2013 Lifetime Tri Series Championship Oceanside

I want to start off by saying that Oceanside, and Southern California as a whole, is straight up awesome. After receiving a free entry to the race after my top-3 finish at Minneapolis, I reasoned that saving $100 on the entry fee validated my spending $1000 to fly cross country and compete in the inaugural Lifetime Series Championship in Oceanside, California. Here is the recap of what went down in one of the coolest places I have ever been!

I've gotten incredibly good at this lately 

After a quick trip to Sammy's to pick up some Zipp racing wheels and a lesson on how to take apart certain components on my new P5, I packed up my bike and got ready for what would be a rather audacious trip- flying from ORD-LAX, renting a car and then driving to Oceanside, 80 miles away from the airport. 

A whole lotta bike going into that tiny case. Life would be easier if I wasn't 6'3". 

The flight went by relatively quickly as Dad and I watched the crappy in-flight movie and munched on vegan snacks. Oh yeah, I'm 100% plant-based now but I'm not going to be all preachy about it. It just makes me feel really good in training and not in training.

Confusing American Airlines travelers with my lunch 

Chillin in the exit row with this stud. Extra leg room for the tall dudes was a score 

After landing and grabbing my bike, we took the shuttle to the rental car building to find this:

Yeah, that would be a 90 minute wait at the Dollar rental car center. WTF. 

So, we stood in line for a couple of minutes, realized that this was going to take a little bit longer than expected and then the mastermind of our travel party, (Stevie), offered to bravely schmooze with the surrounding line-standers while I put together my bike in the corner.

This little guy was cute to start, but got REALLY annoying when he kept coming over and messing with my spacers, screws, tools that were laid out on the floor. SOMEBODY GET THIS KID A LEASH.

After finally getting the keys to that ever elusive Hundai Santa Fe, we hit the road to Oceanside! (not before sitting in 2 hours of Friday rush hour LA traffic)

Not sure if this guy is directing traffic or warming up for a sword fight. Either way, we could have used him sitting out on the 405 

The day before the race went smoothly and was largely uneventful. I spent the morning checking out the course, swimming in the surf and awkwardly posing next to palm trees. 

A prime example of me trying to look cool. Didn't work. 

Race morning came early but still being on Chicago time, I already had a leg up on the west-coast competition- what felt like a 6:00am wake up was just another day at the office. 

Dad taking his photography role very seriously this time around. 

After a delicious bowl of quiona, berries and almond butter- we were out the door and off to the race site. I dropped my gear at T2, set up my T1 and then got out for a good run warm up with some dynamic stretching to cap it off. After throwing on the wetsuit, I got over to the start and our wave was put into the water. We were given :90 to swim over to the start buoy and then we were off! 

I promise that this felt a lot more hectic than the jazzy music in the background may suggest. 

After a morning of perfect weather throughout the transition set up and warm up, a CRAZY fog cloud rolled into the area and made it nearly impossible to see.

Hopefully this picture portrays it properly, but lets just say it was so foggy I thought it was torrential down-pouring while I was swimming. 

Literally, I couldn't see the next buoy in front of me. So, I did my best to remember the course map that I glanced over the week before the race and somehow made it through the swim somewhat decently. I exited the water in between the lead group of three guys and the chase pack behind. Not an optimal position, but something I could work with as the bike and run awaited.

Now this my friends, is the definition of being disoriented. 

I struggled to get my wetsuit off around my ankle strap but otherwise, made it out of T2 relatively unscathed. Onto the bike and into the fog I go!

The challenging rolling-hill bike course suited my strengths perfectly and I was highly motivated to hammer the ride on my beautiful brand new Sammy's steed. Unfortunately, I could not see the road in front of me when cresting a hill or going into a turn, which made it difficult to get up to top speed. I found myself covering the breaks frequently and using extra caution where I would have normally grabbed an extra gear. Although this may have slowed down the time by a bit, everyone had to deal with the conditions and I found myself in first place by the end of the first lap. Time to hold it together!

Dad had to hop a fence, climb on top of a garbage can and peak through a fence to grab this shot at the turn around. Dedication. 

I started feeling really good on the second lap of the bike and was able to gain a small lead on the group of chasers behind me. And when I came into T2, the announcer said I was in first place which put a little pep in the ol' step as I headed out onto the run course. 

Gaining way more positive reviews than my writing or racing is Mom/ Dad background video commentary. This one does not disappoint. 

I opened up my stride and fell into rhythm immediately on the run. The poor weather conditions that had slowed down the swim and bike were not a factor on the run and it was the first time all day where I felt I could really lay it on the line. I noticed my lead gaining at the multiple turn around points and my confidence built accordingly. Although I noticed I had a fairly substantial lead around the 4-mile mark, I kept the pressure on and ended up with one of the fastest runs of the day. I cruised into the finish feeling incredible- even taking the time to give Dad a well deserved high five. 

Winner, winner- vegan dinner! 

After the race, I celebrated with Dad, met up with a few friends and limped through a slow cool down jog. We hit up the awards ceremony to collect my grand prize- a dinky medal? Yeah that was it. After last year's winner at Dallas taking home a bike frame, I was expecting a little more out of the Lifetime folks! 

As soon as possible, we hit up an awesome place for lunch which hit the spot big time after a lot of waiting around. 

Post-race pancake and cookie cravings are a thing of the past.  After a morning gels, I needed to get me some PLANTS!   

Before packing up my bike, I even got a chance to head out for an easy spin/ sight seeing ride that further supported my theory that California is wicked rad. As you can see, I'm picking up on the lingo. 

Fog had passed, a beautiful afternoon to take a victory lap out on the coast resulted 

After another delicious meal Sunday evening, it was an early Monday morning for the long trip back to blistery Chicago. I just hope I don't grow a 6th finger any time soon... 

Yep, caught this little tidbit as we were leaving the hotel on Monday. Thanks for letting us know?

Honestly, it feels incredible to go into this race on heavy half-ironman specific training and take home a win. It is just another indicator that all systems are a-go for the Rev3 Venice race on 11/10. I am still motivated to train hard for a couple weeks and I can't wait to see how I fair at a longer distance event. 

I want to thank a few people who this victory would not have been possible without: 

1.) STEVE- no words necessicary. If you've met me at a race, you have probably schmoozed with my Dad. He is a P-I-M-P and is always there to support me. He even practically went vegan the whole weekend, and liked it! 

Bringing the airport swag up to an entirely new level. 

2.) Sammy's Bikes- the P5 + zipp 808 combo was deadly out there. Not to mention the Di2.... Thanks for all your support! Check these guys out for any bike needs, they are the best- no questions asked.  

3.) Xterra wetsuits- my newest sponsor! Saturday was my first time trying out the Vendetta and it fit like an absolute glove. Use promo code SA-METZLER for crazy awesome discounts on all Xterra products. 

4.) Nuun and Precision Multisport. I dropped that lemon-lime in my water bottle all weekend to keep hydrated and followed the Coach Craig Strong's plan to perfection- thanks guys.

5.) Da fans- if you read this blog, you rock. Thanks for checking in and following my trials and tribulations as I try to be the best I can be every single day. 

Next up is the big late season race that I have been gearing up for, a 70.3 distance triathlon in Venice Beach, Florida! 

Bundle up, 

Justin