USAT Age Group National Championship Race Report

After forgoing my early season plans to race a mid-summer 70.3 in order to focus on the Olympic distance, I pinned my focus on two National Championship events in the back half of the 2013 calendar. Below is the race report from part #1 of my National championship double, the USAT Age Group National Championship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

Following my first overall win of the year at the Bigfoot Triathlon in June, training went from challenging to borderline insane. 100,000 meters in the pool, 1500 miles on the bike and 350 miles of running in 6 weeks. And we're not talking about logging slow, Ironman type miles; this stuff was intense.

This little guy knows what's up. 

So, if you haven't gotten the hint, I wanted to be somewhat well prepared for this race. I knew the field was going to be stacked and the race was going to produce incredibly fast times on the mostly flat midwestern terrain. I went in with a full week taper, slept about 10 hours a night and was ready to give it my best shot to contend for the overall top-15 and a top-5 finish in my 20-24 age group division.

Being only an hour away from the race site made this event outrageously convenient. After a quick bike- run, a classic quinoa breakfast for me and a bagel stop for Dad to load up on some grub after his 16-mile run, we hit the road and booked it up to the race site. 

I was able to get in the water for a practice swim, get through packet pickup quickly and rack my bike with ease. Before I knew it Steven and I were back at the hotel, with the feet up relaxing before dinner. 

He may or may not have dozed off here for a bit. Well deserved! 

If you don't know, I am somewhat particular about my diet these days and even more so the night before a race. I often bring my own meals for the days leading into a big event and this one was no different. I spent the day before we left cooking up a bountiful harvest of roasted vegetables and sprouted quinoa-deliciousness. Steve got hungry and our conversation went a little something like this... 

We're family, so we share. 

After a full nights rest, it was a palatable 5:30am wake up call for my 10:30am, final wave start time. Although transition closed at 7:30am and I had to wait around for three hours before the gun went off, a larger breakfast and a relaxing build up to the start was refreshing compared to traditional pre-race hecticness. 

I even had a minute to soak in the picturesque morning! This was very zen. 

I'm not really sure how I achieved VIP status at this race, but it turns out being a very important person comes with its perks. We had our own tent to hang out in before the race and had our separate line at packet pickup. USAT even sprung for personalized name tags! 

The red-velvet rope was a classy touch. 

Going all out with these bad boys. 

The rest of the morning flew by quickly and smoothly. I got in a nice run warm up, did some dynamic stretching, got on the wetsuit and then headed down to the dock. I hopped in the water, swam around for a while and then made my way over to the in-water start area. The announcer gave us a 2 minute warning and then all the sudden, BANG! Thanks for the countdown dude. I positioned myself in the middle of the line, assuming the fastest way to the first buoy would be straight ahead. What I failed to take into consideration was the fact that the other 150 guys in my wave would all be diverging to that single first buoy. I was clobbered, held up and already behind in the first 200m. 

Already fighting from behind, definitely in that back 2/3rd's! 

After getting some clear water following that first buoy, I was finally able to make my way through the field and up towards the lead group. I was still a ways back, but I felt like the gap was not as substantial. I exited the water somewhere around 25th place with a lot of ground to make up on the lead swimmers with a 20:24 split.

A bit wobbly coming out of the homemade, super-sketchy exit ramp. 

I sprinted through the large transition area and made my way over to my bike. Unlike my usual blazing fast transition times, I was held up in T1 for a little bit. I couldn't quite get my wetsuit off right away and didn't put my helmet/ glasses on in the correct order. I positively lost few seconds here, but that is going to happen every now and again.

Me and my new cop friend 

If there is one discipline in the sport where I feel that I have not raced up to my potential, at least in terms of the results I have seen in training, it has to be the bike. I was prepared to change that in this race and immediately went to work. I pushed hard right from the start and did not let up until the very finish. I knew I had to make up ground from a somewhat sub-par swim and also had to put in time on the faster runners in the field. I came into T2 hurting but also aware that I had just put together one of my best 40k bike efforts with a time of 56:49. 

And imagine if I had been on the P5! Patience is a virtue, soon enough I'll be rocking the new steed. 

