2012 HyVee 5150 Elite US Championship Race Report

I am not really sure if it is the adrenaline still pumping from my race, the pro race or simply the fact that I slept on a pullout mattress in a Quality Inn last night... but I am up and at 'em at 7:00 AM the day after the best race of my life. Below is the report from my Elite debut of the 5150 US Championship at the HyVee Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa.

Preface (a bit of rambling before I dive into the full race report): 

Last year's season also culminated in the HyVee triathlon where I won the 19 and under division, was titled a National Champion and began the breakout string of racing that I have been on this entire year. For winning the division last year, I was given a free entry to the age group race this year and immediately signed up to race in that division, preparing to take home the 19 and under 5150 National Champion title two years in a row.  

But... as the season progressed, I was put into a dilemma. I knew in order to get the most out of myself, progress in the sport and grow as an athlete, I had to race with the fastest competitors. So when registration for my other races over the course of the season came up, I signed up to race in the Amateur Elite division, racing none of my 2012 events in the previous 15-19 year old age group division. As the summer passed by and I consistently posted top-10 finishes in the Elite division at such high profile races as the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon, Kansas City Triathlon and Minneapolis Triathlon, I knew it would not be right for me to race the 2012 HyVee Triathlon in the 19 and under division. 

Here is how I justified it to myself: if I were to race in the age group division at HyVee it would be similar to being a pro-racer dropping down for one race, kicking every ones a$$ and taking home all of the booty.  If I raced 15-19, I would gain fame (National Champion title), fortune ($750 gift card) and the great feeling that comes with being #1 at anything you do. Yet, my race time would not be as fast because I would not be challenged by my competitors and it simply would not be ethically right in my mind to race in a division I had not once raced in the entire year. 

So, I emailed the race directors, switched my entry to the Elite Division and prepared myself to race with the fastest amateur men in the nation. 

Now, I better dive into the actual race report before people start to getting bored! 

Race Report:

I finished up my hard weeks of training in Iowa City after moving back for the start of school at the end of August. My good friend and triathlon-sensei, Alex Libin, also goes to school at Iowa and I hitched a ride to Des Moines with him on Thursday afternoon. (The same super-fast dude I went out to the east coast with for the Pat Griskus Tri and Philly Tri).  He actually lives in Clive, Iowa which is only 10 minutes away from the race site (prime location). So I crashed at his house on Thursday and Friday night. He posted me up with a comfy bed, good food and some solid pre-race fire-up conversations. 

After sleeping in, we woke up Saturday morning, got a solid bit of steal cut oats in the system and then went down to Gray's Lake for the shake-out. We swam around (even though we learned later that we were "forbidden" to do so), biked parts of the course (mostly the flat and fast section of Water Works Park), and then ran some of the out and back sections of the run course. I had taken a rest day on Friday so the legs were feeling a little stiff on the easy parts of the workout but whenever I put in a little surge or pickup, the legs and body felt great. I stretched out by the lake and we went back to Alex's for a quick shower, some lunch and I gathered up my things before heading to packet pickup. 

My bike straight chillin' by the lake

The Elite racers actually had their own ‘special’ race briefing at 4:00pm on Saturday afternoon. We were put in a separate area and eyed each other down in warrior fashion. The race announcer went over some key aspects of the course and then handed the microphone over to the head official that reminded us of basic triathlon rules and regulations. He then opened up for questions and the crowd proceeded to ask no less than 25 outrageously stupid questions, which took about 45 minutes. You could say I was rather unhappy by the end. I think my favorite was ‘are we allowed to have our shoes clipped into our bike or do we have to put them on in transition?’ –Really dude, have you ever done a triathlon? I think you have to qualify to be here or something….

After finally getting through that torture session, we picked up our packets, collected the reduced-swag bag from last year and headed back to transition to rack the bikes. We race-numbered-up our steeds and set them to rest before morning.

PRIME transition area spot. First row, first rack. 

My parents, sister and grandma were all driving in from Glenview on Saturday afternoon after my Dad completed a 20-mile marathon training run early on Saturday morning (that 5-hour car ride felt real good on the legs, right Dad?) They arrived around 5:00 PM and Alex dropped me off at the hotel to meet up with them after we racked our bikes. We made a quick turn around to the local Whole Foods, had a delicious dinner (basic salad with avocado and turkey with some mashed sweet potato on the side) and then made our way back to the Quality Inn.

