Coming off a very hard race at St. Croix that included a bike crash I knew it would be a crap shoot to be ready for a very challenging Columbia 5150 course (the hardest Oly distance race I've seen) 2 weeks later. My body was still in a healing state from the crash up until race day and I think this probably impacted overall muscular recovery leading into the event - based upon how I felt early in the week I should have just scratched this race. When Torsten and I talked about doing this race it was understood I probably wouldn't be 100% and it could turn into a hard training day vice a good race result. We've pretty much gone away from doing "training races", if I race I want to be in the best form and position possible to race FTW but I was willing to roll the dice here since it was a local event. Honestly, as soon as the bike leg started I regretted my decision to race this event.
Pre-Race: Fellow wattie teammate and all around good dude Caldwell Clarke and I met up for pre-race check-in and course recon. Race note: CC took 1st clydesdale in the under 39 division. The bike course was pretty much one climb after another non-stop for 25 miles. It had rained all day off and on and the trend seemed to be indicate rain for race day. Flashback 2 weeks to St. Croix racing in the rain and crashing. I immediately started to get very nervous about crashing again which carried over into zero sleep the night before the race which left me waking up zapped of energy. Lack of sleep mixed with cold/rainy weather is not a good recipe for me. Bummer!!
Swim: Swim course was pretty straight forward just a big loop around a lake. Water temp was 69F which meant my first opportunity to try out the new custom Wattie Ink Blueseventy Helix. Just as I was heading down to do a quick warm-up the RD calls everyone out of the water 20min before swim start?! Not good for me. I was starting in the Elite AG wave (male and female) and it was WAY bigger than usual and included the 2012 USAT AG national champion - 46 males and 17 females so I knew the start was going to be absolute chaos. Not sure why but I was very cold as soon as we got into the water, almost shivering. As soon as the gun went off it was absolute chaos until the first buoy about 500M away. We basically had a pack of 63 people all swimming almost the exact same pace. After the first turn it spread out a bit and I was able to get into a rythm. We ended up swimming into some current (wind related I believe) on the back side that slowed things down a bit. Out of the water a touch over 23min - CRAP!!! Looking at the pro times it seemed everyone was about 1 min slow and the garmin had the course at 1.05 miles so not an absolute disaster for me but still put me way off the front group.
Target time: 21-22min
Actual time: 23:37
T1: I was really light headed when I got out of the water. May have been due to me being cold, who knows. Slower than expected T1 to get the HR down and then up a gigantic hill onto the bike course.
Bike: Hands down the toughest Oly distance bike course I've been on, constant climbs with 1700ft+ of gain. The strategy here was to ride as hard as possible to try and close the bike gap. We figured I could ride this course right around 1:00 flat if I rode my watts around 350-60. As soon as I got on the bike I knew it was game over. My quads were shot, fatigued and no juice. The legs were flat as a pancake and I couldn't sustain any power. The gamble had not paid off. I spent the remainder of the bike trying to restart the engine but just couldn't hold any sustained power and just started riding stupid spiking my watts too much on climbs etc. The course was wet and I wasn't willing to take any risks and crash again so I gave up some time there as well. Full disclosure - I didn't want to be out there anymore halfway through the bike, I just had no business racing on this day. Rolled into T2 a little disappointed and not really sure where I was in the field.
Target time: 1:00:00
Actual time: 1:06:12
Run: Another super tough Oly distance run course, again, the toughest 10k I've done in an Olympic distance race. Up and down the entire run with some very steep downhills which made it very difficult to get any speed going - about 700ft total gain over the entire course. There was one uphill in the back of the course at 12% grade that was BRUTAL!! I really couldn't get things going on the run until about the 5k mark when I warmed up a bit and started sweating but by this point it was way too late. Passed maybe 8-9 guys on the run but not nearly enough to put me anywhere close to the top 10. Given how my legs felt on the bike and difficulty of the course I was pretty happy running 37min.
Target Time: 35:00
Actual Time: 37:20
Position: 6th M30-34, 20th M Elite amateur, 52nd overall
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
St. Croix Race Report - War of Attrition
This was one crazy ass race!!! We arrived in St. Croix on Wednesday to some gorgeous weather. My
first question was obviously about the weather for Sunday’s race since we came
from 60F days in Virginia so zero heat acclimation completed to date (not good).
Response “we rarely get rain here and when we do it’s just liquid sunshine,
here and gone quickly”. The view from our place on top a mountain was
absolutely amazing but we had to off road quite a bit to get to it (bumpy dirt
roads up a mountain – crazy!!). That night and the next morning we get
absolutely dumped on (the neighbors said it hadn’t rained like that in 7
months) – pretty sure I wasn’t the only one with the look of sheer terror in
the house since there were 4 other triathletes staying with us. Headed out for
a ride that afternoon and the roads were completely trashed – dirt/gravel/rocks
and standing water everywhere. My paranoia level was at about a level 5 given
we still had 3 days until the race. So, Saturday we ride again and the roads
are totally cleared and in great condition. Woohoo!!! But… hold your horse’s
cowboy. Another downpour Saturday evening which meant horrendous roads and
conditions for the race plus it had heated up considerably. Paranoia level
equals mach 10 at this point but it’s go time so saddle up and prepare for a
long journey...
