Shocked!

I knew I had a shot at the course record and also knew I may have to get it to beat a very game Greg Rhodes. I was shocked when I saw my time of 1:14:21 smashing the course record by 2:36. My goal was to keep Greg less than three minutes ahead of me on the swim and pedal and run like hell to catch up. With Lifetime's huge learning experience mixed with Jeremy Sartain's knowledge and coaching it was a recipe for success. Waseca was a big confidence boost but winning last week really helped me relax. All in all the stars seem to align just perfectly.

I got a good nights sleep the night before the race and got to the transition area with plenty of time to set up, warm up and stretch prior to the race. I was in the second wave which started three minutes after the 29 and under guys. As soon as I hit the water I knew I had something special going on. I got a fast arm rotation right away and hit my body position perfectly. I ended up with my best swim of the summer and kept Greg within two minutes. I put on my shoes in transition so I didn't have to worry about putting them on on the bike and crashing into someone else trying to do the same. This also allowed me to put more power into the bike sooner. The strategy played out huge as there were quite a few people around me struggling to put on there shoes. I easily maneuvered around them and hammered the pedals. I knew I was going fast but I don't ride with a computer so I had no idea how fast I was riding.

At around mile 12 I thought I might be in the lead but had a hard time believing that I had made up all that time between not only Greg but also the first wave. When I hit the transition area I realized I was in fact in front and by a descent margin. I put everything I had in to the run knowing that nothing is for certain until you cross the finish line.

When I started to see the finish line and couldn't see anyone in my rear view mirror I knew I had it. When I saw 1:17:21 (really a 1:14:21 because I started three minutes behind the first wave) when I crossed the line I couldn't believe it. I had smashed the old course record. A record I might add set by a super fast Dennis Dane who the day before took 2nd in his age group and Nationals. He is even faster now than when he set the record in 2007 but it was still an impressive record.

I didn't see my splits until I got home later that afternoon but almost couldn't believe what I saw. I came out of the water fifth overall and had my best swim of the summer. My run was also fantastic with a 5:45 mile split. What blew me away was my 26.9 mph average on the bike. I have never even come close to 26 mph before. I knew I was flying but had no idea I could do that. From what I can tell Jeremy Sartain had the bike course split record in 2006 with an impressive 25.3 mph. Jeremy is a former pro cyclist and my mentor. I'm guessing conditions weren't right or he was training through the race because he is faster than that but regardless I still smashed the old mark.

The best part for me was that both my fiance Kelly and mother made the trip with me to cheer me on. My grandmother and great uncle Wayne who live in Brainard also came to cheer me on. I actually hadn't planned on doing this race when I made up my schedule but my grandmother talked about how she wanted to see me race. She is in her 90s but might as well be 70. She can walk and drive just fine and has the mind and charisma of a 30 year old. She is so cute and loved getting out to see a fun race.

Favored Again

Jerry has for the second week in a row picked me as the favorite for the Baxter Triathlon this weekend. I'm certainly glad to get a win out of the way so I hopefully won't be so nervous.. This weekend especially as Greg Rhodes will be there who is coming off of a great race at Brewhouse a few weeks ago and is going to give me a run for my money. Training is going great but I try not to run races back to back very often and don't know how my legs will react this weekend. The last time I did back to back weekends was with the Minnetonka Tri followed by Waconia the next weekend. I did well at both races but did feel a little sluggish at Waconia even though my times say otherwise and could well have been the brutal wind. The difference now is that I am in great Half Ironman shape and feel like my body is ready for the challenge. I've also tapered again this week so I don't find myself over training like I did for Lifetime. The wild card is if my friend and teammate Matt Payne shows up. If he does he will definitely be favored but is coming off a ridiculously tough Pigman Half Ironman last weekend. As usual I believe I need a little extra help to beat him and that may be enough to do it. However, it may not.

Not Again!!!

