING AGAIN!  


Instead, I dug as deep as I could and forced whatever run pace I could.  My brain was not thinking clearly anymore and the course was packed with runners.  I had no clue what loop each person was on, so it was very difficult to judge if anyone was running up on me.  Mile after mile ticked by...and honestly I don’t ever remember miles 20-26.  I think that I was in such a different state of mind that the only thing I could think about was, “I just want to stop and make all the pain go away.”  


At last, I hit the final stretch of turning towards the finish line instead of starting another loop.  Step after step, I could feel the excitement increasing as well as the pain slowly disappearing.  I took a quick look back and nobody was in sight.  I was able to cherish my finish and soak it all in.  


All of the training hours, the pain/soreness day after day, questions of why and self doubt....all immediately erased.  All for that one moment.  Was it worth it?  Yes, not a doubt in my mind.  


I couldn’t believe that it all came together (well as best as I could have on that day) and I was the new               

Shortly after (within seconds), the pain was back and it all set in.
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After the race, I plopped on the ground and waited.  I was really hoping Jacqui would make it through the race unharmed.  Minutes felt like hours.  Shortly after the skies opened up with one of the most massive thunder/wind/rain/hail storms I’ve ever seen, I saw Jacqui limping up toward the finish area.  She said she was on her second loop and would have to do another loop to finish.  Was it worth it?  No.  She called it a day and made the smartest decision I have ever seen her make: knowing when to fold when the cards aren’t in your hands.  The crash the day before had taken its toll and the inflammation in her hip was just too much to handle on that day.  Best to be wise, heal, and prepare to live another day.  


Post race was spent eating junk, possibly running a little!, and forking away a big chunk of money for the Ironman World Championships in Kona!  

Full Stats:

At the end of the day- I can say this race was my best one yet.  The most well rounded and executed.  Those goals at the beginning:


Grab a Kona slot- done
Win Age Group - got the jacket!
Overall Amateur- finally!
Sub 3 hours- 2:55!!!  
Sub 9- short course...grrrrrr.  Maybe in the next one!


So to all of you out there, set yourself some goals and remind yourself about them when the times get tough.  There were MANY days when I questioned myself.  Was I strong enough to hit those goals?  Are my legs going to make it through the next training session?  This hurts too much; it’d be easier to stop.  A quick look at what I wanted to accomplish brought me right back.  Dig deep, set yourself up for success, and enjoy the process!


Thank you to all that have supported me along the way- I could not have done it without you!

-EGO p/b Sammy's Bikes
-Saucony
-Coach Bill Bishop
-Alto Cycling
​-Javelin Bikes

Back in the Big Easy for round two.  In 2015, I headed down to New Orleans to compete in the 70.3 race and it ended miserably.  To put it simply, I struggled with kicking the rust and failed on nutrition/adapting to a new bike position and ended up in the med tent needing two IV’s.  I was able to finish respectably, but no where near where I knew I was capable of.  Fast forward to this year--- I signed up somewhat last minute as I had planned to race Oceanside 70.3 a few weeks ago.  With Jacqui getting treatments on her foot, we were unable to make the trip- so I turned to option two and decided on New Orleans for two reasons:  1) kick the rust in prep for Ironman Texas which is 4 weeks later and 2) redemption on this course.

The trip started out Thursday before the race as I flew out solo.  I had a free flight voucher and it only worked for the Thursday flights- normally I would prefer to fly out Friday, but it all worked out just fine as I was able to get in early and enjoy the nice weather while getting some Rybread Racing athlete training squared away.

