Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Race Report

The 2012 Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Triathlon was originally worked into the schedule to validate my spot for the 2013 Collegiate National Championship. Even though simply finishing the race would be sufficient in accomplishing the goal, I knew this was a race I wanted to win. I had good fitness coming into the race from my preparations for the 5150 National Championship and I showed up ready to race hard from start to finish. Below is the report from my first overall Olympic distance win!

With the goal of staying in the Wisconsin Dells for the least amount of time as possible, Dad and I took off around 11am Saturday morning. We got to the race site around 2pm and went right to the expo to pick up my packet.  After catching up with some friends, we got back into the car to do some much needed course re-con.  I had a feeling that I would be out in front at some point during the race and did not want to ride off course simply because we did not preview it the day before. The bike course was similar to what I had expected, nice back country roads and only 4 or 5 turns throughout the entire 40k. What I did not expect were the hills! It had a lot more elevation that what I was expecting with a good mix of long, rolling hills and short, steeper climbs. After fishing up the bike course, we drove the run course (which also had some really good climbs), we hit up the athletes meeting, racked my bike and then got back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the night. I made due with bringing all of my own food and taking advantage of the microwave in the hotel room.  I got to bed early and slept great the night before. 

My wave did not go off until 7:45am so that made for a nice 4:30am wake up call (that is practically sleeping in after some of this seasons early mornings). I had some peanut butter/ jelly/ banana/ rice cake goodness with some microwaved coffee on the side and was feeling good as we rolled out around 5:30am.  The transition area was actually really cool at this race, normally, the pro's and the age groupers are separated into two sections to avoid pro/age-group congestion. On Sunday, they actually put the pro's and the collegiate wave in the separate transition area, making me feel pretty much as pro as possible. I got my things organized next to the likes of Richie Cunningham, James Hadley and Matthew Pellow. I grabbed my wetsuit and then went down to the swim start to watch the pro's take off. 

The half-distance race went off at 6:50am and all of the half-racers were sent off before the Olympic distance race.  I made sure I knew the swim course and then went back up to the transition area to start my warm up.  I jogged around for 15:00, added a few faster efforts, put the wetsuit on and then got ready to go.  

Pre-race zone in my new Blueseventy Helix wetsuit. 

The swim follows a simple rectangle shape and the collegiate racers go off in a time trial start every :03 seconds. The time trial was self seeded and I put myself first on the block. I was in the mindset to race hard from gun to tape and I planned to do it out in front.  I hit the first buoy and immediately got into a groove. Another racer came up beside me and we battled for position for most of the way.  The waters were calm and I was just hammering along right at my threshold swim level. I had not had a swim with a wetsuit in quite a while and it was the first race in my new Helix, so I was feeling extremely fast. I let that guy who I was battling with pull ahead for the last 300m or so, grabbed onto his feet and recovered before the swim exit. I came out in second position in 20:44 and was off to T1. 

Straight up the hill out of the water. Don't fall dude. 

The run up to the transition area has a large hill that starts right at the bottom of the swim exit. The hill-swim-exit combo had me dizzier than normal but somehow I managed to have a smooth first transition and was onto the bike in 1:56. 

I started the ride in first place, passing the guy that was ahead of me in the run up to the transition area. I had talked about my strategy with my coach the night before and simply stuck to my game plan.  I worked on spinning up the hills, powering over the top and then destroying the downhills.  We thought this plan would set me up to have a solid bike split but would also save my legs enough to run well off a tough course. I followed the plan perfectly while also pulling away from the rest of the Olympic-distance field.  I knew I was in the lead the entire bike course and I was very focused on keeping it that way. I came into the second transition with a 1:04:18 bike split, slower than normal for a 40k but pretty solid for the course difficulty. 

The announcer was calling my name and my family was yelling at me as I flew into the dismount area.  My Dad reminded me to keep up my form and work a fast cadence to start,  while also confirming I was in first place. I made my way out onto the course and as I hit the first turn about a half mile away from transition, I saw the second place racer biking into T2. I had a substantial lead and this put some fire into my step.  I was flying out on the course and just clicked off the miles. 

Heading out onto the run with a substantial lead off the bike. 

Coming around the 5k turn around I had what I calculated to be roughly a 2:00 lead over second place. I pushed forward, gutting myself for a faster run split. I made my way up to the final turn, saw my family cheering me on and flew through the finish shoot. I took a moment to give the crowd high-fives and then lifted the tape, high over my head to capture my first overall win with a 37:05 run split. Crossing the line in first, winning a race.... there is literally no better feeling in the entire world. Validation that my hours of hard training and commitment to every aspect of the sport, payed off. 

Finish line, lifting the tape photo to come later! 

Rev3 put on a great event and gave out some pretty good booty for the big W! A case of Powerbar gel blasts, a case of muscle milk, a pair of Compresport compression socks, a fuel belt, a $25 gift card, a free race entry and a winners medal. Best of all, I left the Wisconsin Dells with a confidence booster going into the 5150 National Championship HyVee Triathlon a mere 3 weeks away.  I will put in one more push to cap off my fitness and then taper down for the most important race of the year. I line up in the Elite Wave on 09/02 as the Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Olympic-distance Champion and I will be hungry to capitalize on what has been a breakout year.

