Park2Park 13.1

Off-season interrupted...in a good way.

Tuesday night my phone started buzzing like crazy. I picked it up to find a group text about an entry to Park2Park 13.1 on Saturday. A friend and her boyfriend both could not race and wanted someone to take the entry they had. After the others deferred and some subsequent hesitation, I took it. Why not?

So Saturday morning I woke up early and got myself out to Holland to transfer the entry and loosen up. After foam rolling in the back of my Subaru, I put my feet up and contemplated the race. Should I just go for a "jog"? Should I shoot for a PR? Should I try to break 1:30 for the first time? I decided that because I have a ton of fitness "leftover" from IMWI that I should just try for a PR and make a call based on how I feel after the first few miles. I haven't been doing much speed work and the last couple weeks have been stressful. Not the greatest run-in to a race, but admittedly, I wanted a little validation after being disappointed at IMWI two weeks ago.

I lined up near the front, said hi to a few friends, and found myself pretty relaxed. There weren't many lining up ahead of the 7:30 pace group, so I stuck there. Not really having anything on the line helped a lot. Soon, the gun went off and I found myself flying around the track in the top 10. I looked down and saw 6:00/mi pace. Whoa. Slow down. After backing off, I still was well under 7/mi pace. I decided I'd see how how many miles I could get under 7 minutes.

The first couple miles I found a guy to break the wind and stuck with him. He eventually slowed and I stepped up to keep the pace under 7. Next, I caught the 3rd place female. She was moving and definitely did not want me to pass her. Each time I broke even with her, she would put in a surge. This continued for a mile or two, then finally another guy caught up and slowly passed. She let him go. I decided I was going to match him and put in a dig to catch back up. I then paced off of him for the next 2 miles. At the Holland State Park, he stopped at the aid station. I slammed my Berry Blast PowerGel, grabbed my cup and kept running. He'd have to play catch up.

Halfway and still well under 7's, but now the course turned back into the wind. It was going to be a tough battle from here. I ran into a couple walkers who were taking up the entire path and before I could get around there was one of those comical stand-offs where each person goes the same direction and you keep running into each other. After that, my companion had caught back up and he let me return the favor by pacing back for a bit. We finally turned out of the wind and I dropped him. I would make a couple passes, but I was way into the red at this point. Of course, I started doing math to distract me, but in doing so realized that all I had to do was run four more 7 minute miles and I would break 1:30! From there it was a literal countdown of miles. "I can do anything for 4 miles, for a 5k, for 3 miles, just 18 more minutes, 2 more miles, 10 more minutes..."

In the final mile it was just a sheer struggle. I had hit my figurative rev-limiter. At 0.9mi, the mile pace was over 7 minutes still. With that, I made the turn into the fairgrounds. A little lift (and a turn out of the wind), and I gave it all I had. It wasn't much, but my watch lapped at 6:59 for that mile. Then, back on the track for the last tenth. I enjoyed seeing the clock with over 30 seconds to spare as  I smiled crossing the line. I knew I was 10th overall for men, but figured there were others ahead of me in 30-34. I grabbed some food and went back to my car. I was cooked.

Once at my car, I pulled out my phone and searched for the results. I was shocked. First place in my age group! In a running race! With #hoogiesteps! Needless to say, I'm ecstatic. It was a great race, paced very well, with little specific training for that intensity and distance. Gives me a lot of hope for Riverbank Run in 2016. After the race, Kristin and Sully showed up, and Sully got to go to the beach!

 Thanks again Megan for the entry! Thanks also to Kevin for the facebook meme and cheers, as well as PowerBar for the gels that fueled me! Keep dreaming!

2015 IRONMAN Wisconsin - KQ or Bust

I can't believe how quickly this day arrived! After effectively 2 years of training, my 'A' race finally arrived and I had a chance to achieve my Kona goal. We headed over to Madison on Wednesday night after work, fully intending on getting situated, get the travel out of my system, and put some finishing touches on my training. I'm really happy Kristin came along rather than coming on Friday, she does such an amazing job of ironmate support. We met my parents in Madison and settled in at our apartment. Nenad and Megan would arrive late that night, also great to have good friends and future ironman along for the final few days.

We woke up Thursday morning to thunderstorms and a rather poor forecast for the rest of the day. Our plans to ride the loop of the bike course would have to be postponed to Friday morning. Thankfully, everyone remained flexible and we did some alternative workouts. I went down to athlete check-in and got a swim in Lake Monona when the weather finally broke. The water was warm and I rocked out the speedo while the other athletes floated around in their wetsuits. My swim has not felt as strong in years. Brimming with confidence, finally, that I'll easily break an hour.

