2014 Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Adios 2014! Thanks for the good times. I don’t think any of us really expected me to have this successful of a first professional season. 8 top-ten’s, 5 top-five’s and 4 races where I earned prize money- it is really unbelievable. In January of this year I was still debating whether or not to even turn pro in fear of not being even remotely competitive. But I made the bold move and went for it, jumping in head first and toeing the line at seven highly contested half ironman races and two Olympic non drafting events. Not only did I accomplish more than I ever thought possible, but I also proved everyone who thought I was too young, too slow and not ready very, very wrong. This weekend I wrapped up my 2014 campaign with 70.3 Augusta outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Here is the recap of one of the most hectic 48 hours of my life but a fitting end to a fantastic year.

After a tough race at Princeton last weekend, I was more motivated than ever heading into Augusta. I had done the hardest training in my life preparing for these two races and not being able to give Princeton full gas due to a pesky chest cold left me hungry for one more crack. Friday morning I got up and headed out for a pre-flight jog only to come back to find that a fire in the air traffic control center outside of Chicago had cancelled all Friday flights out of all Midwest airports. Additionally, there were absolutely no flights for me to get on for Saturday at any airport around Iowa City. Speechless and depressed I sat on my futon coming to terms with the fact that I was not going to be able to get to Augusta and it was completely out of my control. But I wasn’t about to go down without a fight. After 5 minutes of sulking, I went into hyper-mode frantically researching options and talking with any Delta call center employee who would listen to my feverish rambling. After some serious finagling, I somehow managed to get myself on a 5:30am flight on Saturday morning… out of Minneapolis. So, I went from eating lunch, unpacking my things and researching other races for next weekend to loading up my car and making a 5-hour road trip north. Not optimal, but I was (hopefully) going to get there.

Unexpected weekend bonus was crashing at Jillian's place in Minneapolis. I asked for a towel, this is what I got. #college 

I wasn’t really expecting to be chillin’ with the sis just a few hours prior, but it was a pleasant surprise in a rather unfortunate situation. After not seeing each other for two months, it was great to catch up and hang. I grabbed a few hours sleep and was up at 3:00am on Saturday morning, hauling a cab and making my way to the airport for the first flight out. Thankfully, Mom had flown into town the day before and was there waiting with the rental car when I landed in Atlanta. Already fairly exhausted, I grabbed an hour snooze in the car while we made the 2.5-hour drive to Augusta and I was building my bike in a random gravel parking lot by noon.

I've put my bike together in worse places but this certainly wasn't the best

I got my bike situated at 12:58pm and then hauled ass over to the pro meeting/ athlete check-in which started a 1pm. The race directors went over the course briefly but without previewing the highlights in the morning like I would normally do, I left the meeting feeling pretty confused. By 2:30pm Mom and I wandered around attempting to gather our bearings and eventually landed at the swim start. I was able to hop in for a quick swim, roll out for a short bike ride and then finish up with an easy jog to make sure the legs were still in functioning order.

Tired, dehydrated and hungry we eventually made it back to the hotel around 5pm where I was able to whip up a quick dinner, organize my gear for the morning and fall right asleep in an attempt to get as many hours in as possible before the 4am alarm.

My best attempt at keeping things chill

Although I was a more tired than usual come Sunday morning, I was still feeling pretty wired from the previous 36 hours and race morning went by quickly. Really, despite all of the craziness, I was feeling relaxed with my only concern being that I STILL had not shaken that chest cold I had in Princeton last weekend. It certainly had improved since last Sunday but I was coughing enough to the point that it felt noticeably annoying. Obviously, I was still going to give it my best shot and as the sun came up over the river, I found myself on the pontoon waiting for the dive in start.

The cannon fired and the line of us sprinted for the first buoy, fighting for front position. I had an exceptional start and quickly found myself right on the front of the main group, comfortably drafting off the lead athlete. I was swimming very hard but fairly in control as the river current pushed us 1.2 miles down stream. I emerged the water in a blazing time of 20:01 in 3^rd position right behind Victor Zyemtsev (last week’s Princeton winner) and :60 down from a 2x Olympian who had gapped the field early on and would go on to win the race wire-to-wire. I knew at this point, it was going to be a battle for spots 2-10.