Immediately after dismounting the bike, my legs felt more like concrete blocks than jet fueled pistons. I tried to stay calm, but worried that I had indeed pushed the bike just a little too hard. To my delight, right after exiting T2, I got the split that I was roughly :60 down on the lead and somewhere around 10th place in my division. This put some fire under my step and I started picking people off. I moved up through the field and by the 4 mile mark, I had moved all the way up to third place. I was pushing so hard in the final mile of the run that I found myself simply trying to make to the next course cone, a mere 10 feet from the last. I made it to the finish shoot, elated with my podium finish and 100% physically depleted. 

Had to really dig deep for this one! 

After crossing the finish line, I had an uncharacteristic out pour of emotion. I work so hard, sacrifice so much. And to execute my race plan to near perfection, produced a feeling of self satisfaction that is unparalleled to any other. Races like this are the culmination of a process, not the event in itself- it is weeks and months all encompassing focus that it takes to simply outwork the competition. 

Not only was my time of 1:55:08 an Olympic distance personal best, but I had also shattered my goal of top-5 age group with a podium finish in the 20-24 age group, one of the most competitive in the nation.  In addition, I had crushed my secondary goal of top-15 overall with a 9th place finish. 

After my near blackout in the final mile of the race, it took me quite a while to come back down to earth. We walked around the race site before I somehow made my way over the Normatec tent to get some much needed love from those oh-so-sweet space boots.  

Special thanks to Uncle G for the hook up, literally one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. 

I debriefed the race with a few friends, got my gear out of transition and then made my way back to the car before we hit up some dive diner for lunch. 

Oh yeah, and Hillary Clinton was there. 

You could say that this wasn't the most health conscious establishment and my post race egg whites with vegetables didn't quite get the job done. So we scrambled to find me some second lunch. 

Sushi did the job! 

But not really... An almond butter, jelly and banana rice cake picnic for lunch #3 rounded things out properly. 

And if it wasn't enough for USAT to put 20-24's last in the wave start for the race, we were the final group to be announced at awards! This meant a lot of waiting around to get up on stage for my 20 seconds of fame! 

Bling bling. 

Huge thanks to my #1 sponsors, support staff, vegetable choppers, laundry washers, loving and incredible family. I couldn't do anything without them! 

3 triathletes and a personal trainer. Relatively fit family! 

He's on it. DON'T MESS.  

Next up is the 5150 US Championship HyVee Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa on September 2nd. I have a few weeks of hard training and then it will be another relaxed taper leading into the race! Hopefully I can capitalize on this end of the season form and make a name for myself as a up and coming contender. 

Thanks for sticking around, 

Justin 

2013 Lifetime Minneapolis Triathlon Race Report

Now that I'm a working man, the week leading into the 2013 edition of the Lifetime Minneapolis Triathlon was a rather hectic one. It took some serious finesse to balance coaching, training, packing and a 6.5 hours solo drive, but I kept it cool and took care of business before haulin' it out of town. Below is the recap of the race in a city where they could care less if it is July, it's still going to be freaking cold.

Not only was the family heading to Minneapolis for the race, but the weekend also served as my sisters orientation weekend for the University of Minnesota where she will be attending this fall. So, Mom, Dad and Jillian left on Wednesday morning while I hung back to meet with a few clients, lead a couple group training sessions, get in some pre race workouts and pack up my things. After a short run and a beginner tri training workout at the beach on Thursday morning, I loaded up the cooler with the road trip food essentials and hopped in the car for the 400 mile solo drive.

I got about 10 miles before I had to bust out this bad boy, the always delicious microwaved sweet potato in a ziploc. 

The drive was seriously long and outrageously uneventful. After 6.5 hours of vegetable eating, audiobooking and bladder expanding, I finally made it to Minneapolis and B-lined it straight for the nearest Whole Foods. I stocked up on quinoa and more vegetables before getting back to the hotel to meet up with the fam (Gram and Pop included!)

The next morning I woke up early to meet Alex for a pre-race shakeout. We started with a short swim in the lake, got on the bikes to only fail in effectively previewing the race course and then went for a run around the lake. I had not seen him since Kansas so it was nice to catch up with a good ole' buddy.