Friday came and gave a bit of a preview for the weather for the rest of the weekend. Nenad, my dad, and I made our way out to Verona and rode the loop. It was windy and chilly. I brought my wind vest and arm warmers, but wasn't prepared for much colder than that. I felt strong on the bike but a little sluggish, perhaps an indicator of over-tapering, but I had done what I could with the time I had this week. Laid low and prepared all of my gear bags and such for the rest of the day, then met the group out at the Old Fashioned for a #30. I can't go to Madison and not do it.

Saturday I did some final gear preparations and bike tuning, and then it was back downtown to drop everything off and snag a photo with all of the Grand Rapidians in town for the race. It was fun to see a lot of familiar faces and then see them again on race day. After a brunch lunch and an adjustment from Dr. Ronda (she is awesome -- unending thanks to her! dynamicfamilychiro.com), it was back to the apartment to lay low until race morning.

Didn't sleep well at all, but that was expected. The extra nap and sleep on Friday were intentional. After a cup of coffee, I was alert and ready to go. Some final preparations, and we were off. Hit up special needs to drop off a Red Bull for the run course. Come to find out that they had it on course. Oops. Then the typical - bike tires pumped, Garmin sync'd with my power meter, nutrition loaded up, etc., then drop gloves off into my T1 bag (thanks again, Nenad!). Body marking next, then porta-jon, then it was already time to put on the wetsuit and go get in the water. Said my good-byes and made my way down the helix. It already felt emotional. Such a big day with a ton of purposeful training invested. The line to get in the water was ridiculous. Wasted a lot of mental energy stressing about not making it in on time. I managed to though, thankfully, and swam out to a prime spot by the buoy line. Before the cannon went off, it was nice to chat with some fellow athletes. Saw a guy with Swedish goggles on and figured he was a lock for a nice draft. That was the goal. Find some feet and don't burn up in the first 100m.

BOOM! Off we go. I settle into a decent rhythm and just try to keep my breathing and pace in check.
Found a good group and settled in on a few feet. The first 1000m went fast. I was having a great swim so far. We hit the turn and I found even more feet. After the next turn though it was suddenly just me. I then realized that I was off course a bit. Breathing directly into the sun was making me not sight well. After some adjusting, I saw a guy fly past me. I figured I was better off following someone and hopped on. My family actually saw this happen, which is crazy. They knew I was going to have a good swim and were looking out in the lead group for me. I followed this guy for the next 1500m or so before the final turn. Then again, I was alone. Turns out it was for good reason this time. The buoys "swung in" too far and didn't go straight back to the swim exit. I was sighting off of the Monona Terrace and the buildings next to it. Soon, I was on dry land. I tripped while exiting, as I had kept my goggles on in a struggle to find my wetsuit zipper pull. Thankfully, someone behind me took a bigger spill and the pressure was off me :)  Got some strippers to help me (haha), and was running up the frozen concrete on the helix in no time. Out of the water in 56 minutes, a new IM distance PR! I was 2 minutes ahead of my "the day goes perfectly" goal time. [Strava Swim]

T1 was a frozen blur. It was maybe 50 degrees at best, which made me thankful for the indoor transition. My HR was spiked and I tried to settle down once I got inside. Putting on arm warmers and gloves while wet is a treat. I managed the best I could and made the snap decision just to put on my shoes there rather than running across the cold concrete for a quarter mile through the bike racks. May have slowed me down but I still hit my transition goal of 6 minutes. Still 2 minutes ahead of my "A" goal.

COLD and a dark place. That's the best way to describe the first 2 hours on the bike. They should have had hot coffee at the aid stations. I settled into a rhythm and did my best to get my heart rate back down yet stay warm enough. My power output was below my goal at this stage, but I had set a controlled heart rate above any power targets. I didn't want to be the guy bragging about his bike split while walking the marathon. But I was upset. I should have planned better for the weather and I knew it. It was lonely out there, too but not many racers meant I was in a good place. I finally turned out of the wind and my average picked up a few ticks. Nutritionally, I was doing well. Eating and drinking every few miles, the Peanut Butter and Jelly PowerBars were a nice balance to the bottle full of 5 PowerGels mixed in water. With the cold I expected to struggle to eat and drink, but I managed to do pretty well. I was off pace by about .5 mph, but it was a manageable variance. I was in the top 4 or 5 for my AG still, so I just kept focus on riding MY race. Seeing my brother and parents on the Timber Ln. climb also boosted my spirits, which was needed. I turned back into the wind after some shameless shirtless cheers from JR and a surprise cheer from Nenad, who decided to ride out to the loop solo. The battle with the wind was worse than the first loop, and I started to lose ground on some guys. My power also kept slipping even though my HR was back to where it should be. The cold was taking its toll on me, which became even more evident when my inner thighs cramped up as I rolled towards Cross Plains the second time. With 40 miles to go, it was now a battle to fight off cramps on every climb. This really slowed me down as I couldn't accelerate into the downhills like I usually do. Instead, I found myself stretching out my legs at the top of every hill. Brutal. I also lost 3 of my salt tabs when the lid of the container popped open. Those would have been key to deterring the cramps a bit, but I think the cold put too much strain on my legs. After a final battle with the helix, I managed to get my feet out of my shoes and get off the bike. Split 5:21, a PR split by about 15 minutes and 6 minutes slower than my "A" goal split, which in net only put me 4 minutes down in total. [Strava Bike]