Charging up the hill to T1 

It was a long run out of the swim exit and the flying Ukrainian (Zyemtsev) gained a few seconds on me. After a smooth first transition I was out on the bike course with Victor still in my sights but he quickly started to pull away. In the first mile I was unsure of my ability to ride at his pace and let him gain on me even further. But then I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it- I had nothing to lose. I put in a few minutes of very hard riding and eventually caught back up to him. Although it was a tough decision to make that hard of an effort so early, it was critical as I ended up riding the remainder of the 50 miles or so queuing off his every move- 12 meters back, outside of the draft zone. Around the 10-mile mark, another athlete, Justin Park, came through Victor and I and took the lead of our three-man trio. Our select group charged through the remainder of the ride on the rolling backcountry roads around Augusta and came into the second transition together, only separated by a few seconds each.

Victor’s 20 years of elite triathlon experience allowed him to dart out on course first followed by myself and Park hot on my heels. As one of the best runners in the sport, I knew better than to go with Victor so early and let him gain about :15 seconds on me. As we made our way onto the course, Park sprinted up and latched onto Victor’s shoulder with me holding that :15 second gap behind.

Baller aerial shot of it all going down early on

As we cruised through the early miles, I settled into my tempo and decided to run my own pace, almost 100% sure that Victor would chew up Park and spit him out the back. But to my surprise, Park held strong and as we passed through the 5 mile mark, Park and Victor were still running side by side and I still held that :15 behind. I remained calm, running in 4^th position, just patiently waiting for one of them to blow up so I could make my move.

I was hammering, running 5:40 min/mi pace for the first 7 miles just waiting to pounce when I saw even an inch of weakness in either of them. But as I turned the corner around the 7.5 mile mark, both of my hamstrings, both of my calves, both of my adductors and both of my glutes seized up in cramps and I was forced to stop and let them calm down. I was stuck on the race course, watching the two pull further away up the road. After about :45 of stretching and calming down my muscles, I was able to slowly work into a jog and then a run. Their small lead that I was closing down was now :75 seconds, a gap that I still considered reasonably bridgeable if one of them really fell apart. That gave me enough incentive to keep pushing the gas but I was never quite able to ramp it back up to that high end 5:40 pace I was holding previously. Every time I tried, I would feel my muscles tighten up again and would have to back off slightly. I cruised home on the final 4 miles, realizing that I had a formidable 12 minute lead on 5^th place behind me. 

HOLD IT TOGETHER 

I crossed the finish line in 4th place overall in a new personal best time of 3:52:08 while putting up a 1:16:47 run split despite being stopped on the road for almost a minute. I was 1:12 down from third place and 1:41 down from second place but I had put it all out there throughout the entire ride and the first half of the run, crossing the line with no regrets. I was in the game, at the front and in the mix- trading blows with seasoned professionals, duking it out for podium spots and prize money.

Casual race debrief with some very fast dudes 

Could this race have gone better? Absolutely. I certainly would have loved to be 1:41 faster on the run and snagged 2nd place but with all the variables that went into this race, I have to be happy with the result. On a perfect day, I am there but no matter how you slice it, I'm damn close. Give me one more winter of hard work and I guarantee you will see me on the top steps of the podium. 

I first want to give a huge thank you to the best Mom on earth who was with me through every step of this crazy weekend. I'll remember this race forever and you being there made it not only possible but actually enjoyable. Not to mention she is a pro at keeping our phones charged. Mild OCD ensuring this blog has adequate photo/ video content! 

Other huge thanks have to go out to Sammy, Leslie and Flick from Sammy's bikes and Alicia/ Kyle from the EGO side of the team. Also, thanks to Jay from Xterra, Craig from Precision and Tony from The Wellness Revolution. 

I spent 14 hours traveling from Atlanta to Minneapolis and then Minneapolis back to Iowa City only to rush to class this evening. I haven't really had too much time to let this race sink in but will take the better part of this week eating as much as possible and working out as little as possible (as in not training at all!) which will give me adequate time to absorb this event and the 2014 season as a whole. 

Clearly, I have had some help from my loyal sponsors and earned a few small paychecks but breaking even as a pro triathlete is tough! I think it will be especially tough next year, as I plan to take my domestic schedule to the next level, adding in a few critical international events. I am always looking to discuss possible future sponsorship opportunities so if anyone, anywhere knows a guy who knows a guy who has an idea, please hit me up! 

Finally, I want to thank all my family, friends and loyal fans who tune into all of my post-race jabbering sessions, follow my races live and generally track my whereabouts. Your support means everything and gives me the motivation to keep pushing forward, striving to one day be the best in the world. 