I spent the rest of the afternoon picking up my packet, gathering my gear, researching the competition and preparing my hotel room dinner. I knew it was going to be a deep field and prepared myself to have a strong effort on one of my favorite courses in the nation.

Brown rice, quinoa, broccoli and avocado get thrown down the hatch pre race for those of you who were wondering! 

Although there was a threat of storms the night before the race, the channel 5 weatherman reassured me that the rain would pass right over Minneapolis and stay north for the remainder of the morning. I took confidence in his spray on tan and went to bed without a worry. What I failed to realize is that the weather man is WRONG, always WRONG. The alarm went off at 4:15 and I looked out the window to notice that the curse of the cold and wet had traveled with me to Minnesota and I would once again be looking at soaking wet socks, shivering cold temps and race delays/ cancellations.

The race course was somewhat flooded as you can see. Good times. 

I tried to stay relaxed and roll with the punches over my pre race rice cakes and almond butter but the inches of water that had accumulated in the hotel parking lot over the last 30 minutes did not seem promising. Dad and I drove over to the race site and followed the race Facebook/ Twitter pages closely. We were advised to stay in our cars until the lightning had passed and around 6:45 things started to clear up and we finally got the green light to head to transition.

Making a long story short, more thunder and lightning proceeded and the announcer relayed the information that the race was now going to start at 9:00am and would be shortened to a sprint distance. Although I was disappointed, I had no time to cry about it and went about my normal pre-race routine.

Don't be a baby 

The swim course was now going to be a short 400m dash and we would be sent off in time trial fashion every three seconds by division and in reverse age. Unfortunately for yours truly, being a young'n meant that I was going to be sent last out of the elite's and would have to fight from behind all day.

Pondering an effective race strategy

We quickly lined up and before I knew it, I was sent off with a string of fast swimmers more than :45 seconds ahead. I put my head down and tried to hammer, but the short swim combined with strong currents gave me no opportunity to settle in and ever feel remotely good. I was behind, but because it was so short, it would have been difficult to loose too much time.

Time to make up some ground! 

I actually passed a few guys on the long run up to transition and was out on the bike without a hitch.

Once onto the bike, I put my head down and got to work immediately. I have been working hard on my bike/ run the past few weeks and knew that I would be in a good spot to bridge up to the guys who had started ahead of me on the swim. Having the bike course shortened (I didn't know by how much) left no time to settle in or relax- it was 100% from the moment I strapped into my shoes. I pushed hard and got up to a group of guys within the first 5 miles, lead that group for the next 5 or so miles and then pushed onward to the finish. After making the right turn back into the park, I unstrapped my left shoe and got ready for the dismount. To my surprise, the new route actually had us going all the way around the lake before entering T2 from the opposite direction. So, I was the noob who pedaled the final 2 miles of the ride with my foot on top of my shoe. Despite the rookie mistake, I was still able to hold onto the 3rd fastest bike split of the day and entered the transition area around 7th position overall, even with the :45 second start deficit.

That right hip got some serious overtime work... Single leg drills coming in handy! 

Once onto the run, I settled into 5k pace almost immediately. I felt strong and was zeroing in on the competition ahead, picking them off one by one. Because of the time trial start, I had no idea of what place I was actually in at any given time, so I simply worked on running as hard as possible for the shorter than expected effort. I crossed the line, finishing with a quick 17:20 5k split and ended up taking the final spot on the podium, 3rd overall!

Gutting it out to the finish. 

After the race, I hung out with some friends, swung by the Nuun tent to rehydrate and then debriefed the race with Dad and Pop before hitting up the awards ceremony to collect my beer opener/ magnet (perfect for the guy who a.) isn't 21 and b.) dosen't drink beer!)

Also, while chillin in the luxurious Best Western post race, Mom, Dad, Jillian and I decided to play a little hotel room baseball. Mom's getting called up to the big leagues next week!

The initial plan was to go for an epic 75 mile ride on the hilly country roads outside the city on Sunday morning before heading out of town, but yet again, weather derailed this plan and instead, we woke up early and drove home right away. Let's just say that the 75 mile ride and 5 mile run in 90 degree heat once I got home, after driving 6.5 hours was rather unpleasant!

