2013 Bigfoot Triathlon Race Report

FACT: Winning is better than not winning.

Although I had always planned to race this past weekend, the Bigfoot Triathlon was a late addition to my 2013 event lineup. Dwindling triathlon funds, a hectic week prior and lower race priority made Lake Geneva the perfect destination for a lesser pressure event that usually turns up descent competition.

What made the race even more appealing was the fact that Bigfoot Beach State Park is only 60 miles away from home which meant I could sleep in my own bed, save money on a hotel and both my parents could come watch the race (my mom had yet to actually see me on the course this season!) Additionally, Coach Craig and a large Precision Multisport contingency would be present and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to race alongside such good friends.

Below is the race report from my first overall victory of the 2013 season at the Bigfoot Triathlon in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

After an early morning wake up call (3:30am), we loaded up the car and sleepily hit the road at 4:00am to drive up to the race. Dad sipped on his 40oz coffee mug while driving, Mom crammed herself in the backseat and I made myself the usual pre-race PBJ rice cake deliciousness. If you didn't know, spreading individual layers of peanut butter, almond butter, jelly and sliced banana on a rice cake while moving isn't the easiest task; not to mention repeating it 2-3x. Nevertheless, the entire process took about a hour and before I knew it, we were pulling into the race site.

I was all like...

Around 5:30am, we cashed in on our $5 VIP parking, I got ready for my pre-race bike warm up and then hit the road. After spinning around the parking lot trying to navigate hundreds of anxious pre-race triathletes, I finally made it out onto the open roads.

Steve downloaded Instagram the day before the race. So, yeah, he got excited. 

I road for about 20 minutes, getting a good feel for the strong winds and rolling hills that made up the bike course. As I was heading back to the car, I noticed an odd rubbing sound from what I initially thought was my bottom bracket. After further inspection, I noticed that my rear wheel was rubbing up against my chain stay/ frame. Long story short, I spent the next 30 minutes messing with the rear set screw trying to ensure that I wouldn't have an issue during the race.

Transition closed at 6:30am and I finally made it in there at literally 6:25am. I quickly set up my gear, messed around with my rear wheel a final time and then got out of there with no time to spare.

Me messing around with the wheel at 6:29. Profanity may have been used. 

My wave went off at 7:30am and so I spent the final hour before the race start warm up jogging, waiting in line at the bathroom and putting on my wetsuit.

Quick side note here: I was literally waiting in line in for the mens bathroom for almost 20 minutes (thanks to a serious lack of porto's) and there were still 4 guys ahead of me with 40 minutes to my race start. There were no women in the women's bathroom so I b-lined it over there and within seconds I was takin' care of bidness. Of course, as I do this, a MULTITUDE of women came rushing into the bathroom. This made exiting rather uncomfortable for everyone. Sorry ladies! 

I did some pre-race dynamic stretching, put on my wetsuit, hopped in the water for a few seconds and then lined up to get ready to go. 

I actually do this before I race. Looks ridiculous but really helps when I don't make the swim warm up! 

I positioned myself right in the front of the pack standing on the shoreline in hopes of catching the front guys feet, assuming there would be a few fast swimmers in the 30 and under division. At 7:30, the gun went off and I was right out front. Almost immediately, one guy went off and I latched onto his feet. As most of you know, drafting is legal in the swim portion of the race and is actually incredibly effective at saving energy while maintaining a high rate of speed. Yet, when drafting, it is not uncommon to tap the guys feet who is ahead of you. The guy who's feet I was sitting on was getting VERY annoyed that I kept touching his feet and at one point actually stopped swimming to turn around and look at me in anger. I swiftly navigated around him when he stopped swimming, latched onto the guy to my right and cruised to the turn around buoy. As we made the turn, I noticed the two of us had a pretty big gap on the chasing group. I was working really hard to stay with this guy but felt quite good. I kept with him for another 400m but coming into the final stretch, he pulled away and I couldn't quite stick with him. I came out of the water in second place, feeling strong and ready to get to work on the bike. 

