ITU Sarasota- U25 Elite Developmental Race Report

I have become accustom to success. I strive for perfection and my path to personal excellence is usually left uninterrupted. In life, training and racing; I set goals that are challenging yet eventually achievable. At times, these goals can be intimidating but surpassing my own expectations with relentless persistence gives me the power to forge onward into even further depths of uncertainty.

When I review my preparation for this race, I only see personal successes. I set lifetime best times in the pool, power numbers on the bike and splits on the run. Not to mention, all of this was done primarily indoors while hunkering down throughout the Midwest winter months. Although I did not have any draft legal racing experience going into this event, there was no question in my mind that I had worked harder than all of my competitors and this ultimately would show off when it came time to toe the line.

Coming off such a heavy training block at the end of February that continued into the first week of March, I felt exceptional in my workouts the week before the race as I was finally given a little bit of rest. Getting up to race intensity on the swim, bike and run felt relatively easy. I was able to command the shorter intervals and relax in my downtime, leaving me refreshed for the first time in months. 

Here is the breakdown of events that perspired leading into my first race of the 2013 season. Although things did not go the way I had initially planned, I am taking the glass-half-full approach and focusing on the positives.

Wednesday: Get as much done in a 24-hour period as possible!

I started off the day with a tune up swim and treadmill run. Both left me feeling sharp and quick but not fatigued. I like to think of race week workouts as amnesia-preventionà hard enough that you remember what it feels like to hurt but not so hard that you have any negative returns.  Ending my workouts before 9am was a treat and gave me a great opportunity to get in some extra recovery over the next day and a half. After grabbing a quick breakfast, I popped over to the Field House to take a couple of exams. First up was my Sport Psychology exam and then in true race-week fashion, I quickly transitioned into my Nutrition and Health midterm. Nearly 3 hours of testing left my brain fried but body ready to rock, going right into auto-pilot-turbo-packing-mode. Having prepared nothing before this moment, I wrapped up my things for a 5-day trip to Florida and spring break at home after the trip. I loaded up my gear, gassed up the car and made the 222-mile drive from Iowa City, IA to Glenview, IL. 

Like a NASCAR pit-crew; Mom, Dad and Jillian were all hands on deck as I pulled into the driveway around 5:15pm. Dad and I went right to work on packing my bike while Jillian and Mom helped me pack (and fold) the clothes that I miscellaneously threw into bags.

Boxin' the bike like a pro (with the help of my mechanic of course) 

Thursday: What is this thing you call sun and warmth?

Although some may view an 8am flight as unfortunate, I could not have been happier- I was ready to get out of the cold and score some of that all-elusive Vitamin D. I woke up around 5am to have a hearty breakfast before getting into the taxi for O’Hare around 6am. We moved quickly through security, was robbed of $150 (bike fee) and ended up having plenty of time to relax before boarding the plane.

Jillian and I chillin' at the gate (she recently had reconstructive ankle surgery; hence the boot) 

The flight was smooth and easy, even landing 30 minutes early. We got into our rental car (mini-van all the way!) and hit the road on the way to our family-friends house where we were going to be staying for the next few days.

Let me take a quick pause to make an introduction to and thank some of the most amazing, welcoming and sincere friends the Metzler family has the pleasure to call theirs. Rick and Essie were generous enough to let the whole clan crash in their crazy-amazingly-awesome house in Siesta Key. I cannot thank you guys enough! You are the best!

The tree behind us eats bananas- not kidding. Let's just say it was well fed this week. 

After making the 75-minute drive from the airport to Rick and Essie’s house (including a Whole Foods stop for lunch and essentials), I unpacked my bike and got right on the road. Cruising around The Key to spin out the legs and enjoy the weather (75 and sunny for all of you Midwesterners reading). After riding for about an hour, I slipped on the running shoes and jogged for a few minutes. I felt tired from the travel but still strong in the legs.

 

Quick stop to check out the beach before riding

Yep. This is real life. 

Friday: Focused, prepared and ready to race

I woke up Friday morning and went though my usual day-before routine. Long and large breakfast, gear organization and a thorough leg shaving. I grabbed my wetsuit and headed down to the beach, a 2-minute walk away, for an easy swim with a few efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

Got weird looks. Don't care. 

After walking back to the house, I got on the bike to practice few mounts, dismounts and hard 180-degree corners before heading out for a 30:00 easy spin with a few buildups that felt really great.

