USAT Collegiate High Performance Camp

Happy 2013 triathlon season to all! After coming off a successful elite debut to end the 2012 season at the 5150 US Championship, I am back at it, beginning what I am expecting to be an even more exciting 2013 campaign. After some much needed rest, I kicked off the start of my training with a USAT Collegiate High Performance Camp in San Antonio, Texas this past weekend. I made the 18 hour drive down with two great teammates and friends, Alex Libin and Allison Kindig. Below is a full recap of what went down in the state where the size of your truck usually matches the size of the burrito in your hand.

Iowa City to San Antonio. After an outrageous week of organizing, studying, packing, exam taking, essay writing and easy training, we left at 10pm on Wednesday night after Allison's mechanical engineering exam.  Our plan was to leave Iowa City and drive two hours to Alex's house in Des Moines, sleep overnight and then wake up early Thursday morning to knock out the remaining 16 hours. We needed to be in San Antonio by Thursday night/ early Friday morning in order to make the start of the camp at 7am on Friday.  

So, we loaded up the cooler with the essential items (hummus, rice cakes, peanut butter, etc.) and hit the road. 

Alex Sr. giving Alex Jr. some helpful road trip tips before we head out. 

After about 2 hours, all was going as planned. Allison was sleeping peacefully in the back seat while Alex and I talked about something random as usual. Our plan was to simply rotate paying for gas. Alex and I did this when traveling to the East Coast in June and it seemed to even out the expenses pretty well. Alex offered to pay for the first fill up and got out of the car to pump the gas. After about 2 seconds of realizing a form of payment is needed in order to receive the gas, Alex could not seem to find his wallet. And in some sort of jaw dropping, stomach turning epiphany, Alex realized that he had left his phone and wallet on top of the car when we pulled out of his driveway in Des Moines. At the same time, Allison sleepily mentions that she saw a "leaf" fall off the roof of the car as we pulled onto the interstate and did not think anything of it. That leaf was an iPhone and a wallet full of cash, credit cards, ID's and race prize gift cards. 

Alex called his mom and she immediately rushed over to the on-ramp of the highway to look for his lost items. She ended up finding his phone right away but the wallet was still MIA. Alex canceled his credit cards and sulked into his chair as we forged onwards towards Texas. 

As the drive went on, everyone got over the bummed-out-ness that resulted from the cellphone/wallet snafu and the drive started to fly by as we talked about all things life and triathlon. Around 4pm Alex got a call that a man had found his wallet on the side of the highway and was going to drop it back off at his parents house! Success! Wallet and iPhone both safe and sound. (Still not with him on a 36 hour road trip but we would make due with sharing a phone and Steve fronting both mine and Alex's bills for now. (thanks dad) 

We got through the shit-storm that is Dallas rush hour traffic and made it to San Antonio around midnight on Thursday. We unloaded the car quickly, made it up to our rooms and crashed as soon as possible to get a few hours sleep before breakfast at 7am. 

USAT Collegiate High Performance Camp 

Friday: 

Breakfast in the hotel lobby, which actually had a pretty nice spread of oatmeal and fresh fruit. Of course, we brought down our large bag of necessary additional items like PB2 and granolas (notice the plural). We sat down, had a few cups of coffee and felt as good as one can after 6 hours of sleep and an 18 hour drive. 

Introductions in the hotel conference room and free swag collection. The camp was run by Shelly O'Brien, a USAT Level 3 and International Elite Development Coach who was literally the most knowledgeable triathlon-minded person I have ever met. Throughout the weekend she would come to teach us some invaluable lessons and skills as we each progress into elite and professional triathlon futures. 