After a rock bludgeoned my big toe coming out of the swim in 2011, I was stoked to see no blood as I ran to T1!

I flew through the first transition and was out on the bike ahead of the guy who slightly beat me in the swim. I charged onto the bike course, yelling at the carefree sprint racers making their way out onto the course at the same time. 

Sorry if I yelled at you while you were cruising on your mountain bike. I know you are trying to have fun out there. I was just in super "holy crap I'm in first place don't F this up" mode!

After charging up the first hill out of transition, I fell right into a rhythm and started to hammer along. A strong headwind combined with the rolling hills made the course really tough but I had the pedal to the metal the whole way and the legs were responding well. There is no better feeling when you are working at your max but not thinking about how bad it hurts- just going faster. 

Woah. Sweet pic! 

The course did not have any mile markers and I do not race with any type of technology that would assist me in estimating how far along I was on the bike. But, I had made it through the entire out section with the headwind and had started coming back towards the transition area with a wicked strong tail wind. I was geared out and absolutely flying up and down the hills! After about 3 minutes of exhilarating roller coaster like speed, I made a left turn and felt my rear wheel start to stop. I initially thought it was a flat tire, forgetting about the 1 hour debacle before the race. Then, it donned on me that the set screw may have slipped once again. I proceeded to get off my bike, adjust the wheel, get back on, start riding, realize it was rubbing on the chain stay, got back off, and repeated the process before getting back on and gently riding the remainder of the course. Thankfully, I had a descent lead at this point but I still probably lost over two minutes. Although I had the lead, I came into T2 feeling great physically but somewhat scared, fearing that my chasers hadn't gained on me after losing time on the side of the road. 

Thankfully, the wheel held up for the final stretch and I was still in the lead! 

T2 was flawless, similar to T1 and I was out onto the run with the fastest second transition split of the day. 

Dad yelling at me to pick up my cadence. Never an easy task for me, not to mention running on grass! 

Now, the run course at Bigfoot is known for being challenging on a dry, cool day. It is made up of two, 5k loops with a few sizable climbs and screaming descents. Not to mention, it is nearly 100% comprised of either grass, mud or tree roots. It had stormed very hard the two days prior to the race and had turned to course into more of a tougher mudder rather than an OD triathlon run course. Still, I remained relaxed and felt great. I felt steady on the first lap and then came through the second lap to hear a :90 second lead on second place. I didn't think that I would be caught but this put a little extra pep in my step as I charged through the second lap feeling better than the first. I crossed the finish line, in 1st place overall, with the fastest run split of the day! 

Can't beat that feeling! 

Obviously, Mom was the lucky charm at this one and it was great to have her there, screaming at me to run faster and be amazing. Also, you can't forget Dad who was the Insta-pro for the weekend. I'm excited yet slightly afraid when he discovers Vine. 

After waiting around for the awards ceremony in the heat, I basked in the spoils of being the 2013 Bigfoot Triathlon champ and collected my $30 Starbucks giftcard. Frappachinos all around! 

Top steppin' it! 

After making a much needed Egg Harbor brunch stop, we hit the road and headed home. I debriefed the race with the rents and then something oh' so delicious caught the corner of my eye. 

Just a little spontaneous post race Strawberry pickin

Addictive little SOB's. Already half gone. 

I also want to let everyone know that I am now an official Precision Multisport Coach! If you are in need of any personal swimming, cycling, running, triathlon, strength training or nutrition coaching- I'm your man! I know what it takes to just get started all the way to elite competition and together we can build a stronger you. Not to mention you'd automatically be part of the best triathlon squad on the North Shore. Email me at justinmetzler1993@gmail.com for more info. 

PM representing as usual 

Next up is some hard training for the back half of the season in preparation for AG Nationals and HyVee then Lifetime Minneapolis Triathlon on July 13th!