Jillian pretending to be a road-median. 

I finished up riding and quickly slipped into the run shoes for a short and light jog, again adding a few accelerations that left me feeling incredible.

I stretched out, showered up and met up with the family at the country club for a light lunch before heading over to the racecourse with Dad. Although I had already done my shakeout earlier in the day, I brought my bike just to ride an easy loop of the course. I wanted to get a feel for the pavement, the single hard turn on the course and the distance from the transition area to the bike and run turn around points. The U25 Elite Developmental Race meant standard sprint distance- a 750-meter one-loop swim, a 20-kilometer four-loop bike and a 5-kilometer two-loop run. I checked in, got my packet and sat through the pre-race briefing, eyeing my competitors and the finish line right outside.

The finish line with transition on the right and a grandstand of bleachers to the left. 

Saturday: RACE DAY

I woke up at 5:00am, had my traditional pre-race breakfast, loaded up my gear in the car and drove over to the race. With such a short race -under 1 hour of nearly all out effort- it was crucial for me to get in a good, long warm up. Dad and I left at 6:00am and found a spot right outside the racecourse for me to get on the bike and get in a short first warm up. I rode for about 5 miles on a single stretch of road, adding a few tempo efforts and a few very short, very hard efforts to get the engine going. I got back to the transition area that opened at 7:15am, set up my gear, checked in and went out for a short warm up jog. I did one loop of the run course, adding some high cadence accelerations and was feeling tremendous. I was light on my feet and able to relax into proper form right away. After getting back to my gear and meeting up with the rest of the crew who had just pulled in, I put on my wetsuit and hit the water for a short swim warm up. I again, added some shorter efforts and felt spot-on. As I got out of the water and lined up for athlete introductions, I felt more confident than ever. 

I have to say, the professionalism of the draft legal event blew me away. It was super cool to have my number, home city and name announced as I jogged down to the pontoon to choose my starting position.

Pontoon dive start

Swim

Although my swim was on the upswing in training, it was the discipline least focused on in my preparations. I initially had some apprehension because I had been continuously told that if you miss the front swim pack, your race is over. I had mentally prepared to feel nervous, anxious and frantic on the pontoon waiting for the gun to go off but to my own surprise, I felt nothing. I was not scared, I was not panicked; I just was ready to race.

The gun went off and my reaction felt instinctual. I dove in and immediately started swimming as hard as possible to the first buoy. I had expected a brutal battle for position but actually found myself out in front of the competitors on both sides of me. I put in a surge to catch a group that was up ahead and simply latched on the back. I had expended a lot of energy in those first few hundred meters but was able to settle in and just sit in the middle of this group. I was swimming hard but I remember telling myself that ITU swimming should be harder… It should not be this comfortable! Either way, I was not going to complain. I got out of the water in 10:27, right in the mix of the main contenders.

Happy to be in the mix, GET OFF ME WETSUIT 

Transition 1

I made my way up the exit ramp, stripped down my wetsuit half way and approached my bike. I pulled down my wetsuit to my ankles and threw down my swim cap/ goggles. As I put my helmet and glasses on, I fussed with my wetsuit that was stuck on my left ankle/ chip strap. I eventually got it off and sprinted up to the line, flying mounted my bike and got to work.

Bike

It may have not seemed like much, but those few seconds put me behind four or five guys, strung out across about 1000 meters. I made quick work of bridging up to the first guy (who latched on my wheel), the second guy (who latched onto the back of the train) and then remembered that this is a draft-legal event, and these people could help me work on the bike! I turned my head to yell at these two competitors to come up and take a pull but noticed a single rider, with three other athletes on his wheel leading a fast moving train. I pulled up, relaxed for a moment and then entered the back of this group as they approached. After settling into the pace, I took stock of the athletes around me. I had pinned a few names prior to the race of people to look out for and to my delight, they were all in this group. I was with the main contenders, commanding the pace on the bike and feeling great. I was taking long pulls, longer than a lot of the other athletes and doing a lot of work to help our group bridge up to three athletes who had broken away on the swim. They were about :20 seconds up but I knew that with proper organization; that lead would crumble very quickly. I came through lap 1 feeling strong and on the front, lap two- same thing, now lap three is where IT happened. I had just finished taking a pull off the front about 1/2 mile away from the transition area. I pulled off to the side and felt my rear wheel start to wobble. I hoped it was nothing at first- denying the fact that I would have come all this way and done all of this hard work, making the main swim group, being in the main group on the bike to…. Get a flat tire.