Feeling very loved today. Thank you. 

Justin 

2014 Ironman 70.3 Princeton

Despite moving back to Iowa City, starting my classes and even knocking out the first round of exams, the main focus for the past four weeks has been putting together the best (and hardest) block of training I have had in my entire career. I won't bore you with the details but 100,000 yards of swimming, 1100 miles of cycling and 350 miles of running in 28 day's does a pretty good job summing up how hard I pushed myself. As an amateur, I have always had a late season championship event to get ready for and without one of those in the cards for 2014, I had to reassess and find a challenge that would get me charged up to cap off my rookie season campaign. The carrot I decided to chase after was a string of two races at the end of September, starting with 70.3 Princeton this past weekend and ending with 70.3 Augusta next weekend. Here is the recap of a tough day at the office but an amazing, worthwhile and much needed weekend with the best people on earth.

Can't say that I haven't enjoyed the Iowa training grounds 

Although I grew up outside of Chicago, my parents recently re-relocated back to New Jersey where they were raised and where my entire extended family is based. So, a race in Princeton offered up the opportunity to put on a show in front of a huge entourage. The guarantee of a massive cheering section paired with the confidence I had coming off the past four weeks left me feeling like a million bucks as I boarded my flight out of Moline early on Thursday morning en route to Newark. After a cool 8 hours of travel, I finally made it to my grandparents house on the Jersey Shore Thursday night, got out for a quick jog and then hit the hay feeling pretty beat from the day of cross country transit.

I woke up Friday morning knowing something wasn't right... I had ignored it since Wednesday and figured it was no big deal but when I could barely get a word out uninterrupted by a coughing fit, I realized that I was about to start a 12-round battle with a nasty chest cold- the slightest glimpse of illness I have had in probably three years. I knew that I was not at 100% but I continued my ignoring strategy and pushed onward with my normal pre-race routine. 

After a fairly mediocre run in the morning and ride in the afternoon, I was in need of a serious pick-me-up come Friday night. Thankfully, at 8pm, this LEGEND walked in the door. After not seeing Dad for 2 months since he left for New York, just kickin' it together was exactly what I needed. 

The view from his new pad, overlooking the Hudson and NYC

When I woke up on Saturday morning my 25% chest congestion/ 75% nasal congestion had flip-flopped and as we headed over to the race course, things were certainly not moving in the positive direction. At this point, my hopes of waking up feeling good to go on race day were looking less and less likely which in turn pushed my recent sky high confidence down into the dumps. Dad helped keep things light and with Mom flying into town that afternoon, I decided I was going to toe the line no matter what and put on a show for the people who support me the most. 

Attempting to sneeze before my pre-race ride but not being able to. You know what I'm talking about. 

Saturday morning came early as usual but this one certainly felt earlier after an uncustomary restless night. I downed my pre-race quinoa, headed over to the race site and set up my gear next to some serious top-flight guys all coming off their 70.3 World Championship fitness. I got out on my customary run warm up and although it felt as though my congestion was manageable, my energy levels were much lower than normal. I didn't really have that pre-race jittery, jump out your skin feeling and honestly, a nap felt more appealing that four hours of all-out racing. Nevertheless, I tried to keep myself relaxed and in the moment- taking one step at a time. I threw on my wetsuit, walked down to the swim start and got ready to start the race.

I was feeling optimistic after downing a caffeinated gel on shore but once I flipped myself horizontal and swam over to the swim start, my chest re-filled with congestion. They barely gave us any time to warm up and before I knew it, the horn went off. Despite the breath-face-in-water-cough-breath routine that I was rocking for the first 400m or so, I was able to have a descent start and put myself in a solid position despite feeling awful. I was able to settle into a solid rhythm on the back half and after what seemed like a terrible start, I began to think a little more positive. I ended up coming out of the water in 7th position, sandwiched between Jordan Rapp and Jesse Thomas- right where I hoped to be. 

After a quick transition, I mounted my bike right behind Jesse and ahead of Jordan. I knew the leaders had about :90 second on us which was small enough for me to think about immediately bridging the gap with both of these guys (who I knew would ride all out to catch the group). I got my feet into the shoes and started putting some power down on the pedals, only to watch both Jesse and Jordan quickly drift off into the distance. My legs had nothing and could not go with them. Once the adrenaline from the swim wore off, some of my chest congestion returned and I spent the remainder of the ride mostly on my own, attempting to get something going but never feeling good at any point. I was giving a mental push at 100% but the body was saying "we've only got 85% for you today buddy." I dismounted the bike in 8th position, fairly far down from the next guy up the road but still well in the mix for spots 8-12 on the road. 

