2014 Memphis in May Triathlon

After scratching Leon’s Triathlon off the schedule a few weeks ago, I scrambled to throw another race on the calendar before toeing the line at Eagleman 70.3 on June 8^th. I was riding the high from my 4^th place finish at Collegiate Nationals and 8^th place finish at 70.3 Florida but quickly got back to three exceptional weeks of training that my coach, and I quote, “cringed while writing.” I was feeling pretty beat from the near 90 hours of intense training in the 20-day period but I was more than happy to put a recovery week to good use and throw my hat in the ring at one of the classic triathlons in the United States- Memphis in May. Below is the recap of my quick trip to the dirty south (and things got real dirty).

Don't ask me why the race was dedicated to the country of Panama. 

I started the day with an early morning jog in the snow (yes, snow) on Friday morning then Mom and I flew into Memphis for our first solo triathlon adventure together. I first want to clarify that although the race is called Memphis in May, it is in fact, NOT, in no way, shape or form, actually in Memphis (or Tennessee for that matter). The race is actually located in Mississippi, in a small casino town in the middle of nowhere. After a smooth flight, we made our way over to the rental car terminal and made friends with the agent who dug our vibe and gave us a free “upgrade.” That beast had three windshield wipers on the front window and could be spotted from 100 miles away.

As if I didn't stick out enough 

Saturday morning began with a few scattered showers that we were forced to wait out as it took us over an hour to drive 1.9 miles due to the sprint triathlon going on that morning. Although I was in the car 20x longer than I expected, I counted it as paying it forward for all the times I blocked traffic while I was racing. Nonetheless, I wasn’t a happy camper when we finally arrived to continued cold, wet and rainy conditions at the race site.

Not exactly lovin' life

I got in some short workouts on the course and was feeling surprisingly fresh as the rain cleared and the sun came out. I quickly realized that it was going to be a FAST day out there with a calm lake to swim in and flat roads to ride and run on. We hit up the pro meeting in the afternoon and then kicked up the feet the rest of the night.

Look. At. Those. Legs. 

The pro race did not start until a very comfortable 10:30am, which allowed for a solid nights slumber and welcomed hefty breakfast. We casually made our way over to the race site where there was more rain, more cold and more overall course wreckage due to the rain. By the time our race started and the amateurs had rolled through, our transition area looked like this:

And this: 

I took the adverse conditions in stride as I headed out for a good, long bike and run warm up before setting up transition and heading down to the swim start. I threw on the wetsuit, hopped in the water to throw the arms over for a bit and then lined up for what would be a unique and odd time trial swim start alternating between pro males and pro females every :10 seconds. In a very anti-climatic fashion, it was 3-2-1-go and I was off, into the manmade lake for a solo 1500m swim in wetsuit legal temps.

Once into the water, I felt quite good and passed a number of pro females fairly quickly. I was able to settle into a rhythm, push it hard and feel really smooth. The time trial start actually benefited me as I am very strong at settling into a good threshold pace but often loose a main pack in the first few hundred meters where the elite swimmers can sprint away. I had no idea what position I was in after the swim but I quickly realized that an 18:51 swim was strong and would set me up well for the rest of the day.

Breaking 19:00 without a draft- nice! 

Next up would be the first of two very tricky transitions (see pictures above). After exiting the water, I stumbled through the mud and made my way over to my bike. Feet covered in dirt, I shouldered my bike and carried it through the huge puddle (rinsing off my feet) and then hopped on without too much of a hindrance on my overall time. 

Cyclocross meets triathlon 

After managing to get on the bike course unscathed, I immediately got to work on the rural Mississippi roads. The morning winds had died down and the road conditions were drying up- all making for a VERY fast day out there. It also didn't hurt that I was feeling very good and was able to push the pace hard- passing a number of fellow racers and moving my way up with a wicked fast split of 54:40, averaging just over 27 miles per hour. 

Coming in off the bike, getting ready for the tougher mudder part #2 

Unfortunately, the bike-in was on the opposite side of the transition area which meant I had to shoulder the bike and carry it all the way across the mud pit over to my run shoes. I slipped and slid but somehow managed to avoid going down as I made my way over to the rack. I then grabbed my run shoes and number belt, ran out of transition, through the small rain-made lake once more and then stopped to throw my shoes on before heading out on course. I can't say it was optimal, but everyone had to deal with the same obstacles and I felt like I had gotten past the two transitions pretty darn well all considering. 

Messing up my run split! 

Once out on the run, I felt awful for the first few miles. I had trouble finding a rhythm and keeping up with the guys ahead which felt very odd. I have grown somewhat accustom to hunting dudes down and moving my way up but that was not happening at any point in the first half. Thankfully, I eventually got my run legs underneath me around the 5k mark and was able to put the hammer down, digging deep to put together the best time possible as that was what determined our places (not the finishing position across the line). I was really hurting in that last mile or so, but still managed to string together a 34:51 run split and a 1:50:07 overall time- a major league PR! 

My original goal for the race was a top-10 finish because the race paid professional athletes ten deep. When I found out that my time had put me in 5th position overall, I was absolutely ecstatic! Not only did I collect a $450 check for a hard day's work but I also grabbed a top-5 finish and turned the heads of some well-established racers who I've looked up to for years.

A little post race mingling 

I have to throw a special shout out to Mom who bit the bullet and traveled with me to Tunica in one of my last races where I need a chaperon before I turn 21 in early June. Not only was she amazing in helping me get ready for the race but it was also a great weekend of mother-son bonding time that I'll never forget!

Thanks ma 

Huge thanks to Sammy for hooking me up with a crazy fast and brand new Zipp disc that not only looked baller but rode like a straight-up champ. Also, thanks to EGO, Xterra and Precision for getting me to the start line in the best position to be successful at the most competitive stage in sport.

After packing up my bike in the empty parking lot, driving back to Memphis and getting to the airport, I hopped on the smallest plane I have ever been on and high tailed it back to ORD. As I climbed into the last seat on the plane, I realized that the life of a pro-triathlete is anything but glamorous but I have to admit- it's worth every penny. Even if I don't fit on the plane. 

The next big test for me is 70.3 Eagleman on June 8th in Cambridge, Maryland. I'll be happy to reinvest my winnings in getting to the race and can't wait to toe the line at a distance that I have primarily been training for. 

See you out there, 

Justin