I <3 FREE STUFF

Swim video and testing. We were staying at a hotel that was within walking distance of the University of Texas at San Antonio campus and aquatic facility. After introductions, we walked over for swim video filming and to complete the USAT standard 200-800 test. After suiting up in my new speedo and warming up, Alex and I lined up on the blocks to start the test. First, you dive in and swim a 200yd all out sprint, then take :60 seconds rest before completing an 800 all out swim. Your total time of the test is compared to standards and used as a baseline for future improvement. Shelly actually asked the group if we had all had experience diving off the blocks before. I had never really practiced diving off them in a competitive situation, but I figured diving from the edge of the pool every swim workout couldn't be much different. Well, I was VERY wrong. Diving off the blocks sucks if you have no idea what the hell is going on. So, I dove in, filled my goggles with water and struggled through the 200. Swimming the 50 in :28, the 100 in :60, the 150 in 1:34 and the 200 in 2:08. We took the :60 rest and then hit the 800 effort. I knew this would be my better test as I have always been stronger over longer distances (and there was no water in my goggles). Still, the pool is only six lanes and very warm on one side (there was literally a hot tub jet coming out of the deep end) which made me feel pretty terrible. I ended up swimming the 800 in 9:32. With splits of 1:06, 2:19, 3:31, 4:44, 5:56, 7:09, 8:21 and 9:32.

UTSA pool (Alex concurred, that test sucked) 

Walk back to the hotel. After the painful swim test, we walked back over to the hotel to grab a quick snack and get ready to do our bike threshold test. As we walked under the highway and past the van, I noticed something rather peculiar. The passenger side window was smashed in and my Dad's expensive cop-radar in addition to Alex's girlfriends Garmin GPS was stolen. We stood there in shock for a few moments before angrily walking back into the hotel to figure out what the heck to do.

A rather inconvenient problem. 

Problem solving. We spoke with Shelly and told her the situation. She completely understood the situation and urged us to take care of the window first thing so we could put that behind us before moving on with the camp. So, while the others reviewed their swim analysis, Alex and I broke out the cardboard and duck tape to construct a make-shift window.

Getting somewhere...

Lunch. After 3 hours of sun baking, hand cutting on glass and engineering, we finished the widow and grabbed a late lunch. 

SUCCESS!!!! You can even see our reflections. 

Swim video analysis. We came back from lunch and directly went into analyzing our swim strokes. Both Alex and I had some serious problems but nothing that was unfixable. With a few minor tweaks and some consistent drill work over the next few months, we both could become faster and more efficient swimmers. 

Bike threshold test. Around 5:30pm, we set up the computrainers and got ready for the step-threshold test. It is a brutal bike workout that pushes athletes to their max effort over a 20-30 minute period. We warmed up for around 10:00 and calibrated the trainers for accuracy. The test starts at a comfortable but working effort and builds by 10 watts every 2:00 until you literally can not go any harder. I warmed up around 200 watts and then started the test at 250 watts (comfortable but not easy spinning). The test began and Shelly came around to record our current wattage number, heart rate, cadence and rate of perceived exertion (1-10) . 

Below are my results from the bike test. 

Wattage	Heart Rate	Cadence	RPE
250	145	95	4
260	152	95	4.5
270	155	95	5.5
280	158	93	6
290	159	94	6.5
300	164	95	7
310	168	93	8
320	172	96	8.5
330	176	103	9
340	177	101	10
350	181	101	10
360	184	98	10
370	186	95	10

Forcing a smile after punishing myself on the bike. At least my shirt looks cool. 

Without a doubt, I crushed that test because I was wearing the Craft Mesh Superlight base layer. This shirt is unbelievable. The hotel conference room had no air conditioning and with a group of cyclists going all out, it got rather toasty in there. Happily, I stayed cool the whole time. 

Saturday: 

Bike to high school track. After waking up and having a lighter breakfast, we rode our bikes over to the local high school track for a full morning of activities. First up was the 2-mile all out threshold run test.

Rolling out to the track. 

Run test. After a 3 mile warm up with a few short efforts and a couple track drills to open up the hips, we got on the line to start the test. I focused on taking the test in four, 800m parts (similar to how I would run a 10k in a race). Going out steady, building into a pace, suffering and then working to take it home in the fastest time possible. My confidence was not all that high going into the test because I was coming off a complete 3 week stretch of no running at all. My goal was to put in as hard of an effort as I could possibly do but I also realized I was nowhere near full fitness. This was simply a baseline test and I was just going out to set a time that I will build upon. Also, the test gave Shelly a chance to film our run stride for later analysis. Below are my results from the run test. 