I hobbled through transition, sat down to put on my socks and shoes and cramped up both legs. I'd have to stand to put these on, but after 5+ COLD hours on the bike, I was lacking flexibility. I somehow managed, grabbed my race bib, PowerBar visor, PowerBar Gel flask, and took off. 2 minutes on the dot, right on "A" pace, and 4 minutes in total off my "A" goal.

As I started to run it was painful, but managable on the uphill toward the capitol. You could see the pain in my face though, just steps outside of T2. It was going to be a long marathon unless I found some salt/electrolytes. The road tilted downward and that's when it became immediately evident that the Kona dream was pretty much out of reach. My quads were screaming as I tried to run down State Street. I managed a 7:14 first mile and was on pace, but the pain was not bearable for that long. The first two aid stations did not have salt. Ugh! But I was in 25th place overall! The next mile was a 7:40, still okay, but my stride was shortening and "Hoogie Steps" are already short. I crossed mile 3 in Camp Randall stadium and was defeated. I could barely make it out of the stadium on the ramp. I started walking. Another short downhill and I tried to jog. It wasn't pretty, but I managed. Then I decided to be tough. Even if Kona slipped I could salvage a PR. I just needed to get salt. Finally I saw the salt sponsors tent after mile 4. Heroes. 2 miles later I was back, at least mentally, from a very dark place again. My strides were

so short that all I could manage were 8:30-9 minute miles, but whatever, I was running. HTFU, Ironman, you signed up for this. I saw Kristin again, in tears. I couldn't understand her at the time, but she was brokenhearted for me. I saw her at mile one and shook my head. She knew what it meant without me saying a word. Now, knowing how bad I wanted to get that KQ and knowing I couldn't, yet seeing me still push forward instead of giving in, she was overwhelmed. It brought tears to my eyes, too. I saw Nenad and Megan at their aid station and got another boost. My legs started to loosen up more but I was overcompensating and my hips and back were starting to tell me to go back to racing sprints. Finally, lap 1 completed after what seemed like forever. Ben Stuart passed me and I gave him a big holler. He was killing it on the run. Lap two was better. The toll of running in such messed up
form continued to take its toll, but I was in a much better place. I started talking to fellow racers, thanking volunteers and strangers for their cheers, and enjoying the atmosphere of the race. I saw Kristin for the final time before the finish, and stopped to give her a hug. We both teared up. It was an emotional day. Kristin didn't want to let go, but I knew I had a small window for a PR and needed to move. I eneded up running in with a guy from Colorado who used to live in Holland. We both were having KQ days until the run. It made the final miles fly by. I took in the cheers and crossed the finish line with a flex of my non-computer enhanced arm muscles (see TC post). 3:51 run, my second slowest. 10:16 overall. 36 minutes slower than my "A" pace on the run, 40 minutes off my goal in total. BUT...an 8 minute PR for IM! [Strava Run]

The finish was amazing, but I was disappointed. Everyone knew it, but the takeaway was the enormous amount of HTFU I found to keep going even though the day slipped away. I owe an endless thanks to all of my friends, family, the volunteers, and random strangers for making this race so great and for supporting me, but a special shout out goes to:

-Kristin, my ironmate. I couldn't do this nearly as well without her endless support, patience, and love. Sully, too, for "coaching" while I was on the trainer all winter.

-My family, specifically my parents, for going above and beyond to support the ironman dream, my brother for spectating and supporting, my aunt Pam and family for watching our old man Sully for the week, Kristin's parents for understanding my crazy and encouraging me, and many others...

-My friends, specifically JR and Ronda. Wow guys, 5 ironman trips to Madison and all great memories. Thanks for everything, you are amazing. Nenad and Megan for supporting AND volunteering! There are many more that fall under this list. If you don't see your name, don't worry, I know and I appreciate it endlessly!

-To all of my other training buddies, teammates, and their spouses/families for letting them train with me. Such an awesome triathlon community we live in!

-To Michigan Awesome, for making an awesome team. So much fun to race with Michigan pride. Got a lot of cheers as a result of that kit!

-To PowerBar, great nutrition to fuel your athletic dreams!