I took a shower, stretched, did a little visualization and then kicked my feet up for the rest of the night. Around 9:00 PM I was about ready to hit the hay and we got ready for bed. My dad was nice enough to let me sleep in the king bed with my mom the night before the race and he planned on sleeping on the pull out couch in the living room.  I laid down in the bedroom and proceeded to hear confusion and mumbling in the other room.  Turns out the couch had a LARGE, wet, circular stain in the middle of the mattress that penetrated all the way through the bottom of the couch. After smelling the room for about 5 seconds they came to the conclusion that previous room-dwellers had peed in the bed and housekeeping had made the bed with the situation still present! Actually, there was a wet towel covering the stain in the folded bed.  Either way, totally freaking nasty!!! They proceeded to be confused for about half an hour before pulling in a roll away twin mattress that Dad somehow managed to sleep (relative term) on.

Even though I did not fall asleep until an hour or so after the optimal 8:45, it was pretty hilarious… Looking at the bright side right?

When all else fails at least we got some free cups. 

I set the alarm for 4:00 AM Sunday morning but had an unusual restless night of dreaming about the race.  I had the usual pre-race breakfast rice cakes with peanut butter and coffee while going over my morning triathlon tweets (calms the nerves).  We got over to the race site, got prime parking (thanks to Grammy for the handicap sticker) and I set up my transition area. At this point, everything was feeling like any other race except for the fact that guys racked next to me should technically be bonafide professional triathletes (the winners time was 1:52:31). 

There were no swim warm up's so it was just a jog over to the bathroom, a few minutes of running on the outside of the lake and a couple of fast strides to loosen up.  I made sure everything was a go in the transition, grabbed my wetsuit and began the process that is putting on a wetsuit that actually fits properly. Meanwhile, the announcer is counting down the minutes until my wave (the first to go off at 6:45 AM). Even thought it was a close call, I got the suit on, went down the beach, stood for the national anthem and mentally prepared for what was to come over the course of the next two hours.

As we lined up on the beach, I stood on the waters edge confident but not cocky. Prepared but not over-trained. And calculated with a plan to execute.  I had worked so hard to be here, proven so many people wrong (including myself) and knew there was no where else in the world that I was supposed to be except right there at that exact moment.  I was the youngest member of the entire Elite field by 2 years but I had no fear, I was ready to race hard from gun to tape.

The horn sounded and we were off. Elbows flew and violent punches were thrown. I expected this to happen in a race where 50 men are all competing for $15,000 and a Mini Cooper. My Elite racing experience earlier in the season prepared me to take the blows like a champ and push forward with even more aggression.  I made it to the first buoy in good position, made the turn and found myself in a group but still jockeying for position.  After the sprinters fell back one by one off the group, I settled into a pack around 500m in and just locked onto a guys feet.  I had to work hard to stay there and even had to throw in some surges when I found him pulling away. I kept a steady threshold pace and was hurting towards the end but pressed onward towards the last buoy. I exited the water with a strong and season-consistent swim time of 20:41. I was right where I needed to be heading out onto the bike.

I made the long run through the transition area, got the helmet on and then got out with a perfect flying mount in 1:25.

There was a no-passing rule for the small section out of Gray’s Lake and I was highly appreciative of this rule.  The no-swim warm up left the blood in my lower body and caused some small leg twinges in the early portion of the bike. I stood up, shook the legs out and was able to get them to go away by the 1-mile mark, just as we were exiting the park. I got down into my aero position, took a swig of my bottle and got to work. I pushed the pace early but kept the cadence high through the flat section.  I wanted to make sure I got some speed in this early section on Fleur Drive and through Water Works Park before getting out on the hillier portions of the ride after the 10k mark. I was riding right at my 40k threshold the entire way and managed to stay with a group that included Alex on the entire flat section. We hit the hills and I was still feeling great. I just kept hammering and not worrying about anything else. I trusted the training I had done on the bike and knew if I had a steady power output (perceived output, I do not have the capability to race with power), I would be in a good position.  I flew down the last hill and back into Gray’s Lake Park.  I took the shoes off, finished off the bottle and dismounted with a killer bike split of 1:01:09.

