I am really
happy with how this race turned out and I was especially happy to get another
PR under my belt. It was my third personal best time in a row and I have been
making great progress every race of the season.
I had no nutritional issues, no cramps and I feel like I executed my
race plan effectively for the first time in my amateur elite career. Below is a recap of my weekend traveling and
racing in Kansas City, Missouri. Enjoy!
First I want to
say thank you to my Dad who managed to serve a number of these roles (but not
limited to) while we were en route to Kansas City and back: personal driver,
food purchaser, confidence booster, spider-killer, snoring machine?, gear
holder/watcher, photographer, split giver, laugh counter-on-er and overall
awesome father. Thanks Dad, you’re the best!
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| The myth, the man, the legend. Now that is how you rock a pair of compression socks. |
We started the
trip on Friday morning with a little breakfast at home and then got on the road
around 7AM. Dad started the drive and we made it straight through to Des
Moines, Iowa where we stopped for a little lunch at the ever-dependable Panera
Bread. Of course, some of Mom’s banana
bread was added on in addition. After lunch, we were back on the road, Dad
driving again, and we made it straight through to Kansas City and our Extended
Stay America suite.
We checked in
and made our way down to our room, walked in the door and were hit with the
ever-refreshing smell of cigarettes. I
called the front desk and asked if we could switch rooms, she said they were
all booked but she could hook me up with some frabreeze. Lets just say a few
sprays of Fresh Flowers scent was not going to cut it!
After dropping
the bags I decided to go for a little jog around the hotel to loosen up the
legs. I felt pretty good but kept it
very easy for 30:00. After a light stretch and a quick change, Dad and I headed
to Whole Foods to pick up some dinner and groceries.
I was actually
able to get to bed pretty early on Friday night and sleep in relatively late on
Saturday morning (surprising with the smoke cloud hovering over, Dad snoring in
the background and the odd sound of water dripping/ flushing/ draining
somewhere in every direction. Not to
mention they were out of extra blankets, pillows and towels). After rolling out
of bed, we got some coffee and I made my usual oatmeal breakfast. Even though the room was practically an
ashtray, it was convenient to have a kitchen to prepare some of my own food. We
got our things organized and then decided to head down to the race site around
10AM.
After watching a
little bit of the IronKids finish and driving the bike course, we went down to
the beach to see if we could get a swim in on the course. The lifeguards said the beach was not even
open yet and they were not letting anybody warm up on the course the day
before. I usually like to get in the
water and get a feel for the temperature but it was not that big of a deal.
Instead, I just headed out on the bike for one loop of the course and came back
in for a short 15:00 jog and a short stretch.
I felt strong on the bike and was able to get right into it on the few
shorter efforts I put in. My legs felt loose on the run and I was feeling good.
After the bike/ run, Dad and I actually went over to the college to get a short
swim in in the pool. It was a 25y but got the job done and I was able to
stretch out and put in a few faster cycles.
I was feeling great and ready to race.
The rest of the
day Saturday was pretty general and relaxing.
I picked up my packet, went back to the hotel, got the bike and my gear
ready for the morning and just relaxed for a few hours. I was surprisingly more
nervous on Saturday than I was for Collegiate Nationals or St. Anthony’s. I
think just having time to think about the race and not having to run around
like crazy the day before gave me a chance to build up some nervous energy. I
got to bed pretty early and slept like a brick.
Wake up was at
4:15 the next morning. I hopped out of
bed and had my traditional breakfast. I
got my things together and we were out of the door around 5:00. After getting
to the race site and parking the car, we walked over to transition area and I
set everything up. I was numbered 76 and
placed right next to my good friend, Alex Libin who was numbered 77. This made
for a light atmosphere before the race but I was still able to get in the zone
when I needed too. After a number of
visits to the port-o-john, Alex and I went for a jog around the run course to
warm up. I added a few shorter efforts
and felt solid. I got back to transition
with just a few minutes to spare before they closed it down at 7:00. I put my Kiwami on, grabbed my wetsuit and
goggles and went down to the swim start.