For those wondering, the Kona slots...I have no idea how far they rolled down if at all. My guess is top 4, which was a 9:42:28, good for 11th overall. I was 34 minutes off of this. I am disappointed but Kristin has already told me that if I want to realize this dream that I can't give up. Everything was going to have to go perfectly, and over a 10 hour race, there's a lot that can go wrong. I will be back. I will make it to Kona. I will be better than ever, and I will have fun doing it! I will be supporting at least 4 of my good friends next summer as they pursue IM Lake Placid. I cannot wait to be on the other side, running around in a speedo cheering for them...

Keep dreaming!

My first title defense: The Traverse City Triathlon

Last weekend we headed up to TC for some fun, training, and to race one of my favorite triathlons. We love the TC area, the bays and hills are beautiful. The beer and food is great. Mix in some friends and you have a Michigan Awesome weekend!

We arranged for some quaint yet Spartan accommodations thanks to JR's dad, in a very convenient location. We were two blocks from the beach and a third of a mile from Front Street. We had a lot of fun relaxing, sitting on the beach, etc., as well as an awesome training swim in the bay on Saturday morning while Ronda SUP'ed. Packet pickup was a disaster, having to drive to Bowers Harbor just to get race numbers, etc. was one thing, but then there weren't enough volunteers and the line was crazy long. In a field. Under the scorching hot sun. We decided that instead of complaining that we should just volunteer, a few of us walked up and eased the bottlenecks. Before we knew it, the line was mostly gone and the race directors showed up to help.

That's when the following exchange happened..."hey, you're the guy from the athlete guide! Thanks for helping us out." All joking aside, I did get put on the athlete guide, and my silhouette "graces" the event t-shirt along with the Half-Iron finisher medals. Pretty cool! I was glad we were able to help and being chosen to be the "Jerry West" of the Traverse City Triathlon is an honor and awesome. Thanks guys!

So taking my celebrity status less than seriously, we began to wonder as defending champion why I didn't get the #1 bib? Fuel for the fire, though I don't think that highly of myself, it's just a little thing. Apparently there was a little trash talk in transition on race morning, which is fine. I love some competition. I happily helped some newbies set up their transition space on race morning and focused on having fun, regardless of outcome. There's of course a serious side that comes out once the race starts, but being relaxed and laughing is a great start to race day. After a PB&J PowerBar (seriously tasty!), I ran for a few minutes, got some warm-up strokes in, and then it was go time.

Wow, the swim was choppy. Great practice for a few weeks from now. I lost JR's feet about 100 yards in, but found 4 other guys who were holding a nice pace. I tried to stay with them the best I could, not knowing who was "just a good swimmer", and who was a real threat. I practiced my shorter strokes and kept breathing (I have a bad habit of holding my breath even though I turn to breathe). Before long, the bottom came back into view and it was up the boat launch and into transition in 5th.

I ran past JR in T1, knowing he swam 5.3 miles on Saturday and was probably beat already, offered a little encouragement, and got to it. Wetsuit off, shoes on, helmet on, grab the bike, go!

What I didn't know as I mounted my bike and headed off for the hilly 12.4mi ride was that I had actually passed all 4 guys ahead of me in T1! So I rode like a mad man. I flew by tons of duathletes and Olympic distance competitors, but no sprinters. About 6 miles in, you ride down the center of the peninsula.  Here it was super windy and it was all I could do to stay upright and going straight. It seemed as though the wind was coming from both sides, just jolting you around. Thankfully it isn't a long stretch and I was down to the final couple miles. Surprisingly, I was so focused on trying to catch whoever was in front of me that I never looked at my watch to see that I put down a PR sprint distance bike split over such challenging terrain. I was having a great race!

T2 was quick. My "real competition" did an OLY relay instead, and was in transition waiting for his team. A little encouragement from him as I slipped on my Saucony A6s and I was off.

The run at the TC Tri is special. It's more trail run than most would like, but it's a unique touch that keeps things interesting. I bolted down the road and settled into a comfortable rhythm. As I passed the first aid station, the volunteers shouted out directions for the other distances. I asked, "Sprint?" To which they replied, "Oh, right here! You're the first one!" I honestly thought I was still chasing someone, my parents and Kristin made no mention of it, which had scared me into thinking that maybe I didn't even stand a chance. Oops. Turns out I would have more than a 4 minute lead off the bike, which widened to nearly 6 minutes by the finish. I tried to not let up though, embracing the suck. Finally the finish was in view and I cruised in for what might be the course record time!

I had a great race, all of the disciplines combined were great. Last year I got lucky. I guess this year I got lucky, too, with Kyle not racing. I couldn't have done it without some amazing support though: my parents, my friends, my bride and Ironmate, Michigan Awesome, and of course PowerBar's great lineup of sports nutrition!

Next up is the MITI full-iron relay, featuring JR's swimming skills, my ability to suffer for 5+ hours on the bike, and Timmy's FIRST marathon (sucker!). Looking forward to it! Until then, keep dreaming!