As I came into transition another guy came by me and we ended up exiting T2 together. After how I felt on that ride I seriously considered pulling out of the race at the start of the run- something I have never even remotely though about at any other race in my life. I watched this guy blaze out of transition and speed up the road while I seemingly jogged out, simply trying to just get my bearings straight. 

Notice how Dad says "you guys are in 8th," accurately predicting that this guys 15:00 opening 5k would not stick for the entire half marathon. And he was right, I ran the first two miles feeling pretty down but told myself to at least get through the first loop, run past the cheering section and then reevaluate from there. Around the 4 mile mark I came up on that guy who had passed me out of transition, walking with cramps on the side of the road. That gave me a nice little boost as I made it to the half way point where I had 15 people cheering for me. I hit the gas a little bit as I ran past them and that ignited my legs just enough to feel halfway descent. 

At this point, I just told myself to run hard but conservative. I had more or less secured my 8th place position and sprinting the final lap was not going to do anything but hurt my performance this upcoming weekend in Augusta. Proving just how good my run fitness is at the moment, I cruised home with a 1:17 run split, high-fiving the crew as I ran down the chute. 

Going into the race, I knew grabbing a top-5 would be incredibly difficult even if I was firing on all cylinders. The top-6 guys at the race were all contenders for the win which left spots 7-10 up for grabs. Snagging 8th place on a day where I was nowhere near my best was commendable and I walked away from the race relatively satisfied. Still, I was disappointed that I couldn't lay it all on the line and compete at the front. 

Although the race didn't go exactly as I had hoped, I put that behind me quickly and spent the rest of my time in New Jersey loving life with these fine folks. 

I'm not sure who's idea the 6:15am flight out of Newark was on Monday morning but I was back in Iowa City by noon only to spend the rest of the afternoon taking a 4 hour nap. My chest cold is almost completely gone but I'm still feeling fairly run down. I'm keeping the rest of this week very easy leading into Augusta in hopes of toeing the line ready to give it 100% full gas for the final race of my 2014 campaign. 

As always thanks to these amazing people: 

• Gram and Pop- who not only picked me up from the airport and set me up on Thursday and Friday but they also had both of their fridges stocked with endless fruits and veggies. Love you guys. 
• Lily, Larry and Lisa- seeing you out on course gave me that spark needed to fly on that second run loop. Especially Lily's poster. So awesome to see you all. Hopefully there will be more of that now that we are NY neighbors 
• Mom and Dad- for keeping me level headed when I started to stress about feeling crappy and for just being awesome in all other aspects of everything. Even if I never started the race this weekend, the 18 hours of travel would have been worth it just to see you 
• Sammy, Leslie, Flick- although the engine was running a little low this weekend, the bike was wicked fast as always. Thanks for the support. 
• EGO, Xterra, Precision, The Wellness Rev- I couldn't get to the start line and compete without your help! Thanks. 
• Jeff D.- My 2015 triathlon sponsorship confidant. Your help and belief in me has been amazing. I can't thank you enough. You're the best! 

Look out for another post after Augusta next weekend. 

Thanks for tuning in, 

Justin 

By the way, kaleamole fixes everything 

2014 Ironman 70.3 Steelhead

Right off the bat, I want to start off by apologizing for my tardiness in the production of this post! The smooth sailing, cool days of summer are unfortunately behind us and the less welcomed juggle of school and triathlon has officially taken over. This past weekend, I capped off my midwest-swing of races with my third half-distance event in four weeks at the 70.3 Steelhead triathlon in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The short drive, awesome race course and a shot at some prize money left me eager to see just how much the 'ole legs had left in the tank.

After a bit of back and forth, I decided it would be best to make the drive to Michigan on Friday afternoon rather than squeezing it in the day before the race. So Jillian, Mom and I loaded up the car, headed out and got checked into the hotel with plenty of time to to relax.

Fed, bathed and shaved before 8pm. Just how I like it. 

Saturday was a fairly standard low-stress day that included some short workouts, a bit of course recon and the afternoon pro meeting. I enjoyed a pre-prepared hotel-microwave dinner and then fell asleep with the lights on at 7:45 (who's ready to party?).