Hanging out pre-race with the Colt man
Pre-race swim at the Buccaneer
The fam and view from our place
Due to a disqualification (a European pro tried
to sneak into the race as an Age grouper and was DQ’d) I was moved to 2nd
place and awarded the kona slot. FAR
OUT!!! I was pretty disappointed I didn’t get to celebrate this moment with my
friends and teammates at the awards ceremony but absolutely stoked for my first
trip to the tri mecca for Ironman World Championships. Truth be told I had said before the race I would turn down the Kona slot if offered but after what I had to endure there was no way I was turning down the slot.
Hanging w/ Blain at awards - KONA BABY!!!
Wrap up: Congrats to Debi Bernardes on her 2nd place AG finish and Kona slot and Molly Roohi on breaking top 10 for the first time racing as a pro. Fellow wattie teammate Blain Pearson rocked it out with a 2nd place AG and will also be joining me on the big island in October. Now, time to totally re-vamp the racing and training schedule for the rest of the season. A huge thank you to my wife Kristin for coming along with our 9 month old Colt in tow and cheering me on – I get so much positive race energy from these two and can’t stand to not have them at races. Thanks to coach Torsten Abel for all his guidance and support. Also a special thanks to race Sherpa of the year Cyrus Roohi – this guy saved the day multiple times and made sure we were packed and ready for race day!!! Thanks to Wattie Ink and all our amazing sponsors – K-Swiss, fuelbelt, speedfil, 454 tattoo, Blueseventy, powerbar. A super special thanks to Scott Bikes and Kask helmets for keeping me in one piece during the crash – still amazed I and the bike came out in one piece!! Ok, I think that’s it for all the thank you notes. Next up – Columbia 5150 and hopefully some good race mojo…
Post race insanity
Race morning: We got to transition as soon as it opened and
got racked and ready. The race was smaller with only about 500 athletes so
plenty of room to maneuver in transition. Everything was in good working order
and I was ready to roll. Chatted it up a bit then swam over to another island
for race start.
Swim: We had got a chance to preview the swim course on
Friday and it was an absolute beauty. By far my favorite swim ever (and I’m not
a huge fan of swimming). Gun went off and there was some jockeying to the first
buoy then everything opened up. I found sighting to be really easy during this
swim so I picked a steady pace and found clean water and off I went. I somehow
picked up a straggler about halfway thru and he drafted off me the entire rest
of the swim – drove me absolutely crazy touching my feet. I tried to kick him
in the face a few times with no success. Target was sub-30min, swim exit at
31:36, 6th out of the water in my AG and right in the mix. Not great
but not bad given no wetsuit and slight chop for the second half of the swim. Everyone
asks so I’ll say it again – yes the BlueSeventy speedsuit is worth the
investment for non-wetsuit swims. Blueseventy BZ3TZ – get one!! Goal is to be
under 30min before the end of the season in a non-wetsuit swim.
T1: No issues here. Quick and easy transition.
Bike: And the adventure begins… I’ll just say up front in
addition to this bike course being insanely difficult with non-stop steep
climbs and technical descents, the road conditions were horrible and probably
unsafe for racing. There were patches of 4-5 inch dirt that spanned 10-20 feet
long across the roads in many areas (some on downhill portions and turns) and
it was raining. Aside from the conditions the course was insanely tough
(excluding the beast portion there were multiple climbs of 15% grade or
better). I started off well riding with a few fast guys and then it happened
for the first time ever in a race on a steep downhill bank 7 miles into the
ride I lost control of my back wheel in some water and then hit gravel and it
was game over. Flipped over the handle bars and into a ditch which went a
little something like this:
Laid there for a minute to thank god I was still alive and
then assessed the damage – bike was in good shape and body was banged up but
okay for riding. My initial thought “you have to be f’in kidding me?!!” and a
flashback to IM 70.3 Galveston 4 weeks earlier where my glutes had locked on
the bike and tanked my race – this is seriously happening again 2 races in a
row? All the off season work down the tubes again. Checked everything out and
then got up and started rolling again very very cautiously. My hip was smashed
up but everything else seemed okay – I didn’t realize until later the top on my
liquid shot had severed which resulted in losing 25-30%% of my calories for the
bike. Two pros at the bottom of the hill had just crashed/flatted and watched
my entire episode and looked at me like I had lost my damn mind as I rode by,
wished me luck and off I went. I talked to Tim O’Donnell after race the race
and he told me I had tree branches still sticking out of my packet as I passed
them – crazy town!! The hip was bad but manageable and the race motto suddenly changed
from racing for an AG overall podium to extreme caution with the #1 goal of not
laying the bike down again – I really had no clue how difficult of a task this
would become as I pedaled onward but I took the remainder of the course very
very conservatively. The rest of the ride was no better as I battled dirt/debri
scattered roads and rain the entire rest of the ride. “El beast” was as
expected as I found myself snorting like a bull in a rodeo as I made my way up.