Fremont's "West Michigan Tri"

Back to Fremont after a year hiatus and another attempt to win this race! Would Jimi show up and make me bridesmaid again? Before we get to that, let's talk about my lovely bride...(not Jimi!)

Kristin vowed to try anything once, triathlon included, so this is the one she agreed to do. She at least needed to experience what it's like to be on the other side of that mesh fence, and she might as well get it over with. Race morning was cold, rainy, and less than enticing. Thankfully, the rain cleared up and the temperature was great. Otherwise I think I'd have been in big trouble! We got our stuff set up I transition and Kristin had a veteran racer racked right next to her to help her out (haha). We walked through the major steps of the race again and took off on a short warm-up run. We both munched on the new PowerBar Harvest Energy Bars before the race. They are so good! We both highly recommend them.

We actually got put in the same wave, so that was cool. So were Jill and Jill, and a few other friends of ours. As we were lining up on the beach, I caught glimpse of a face I recognized from swimming USS a long time ago. I decided that I'd draft off of him on the swim and see where the rest of the race sorted out. I said good luck to our group of friends and lined up on the front. The horn went off and we were out into the water and around the first buoy in a matter of seconds. It's a short swim! Off and around to the second buoy, just trying to stay on the feet in front of me. All of 2.5 minutes later, we were on the beach and running into transition. Kristin's swim would take longer, apparently the first buoy turned into a log jam and people could barely swim. But she survived.

T1 was a blur, found my bike, slammed my shoes on, clipped my helmet, and ran to the exit. First out of T1, barely.

The bike was going to be fast for about 80% of the course, due to a ripping wind. We climbed the first hill out of transition and to our shock, there were no course marshals directing traffic. I was in the process of re-passing the leader (had some trouble clipping in...), and couldn't see around him. Turns out there was a car right but all he could yell was "ah!". Thankfully the car slowed from the crawl it was already moving at and no one got hit. Keeping that in mind for the rest of the race, at the next stop I actually stopped and ended up having to wait 10 seconds or so for traffic to clear (despite there actually being police officers at the intersection, they were all chatting on the gator atv). Thankfully, I still had a decent gap and managed to build on it over the bumpy roads. Then we turned into the wind for 1.5 miles. The longest, bumpiest 1.5 miles in recent memory. I just put my head down and tried to find a solid rhythm. Finally, the route turned back to a well-sheltered cross wind and I flew back to transition. Kristin would later complain about how windy it was, yet she managed to knock out a 16+ avg on a hybrid bike, despite only riding 3 times this year!

T2 was in and out. Flying dismount on the bike, shoes slammed on, visor in hand, and gone. As I bolted out of transition in my bright orange Saucony A6 shoes, I heard the volunteers telling the next athlete where to dismount. I probably had a 45 second lead.

Good thing I knew where I was going. The course was not very well marked and not all of the volunteers were at their corners yet. In fact, I followed the truck that was dropping them off. Still a great grassroots race though! I kept looking back to see where the next racer was but didn't see anyone. For a moment I almost let up, but remembered that there could be someone in wave 2 and forged on. I had a great run, thanks to some inspiration from Mrs. Jones (positive vibes), the minivan driver who nearly killed me in a crosswalk (angry vibes), and thinking about how Kristin was doing the same race (positive vibes). After what seemed like an eternal stretch, I came around the corner to the final straight, zipped up my Michigan Awesome kit, straightened my PowerBar visor, and cruised across the line with a big smile.

After waiting 7 minutes and stalking every finisher to get a glance at their race number (numbers determined race wave), I could be certain that I took the overall win, FINALLY! I walked back up to watch Kristin finish, she did great. One of her fastest 5k runs yet (if not the fastest, she doesn't really track that sort of thing)! Congrats to her, we'll see if we can convince her to do another, though she vowed against it. Also, great races to all of our friends as well. You guys did awesome.

Thanks to my dad for coming up to support the two of us, JMast too. A nice post-race lunch at Spanky's pizza, a local favorite, was well deserved!

Next week is TC Tri, so I'll post up another update next week on that. Time to prepare to defend my title there...keep dreaming!

Ironman Racine 70.3

This race report is going to be hard to keep concise, lots of thoughts but I'll do my best. I signed up for Racine on a whim last fall as part of a "double-deal" to ensure I was able to register for IMWI. I hadn't done much research, but figured the experience would be similar to Milwaukee and with the IRONMAN brand behind the race that it would be well run and in an attractive location. Since JR and Ronda were likely in, it was going to be a fun weekend.

That whole preface makes this seem like it was a bad weekend. Allow me to clarify, it was a good weekend full of positives. However, there were a few key elements that made it clear this was not going to be an annual race. Let's start with a few of the good...