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| Catching up on my tweets always puts me in a good mood race morning. Delicious oatmeal and hot coffee = serious bonus. |
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I was able to
get a short swim in the lake to warm up before my wave went off. I once again
raced in the Elite division and was slotted to go off in the third wave at
7:40. Around 7:30 I took my GU gel and
was ready to go.
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| Alex and I waiting for the start. |
I saw a group of
2-3 guys bolt out after the start and I was unable to get with them. I found
myself in the second group but figured it was a pretty good place to be. I was
working hard with one other guy and felt like the pace was honest but not out
of control. As I was coming down the final stretch, I noticed a guy on his own
and it was Alex. We ended up coming in
right with each other and ran into T1. My swim time was 21:16, right on pace.
 |
| May have gotten up too early, some dolphin dives would have looked really pro. |
Transition 1
went perfectly, even though there was a little bit of a jog around the area
before getting to my stuff. Time was
1:39.
I had a plan to
take the bike conservative from the start.
I was able to find the power in my legs right after the first few miles
but the bike course was much hillier than I had expected. There were a number of points where you had
to come out of aero and one or two spots where you had to come out of the
saddle. It is two loops so that gave me
the ability to pace myself accordingly.
Even though I felt like I was racing smart, I may have burned a few
matches on the bike that I would have liked to keep in my pocket but I believe
this was just a product of the course being straight up tough. To put it in
perspective, I have to say it was almost identical in set up and elevation to
the Collegiate National course in Tuscaloosa.
I knew my bike time was not blazing fast, but I also knew it was solid
for the difficulty of the course and it was going to put me in a good position
going into the run. I got off the bike
in 1:03:06.
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| My ER bottle was awesome! |
No problems in
T2, time of 0:54.
After the
cramping issues I had in Florida 3 weeks ago, I really did not want to blow up
on this run. It is two loops, the first
half of which is on pavement and the second half on hard-packed gravel. I
really wanted to at least break 38:00 for the run and obviously not have to
stop for cramps at any point. I got into
the first mile and kept it super easy.
My hamstrings were a little tight and I had a few twinges in my
adductors but I think that was simply a product of the bit of climbing on the
bike. I decided to take the run in three parts. The first two miles I was going
to take it easy, focus on form and hydration.
I came into the two mile at 12:30. The next two miles I was going to
pick it up but not go out of control at any point, still focusing on my
turnover. I think I hit the 4-mile somewhere around 24:45. After that point, I
let it rip. I started to feel good and was
ready to dig deep. My goal was a PR for
the day and I knew it was going to be close. I came into mile 5 at 30:40. I think I had somewhere around 7:00 for the
last 1.2 miles to break my previous best time from St. Anthony’s. I put it into high gear and made it
HURT. I hit the 6-mile mark and then
sprinted all out into the finish. Right
as I crossed the line my hamstrings cramped but I was done and was happy with
my finish. Run time was 37:16.
My overall
finish time was 2:04:08. I was 8th in the Elite division and 10th
overall. This beat my previous best time by 0:25 seconds (from St. Anthony’s).
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| That one hurt pretty bad! |
I want to thank
Eleonore Rocks for the sweet 20oz bottle, the awesome visor and the pink CEP
compression socks I am currently rocking in the car (high fashion is critical
in recovery).
 |
| The hammy's were in some serious pain going right from the race to a 8 hour drive home, but the calves are feeling good! |
Thanks to Craig
at Precision Multisport for my awesome training program and great race strategy
advice.
Also a big
thanks to GU for supplying my nutrition and CycleOps for giving me the power
numbers to be able to crush the bike.
 |
| Delicious chocolate smoothie flavored recovery brew right after the race. |
I also got to meet 2012 Olympic Team member Laura Bennett. She was super friendly and easy to talk to. I'll be rooting for her in London!
Next up is
Leon’s World Fastest Triathlon on my birthday, June 3rd!
See you out
there
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