Overall, I am happy with my performance on a day that most definitely presented its challenges. I rolled with the punches and kept my cool- ultimately to be a contender in what turned out to be a highly competitive sprint distance triathlon. I tried to look at this one in the bigger picture and realize that the main focus races of the season, Age Group Nationals and HyVee, are both right around the corner.

I want to first and foremost thank my family who's unwavering support and love is what keeps me going and focused. A special shout out to Gram and Pop for coming out and braving the rain.

Couldn't do it without these studs. 

And it wouldn't be a proper blog post without a closeup of this beast. Dude cranked out a 10 mile run on his rest day in order to cheer me on! 

And finally, I want to introduce and thank my newest sponsor- Sammy's Bikes!

This local shop out of St. Charles, IL is the one stop shop for all things cycling and triathlon. From the moment I walked into their shop, I immediately felt at home and knew this was the start to a wonderful partnership. As part of Sammy's racing team, I will now be on the new Cervelo P5- representing Sammy's while training and racing! I can't wait to get on this bike... Thanks to Sammy, Jenna and the entire team!

Sammy, Jenna and myself 

Now I go into chop wood, carry water training mode to get ready for the most highly anticipated events of the year! See you in Milwaukee in the middle of August and Des Moines the first weekend in September.

Be safe out there,
Justin

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! 

Leon's World's Fastest Triathlon Race Report

I know some of you may be tempted to scroll through this post, checking out the sweet pic's like a magazine at the dentists office, but it's my dang b-day so read them articles playboy!

Yesterday was my second trip back to good ole' Hammond, Indiana (very close to the ever famous Gary, Indiana- aka the murder capitol of the world). Below is the recap of how I managed to avoid the smog, swim around the dead guy in Wolf lake and explain tea bagging to my 70 year old grandmother. Enjoy! 

One of the perks of living in the Chicago suburbs is its close location to the city and therefore, Northwest Indiana. Only a 40 minute drive up 294 and a 4 dollar toll each way got me into the Hoosier state where it's illegal to sell cars on Sunday and catch a fish with your bare hands. 

After a quality slumber on Friday night, I woke up Saturday morning, scarfed down a few rice cakes and hit the road with Dad for a morning spin and run. I felt really strong on both and this got me even more excited for the race on Sunday.

Try to keep up son! 

Soon after, I hopped in the car and headed to the race site for packet pickup and a swim on the course. On an unrelated note, check out this guy doing this cool thing at the lake.

Also, I got interviewed for the TV coverage that airs on CSN July 4th!

Well, that was pretty pro 

Now, enough with those pre-race shenanigans. Time to get down to business. Leon's Triathlon is known to be super flat and super fast. If you're interested in a PR, come to this race. One may expect that I would be past this point in my career but coming into the race, I had yet to break 2 hours for a true Olympic distance event. Early season snafus with course measurement and adverse weather conditions deterred my ability to break this benchmark and I was down right ticked! Barring any catastrophes, I knew the sub-2 hour performance would be there but it was only a matter of how much...

Racing in the elite wave (what they like to call at Leon's the "Amateur All Star wave") meant a start time of 8:05am, a little later than normal for other triathlon races. I woke up around 4:15am, had some breakfast and then hit the road around 5:00am, making it to Hammond around 5:45. I quickly organized my things and got right on the bike for a nice, long 30:00 minute warm up/ course preview. Although it was a little windy, the weather was looking pretty perfect for a fast day.

Spectacular venue. Most of the fencing was actually barbed wire *sarcasm

I made my way over to the transition area, racked my bike and then stood in line for one of the four porto's they had on site...

HOLD IT TOGETHER JUSTIN 

Around 7:00, I went out for my run warm up and felt really, really good. I was getting excited but calmed tried to calm myself down as much as possible, trying to avoid a premature explosion nervous excitement before this s**t got real.

I made my way back to the transition area, made sure everything was tidy and then started putting on my wetsuit. In the span about 15 minutes, I began putting on my wetsuit in 60 degrees and sunny and by the time I was zipped up and ready to go, it was 50 degrees, crazy wind and sideways rain.