It's always good to spend time with friends while pursuing the things we love to do. Without the company of friends, this weekend would've been entirely different. Next, as with most IRONMAN branded races, there were a ton of volunteers and everyone was very supportive. The race itself was well run as we expected and the swim and transition locations were great! Given the weather conditions (choppy cold swim, windy and hot bike/run), I had a great race (I'll get to that, I promise). Lastly, a successful triathlon weekend is highly unlikely without Kristin's iron-mate support, this weekend was no exception, she was over the top supportive even when I was stressed and grumpy before the race and when I was suffering out on the run course.

What made the weekend a downer, aside from rolling up to the hotel in the middle of a tornado warming, was the general lack of a host city environment. I think it is good that IRONMAN produces races in areas like Racine, but it definitely seemed like the overall infrastructure for hosting a 70.3 was missing. Not a lot of hotels near the race (we were practically back in Illinois) and very few restaurants. Maybe I am spoiled from Madison and AG Nationals in Milwaukee. The other notable and rather significant drag on the race itself was the horrible road conditions. There were so many seams and cracks in the road, it made finding one's rhythm practically impossible. I promise I won't complain about it anymore, but the mind and body took a beating out there.

On to the race itself, athlete check-in was smooth as expected, but our bikes got to sit through a tornado warned storm due to mandatory bike check-in on Saturday. Thankfully Kristin reminded me to bring extra plastic bags and I was able to cover my power meter and dérailleurs. We went back to the hotel (30 minute drive later), checked in durning the previously meantioned tornado warning, and waited out the storm. Once the weather cleared I knocked out a quick shake-out run and we went to have the pre-race favorite: burger with an egg and a spotted cow beer. Tasty.

Race morning came early! Up at 4:30am and packed up the car, grabbed a quick breakfast, and drove the 30 minutes back to the race. Cue another nomination for Ironmate of the year. As we were walking down to transition, I realized I forgot my bike pump. In a panic, JR texted Kristin and she ran down with it. Turns out that I didn't need it, so it was a huge hassle for nothing. Sorry and thanks, Kristin! It took me forever to get set up in transition, not sure why. We walked the mile to the swim start while eating a PB&J PowerBar (amazing!), found some shade, and waited an hour for my wave to be marshaled into the starting pen.

The water was cold but refreshing. We took off straight into the choppy water but quickly started getting pushed off course. I managed to get away with 2 others, and by the time we turned at 400yds we were already catching stragglers from the heat before us. About 200yds further our group split due to the chaos of passing the slower swimmers of the earlier waves. When I passed the halfway buoy, I checked my watch, 1:13/100yds. I was having a great swim. It was hard to tell with the chop, so I was pleasantly surprised. I focused on keeping my stroke rate up to cut the choppy water while keeping things smooth. I was on the beach before I knew it. When I had a chance to look at my watch, it showed 27:30, one of my fastest! [Strava Swim]

T1 was a blur. I miscounted the rows of bikes and ended up in the wrong aisle, thankfully I was at the end and it didn't hurt me too much. I was happy to see that my HR was lower than it typically is after the swim, which likely meant a faster bike. Out of T1 and up to the mount line, which sits on a nice 3-5% grade.

Ka-thunk. That's the bike leg in one sound. Once I made it up the climb out of transition and out on to

the first main road, that was basically it. I did my best to just put the bit between my teeth and ride, adjusting my aerobars every few miles from them "sinking" forward. I followed my power goal and repeated "on your left" for the next 2 hours. It was nice to have a consistent stream of people to pass, but when you need to pass someone who is passing someone who is passing someone, it gets a little tricky. I grabbed a bottle of water at each aid station, hosed myself down, took a big swig, and kept riding. Eventually the heat, wind, and the inconsistent powering by people started to drain on me. The bag that I put my salt tabs in leaked, rendering them useless. I tried to use them still but failed to even get what was left of the capsules out of the bag. Oops. Thankfully, the PowerGels that I mixed in my water bottles helped offset the electrolyte hole. Finally we made one of the last turns and rode the last 5 miles of super bumpy roads. I was losing my patience with the roads at this stage and just wanted to be off the bike. The course would end up being a mile long, but I still nearly PR'd my HIM bike split. [Strava Bike]

T2 was quick. Basically rack my bike, throw on socks and shoes, grab everything else and run. I saw Kristin on the other side and that made me happy. Usually I am so in the zone (or suffering) that I miss her in the crowds. 