But as others have said “the race begins after the beast” – this is SO TRUE!! There are plenty of 15% climbs and technical
descents for the remaining 35 miles following the beast. I thought the Vegas
bike course was hard but it was pretty much a cake walk compared to this baby.
Anyhow, I was successful in not laying the bike down again and found myself
riding solo most of the ride pretty far out front picking up a few female pros
along the way. I was so concentrated on staying upright I really don’t remember
much of the scenery other than all the kids and locals out cheering – thumbs up
and a big smile to everyone who came out to cheer. I kept hearing “go wattie” –
it was awesome!! Rolled into T2 around 2:36 which was about 10min slower than
expected but in one piece. I knew immediately that my hip was in bad shape and
was dreading put 2 feet on land.
Headed out for a crazy ride
T2: PAIN!!! My initial feeling as soon as I stepped off the
bike. The hip was way worse than I thought at a pain level 7 at best. My feet
were covered in mud (think cyclocross again) so I took extra time and 2 water
bottles to wash them off completely before heading out to the run course aka
“tropical rainforest”
Deep in the pain cave here
Run: Another racer, Kiley Austin-Young, said the run in St.
Croix on this day was the most miserable/disenchanting experience of his entire
athletic career – I would like to plagiarize his words and second that notion
since it adequately describes my feelings as well. Brutal would be an
understatement. 95F and 100% humidity with no wind. As soon as we got out of
transition it was like stepping into a furnace. Everyone talks about how hard
the bike course is here but the run course is just as hard and once you add the
heat it’s even harder!!! I made it about 2 miles into the run course at a
decent pace but my hip was in really bad shape and I was operating in a caloric
deficit due to losing half my stash during the bike crash. At this point my
initial thought was DNF – you are done dude. Two races in a row with horrible
luck (my glutes locked up IM 70.3 Galveston 4 weeks earlier and forced me into
a 15min stop on the bike), it’s not your day, turn in your chip and don’t do
anymore damage. How can this be happening again? I put in so much work during
the off-season for this to happen twice in a row? Then I see my wife and son cheering loudly (okay you can do this – I can’t
let them down, they came all this way) and then I come up on Angela Naeth who
had flatted out of the race and my mind
jumped back to Vegas 2012 where she had a horrible crash but finished the race.
I remembered talking to her on the run course and her saying she wasn’t going
to DNF despite how horrible she felt as she limped along with road rash all
over her body. Ok Stock, lock it up right now and we are going to do this!!! Many
times crucial decisions are made during the race that can significantly impact
the outcome, this was one of those times. A crucial decision was made – damage
control mode button pushed - I knew I had to do everything I could to salvage
the hip and maintain a steady pace so I decided from that point on that I would
walk all the aid stations and maintain a steady pace of 6:30-40 in between. I
continued on with this strategy throughout the entire run using the aid
stations to cool as much as possible. At around mile 6 I came up on an athlete stumbling
like a drunk sailor after the bar was let out. It happened to be Ben Collins
who went way too hard on the bike which proved a long known theory – bike for
the show, run for the dough. At the turnaround I got a split from my buddy
letting me know I was in 2nd which really gave me some extra
motivation to keep trucking along. Lap 2 wasn’t much better than the first but
I did get a little kick for the last 1.5 miles to bring it on home – honestly I
just wanted to be done as quickly as possible and get into the med tent. 1:35
run split while walking every aid station each 1k of the run – can’t say I’m
proud of this but it was the best I could muster given the circumstances.
Initially, I ended up 3rd in my AG and was pretty bummed out on
missing the kona slot due to only 2 slots being available in my AG… BUT…
Wrap up: Congrats to Debi Bernardes on her 2nd place AG finish and Kona slot and Molly Roohi on breaking top 10 for the first time racing as a pro. Fellow wattie teammate Blain Pearson rocked it out with a 2nd place AG and will also be joining me on the big island in October. Now, time to totally re-vamp the racing and training schedule for the rest of the season. A huge thank you to my wife Kristin for coming along with our 9 month old Colt in tow and cheering me on – I get so much positive race energy from these two and can’t stand to not have them at races. Thanks to coach Torsten Abel for all his guidance and support. Also a special thanks to race Sherpa of the year Cyrus Roohi – this guy saved the day multiple times and made sure we were packed and ready for race day!!! Thanks to Wattie Ink and all our amazing sponsors – K-Swiss, fuelbelt, speedfil, 454 tattoo, Blueseventy, powerbar. A super special thanks to Scott Bikes and Kask helmets for keeping me in one piece during the crash – still amazed I and the bike came out in one piece!! Ok, I think that’s it for all the thank you notes. Next up – Columbia 5150 and hopefully some good race mojo…
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