I hit T2 hard and fast and even with a small slip up getting my shoe on, I was still out in 0:58.

I exited the transition and checked my watch for the first time since the swim exit.  I saw 1:24. I had to take a second look because I was STOKED. I was in a great spot and just had a 10k to go to finish it off. I had been hitting all of my run sessions in my build up to the race and was confident in my ability.  I battled back and forth with a fellow racer as we passed other racers who were dying hard and fast. I came through the 5k in a blazing 17:45 and was happy with how I was feeling but knew the hardest part of the run; the 2-mile up hill section to the capitol was still to come. It was right at the start of the up hill that I started to feel some of the small twinges in my legs once again.  I kept the cadence up and just focused on my form.  I was still able to push the pace and pass people up the road.  I was running hard and pushing forward, just picturing the finish line. I made the final turn up the last hill, put in one last surge and crossed the line in 2:01:08 with a 36:57 run split.

My body was completely finished, literally shaking from the agony I had just inflicted upon it but my mind had never been happier. I stumbled around and somehow made it over to my parents.  I had just put together the race I had envisioned the entire season. Everything fell into place.  I pushed hard from gun to tape and left it all out there on the course. This race was justification that all of my hard work, dedication and focus in the lead up to a National Championship event was 100% worth it.

PAIN

I was 22^nd place in the Elite wave and my time would have won the 19 and under division by nearly 8 minutes. I had set a personal best time on the course by nearly 10:00 and I had surpassed all of my expectations in the process.

My progress over the past year has been outrageously exponential.  I have improved by so much in such a short time and I am confident that my progress will propel me to professional status within the next few years. I cannot wait for what the future holds.

Post race:

I enjoyed my usual post race pig out at Panera Bread and relaxed in the hotel room before somehow thinking it would be a good idea to go with Dad for his 4-mile shakeout run. The legs felt terrible but it was not bad keeping up with his pace and watching the women’s professional race in the process.  After getting some free popsicles, granola bars and chocolate milk, we hobbled back up to the hotel, took showers and walked back down with everyone to watch the men’s pro race.  Lets just say it was easily one of the coolest experiences I have ever had in my entire life seeing some of my idols like Alistar Brownlee, Javiar Gomez and Greg Bennett. Below is a video of them coming around the corner where we posted up to watch it all go down. 

Thanks: 

I look forward to taking some unstructured time to relax but still go after some challenges I have set for myself (long runs/rides just for fun). As the season comes to an end, I want to take the time to individually thank everyone who has been there along the way.

Mom and Dad- There are no words that I can say to tell you how grateful I am to have you both as my parents. You have always been there for me. You are my biggest supporters and the ones I can count on in any situation. Not only are you my biggest fans but you are the title sponsor of this whole operation.  I even wear the name on my jersey for free! Love you guys. 

Coach Craig Strong- A lot of the success that comes from this sport results from hours of training when nobody is watching. Coach Craig at Precision Multisport put together the program that pushes me to succeed, excel and grow as an athlete. Thanks for all of your support along the way. 

Jillian- Even when we don't get along, I know you will always be at my races cheering the loudest. Thanks for being there. And all the 'good' pictures. 

Grammy and Poppop-  Without you, how would all of Ocean Township, NJ and the surrounding area know anything about the superstar triathlete Justin Metzler?! In all seriousness, your love and support along the way means everything to me.  The races you went out of your way to fly across the country to see and the races you supported me in while I was on the East coast meant the world to me. Side note: Poppop is my second title sponsor. 

Alex Libin and Chase Baraczek- These guys pushed me in training and helped me get faster this whole year! Best of all, they are great friends. 

And a big thank you to Cycleops Power, the Eleonore Rocks Foundation and Running Away Multisport for believing in me and supporting my dreams. 

To all of my friends, family, my roommate Justin Lambiase who puts up with my craziness and anyone else I forgot to mention, thank you for everything. 

And remember, the best is yet to come from this 19 year old triathlete from Glenview, Illinois. 

Over and out.