I gently rolled into the transition area trying to avoid a crash on top of the flat tire, pulling up to the wheel pit. I had not brought any other wheels with me on the trip but figured there may be neutral support wheels. I asked an official for a spare rear wheel and he asked me if I had any, I shook my head no and stood there in disappointment- watching my group fade away and the group behind race by. After about 2 minutes, a man came running from across the park with a rear wheel (a Zipp 404 none the less!) I quickly removed my rear wheel and waited for his arrival. I tried to get the Zipp in place but the setscrew was tightened all the way down and I fussed with the lever to fit into the rear dropout. I eventually got the wheel in, got back on my bike and began my fourth and final bike loop- losing about 3-4 minutes in the process.

At that point, I was too sucked into the intensity of the race to process what just happened. I got on my bike and simply rode as hard as I could. I ended up having a nearly even split, riding the last lap on my own just as quickly as I did the previous three loops with the group. With a few athletes up the road and a few stragglers behind, I unstrapped my shoes and rolled down into the transition area only to notice out of the corner of my eye that #136 was neatly written on the penalty board- a nice little cherry on top!

Transition 2

Again, still in race mode, I let that one brush off my shoulders and had a flawless T2. Getting out on the run course all by myself.

Run: Out of the race, just cruising (still ran 17:03)

I got onto the run course and felt great. I was light on my feet, my form was controlled and my cadence was high. I picked off a few guys who were hurting in the first lap of the run and made my way back towards the transition area. At that moment, I remembered I had a penalty and went directly into the box to serve the :10 standing penalty. Standing there, making no forward progress was 1.) demoralizing 2.) gave me the opportunity to digest the shit-storm that had just unfolded. I cruised the second lap of the run deflated and finished the race utterly disappointed.

I think the drills are helping. Form looks pretty strong here! 

New suit. Thanks- Craft, Pacific Health Labs (Endrox R4), Precision Multisport and Kiwami! 

The Penalty- What’s up with that??

I later found out that the :10-second penalty was a violation of wetsuit position. While fighting to get my wetsuit off, I must have left half of the suit out in front of my bike, which must have gotten kicked into the middle of the transition runway by another athlete running by on the way to his bike. There were no wetsuit bins so this rule was relatively unclear but in reality, it was water under the bridge- my race was over after the flat tire.

Thoughts: Self-justification

Although there was a mound of initial dissatisfaction, I came to the realization that there is no sense beating myself up about this single race. Here are the key points that I came up with to look at this in a positive light:

1)    I made the lead swim pack and showed that I can execute the most primary and crucial step to being successful in a draft-legal race

2)    I commanded the first three laps on the bike. Being able to work in a group is VERY different from a time trial effort. I was initially expecting a 120%, nearly all out effort and then settling into a difficult yet sustainable effort while in the pack. I found out that even when I had to chase or respond to a small surge, I did not exceed 100% and the pace in the group felt like 50% effort. In the future, I am confident that I can respond to any break away, facilitate a breakaway myself or be a working-factor in any group that takes control of the race.

3)    I have a feel for what a draft-legal event is like leading into the draft-legal event at Collegiate Nationals that will have a larger field, be more competitive and open more doors if I am successful.

4)    I got ALL of the bad-luck racing out of me. I am happy it happened here and not at a more crucial event later in the year.

5)    At the end of the day, I am in Florida, enjoying the sun and a little relaxing vacation time.

Ramblings

I had mentioned right at the beginning of this post that I have grown accustom to success. And even though I would have preferred to keep my continuous string of victories alive, a little failure is humbling. It allowed me to review, step back and deal with a failure that was simply out of my control. I know it was not a matter of how hard I worked in training or how hard I pushed myself in the race because I was right there. 

Don’t put me on the backburner just yet. There is a whole season of racing left and I am hungrier than ever. Next up is Collegiate Nationals in Tempe, Arizona. In an interesting three-race weekend, I will have redemption at the sprint draft-legal race on Friday, be able to show off my strength in the non-drafting Olympic distance race Saturday morning and have some fun (and possibly win some prize money) in the mixed team relay race Saturday afternoon.

Live to fight another day.

-Justin