Orange speedo making an appearance on the pre-race swim. 

Typically I wait until the last minute to book hotel accommodations which leaves me stuck to drive 20 minutes or more to the race site the morning of. Thankfully, Mom was on reservation duty for this one and scored us a hotel 1 mile away from the transition area. So after slamming down a bountiful bowl of quinoa, I hopped on my bike and rolled over to the race on the moonlit streets of Benton Harbor. Now, unfortunately, the moonlit streets are still dark as hell. So when I rolled into the parking lot before dismounting my bike, I clearly did not see the heaps of sand I was flying into and once again, DOWN HE GOES! (very similar to my pre-race experience at Collegiate Nationals this year). I picked up my bike, put my bottles back into their cages and fixed my fallen-off chain. I had a few scrapes and bruises but otherwise both me and more importantly, my bike were completely fine. I should really stop making a habit of this though...

Something like this 

I set up my gear in transition, went out for a long run warm up and then made my way over to the swim start to throw on my wetsuit and get ready for the 7am start.

Wear gloves when putting on your wetsuit to prevent tearing the rubber with your nail. Also, you will look like you are sponsored by Hamburger Helper. Win win. 

After splashing around for a bit and getting a feel for the conditions, I lined up right on the front, ready for a fast and furious point-to-point swim. 7am sharp and the cannon fired. You all will now get a really good example of how to miscalculate a dolphin dive and face plant into the sand. 

Despite the less than optimal start, I eventually worked my way into the second main pack and stuck there for the remainder of the swim. The conditions were actually quite wavy and the current was in our face the whole way, making things slower than expected but still fairly controlled. I exited the water in the mix of the second main group in 9th position overall. 

There was a long run from the shoreline and through the narrow transition area which I made good use of and ran hard, getting to my bike first out of the group. I had a flawless transition and hopped on the bike ready to take stock of how far down I was from the leaders and how many chasers I had behind me. 

As I put my head down and started to settle into a rhythm, a continuous string of riders came passing by and began randomly slotting in front of each other. The first 5 miles or so were spent battling for position and trying to avoid any sort of penalty from the unintelligent riding of my fellow racers. These guys were illegally slotting in and blatantly blocking (with an official motorcycle right next to us!) and by the 10 mile mark, I was not having any of it. I took the lead of the group and never looked back, towing what would be a 6-7 main train all the way through the remaining 45 miles. Although I can only assume they were all riding the legal 12 meters between each other, there is certainly a psychological boost of following the leader with the leader doing all the work. Although it was frustrating that I wasn't getting any "help" out there, my legs were feeling good and I kept the hammer down. I kept reminding myself that if the pace was hurting me, it was killing them. 

Huge thanks to Ali Engin for the kick ass photo! 

As I flew over the rolling hills and into transition, I made sure to keep the gas on full throttle in order to be first into the no-passing zone; 1 mile away from the dismount line. I unstrapped the shoes, dismounted the bike in 6th place and sprinted into T2 as the announcer rambled off the list of racers hot on my heels in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th respectively.

Time for a foot race

Once onto the run, I put in a hard two mile effort to establish some sort of pecking order in that group that I came off the bike with and was happy to find myself on the pointy end of that bunch. Around the second mile mark, I passed a fading cycling-specialist and moved into 5th position on the road. My legs were feeling good and I started to increase my effort even further. Just when I started to feel comfortable I noticed that whenever I passed a group of fans they would cheer and then almost immediately would cheer again- that meant someone was closing in on me. At the 5-mile mark, the fleet footed Argentinian, Mario de Elias, tried to make a move past me but I was not going to go down without a fight. From miles 5-9 the two of us battle back and forth, fighting for position and clicking off miles that would have more closely resembled a 10k run. At the 9 mile mark, Mario put in a :15 surge that I simply could not respond to. I thought he would be able to increase his lead but I held tough and wouldn't quite let him get away. I tried to put in surges to bring him back but I was already on my complete, red-line limit. I dug deep into the well on those final few miles, trying to bring him back but ultimately crossed the finish line in 4th place, :15 seconds behind de Elias. 

I crossed the finish line physically obliterated but incredibly satisfied with my 3:58:52 performance and 4th place professional finish. Additionally, I ran 1:16:55 for the half marathon- my best time yet. Not to mention a $750 prize for the day's work. $187.50 an hour ain't half bad! 

