2013 Lifetime Minneapolis Triathlon Race Report

Now that I'm a working man, the week leading into the 2013 edition of the Lifetime Minneapolis Triathlon was a rather hectic one. It took some serious finesse to balance coaching, training, packing and a 6.5 hours solo drive, but I kept it cool and took care of business before haulin' it out of town. Below is the recap of the race in a city where they could care less if it is July, it's still going to be freaking cold.

Not only was the family heading to Minneapolis for the race, but the weekend also served as my sisters orientation weekend for the University of Minnesota where she will be attending this fall. So, Mom, Dad and Jillian left on Wednesday morning while I hung back to meet with a few clients, lead a couple group training sessions, get in some pre race workouts and pack up my things. After a short run and a beginner tri training workout at the beach on Thursday morning, I loaded up the cooler with the road trip food essentials and hopped in the car for the 400 mile solo drive.

I got about 10 miles before I had to bust out this bad boy, the always delicious microwaved sweet potato in a ziploc. 

The drive was seriously long and outrageously uneventful. After 6.5 hours of vegetable eating, audiobooking and bladder expanding, I finally made it to Minneapolis and B-lined it straight for the nearest Whole Foods. I stocked up on quinoa and more vegetables before getting back to the hotel to meet up with the fam (Gram and Pop included!)

The next morning I woke up early to meet Alex for a pre-race shakeout. We started with a short swim in the lake, got on the bikes to only fail in effectively previewing the race course and then went for a run around the lake. I had not seen him since Kansas so it was nice to catch up with a good ole' buddy.

I spent the rest of the afternoon picking up my packet, gathering my gear, researching the competition and preparing my hotel room dinner. I knew it was going to be a deep field and prepared myself to have a strong effort on one of my favorite courses in the nation.

Brown rice, quinoa, broccoli and avocado get thrown down the hatch pre race for those of you who were wondering! 

Although there was a threat of storms the night before the race, the channel 5 weatherman reassured me that the rain would pass right over Minneapolis and stay north for the remainder of the morning. I took confidence in his spray on tan and went to bed without a worry. What I failed to realize is that the weather man is WRONG, always WRONG. The alarm went off at 4:15 and I looked out the window to notice that the curse of the cold and wet had traveled with me to Minnesota and I would once again be looking at soaking wet socks, shivering cold temps and race delays/ cancellations.

The race course was somewhat flooded as you can see. Good times. 

I tried to stay relaxed and roll with the punches over my pre race rice cakes and almond butter but the inches of water that had accumulated in the hotel parking lot over the last 30 minutes did not seem promising. Dad and I drove over to the race site and followed the race Facebook/ Twitter pages closely. We were advised to stay in our cars until the lightning had passed and around 6:45 things started to clear up and we finally got the green light to head to transition.

Making a long story short, more thunder and lightning proceeded and the announcer relayed the information that the race was now going to start at 9:00am and would be shortened to a sprint distance. Although I was disappointed, I had no time to cry about it and went about my normal pre-race routine.

Don't be a baby 

The swim course was now going to be a short 400m dash and we would be sent off in time trial fashion every three seconds by division and in reverse age. Unfortunately for yours truly, being a young'n meant that I was going to be sent last out of the elite's and would have to fight from behind all day.

Pondering an effective race strategy

We quickly lined up and before I knew it, I was sent off with a string of fast swimmers more than :45 seconds ahead. I put my head down and tried to hammer, but the short swim combined with strong currents gave me no opportunity to settle in and ever feel remotely good. I was behind, but because it was so short, it would have been difficult to loose too much time.

Time to make up some ground! 

I actually passed a few guys on the long run up to transition and was out on the bike without a hitch.

Once onto the bike, I put my head down and got to work immediately. I have been working hard on my bike/ run the past few weeks and knew that I would be in a good spot to bridge up to the guys who had started ahead of me on the swim. Having the bike course shortened (I didn't know by how much) left no time to settle in or relax- it was 100% from the moment I strapped into my shoes. I pushed hard and got up to a group of guys within the first 5 miles, lead that group for the next 5 or so miles and then pushed onward to the finish. After making the right turn back into the park, I unstrapped my left shoe and got ready for the dismount. To my surprise, the new route actually had us going all the way around the lake before entering T2 from the opposite direction. So, I was the noob who pedaled the final 2 miles of the ride with my foot on top of my shoe. Despite the rookie mistake, I was still able to hold onto the 3rd fastest bike split of the day and entered the transition area around 7th position overall, even with the :45 second start deficit.

That right hip got some serious overtime work... Single leg drills coming in handy! 

Once onto the run, I settled into 5k pace almost immediately. I felt strong and was zeroing in on the competition ahead, picking them off one by one. Because of the time trial start, I had no idea of what place I was actually in at any given time, so I simply worked on running as hard as possible for the shorter than expected effort. I crossed the line, finishing with a quick 17:20 5k split and ended up taking the final spot on the podium, 3rd overall!

Gutting it out to the finish. 

After the race, I hung out with some friends, swung by the Nuun tent to rehydrate and then debriefed the race with Dad and Pop before hitting up the awards ceremony to collect my beer opener/ magnet (perfect for the guy who a.) isn't 21 and b.) dosen't drink beer!)

Also, while chillin in the luxurious Best Western post race, Mom, Dad, Jillian and I decided to play a little hotel room baseball. Mom's getting called up to the big leagues next week!

The initial plan was to go for an epic 75 mile ride on the hilly country roads outside the city on Sunday morning before heading out of town, but yet again, weather derailed this plan and instead, we woke up early and drove home right away. Let's just say that the 75 mile ride and 5 mile run in 90 degree heat once I got home, after driving 6.5 hours was rather unpleasant!

Overall, I am happy with my performance on a day that most definitely presented its challenges. I rolled with the punches and kept my cool- ultimately to be a contender in what turned out to be a highly competitive sprint distance triathlon. I tried to look at this one in the bigger picture and realize that the main focus races of the season, Age Group Nationals and HyVee, are both right around the corner.

I want to first and foremost thank my family who's unwavering support and love is what keeps me going and focused. A special shout out to Gram and Pop for coming out and braving the rain.

Couldn't do it without these studs. 

And it wouldn't be a proper blog post without a closeup of this beast. Dude cranked out a 10 mile run on his rest day in order to cheer me on! 

And finally, I want to introduce and thank my newest sponsor- Sammy's Bikes!

This local shop out of St. Charles, IL is the one stop shop for all things cycling and triathlon. From the moment I walked into their shop, I immediately felt at home and knew this was the start to a wonderful partnership. As part of Sammy's racing team, I will now be on the new Cervelo P5- representing Sammy's while training and racing! I can't wait to get on this bike... Thanks to Sammy, Jenna and the entire team!

Sammy, Jenna and myself 

Now I go into chop wood, carry water training mode to get ready for the most highly anticipated events of the year! See you in Milwaukee in the middle of August and Des Moines the first weekend in September.

Be safe out there,
Justin