2014 USAT Collegiate National Championship

The moment we’ve all been waiting for… race season is finally HERE! After months of gut-busting swim sessions, excessively long trainer rides and freezing outdoor run sessions, I was ready to put my hard work to the test. After jumping through what felt like nearly a thousand hoops, I was able to obtain eligibility to open my 2014 season at the USAT Collegiate National Championship in Tempe, Arizona- the most competitive collegiate triathlon in the country. Below is the recap from the events that unfolded as I toed the line with the best collegiate triathletes that hailed to Tempe from almost every state on the map. Enjoy!

After a week of heavy anticipation and excitement, I finally flew out to Phoenix on Thursday morning before the Saturday race. In typical Metzler fashion, I booked my flight, Mom joined in relatively last minute and then, obviously, Steve couldn’t resist booking a flight two days before we left. Classic Steve. 

Look. At. That. Swagger. 

Although it meant Mom and I would be on a separate flight from Big Papa, his early AM departure meant we would have the rental car awaiting and a handy luggage boy ready to help with the bags upon our arrival.

Steve takes is job VERY seriously. 

Friday morning went perfectly as I enjoyed myself a hefty breakfast and casually got out for a couple loops on the bike course and an easy run around Tempe town lake. We watched the Draft Legal event and although there were a couple times I wished I had decided to race it, there was definitely some added fuel to the fire for my race the following morning. 

New kit = so fly. 

The rest of the night was spent hanging out with the feet up and a big bowl of veggies to top off the fuel tanks. 

That's one dude who is way too excited to eat some vegetables. Also not the two full, open containers of hummus on the counter.  

Race morning came quickly and a 10:30 AM start time resulted in a relaxed morning of breakfast, bike check in and second breakfast. After breakfast #1, I rolled down to the race site to set up my transition area. As I dismounted my fancy P5 with electronic shifting, looking pro as can be in my EGO kit and as I put my foot down on the slippery sidewalk… WHAM- big boy goes down hard.

Just like this. 

So…. My first embarrassing wipe out since learning how to clip into pedals in ’07- yep, that just happened. I picked myself up and kept my head down, trying to remind myself that I do still know how to ride a bicycle. My bike was 100% fine and although my ribs and hip took the grunt of the ungraceful spill, nothing was serious.

Still pondering that tumble. 

I set up my transition area and headed back to the hotel for breakfast #2 before we headed out to the race site for a warm up run, wet suit donning and a pre-race swim. I finished up my warm up feeling loose, strong, confident- seriously ready to let it rip.

As I entered the water and into the wading corral, I pushed my way into a descent starting position with a straight shot to the first buoy. The gun went off and I had my typical slow-ish start, but found some clear water and moved my way up quickly. I have been working on my swim quite a bit the last few weeks and felt comfortable settling into the pace. I could tell that I had missed the main front pack, and I was sure that there were at least 3-5 guys off the front. I exited the swim in the second main bunch in about 30^th position. I was not surprised but still slightly apprehensive because I knew some serious work had to be done in order to get back up to the front.

As I came into the first transition, I stripped my wetsuit, threw on my helmet and grabbed my bike- all very smooth. But, as I ran on the bumpy grass and towards the mount line, I noticed that both of the rubber bands that I had set to hold my shoes up for easy entry had been snapped. I didn’t think much of it until I mounted my bike and pushed down on the pedal, then finding out that somehow, my bike was in the heaviest gear. Now, I positively did not intentionally position my gears in this manner, nor snap my own rubber bands. I’m not going to call sabotage, but it sure was peculiar….

I took that little snafu in stride and kept calm as I headed out onto the bike course. I got to work immediately and picked off a few guys early on. I was then passed by Steve Mantell and knew he was a serious threat, so I did my best to stay with him. As I worked my way around the first loop of the two-loop course, I was honestly feeling like complete dog crap. Steve was consistently gaining on me and no matter how hard I tried, I just could not hang with him. Having only ridden outside twice before the race, my bike handling skills were pitiful and I could not seem to find any high intensity rhythm on that first lap. 

Thankfully, on the second loop, I was able to feel stronger, take some of the corners more confidently and make up some time. I came into the second transition in 14^th place, NOT where I was expecting to be but knew with a good run, a top-10 finish could achievable.

Mantell and I charging hard into T2

The second transition went perfectly and I hit the run course feeling good and ready to move my way up. I settled into the pace and simply focused on gaining one position at a time. I quickly passed a guy coming out of transition, a pair of Cal racers in the first mile and a couple of other quickly fading cyclists in the first 5k. I found myself in 8^th place with 5k to go but knew it was going to take quite the effort to move up any further. With two miles to go I put in a hard push to capture 7^th place, once there, I surged passed the 6^th place racer with about 1.5 miles to go. At this point, I was on the red line but as I made the U-turn that lead to the final straight, I saw a small dot in the distance- 5^th place.

I knew I had done the training. At this point, it was a matter of who was mentally tougher. This guy was fading, and I wanted top-5 more than anything. I pushed myself to the limit and ultimately caught him with 200m to go. I sprinted into the finishing chute- completely exhausted from my personal 10k best-run of 34:06.

So much pain. So much relief. 

For the first race of the year, I am incredibly satisfied with how this race went down. To be completely honest, this event was a late addition to my calendar and 90% of my training has been focused around the 70.3 distance. I am pleased with my natural progression in this race, 68th in 2012, 17th in 2013 and now a 4^th place finish in 2014. This year’s champion was 4^th last year, so you know what that means!

 

I'm coming for you numbero uno! 

Although I came across the line in 5^th position, the 4^th place racer got a 2:00 drafting penalty, which bumped me up into his spot. I was proud to stand on the podium with the 10 fastest collegiate racers in the country but am continuously disappointed with USA Triathlon. Places 1-3 get a prize package worth upwards of $600 and even the guy who won the best mustache competition gets a backpack full of goodies. They were the ones constantly announcing how competitive the race is and how difficult it is to get top-5 here, so you would think a little something more than a bogus-medal would be in order! I’m not trying to be greedy, but if you’re going to put 4^th and 5^th place up there, then hook us up with some goods! We don’t want to feel left out ;).  

Special shout out to Steve Mantell who was in the same situation as me last year with a 5th place finish. After two top-3's in the draft legal and the non-draft this year, he was given two prize packs. This dude is so nice that he gave me a few items from one of the bags to make up for my lack of goods. Thanks man.

I am currently sitting on a flight from Phoenix to Charlotte, I have a 3 hour lay over there and then continue on to Sarasota where I will be staying for the week with the best pseudo-grandparents out there, Rick and Essie. Next up is my pro debut at Florida 70.3 in Haines City in one week and I absolutely cannot wait. This was a perfect tune up and lets me know I am in the right position to toe the line with the best athletes in our sport.

As always, huge thanks to my title sponsor- EGO pb Sammy’s Bikes. Also big thanks to Xterra Wetsuits, Precision Multisport and Tony/ Sheila at The Wellness Revolution. You guys all rock and I can’t do what I do without all of you. Thanks.

Stay tuned for another race report next weekend. I’ll just be over here enjoying the beach, soaking up the sun and getting ready to have another great race on April, 13^th.

The fact that the season has started gets me so pumped that words on a screen cannot explain it. I’m just happy that I am doing what I love- pursuing my dream of being one of the best triathletes in the world.

Thanks for tuning in,

Justin