Meter	Time	Heart   Rate
400	1:24	176
800	2:47	180
1200	xx	xx
1600	5:37	185
2000	7:03	186
2400	8:30	188
2800	9:54	191
3200	11:14	191

B-E-A-UTIFUL 

Drills. After jog/ walking a 400 and somewhat catching my breath, we met up to start some basic track drills that worked on the common issues Shelly saw among the entire group. Some of the drills we did focused on dynamic hip flexion, glute integration and foot landing position. 

Transition practice. We finished up our drills and then rode over to an empty parking lot to work on some bike skills. We did drills that worked on bike handling in a group, cornering, mounting, dismounting, riding through traffic and quick bike/ run transitions. We even had a transition rack to do the drills and it got pretty competitive by the end. I fared pretty well except for the drills that required us to take off our wheels and then put them back on, that definitely needs some serious work! Also, I thought it would be pretty cool to capture the entire transition practice on my Garmin 910xt (you can check it out here).

Alex and Mason. It was 75 degrees and sunny (one positive among all the negative aspects that are Texas) 

Bike straight chillin' after being thrown around for an hour. 

Lunch/ Strength Training. We rolled back to the hotel after the AM workouts and headed straight to the Roadrunner Cafe (dining hall) for lunch. We actually ate all of our meals here which made it easy to please everyone. After eating large lunch, we went straight back to learn a few strength training exercises that focused on our specific running and swimming weaknesses.

Where I found my new love for cottage cheese.

Swim. After strength training, we grabbed our swim gear and walked over to the UTSA pool for one more swim session. Having analyzed our swim strokes on Dartfish (sport video analyzing program) the previous day, each of us had a pretty good idea of what our major problems were. For the most part, my swim stroke is very efficient and strong. Still, we found that I was entering the water with my thumb first rather than my pinky finger which was forcing me to cross over and not get the most out of my pull. Also, when I followed through with my pull, my elbow was totally straight and I was losing a ton of power in the process. With a simple bend of the elbow and alteration of the entry finger, I picked up speed and efficiency almost immediately.

Wrapping up Alex's battle wounds from the window building process. Kitkat wrappers from the locker room floor and rubber bands did the trick. Also, should there be some nudity warning on this picture?

Run video analysis. Feeling confident that my swimming abilities literally improved over the course of the past hour, we sat down to go over the video from the run test earlier in the day. All of us had our individual problems but again, nothing that could not be fixed and improved upon with hard work. My two main issues were 1.) pronation with my right foot and 2.) weak hip muscles. The pronation in my foot caused my entire leg to fall inwards and was inhibiting my ability to properly spring off the ground. Also, my weak hip muscles kept my right foot on the ground much longer than optimal causing a low cadence and hip injury susceptibility. With some single leg isolated hip exercises and a good pair of orthodics, I will be running faster and more efficient than ever.

Analyzing my run form on the big screen. 

Exactly whats going on. Picture A= good, picture B= bad. (nice a$$ dude) 

Sunday:
Bike skills. We woke up Sunday morning (extremely sore I might add) and rode over to another grassy field to do some bike skills work. Shelly set up cones and markers for us to weave in and out of, practicing our handling and cornering. We did some partner activities and played some skill games. We finished up with a 10:00 game of tag that got a little intense as Alex and I chased each other around.  Results from bike skills:
1.) Bruised forearm and cut hand from crashing with Allison multiple times (and I got off easy compared to some others!)
2.) Much improved bike handling and confidence

Shelly and myself after bike skills practice. 

San Antonio to Dallas. After bike skills, we made the quick ride back to the hotel. We did a quick camp wrap up where we went over some of the testing data and asked any final questions (pretty much picking Shelly's brain to the absolute max while also enjoying a second breakfast). We said our goodbyes, showered up and hit the road. Allison actually lucked out because she has family in Dallas and planned to spend a few days there on the way home. We made the 5 hour drive up, dropped Allison off and then continued onward while she planned to fly the rest of the way home later in the week.