Now, as if the race was not hard enough, I hightailed it out of Michigan and got straight home to throw all of my prized possessions in a U-haul truck and then hit the road once again. I am moving back to Iowa City where I am finishing up my final year at the University and obtaining my degree in Human Physiology. I am all settled now, but it sure was a whirlwind 48-hours. 

A whirlwind 48 hours that would have NOT EVEN REMOTELY been possible without these two amazing people. I love them so much and their support means everything. Thanks guys. You are truly, the best. 

You also may be wondering, where was the big man? Well Stevie worked his ass off and scored a brand-spanken new job in the Big Apple. That's right, NYC baby. So although Dad couldn't be there physically I know he was glued to the Ironman live tracker for four hours straight, refreshing the page like a mad man. When I was digging deep on that run, there were times when I thought I was completely toasted but instead, I pushed that little bit harder knowing he was there following every step. 

I miss things like this. Whatever this is. 

Huge thanks to the entire crew at Sammy's bikes (Sammy, Alicia, Leslie, Kyle, Ryan/ Jackie) for their individual support roles. You all are amazing and knowing that you have my back allows me to race as hard as I do. Also thanks to EGO for putting me in a position to be a debt-free first-year professional triathlete, Craig Strong at Precision Multisport for crafting the training that produces these types of results and Tony and James at the Wellness Revolution for using their jetti-tricks to put my body back together when it's feeling beat. Also thanks to Jeff Kamai, Brian Jacobson, and Jeff Drost for believing in what I'm doing here full-heartedly. I was thinking of all of you out on the race course Sunday. Thanks guys. 

Well I just enjoyed myself two FULL days off from training to move into my apartment and recover from that racing block but I'm back to work tomorrow (otherwise I would jump out of my skin!). Although it will be a challenge to balance the start of school and another big training block, I am ready to roll with the punches and make it work. My final two races of the year will be 70.3 Princeton on September 21st and 70.3 Augusta the following weekend on September 28th. I'm more motivated than ever to cap off this year with two more head-turning performances. 

Thanks for tuning in, 

Justin 

2014 Challenge New Albany

Just one week after a hard fought battle at 70.3 Racine, I was back in action this weekend at the first ever Challenge New Albany 70.3 distance event just outside of Columbus, Ohio. Not only was this my first race with the Challenge Family, but it was also my first ever attempt at racing back-to-back 70.3's. Although there were no points for me to snatch up towards world ranking or championship qualification, the organizers are well known for treating their pro racers right and the $32,500 prize purse surely drew out the competition. Below is the recap from another jam-packed weekend of travel, racing and good times.

Although it took me a couple of days to fully recover from Racine, come Wednesday I was feeling mostly back to normal (thanks to a few painful ice baths and a much needed massage). By Friday, the legs were feeling spry once again and after a few workouts, Jillian and I hit the road for the 7 hour drive to Columbus.

Barely left the driveway and we're already busting out the Daffy Duck bandaids. Solid start. 

After a relaxed Saturday morning watching the Commonwealth Games on Youtube and chowing down a hefty breakfast, we headed over to the race site for a short workout and a little course recon. Right as we pulled into the park and I got ready to hop in the water for a swim, we couldn't help but notice a group of about 50 individuals loudly singing on the beach... in Spanish. Last week it was a qunicinera, this week a baptism. Looks like I had found myself in another fiesta-style situation as the group simultaneously stared down the 6'4'' kid diving into the water clad in my now famous orange speedo. This has to be a sign of some sort, but I have NO idea what it is!

I feel like I'm being followed. 

Sunday morning came bright and early as I got ready for the 6:30am start at the Alum Creek State Park. The course was set up in a point-to-point fashion where we swam in one location, hopped on the bikes, rode to a different location, transitioned to the run and then finished near the second transition- never returning back to where we started. So after some well-calculated planning and organizing, I got in my warm up and lined up on the beach, waiting for the national anthem and the 10-second count down.

Taller, skinnier, younger than the rest. Trying not to stand out too much. 

As us pro's chatted on the edge of the water, waiting for some course instruction or even the national anthem to start playing, the announcer gave us a 3-2-1-GO!! And we were off, charging into the water, arms and legs flying in every direction- fighting for position right away.