Finally onto the run. Still had a shot at breaking 4:30 despite the long bike course. The first 5 miles went great, but I was HOT, and couldn't quench my thirst. My body stayed cool with the ice and water dumps, but from my neck up it was seemingly unbearable. Then my feet started to blister due to my shoes being soaked (not to mention my shoes felt like they weighed 10lbs!). I wanted to quit. Mentally, I was just checked out. I was thinking about the long drive home, how hard the full is going to be if I can't even survive a half, and other negative thoughts. It was bad. But then Kristin came through for me. "My husband isn't a pansy," she yelled. Just what I needed to hear to get my head back in the race. I knew she sacrificed her entire weekend to this race and she didn't even get the benefit of the race itself! I rephrased my thoughts and focused on trying to find JR and Ronda. Maybe if I push I can catch them? I made a point of it, reset my goal pace, and trudged on. More water, more ice, finish my PowerGel flask, more steps, more miles. Finally I saw them on an out-and-back stretch about 1 mile ahead of me. With 4 miles to go, I knew I'd have to push to catch them. No walking, just do it. The final miles ticked off and finally I was under 1 mile to go. Then I saw those Michigan Awesome kits again. I kicked it in, passing them with a yell, "go Michigan Awesome!" Down the hill towards the finish chute, power past a couple more people, and cross the line, just under 4:33. A PR by about 1 minute! My run would end up being "slow" by about 2 minutes vs. my goal pace, not bad for the conditions. [Strava Run]

Post race was blessed by a dip in the cold lake, so refreshing! We packed up and made it back just in time to see JR and Ronda finish. We grabbed more finisher food, a picture together, and hit the road. We finally got home around 9pm. What a weekend...

Thanks to my good friends and teammates for racing with me, to Kristin for her unwavering support, to Michigan Awesome and PowerBar for being great sponsors, and to each of you for reading.

Keep dreaming!

GRTri - Olympic Distance

Woke up to pouring rain. Lovely. Sound familiar? Same race last year, same story. A soaking rain was coming down as I sat at my computer, sending out emails that our new system for work was back on-line. Nothing like a work fire the night before/morning of a race. Not sure if that helped or hurt my race, but the distraction from the rain was welcomed. Lots of text messages flying around about the weather, where we were all meeting pre-race, and whether the race would go on. Thankfully, we were house/dog-sitting for Kristin's parents who live about 5 minutes from the transition area. Nice to be able to wait out *most* of the rain there while having breakfast and drinking coffee. I finally loaded up and headed down to the race.

Timmy and the VanderWalls each pulled in and parked right behind me, perfect timing. By the time we had our stuff out of our cars, we were already soaked. Adjusted attitude: we're going to get wet anyway, don't stress about it. We stopped at the covered bridge, dried off our arms and legs, and did some impromptu body marking for the race. Pretty cool that while we were stopped, several Michigan Awesome teammates and other friends also stopped and asked to be marked, too. Nice way to boost camaraderie before the race. We got to transition and set up our stuff. I've learned to be pretty lean with what I have in my transition space, and luckily had some good bike rack-mates who alternated directions like you're supposed to. Knowing I'd likely be one of the first ones out of the water, I stressed a little less about how little room I actually had to put my stuff down. We tried to find a dry spot for our gear bags, but with the rain it was a lost cause. Our stuff would be soaked through by the end of the morning. We socialized with the other MA athletes and headed down to the water.

My goal for the swim was simple: stay with the lead group. With the collegiate conference division, there were some fast swimmers present. It presented a great opportunity to practice swimming in a group at a fast pace. The gun went off and we flew. The first 200 meters were a scrambled, grabby, bumpy mess. By the time we settled in and sorted out, we were almost to the first turn. From there, the pace quickened and the group stretched out to single file. The course measured a little long based on GPS data, but we all had to swim the same distance. I made it in just under 22 minutes for the 1500 meters (more like 1600m). [Strava Swim]

The wetsuit peelers (great perk of this race!) were really close to the water, so there was no time to pull the suit down far enough. Thankfully they were able to adapt and efficiently pull off the wetsuits for people anyway. I took advantage and my T1 times show for it, no struggling to get the suit off around my ankles while dizzily trying to stay upright. Ran the long carpet stretch to my bike rack, quickly got my shoes and helmet on, and off I went.

The ride started reasonably well. It was still sprinkling, so the visor on my helmet had to stay up. Typically I like to have some sort of eye protection, but I'd survive. A few miles in Todd Kennedy (a super fast guy) rolled past me. He was racing the aquabike due to an injury. Before I could clear the draft zone, I heard the one noise that's just dreadful on the bike: "ppppfffffffsssssssssssssssttttttt". I quickly looked down, hoping it wasn't me. Guess I was lucky, it was Todd. Sorry for the bad luck! You can't do much to help your competitors, but I wanted to make sure he had what he needed. From then on, it was pretty quiet, just focusing on keeping my head down and dodging potholes. Finally, the Jimi Minnema rocket rolled by. I managed to hold him off for the first 11 miles, not bad! From the turnaround on, it was just hammer down and try not to get caught by anyone else. I would make it, with a 23.5mph split. Not bad given the conditions!