Dropping Allison in Dallas. Yes, Alex and I are wearing matching USAT outfits (it gets you places, I swear) 

Dallas to Oklahoma City. After meeting Allison's uncle, learning how to actually do a pistol squat and grabbing some gas in a majorly sketchy area but still making friends with some random guy in the Quicky Mart, Alex and I were off to our final destination of the day, Oklahoma City. With the help of Mom, we were able to find an amazing Hampton Inn to crash in for $89.99 with free breakfast!

We couldn't leave Texas without some authentic TexMex. El Fenix hit the spot! Guac and fajitas all day. We're on vacation right?

Monday:
Oklahoma City to Des Moines. After a great nights sleep in OKC, we woke up to a delicious breakfast spread in the lobby. We made our way up I-35 and the time seemed to fly by without the need of loud music, podcasts or DVD's (our conversation is always entertaining enough). We made it Des Moines by 4:30pm and had plenty of time to catch up with Alex's mom and brother.

That carrot is going to need some guac on it. That guac is in Alex's crotchal region (as are the remaining carrots). Welcome to the driver/ car chef dynamic. 

Des Moines to Iowa City. We had some delicious Russian food before hitting the road one last time to finish up the remainder of our journey. The two hour drive was nothing in comparison but we were iching to get out of the car and move around. We got into Iowa City around 8:30pm and I was unpacked, relaxing and watching Dexter by 10:00pm. Successful day and successful trip all around.

The USAT Collegiate High Performance Camp served a number of purposes for me. First, it was the kick off to my 2013 season. I was able to set baseline test numbers that will determine my training zones and allow me to build upon as I continue to get back in shape. Also, the camp gave me my first introduction to draft legal racing. Through our informational meetings and simply speaking with Shelly, I have come to the realization that in order to be at the top of this sport, I need to have some draft legal experience. Among the top pros who are competitive on the national and world stage, having some draft legal racing and training experience is nearly a prerequisite. Finally, this camp gave me the opportunity to have a kick ass weekend with my friends doing the one thing that I love more than anything else in the world. It invigorated me to push forward and gave me the confidence that with the right steps, I can achieve all of the goals I have set out for myself.

Sup y'all. 

I am happy with how rapidly I have come up in triathlon over a short period of time and I am excited to see exactly what the future holds. Keep on the look out for a finalized 2013 race schedule, we are close to marking down the dates! I will let you know that I plan to continue focusing on the non-drafting Olympic distance while adding some Elite Developmental draft legal racing and you may even see some 70.3's on the calendar.

I would like to foremost thank my parents who have always been there supporting my goals and dreams. I know you will continue to do so in the future and I would be nowhere without my #1 fan's and sponsors!

Also, I would like to introduce my latest sponsors for the 2013 season! (I am very excited about this, word's do not do it justice!)

Craft Sport Clothing

Karhu Running Shoes

Look out for product reviews and feedback as I get the opportunity to work with these great companies.

I will be in the Chicagoland area for 5 weeks over winter break from December 14, 2012 to January 22, 2013. Shoot me a message, I would love to train with all of you while I am home! Otherwise, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Holidays and Happy Training to all. 

2012 HyVee 5150 Elite US Championship Race Report

I am not really sure if it is the adrenaline still pumping from my race, the pro race or simply the fact that I slept on a pullout mattress in a Quality Inn last night... but I am up and at 'em at 7:00 AM the day after the best race of my life. Below is the report from my Elite debut of the 5150 US Championship at the HyVee Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa.

Preface (a bit of rambling before I dive into the full race report): 

Last year's season also culminated in the HyVee triathlon where I won the 19 and under division, was titled a National Champion and began the breakout string of racing that I have been on this entire year. For winning the division last year, I was given a free entry to the age group race this year and immediately signed up to race in that division, preparing to take home the 19 and under 5150 National Champion title two years in a row.  

But... as the season progressed, I was put into a dilemma. I knew in order to get the most out of myself, progress in the sport and grow as an athlete, I had to race with the fastest competitors. So when registration for my other races over the course of the season came up, I signed up to race in the Amateur Elite division, racing none of my 2012 events in the previous 15-19 year old age group division. As the summer passed by and I consistently posted top-10 finishes in the Elite division at such high profile races as the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon, Kansas City Triathlon and Minneapolis Triathlon, I knew it would not be right for me to race the 2012 HyVee Triathlon in the 19 and under division. 