After standing around for about 5 minutes, I starting to shiver and watched my perfect pre race warm up fly out the window. I considered jumping in the lake for a swim warm up but it was so damn cold that I figured getting back out and being even more cold would do more damage than good. After a short delay, we walked down the dock and jumped into the refreshing bath-like 65 degree water. I swam around for a few minutes and then took my position, waiting for the gun to go off. 

Yeah it was cold, again. Wetsuit and RAM cap for warmth all day 

To my overwhelming delight and surprise, the swim start was relatively calm. I didn't get smacked in the face or kicked in the nether regions. Although I felt pretty crappy for the first 500m simply due to no swim warm up, I was able to settle into a groove on the second 500m, pass a bunch of people and then hammer home the final 500m, feeling outrageously strong and smooth. I came out of the water on a really quick swimmers toes and was confident in my position. I was elated to find out after the race that my swim split was 18:26- a new PR for 1500m! 

Gosh that water tasted odd (they found a dead guy in this lake last year, no joke)

Solid crowd cheerin at the swim exit 

After a perfect first transition, I was onto the bike where  the cold, wind and rain were all huge factors. Honestly, I really had a tough time settling into a rhythm. There were a lot of bumps, lots of turns and lots of headwind with nothing to block it. I was passed by a few guys and tried to stay with them but quickly realized my counter punch was absent. Whenever this happens, I try to block out my competitors and singularly focus more on my own effort- going as hard as I possibly could within my limits. Once my legs warmed up a little bit, I felt descent and was able to find my threshold effort and hold it for the remainder of the ride. Surprisingly, I still managed a 1:00:26 bike split which is awesome considering how flat I felt early on. 

Pretty sweet highway they shut down for most of the bike course 

Despite some frozen fingers and toes, I had a smooth second transition and was out on the run with no problems at all. Once onto the flat out and back, I immediately settled into a rhythm. At this point in the race, the cooler temperatures and spitting rain worked in my favor and I was absolutely flying. I felt exceptional. My cadence was up, my form was on and I don't know what it was, but I could just tell that a run PR was in the midsts.... I pushed hard, all the way to the finish and crossed the line with a 34:49 run split and a 1:55:40 overall time.

Grittin' the teeth. Super hardcore. 

Speaking of Steve.... Not to mention being a trooper and coming out to watch the race in the pouring rain for the second event in a row, he also decided to rock this Ed Hardy t-shit from '04. 

BOLD move. 

I ended up coming in 4th place in the elite division and 8th overall including the Best of the US series competitors. I joked after the race with a few friends that Leon's was like the midwest national championship this year; the field was stacked! Congrats to new friends Adam Zucco for kicking ass on the bike and Jason West for taking names on the run. Not to mention Colin Riley for taking the overall W. 

After the race, I jogged around for a little bit, met up with a few friends and then hauled ass out of there. Not only was it cold, but my sister's graduation from high school that afternoon and Mom was going to punch Dad and I in the jejunum if we didn't make it on time. In true Metzler fashion, it all worked out and we were sitting there cheering Jillian and 650 of her classmates on as they painfully walked across the stage for 3 hours. Congrats Jillian, you've made it. 

It was also great to have Poppop in for the race, he's my #1 fan (literally #1), if you think you are a bigger fan, take it up with him and he will tell you all about his days as a boxer. The dude is 78 years old but don't mess around. 

I want to give a special thanks to Rick and Essie Streicher for their love and overwhelming support of my dreams. You guys are the absolute best and am happy we established such a comfortable relationship over the past few months. 

I also want to give a shout out to my entire Precision Multisport team who took 4th in the team competition at Leon's (especially Mark Kolar for being in charge of team spirit and organization). You guys rock! 

Feels great to be part of such an amazing group of people  

Also, thanks to Vishal at Nuun, the guys over at Running Away Multisport and Coach Craig. 

That's all for today. I'm off to enjoy a much needed birthday massage. Up next is some serious training and then Bigfoot Triathlon on the 23rd of June. 

-Justin