I actually had a good start and found myself in the middle of the main fray as we rounded the first buoy. The water temperature was a toasty 76 degrees which meant no wetsuits for the professionals and that allowed a couple of the very strong swimmers to break off the front and drift off into the distance. Around the halfway point, I found myself sitting in the middle of the second group but noticed the pace seriously dropping. I did not want to loose any more time to the super swimmers so I took charge of the group, towing 7 athletes into the first transition and exiting the water in 11th place overall.

The first transition went fairly smooth as I threw off my swimskin and grabbed the bike. After a swift flying mount, I had a little trouble getting into my shoes for some reason which really slowed down my momentum and allowed the swimmers that were on my feet to pass and gain a few seconds on me. But after a hard effort on the first hill out of the park, I was right back into the mix.

Who doesn't like a nice geek-out on some bike data? Strava file HERE

The first 5 miles of the bike were flat, fast and furious as our group of about 8 athletes battled for front position with a strong northern tailwind. As we made the turn to head south towards the second transition (the majority of the bike course), I quickly noticed that we were not going to be in for a fast day with the wind in our face essentially the entire ride. Nevertheless, the tough conditions weeded out a few of the weaker cyclists and around mile 15, I found myself in a more select group of about 5 athletes still battling hard back and forth. At this point I noticed a little bit of calming in the intensity and knew it was time to make a move. Along with one other athlete, we broke away and the two of us rode hard the remainder of the ride through the rolling hills of rural Ohio. After picking up a few straggling riders throughout the back half of the bike, I came into the second transition in 7th place with 6th place right ahead.

Out on the run course 

Although I really did not know how my run legs were going to respond after last weekend, I decided that I was going to lay it all on the line and see what happened. Right away, I put in a really hard first two miles to move into 6th place. But, that was quickly erased as one of the now 5 hard-charging runners behind passed me and started to gain a little bit of distance. His pace was strong and he was looking good but it was very early and I knew going into the red-zone with 10 miles to run was not a card I was interested in playing. So I kept it cool, held steady and what do you know... before the halfway mark I saw him on the side of the road with cramps. Good call Justin! Before starting the second lap, I was able to pass another fading runner and move my way into 5th place which gave me confidence as I headed out on my next loop. On the out and back section around the 8 mile mark I was able to once again take stock of my position and realized that that those fleet-footed pursuers were still hunting me down. I ran scared, I ran hard and I really pushed the pace- almost crumbling with 2 miles to go- but I held it together just long enough to scream past another athlete moving into 4th place and crossing the finish line completely exhausted but ecstatic with what I had just done out there.

Check out the GPS data is HERE 

The 4th place was one spot behind the all-famous Andy Starykowicz in addition to marking the highest professional finish of my career. The ice cream on the cake (neither of which I condone) was the $1500 prize purse that will ensure that my bank account says in the positive for a couple more weeks which is always a challenge for a first-year professional triathlete. If you haven't noticed, this is a tough way to make a living! But clearly, it's worth it.

I quickly turned that $1500 into $1470 with a Whole Food's lunch celebratory extravaganza and then Jillian and I started our drive back home. I want to give a HUGE shout out to my sister, Jillian, for being the best race-sherpa I could ask for. Not only was she incredibly helpful with her race spectating/ split giving/ photography duties but it was also great to spend a weekend together for some quality brother-sister bonding time before we both head back to school at the end of the summer.

This weekends team. A successful combination. We should repeat. 

I also want to send a special thank you to two good friends and awesome dudes, Jeff K. and Brian J. who continue to ensure I am on the start line with everything I needed to be successful. Thanks a ton guys.

In my post race debrief with anyone who would listen, I was constantly telling people how I could make up time on the bike course simply by being incredibly aero and incredibly fast. Clearly that is 100% a product of being on the fastest bike-wheel combination on the market. Thanks to Sammy, Leslie and Flick at Sammy's Bikes for all your support.

It would not have been possible to put together 140.6 miles of hard racing in 7 days without the magic that the Wellness Revolution does to my body with chiropractic/ phisio/ massage work. Also a huge thanks to EGO for allowing me to get to the races and in a position where I can show these established pro's who the next kid on the block is.

Thankfully, I have a complete day off today to let the body recover but I am back at it tomorrow to prepare for my third 70.3 race in four weeks at 70.3 Steelhead on August 10th. It's a midwest event so hopefully, I will see some familiar faces out on course.

Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the rest of the summer. I sure am.

Justin

Just in case you missed the famous orange speedo pic ;)