Here is how I justified it to myself: if I were to race in the age group division at HyVee it would be similar to being a pro-racer dropping down for one race, kicking every ones a$$ and taking home all of the booty.  If I raced 15-19, I would gain fame (National Champion title), fortune ($750 gift card) and the great feeling that comes with being #1 at anything you do. Yet, my race time would not be as fast because I would not be challenged by my competitors and it simply would not be ethically right in my mind to race in a division I had not once raced in the entire year. 

So, I emailed the race directors, switched my entry to the Elite Division and prepared myself to race with the fastest amateur men in the nation. 

Now, I better dive into the actual race report before people start to getting bored! 

Race Report:

I finished up my hard weeks of training in Iowa City after moving back for the start of school at the end of August. My good friend and triathlon-sensei, Alex Libin, also goes to school at Iowa and I hitched a ride to Des Moines with him on Thursday afternoon. (The same super-fast dude I went out to the east coast with for the Pat Griskus Tri and Philly Tri).  He actually lives in Clive, Iowa which is only 10 minutes away from the race site (prime location). So I crashed at his house on Thursday and Friday night. He posted me up with a comfy bed, good food and some solid pre-race fire-up conversations. 

After sleeping in, we woke up Saturday morning, got a solid bit of steal cut oats in the system and then went down to Gray's Lake for the shake-out. We swam around (even though we learned later that we were "forbidden" to do so), biked parts of the course (mostly the flat and fast section of Water Works Park), and then ran some of the out and back sections of the run course. I had taken a rest day on Friday so the legs were feeling a little stiff on the easy parts of the workout but whenever I put in a little surge or pickup, the legs and body felt great. I stretched out by the lake and we went back to Alex's for a quick shower, some lunch and I gathered up my things before heading to packet pickup. 

My bike straight chillin' by the lake

The Elite racers actually had their own ‘special’ race briefing at 4:00pm on Saturday afternoon. We were put in a separate area and eyed each other down in warrior fashion. The race announcer went over some key aspects of the course and then handed the microphone over to the head official that reminded us of basic triathlon rules and regulations. He then opened up for questions and the crowd proceeded to ask no less than 25 outrageously stupid questions, which took about 45 minutes. You could say I was rather unhappy by the end. I think my favorite was ‘are we allowed to have our shoes clipped into our bike or do we have to put them on in transition?’ –Really dude, have you ever done a triathlon? I think you have to qualify to be here or something….

After finally getting through that torture session, we picked up our packets, collected the reduced-swag bag from last year and headed back to transition to rack the bikes. We race-numbered-up our steeds and set them to rest before morning.

PRIME transition area spot. First row, first rack. 

My parents, sister and grandma were all driving in from Glenview on Saturday afternoon after my Dad completed a 20-mile marathon training run early on Saturday morning (that 5-hour car ride felt real good on the legs, right Dad?) They arrived around 5:00 PM and Alex dropped me off at the hotel to meet up with them after we racked our bikes. We made a quick turn around to the local Whole Foods, had a delicious dinner (basic salad with avocado and turkey with some mashed sweet potato on the side) and then made our way back to the Quality Inn.

I took a shower, stretched, did a little visualization and then kicked my feet up for the rest of the night. Around 9:00 PM I was about ready to hit the hay and we got ready for bed. My dad was nice enough to let me sleep in the king bed with my mom the night before the race and he planned on sleeping on the pull out couch in the living room.  I laid down in the bedroom and proceeded to hear confusion and mumbling in the other room.  Turns out the couch had a LARGE, wet, circular stain in the middle of the mattress that penetrated all the way through the bottom of the couch. After smelling the room for about 5 seconds they came to the conclusion that previous room-dwellers had peed in the bed and housekeeping had made the bed with the situation still present! Actually, there was a wet towel covering the stain in the folded bed.  Either way, totally freaking nasty!!! They proceeded to be confused for about half an hour before pulling in a roll away twin mattress that Dad somehow managed to sleep (relative term) on.

Even though I did not fall asleep until an hour or so after the optimal 8:45, it was pretty hilarious… Looking at the bright side right?

When all else fails at least we got some free cups. 