I went out for a mid distance 8 mile run in the afternoon along the course and immediately noted the wind.  Strong, sustained wind that blew in one direction.  The forecast for race day looked to be calling for similar conditions, but even stronger winds.  I stopped at the local supermarket, tried out some boiled crabs and grabbed some essentials for the next few days.  Off to bed early as I was wiped from an early morning/travel day.  
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Friday I was able to sleep in and then head into town to do all the pre race fun of checking in and walking around the expo.  I walked through the indoor malls (found a candy shop and bought some post race goodies) and loaded up on some food.  I also was able to walk around town and check out Royal/Bourbon St mid day.  As much as people say how it is a dump/smells (which it does)... it also was pretty neat seeing all the live music blaring in each bar I walked past, not to forget to mention all the street artists as well.  From there, I met up with coach Bill and a few other athletes as they all started to roll in.  In the evening we stopped in a local restaurant to eat as a team and then called it an early night.

Pre-race day Saturday:  woke up to get out and do the shake out workouts.  I ran a few miles with the teammates along with some pick ups and stretches.  I honestly felt like garbage running, but I somewhat knew that was to be expected as trained pretty much straight through for this race and also took Friday completely off.  I usually prefer to take the day off two days out from a race to give the body a quick rest and then shake out to wake em back up the next day.  I wasn’t too concerned as I had a feeling I would be fine and ready to go come race morning.  After the run, I got a few laps in the hotel pool and then hit up the City Diner for the most ridiculous pancake breakfast I’ve ever seen.  Little did our group know that when their meals included 3 pancakes each...the pancakes would be the size of a 16 inch pizza.  They were literally served on pizza trays.  Needless to say, the group wasn’t even able to finish 2 of the pancakes, which meant we were bringing back 12 of these jumbo cakes back to the hotel!
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After breakfast, we relaxed at the hotel for a bit before heading to the race site to do a test ride of the bikes and drop them off into transition.  During the bike test ride, I noted that even though the wind was strong, it wasn’t unbearable.  Nothing like the winds I’ve experienced in Kona, Hawaii.  Even though the wind was close to a sustained 20mph, I was still able to roll 20-23 mph into it.  The only downside was that the wind did cause the bike to be a touch unstable and it took some extra focus to make sure the bike stayed upright!  I dropped the bike off, took the ICE Friction chain off to ensure it would be dry and safe with me over night, and headed back to the hotel.  The group all went out to dinner, but from past experience at large races (and on Saturday nights), going out takes entirely too long.  So I opted to hang by myself and go grab a quick dinner over at Whole Foods.  I was able to relax a bit, get all my gear squared away, and prep for the day ahead!
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RACE DAY!

Up early at 4am to get ready for the day ahead!  

I wasn’t too hungry in the morning but still forced in some food.  I opted to go with a canister of organic brown rice baby cereal with a strawberry/banana/beet baby fruit pouch mixed in.  It ended up being pretty good and might be something I end up using for future races.  I also gulped down a tasty Beet It juice, coffee, and water.  It all seemed to sit well in my stomach with no issues at all.  

At the race site, setting up transition was a bit stressful.  I’m always checking and re-checking that all my gear is set up and in place.  I guess since it was the first race of the season I feel like I wasn't doing something right!  I got the chain back on, pumped the tires, filled my nutrition bottles, and laid out all the gear.  
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I was pretty excited as it was my first race aboard my Javelin Lugano with Alto CC86 wheels.  Javelin and Alto contacted me a bit back seeing if I would be interested in working with them.  I had known about Javelin bikes and knew about the Lugano / the success it has had with its riders in the past.  After a bit of talk with them, I decided it would be a great decision moving forward for a few key reasons - I will go into full detail on this decision in a separate blog post very soon!

GET READY FOR SOME WIND!

After getting all set in transition, I did a quick jog warm up around the race site as I had about 45 minutes until the start.  My legs felt great and ready to perform.  I met up with a few of the other racers from Chicago and hung out until the start.  Before I knew it, I was lined up and ready to get the race under way.