I MUST have these. Crazy awesome.

Collecting da booty. 

Naperville Sprint Triathlon Race Report

 No matter the season, I try to make it a priority to get back to the Naperville Sprint Triathlon.  It is a great event and a race that I have enjoyed with my Dad for 4 years straight.  Below is the race report from my 3^rd place overall effort!

Naperville is about 45 minutes away from my house, which makes for an easy morning drive up 294.  The alarm was set for 3:45am and I had devoured my usual rice cake/ peanut butter and jelly breakfast by 4:15am.  I got my bottles together and we were on the road by 4:30am.   Parking is really easy and it took all of about 2 minutes to walk down to the transition area to rack my bike. 

I set my things down and made a quick B-line straight to the port-o-potty before the lines got long (I usually get too impatient to wait in line which ends in a tantrum and inability to “relax” before the race start). After a successful trip, I was able to take my bike out of the transition area and warm up with a quick spin on the course. I started off pretty easy and out of my aero bars but built in some speed towards the end and added a few accelerations.  My bike and legs were feeling good as I rolled back in the transition area to get things set up.

I put my transition area together and then went for a short run on the course once again. I like to warm up on the race routes to avoid any repeats of my Tri Indy disaster-extravaganza. (See here, it was no fun). I came back from my run and then quickly made my way down to the swim start. Once I got there, I had plenty of time to do a full loop of the swim course to get the arms nice and loose (and re-familiarize myself with the sharp turns). After the swim, I met up with my extended family that had come out to see the race.  They proceeded to give me a multitude of air-fives and blown kisses, which made me feel great heading down to the swim start. Nothing like a grandma’s kisses.

The short 400-meter swim is in a pool-beach-contraption and has three FULL turns following an M shape route. The turns make it tough to get up to speed without having to slow down to go around the buoys. I went off with the first group of 4 and was able to hold their feet for the first 100m.  They really picked it up for the later portions of the swim and I was not able to hold on.  One of the swimmers from the second group (4 seconds back) came up and passed me. I was able to latch onto his feet and get through the rest of the swim with no problems. I exited the water in a respectable 5^th place in a time of 6:32.

My bike was racked in the far right corner, which made for a pretty long run through transition.  I quickly made it over to my bike while passing 2 people in the process. I put the helmet on and was out on the road in a stealthy 1:23.

The 22k bike course is 2 loops and sets up to be very fast.  I usually race with a speedometer and watch but opted to not wear either for this race.  My strategy was simple; GO HARD from start to finish. I passed one of the faster swimmers within the first minute of the bike ride and then settled into a good threshold pace.  I battled back and forth with one guy but held my position pretty steady until the 20k mark.  Right at the end, the guy I was battling with and 1 other guy, who came out of nowhere, blazed past me.  I did not panic; I picked it up a little but did not go over the line.  I quickly reeled in one of them and the other was not too far ahead coming into T2. I finished the ride in a time of 32:24.

I had no problems in T2; I got the shoes on and headed out for the 5k run in 1:17. 

Now… I knew I had some good run training under my belt but I also was aware that I pretty much went into this race with no taper at all.  I ran out onto the course in fourth place and was not too far behind the 3^rd place guy.  I took the first half-mile steady, matching the pace of the guy ahead of me. Right around the 0.75-mile mark, I came up on the racer ahead of me and went into what I like to call super-turbo-worrier mode. The goal was to make him feel bad and drop him quickly, which I was successful in doing. But the super-turbo-worrier mode did not fade, I just stuck with the pace all the way through.  I was feeling great and pushed it hard through the last 2 miles, knowing I had to be close to a 5k PR. I crossed the line in 58:38 with a new 5k personal best time of 17:05.  I had run my way onto the podium, improved my time from last year by nearly 2:00 and had done it in front of 2-sets of out-of-town grandparents who could not have been more ecstatic.

C'mon finish line! 

That is not a smile, that is my grimacing face. Get with the program. 

I was really happy with my result but did realized that the Naperville Sprint Triathlon was not the focus of my training as of late. The real goal lies roughly 4 weeks away at the 5150 National Championship at the HyVee Triathlon on September 2^nd. I will also race the Revolution 3 Wisconsin Dells Olympic triathlon next Sunday and I am preparing for a fast race.

I would like to thank my Mom for being the mastermind behind all Team Metzler operations, she is really the best! And a big shout out to my grandparents who made their way from New Jersey to Chicago to watch the race, having your support is always amazing.

Super-mom

Poppop and Grammy

Grandma Shirley (Papa Joe not pictured) 

Thank Craig Strong from Precision Multisport for some kick-ass coaching and Cycleops power for letting me nerd-out over wattage improvements and personal best training stress scores (both of which I have been doing a lot of lately J).  Consider checking out the Eleonore Rocks Foundation, any donation is much appreciated, great things are coming from out of this organization. 

And to all of my other supports, I would not be able to improve at the rate I have throughout my 2012 season campaign without each and every one of you!

I am off for a nice little 40 mile ride to shake out the legs, like I said, HyVee is right around the corner! 

When stretching turns into a party.