I set the alarm for 4:00 AM Sunday morning but had an unusual restless night of dreaming about the race.  I had the usual pre-race breakfast rice cakes with peanut butter and coffee while going over my morning triathlon tweets (calms the nerves).  We got over to the race site, got prime parking (thanks to Grammy for the handicap sticker) and I set up my transition area. At this point, everything was feeling like any other race except for the fact that guys racked next to me should technically be bonafide professional triathletes (the winners time was 1:52:31). 

There were no swim warm up's so it was just a jog over to the bathroom, a few minutes of running on the outside of the lake and a couple of fast strides to loosen up.  I made sure everything was a go in the transition, grabbed my wetsuit and began the process that is putting on a wetsuit that actually fits properly. Meanwhile, the announcer is counting down the minutes until my wave (the first to go off at 6:45 AM). Even thought it was a close call, I got the suit on, went down the beach, stood for the national anthem and mentally prepared for what was to come over the course of the next two hours.

As we lined up on the beach, I stood on the waters edge confident but not cocky. Prepared but not over-trained. And calculated with a plan to execute.  I had worked so hard to be here, proven so many people wrong (including myself) and knew there was no where else in the world that I was supposed to be except right there at that exact moment.  I was the youngest member of the entire Elite field by 2 years but I had no fear, I was ready to race hard from gun to tape.

The horn sounded and we were off. Elbows flew and violent punches were thrown. I expected this to happen in a race where 50 men are all competing for $15,000 and a Mini Cooper. My Elite racing experience earlier in the season prepared me to take the blows like a champ and push forward with even more aggression.  I made it to the first buoy in good position, made the turn and found myself in a group but still jockeying for position.  After the sprinters fell back one by one off the group, I settled into a pack around 500m in and just locked onto a guys feet.  I had to work hard to stay there and even had to throw in some surges when I found him pulling away. I kept a steady threshold pace and was hurting towards the end but pressed onward towards the last buoy. I exited the water with a strong and season-consistent swim time of 20:41. I was right where I needed to be heading out onto the bike.

I made the long run through the transition area, got the helmet on and then got out with a perfect flying mount in 1:25.

There was a no-passing rule for the small section out of Gray’s Lake and I was highly appreciative of this rule.  The no-swim warm up left the blood in my lower body and caused some small leg twinges in the early portion of the bike. I stood up, shook the legs out and was able to get them to go away by the 1-mile mark, just as we were exiting the park. I got down into my aero position, took a swig of my bottle and got to work. I pushed the pace early but kept the cadence high through the flat section.  I wanted to make sure I got some speed in this early section on Fleur Drive and through Water Works Park before getting out on the hillier portions of the ride after the 10k mark. I was riding right at my 40k threshold the entire way and managed to stay with a group that included Alex on the entire flat section. We hit the hills and I was still feeling great. I just kept hammering and not worrying about anything else. I trusted the training I had done on the bike and knew if I had a steady power output (perceived output, I do not have the capability to race with power), I would be in a good position.  I flew down the last hill and back into Gray’s Lake Park.  I took the shoes off, finished off the bottle and dismounted with a killer bike split of 1:01:09.

I hit T2 hard and fast and even with a small slip up getting my shoe on, I was still out in 0:58.

I exited the transition and checked my watch for the first time since the swim exit.  I saw 1:24. I had to take a second look because I was STOKED. I was in a great spot and just had a 10k to go to finish it off. I had been hitting all of my run sessions in my build up to the race and was confident in my ability.  I battled back and forth with a fellow racer as we passed other racers who were dying hard and fast. I came through the 5k in a blazing 17:45 and was happy with how I was feeling but knew the hardest part of the run; the 2-mile up hill section to the capitol was still to come. It was right at the start of the up hill that I started to feel some of the small twinges in my legs once again.  I kept the cadence up and just focused on my form.  I was still able to push the pace and pass people up the road.  I was running hard and pushing forward, just picturing the finish line. I made the final turn up the last hill, put in one last surge and crossed the line in 2:01:08 with a 36:57 run split.