T2 was quick. Off the bike, run to the rack, socks on, shoes on, and grab everything else. That can get put on/consumed while running. I shot out of T2 with a Berry Blast PowerGel in my had and targeted a 6:20/mi average.

That target average started to fade around 2 miles. I was not feeling it, too much standing around pre-race, maybe the work stress, definitely swimming way too fast. A couple guys blew by me like I was walking. Turns out one was a relay and the other was a collegiate racer. At that point, I figured I was still top in the 30-34 AG and fought to keep it that way. The next few miles went slowly, and I adjusted my goal to nothing slower than 6:50/mi. Shortly after the run, I saw PowerBar rep Ryan Guiliano just ripping it on the half-iron run. He was seconds from taking over the lead and wouldn't turn back. Crazy fast! With 2 miles to go, I put my head down and just suffered to the end. Finally the last stretch to the finish chute was upon me, and I strained to smile as I crossed the line.

My HR would end up being over 165 average for over 2 hours, quite the high rate for me. Something to learn from as Ironman Wisconsin approaches: I have to keep my HR down on the swim. There's two ways to do that: swim harder in training and/or swim easier on race day. Taking that insight, I'll be applying that to the remaining training days!

"PowerBar Ryan" would end up winning the half and looking no worse for wear. 4:02 total time and he "jogged in" a 1:14 half marathon at the end. Congrats, Ryan, you're an inspiration! Hope you come back next year and repeat the clinic of a race you put on! Mama Hoogs also had a good race despite ear issues.




Overall, I'd end up 10th (9th if you exclude the relay that beat me), 1st in the 30-34 age group! Very happy to represent Michigan Awesome and PowerBar so well. Thanks as well to Kristin, who despite me not noticing she wasn't there until the finish, still comes out and cheers me on in the crappy weather. Turns out she was searching for Sully, who decided he wanted to try to find me at the race. She'd spent 2 hours running around in the rain looking for him. Thankfully, a nice family had taken him in from the storm and flagged her down. We returned after the race to personally thank them again and give them a gift card to a fro-yo place. So nice of them and we're glad Sully was safe!

Reeds Lake Triathlon Race Report

The final triathlon of the season already? Seems like summer just started. I was really excited to finally throw my hat into the ring on this race. The previous 3 years had been missed due to Ironman Wisconsin and I was ready to race some of the best in West Michigan.

Packed up my stuff, had my usual pre-race breakfast (Oatmeal Raisin PowerBar, banana, coffee), and headed down to the race. Kristin was kind enough to drop me off, and with only being 4 miles away, she was able to go back home and sleep more. Win.

After struggling to get my bike number on, I got set up in transition. Snagged a spot on the close end of the bike rack and was set to go for quick transitions. Strolled down to the swim start and got ready. About 3 minutes before, I realized I still had my wedding ring on. Too late, I'd have to be careful in the swim to make sure it didn't slide off in the colder water.

Photo Credit to Stellafly!

The swim went well. I failed to seed myself in the fast wave, so we got to swim through the two slower waves ahead of us. Thankfully they were small waves, but not being seeded meant more of a race against the clock than against the fast guys in our age group. Lesson learned. I was one of the first out of the water in my wave, ran up the hill to T1, and was out on the bike in no time. [Strava Swim]

This was my first time doing this race, and I was excited to slay the rolling hills on the bike course. The route goes down Fulton, which is typically a raceway of a divided highway, but the inner lanes are closed and you get to fly down without worrying (as much) about the cars that would normally be flying by at supersonic speeds. I took off onto the bike which winds around the the South and East sides of Reeds Lake before spilling onto Fulton. With relatively calm winds, it was fast riding. In no time, I was already to the turn around and on my way back. Kept the effort steady and strong on the way back and was back to T2, ready to run. Loving the new bike! [Strava Bike]

T2 was pretty quick, and off on the run. The run was lonely, not starting in the elite wave meant that I was off the front and running alone. This made keeping the tempo up was more mentally challenging, but with this being the last race of the year I was eager to put down one last solid effort. I passed through 5k just under 20 minutes, a solid pace. With another 2 miles to go, I focused on keeping my turnover up and my stride long, arms pumping. I finally started catching people from other waves, which gave me a clear boost: my last mile was the fastest of the 4.9! Across the finish line and season over, what a great race to end the year.  [Strava Run]

Photo Credit to Stellafly!

I would end up in 3rd place for 30-34 AG and 13th overall! Thanks again to Michigan Awesome and the team for all of the support and camaraderie, to PowerBar for providing the best nutrition, and to Kristin for her tireless ironmate support! It was a great year, looking forward to building on this next year...until then, keep dreaming!