The swim start at New Orleans is a semi-rolling start.  They call in each age group wave to line up in the corral area.  From there you self seed yourself where ever you want, and they walk you out on a dock that leads out into the lake.  From there, they have about 10 athletes step forward to the end, blow the whistle, and off you jump into the water and start.  As I was walking down the dock, I already noticed about 3 athletes being pulled back to shore on boats.  This was not a good sign.  It meant that the water was rough and it was going to be a washing machine of a swim.  
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Sure enough, the horn blew and I was into the water.  With winds at a sustained 20-25mph, the water in the lake was being tossed around.  Unfortunately for the athletes, the first section heading out was just about into the wind and therefore rough water.  I stayed relaxed and stayed pretty far right compared to every one that was off to my left.  This left me with a lot of clean water and actually not too bad of a swim to start.  I was able to concentrate on where I was at, timing my breathing, and focus on staying in control instead of worrying about colliding and weaving through the swimmers that started ahead of me.  It seemed that it took an eternity to get out to the first turn buoy, but I kept telling myself that it was most likely going to be the hardest stretch.  

After making the first turn, I sighted ahead to the ‘yellow’ buoy that I was supposed to turn next at.  After swimming a few minutes, I started to collide head on with a few swimmers.  I was very turned around and confused as to why they were coming at me as I thought I was swimming to the right buoy.  It turned out that I was actually swimming right back towards the swim start.  The race actually had put out a yellow buoy near the swim start, which mades things very confusing.  I know for a fact that a lot of other athletes did the same as I did.  After colliding with a few others head on, I thought something had to be up.  So I stopped for a quick second, took my head out of the water and looked around.  To my dismay, I saw the actual next yellow turn buoy FAR off to my left.  Instead of taking the tangent to that second turn buoy, I had swam straight back towards the start, then had to make a hard left to get back on track.  In my head, I was crushed.  I thought my race was over and kept trying to calculate in my head how much further I swam from my mistake.  Somehow I came up with the distance of 400 meters extra which would be close to 6 minutes.  I definitely need to learn to cope with small mistakes a little bit better as in the end, I don’t think it was nearly that bad of a mistake, maybe only a minute or two.  

​Back on track, I made the next turn, and headed back out into the rough water.  I got tossed around a bit more than I liked, but made my way to the swim exit and was less than thrilled seeing 32 minutes.  Last year I swam 24 minutes (yes the swim was shorter and definitely not as rough of water).  But the good part was that as I ran through transition, I was able to tell that my body felt good and had decent energy.  Sometimes I get out of the water gassed and with a skyrocketed heart rate, but not today.

Onto the bike.  I grabbed my new Javelin Lugano and was lucky to have a nice little stretch of tailwind to allow me to get my shoes on and tightened.  Right out of the gate, we had to head up and over a bridge, take a quick turn, and then ride with either a strong head wind or strong cross wind for 28 miles.  I noted  that the wind was strong and blowing hard, but I was able to ride through it.  Since the course was so flat, I never really struggled to keep a good cadence.  I was able to roll anywhere between 20-25 mph going into the wind and not exhaust myself grinding out the watts.  I will say that I did have to pay a little more attention to controlling the bike as the gusts seemed to push the bike around quite a bit.  Even taking my hands off the base bar to grab my nutrition bottle was a bit scary.  There were definitely a lot of wobbly riders out on the course.  I felt strong though heading out and seemed to be going by a lot of riders with ease.

By the time I hit the turnaround, I had averaged right around 23 mph.  I figured it would be realistic to average 27+ on the way back as we’d primarily have a tail / cross wind.  I will say that as strong as the wind was blowing, it didn’t seem like it was pushing me forward as much as I thought it would during the return trip.   