My body was completely finished, literally shaking from the agony I had just inflicted upon it but my mind had never been happier. I stumbled around and somehow made it over to my parents.  I had just put together the race I had envisioned the entire season. Everything fell into place.  I pushed hard from gun to tape and left it all out there on the course. This race was justification that all of my hard work, dedication and focus in the lead up to a National Championship event was 100% worth it.

PAIN

I was 22^nd place in the Elite wave and my time would have won the 19 and under division by nearly 8 minutes. I had set a personal best time on the course by nearly 10:00 and I had surpassed all of my expectations in the process.

My progress over the past year has been outrageously exponential.  I have improved by so much in such a short time and I am confident that my progress will propel me to professional status within the next few years. I cannot wait for what the future holds.

Post race:

I enjoyed my usual post race pig out at Panera Bread and relaxed in the hotel room before somehow thinking it would be a good idea to go with Dad for his 4-mile shakeout run. The legs felt terrible but it was not bad keeping up with his pace and watching the women’s professional race in the process.  After getting some free popsicles, granola bars and chocolate milk, we hobbled back up to the hotel, took showers and walked back down with everyone to watch the men’s pro race.  Lets just say it was easily one of the coolest experiences I have ever had in my entire life seeing some of my idols like Alistar Brownlee, Javiar Gomez and Greg Bennett. Below is a video of them coming around the corner where we posted up to watch it all go down. 

Thanks: 

I look forward to taking some unstructured time to relax but still go after some challenges I have set for myself (long runs/rides just for fun). As the season comes to an end, I want to take the time to individually thank everyone who has been there along the way.

Mom and Dad- There are no words that I can say to tell you how grateful I am to have you both as my parents. You have always been there for me. You are my biggest supporters and the ones I can count on in any situation. Not only are you my biggest fans but you are the title sponsor of this whole operation.  I even wear the name on my jersey for free! Love you guys. 

Coach Craig Strong- A lot of the success that comes from this sport results from hours of training when nobody is watching. Coach Craig at Precision Multisport put together the program that pushes me to succeed, excel and grow as an athlete. Thanks for all of your support along the way. 

Jillian- Even when we don't get along, I know you will always be at my races cheering the loudest. Thanks for being there. And all the 'good' pictures. 

Grammy and Poppop-  Without you, how would all of Ocean Township, NJ and the surrounding area know anything about the superstar triathlete Justin Metzler?! In all seriousness, your love and support along the way means everything to me.  The races you went out of your way to fly across the country to see and the races you supported me in while I was on the East coast meant the world to me. Side note: Poppop is my second title sponsor. 

Alex Libin and Chase Baraczek- These guys pushed me in training and helped me get faster this whole year! Best of all, they are great friends. 

And a big thank you to Cycleops Power, the Eleonore Rocks Foundation and Running Away Multisport for believing in me and supporting my dreams. 

To all of my friends, family, my roommate Justin Lambiase who puts up with my craziness and anyone else I forgot to mention, thank you for everything. 

And remember, the best is yet to come from this 19 year old triathlete from Glenview, Illinois. 

Over and out. 

Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Race Report

The 2012 Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Triathlon was originally worked into the schedule to validate my spot for the 2013 Collegiate National Championship. Even though simply finishing the race would be sufficient in accomplishing the goal, I knew this was a race I wanted to win. I had good fitness coming into the race from my preparations for the 5150 National Championship and I showed up ready to race hard from start to finish. Below is the report from my first overall Olympic distance win!

With the goal of staying in the Wisconsin Dells for the least amount of time as possible, Dad and I took off around 11am Saturday morning. We got to the race site around 2pm and went right to the expo to pick up my packet.  After catching up with some friends, we got back into the car to do some much needed course re-con.  I had a feeling that I would be out in front at some point during the race and did not want to ride off course simply because we did not preview it the day before. The bike course was similar to what I had expected, nice back country roads and only 4 or 5 turns throughout the entire 40k. What I did not expect were the hills! It had a lot more elevation that what I was expecting with a good mix of long, rolling hills and short, steeper climbs. After fishing up the bike course, we drove the run course (which also had some really good climbs), we hit up the athletes meeting, racked my bike and then got back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the night. I made due with bringing all of my own food and taking advantage of the microwave in the hotel room.  I got to bed early and slept great the night before. 

My wave did not go off until 7:45am so that made for a nice 4:30am wake up call (that is practically sleeping in after some of this seasons early mornings). I had some peanut butter/ jelly/ banana/ rice cake goodness with some microwaved coffee on the side and was feeling good as we rolled out around 5:30am.  The transition area was actually really cool at this race, normally, the pro's and the age groupers are separated into two sections to avoid pro/age-group congestion. On Sunday, they actually put the pro's and the collegiate wave in the separate transition area, making me feel pretty much as pro as possible. I got my things organized next to the likes of Richie Cunningham, James Hadley and Matthew Pellow. I grabbed my wetsuit and then went down to the swim start to watch the pro's take off. 

The half-distance race went off at 6:50am and all of the half-racers were sent off before the Olympic distance race.  I made sure I knew the swim course and then went back up to the transition area to start my warm up.  I jogged around for 15:00, added a few faster efforts, put the wetsuit on and then got ready to go.  

Pre-race zone in my new Blueseventy Helix wetsuit. 

The swim follows a simple rectangle shape and the collegiate racers go off in a time trial start every :03 seconds. The time trial was self seeded and I put myself first on the block. I was in the mindset to race hard from gun to tape and I planned to do it out in front.  I hit the first buoy and immediately got into a groove. Another racer came up beside me and we battled for position for most of the way.  The waters were calm and I was just hammering along right at my threshold swim level. I had not had a swim with a wetsuit in quite a while and it was the first race in my new Helix, so I was feeling extremely fast. I let that guy who I was battling with pull ahead for the last 300m or so, grabbed onto his feet and recovered before the swim exit. I came out in second position in 20:44 and was off to T1. 

Straight up the hill out of the water. Don't fall dude. 

The run up to the transition area has a large hill that starts right at the bottom of the swim exit. The hill-swim-exit combo had me dizzier than normal but somehow I managed to have a smooth first transition and was onto the bike in 1:56. 

I started the ride in first place, passing the guy that was ahead of me in the run up to the transition area. I had talked about my strategy with my coach the night before and simply stuck to my game plan.  I worked on spinning up the hills, powering over the top and then destroying the downhills.  We thought this plan would set me up to have a solid bike split but would also save my legs enough to run well off a tough course. I followed the plan perfectly while also pulling away from the rest of the Olympic-distance field.  I knew I was in the lead the entire bike course and I was very focused on keeping it that way. I came into the second transition with a 1:04:18 bike split, slower than normal for a 40k but pretty solid for the course difficulty. 

The announcer was calling my name and my family was yelling at me as I flew into the dismount area.  My Dad reminded me to keep up my form and work a fast cadence to start,  while also confirming I was in first place. I made my way out onto the course and as I hit the first turn about a half mile away from transition, I saw the second place racer biking into T2. I had a substantial lead and this put some fire into my step.  I was flying out on the course and just clicked off the miles. 

Heading out onto the run with a substantial lead off the bike. 

Coming around the 5k turn around I had what I calculated to be roughly a 2:00 lead over second place. I pushed forward, gutting myself for a faster run split. I made my way up to the final turn, saw my family cheering me on and flew through the finish shoot. I took a moment to give the crowd high-fives and then lifted the tape, high over my head to capture my first overall win with a 37:05 run split. Crossing the line in first, winning a race.... there is literally no better feeling in the entire world. Validation that my hours of hard training and commitment to every aspect of the sport, payed off. 

Finish line, lifting the tape photo to come later! 

Rev3 put on a great event and gave out some pretty good booty for the big W! A case of Powerbar gel blasts, a case of muscle milk, a pair of Compresport compression socks, a fuel belt, a $25 gift card, a free race entry and a winners medal. Best of all, I left the Wisconsin Dells with a confidence booster going into the 5150 National Championship HyVee Triathlon a mere 3 weeks away.  I will put in one more push to cap off my fitness and then taper down for the most important race of the year. I line up in the Elite Wave on 09/02 as the Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Olympic-distance Champion and I will be hungry to capitalize on what has been a breakout year.

I MUST have these. Crazy awesome.

Collecting da booty.