The turnaround was also where I experienced something I have never felt before.  After pushing out of the saddle to get back up to speed from turning around, I went back down into my aerobars and immediately had a sharp shooting pain radiating from my upper hamstrings all the way up into the middle of my butt.  Even sitting on the saddle was painful.  I tried to stand up, shake it out, coast, and do anything I could to loosen up the pain I felt.  As soon as I would sit back down onto the saddle I could feel the pain, and if I went into aerobars, it magnified.  My muscles leading into my butt were very tense and locking up.  There was no way I was able to pedal through it as it just got worse the more I tried to.  Looking at my ride file- this lasted for right around 10 minutes.  I stood up and coasted a total of 9 times in those 10 minutes as I could count the number of times my power was at 0.  Zero power, standing up (not aero), and coasting on and off means a lot of time lost.  In my head, I was trying to figure out what to do.  

​I was pretty sure I had worked my way into good position by the half way of the bike, but then I was unable to continue riding.  I thought for sure my race was over and went into survival mode.  
After taking a few large gulps of my nutrition bottle, an entire roll of salt stick chews, and all the standing up, the pain ceased just enough for me to get my power back up.  It wasn’t the same power as I was able to ride at on the way out, but I was taking anything I could get as I was back rolling to a respectable speed.  I settled in at my now lower power and even noted that the guys I was passing seemed to be struggling a bit as well.  They were up out of the saddle trying to just keep moving forward.  The only thing that I can think of is that the wind going out required quite the bit of muscle stabilization and ended up locking them up.  I ended up finishing the bike course in 2:12- just over 25mph average.

Back into transition, I noted that there weren’t many bikes in transition- only about 7.  Since I started in a later wave, I figured that I was in good position to take the overall win with a solid run.  The only question mark in my head was how my upper hamstring/groin/butt muscles would feel while running as they were still quite tender when finishing the bike.  Feeling like I was shuffling quite a bit and just focusing on running the best I could, I was shocked when I came through mile 1 in 5:19.  I was expecting to peak at my watch at see at 6:30 or so based on how I felt.  I didn’t want to get too excited though as in 2015 I went through mile 1 in 5:39 and blew apart shortly after.  Up and over the giant causeway bridge, I thought my pace would slow a bunch in mile two, but again, a 5:22.  From there it was game on and I threw any pacing strategies out the window.  I knew we had a strong tailwind for the first 6.5 miles so rolled with it.  Mile after mile, I kept checking the runners coming back to try and count how many amateurs were in front of me.  When I hit mile 6.25, I spotted the first amateur coming back towards me.  This meant I was .5 mile down from the leader.  In reality, I knew I was already in the lead as he was much younger and started around 6 minutes in front of me.  But I still wanted to cross the line first so put my head down and kept running hard.  

Photo credits:  Patrick Brady, thank you!

Hitting the turnaround was quite the shock though.  I failed to realize actually how strong the wind was.  After 35 minutes of running with it at my back, I didn’t think too much about what it was going to feel like.  It was definitely the strongest wind that I have ever run in my 20+ years of running...and felt like I was running with a giant parachute on my back preventing me from running forward quickly.  My legs were definitely getting tired at that point, and all I did was try to keep taking nutrition in and slowing my pace a bit to not blow up with only 6 miles to go.  The plan worked as I caught the amateur leader and immediately felt a sense of relief that the win was pretty much guaranteed.  I relaxed the last few miles and took my time going up the final big bridge all the way into the finish.  Little did I know, but my run split was only 25 seconds off of the fastest of the day (one professional got me!).  
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In the end, I was the first amateur across the line by over 8 minutes with a finishing time of 4:04.  It was a great feeling to get the season off on a good foot knowing that my training is in a good place.  With limited rest coming into New Orleans, I was able to put out a great performance.  With only 4 weeks to go until Ironman Texas, I’m excited to get some big training weeks in and then shutting it down to prepare for a big day and hopefully an ironman distance PR!  

Quick thanks to all my supporters:

EGO p/b Sammy’s Bikes- making sure I’m fully supported and getting me to the races!

Javelin Bikes- the new ride felt great, can’t wait to see what is in store going forward

Saucony- Type A shoes, light and fast

Alto Cycling- the CC86 wheelset handled flawlessly in the windy conditions