Well I was the favorite for the first time this weekend at the Young Life Triathlon in Detroit Lakes. I have hoped to win a few other times only to have a big namer show up and/or get turned the wrong way not to mention the crash at Square Lake last year. Which was probably my best other chance to win I've had so far.
The day started out perfect as I had plenty of time to set up and warm up. Even though I didn't sleep well the night before ( I rarely do) I felt pretty good but still nervous. I saw Brett Sinn, the guy Jerry had pegged to give me the most trouble. We got to chatting and had a few laughs to loosen up the atmosphere. Brett, like every other triathlete I have met is super nice. He is no joke and can put together a good race so I knew that it would not be easy.
As planned I got off to a good start with a solid swim that seemed to be a few hundred meters too long. There were also far too few buoys to mark the course especially on the way back. I came out of the water in fifth but including the woman who started in a later wave was 8th overall on the swim. My transition was good and I got off to a good start and soon had the leader in sight. I went around turn and came up to an intersection where a car was coming from my right and another was coming at me and about to make a left infront of me. I got on my brakes in case they pulled in front of me and as I went through the intersection noticed the orange paint on the side of the road. I had a pretty good idea I missed a turn but there was no one at the intersection so I kept going. Soon after I came up on another volunteer and I knew I had missed the turn and cut off the peninsula. I thought "oh my god, not again." I turned around and hammered it like I have never hammered it before. I came up on the turn that I had missed and a volunteer was there this time. He had been sitting in a chair and couldn't see me because he was behind the car that was coming from my right. I knew at this point I had to play catch up and started picking people off. The second lap was a bit scary as I was passing a lot of the sprint course people. On a tight stretch next to a busy highway there was a girl who was taking up the whole shoulder. I yelled on your right and she did exactly what I was hoping she wouldn't do. Just like at Square Lake she moved to her left. I hit the brakes. She heard me and moved back to the right. She said " you said left." I frustratedly told her "on your left and stay to your right." I may have come off like an asshole but I am riding a very expensive bike and get frustrated with newbies that don't understand basic riding edict. I caught up to Brett at about mile 16. Brett's strength is definitely his running so I had been hoping to make up time on the swim and bike. So much for that. I did manage to open about a minute gap on him before the end of the bike and was a little over 30 seconds ahead of Jim Graif who had a great swim and bike but couldn't put it together on the run. I don't know how I found the speed but I ran the fastest 10k I have ever run at 36:52 at 5:56 mile splits. After the turn around I met Brett about a minute in coming the other way and thought I had a chance. I kept looking over my shoulder but Brett never came. Brett fortunately didn't have his best race and couldn't put it together on the run. As I was coming up to the finish line my ever supportive mother was cheering and yelling "you're going to win!, you're going to win!" I was so relieved when I crossed the finish line knowing that I had finally done what I've dreamed about for the past few years. Win a competitive race. Granted this wasn't Lifetime or Waconia but still a descent race. I was even more satisfied being that I had to overcome an additional 1.2 miles on the bike to do it. I waited for Brett to come in and congratulate him.
Christina Roberts was the female winner who also swims at the Edina LA Fitness. She is a serious up and comer and will be a force once she gets a new bike and learns how to truly train for triathlons. Christina pulled off a minor upset beating Christel Kippenhan for the woman's overall win.
When it was all said and done even with the long swim and the wrong turn I set a personal record for both the Olympic distance and 10k. I also managed to set a course record by over six minutes. I would have to say it was the best race I have had so far.
Thanks again to my mother. She was great and as always very supportive. It just isn't the same when no one is there to cheer you on. Next week is the Baxter Tri and I am looking forward to having Kelly, my mother and grandmother there to support me. My grandmother is in her nineties but might as well be in her seventies. This will be the first time for her seeing me race and I hope I can come away with another great performance.

Not a Gimme

Jerry Macneil has posted on Tri MN news that I am supposed to win on Saturday at Detroit Lakes. Brent Sinn is supposed to be the one to give me the most trouble, but I don't know if Jerry knows how much trouble Brent has given me in the past. Last year I was hoping to win at Mankato until I showed up to the race only to see Curt Wood. at that point I was hoping to take home second. Unfortunately I was in second nearing the end of the bike leg when there was no one directing me to take a left at a corner. A police officer was holding traffic so as I passed through the intersection he told me left. I don't know how much time it took to stop and turn around and get back up to speed but Brent and Mark Carey ended up taking second and third by about 30 seconds. At worst it would have made for a very exciting last quarter mile, something I know all too much about this year. At best I edge both of them out. A few weeks later I again over trained for Lifetime and ended up second overall in the age divisions with a 2:08. Brent came in a minute ahead of me. Yes I did beat Brent this year but as Jerry said neither of us had our best races. Earlier this year Josh Blankenheim beat me in a sprint to the finish at Minnetonka. Josh is a guy I have consistently beat in the past with time to spare. This just shows that nothing is for sure in any sport, especially this one. I may win this weekend but Brent will definitely make me earn it.

Training for Detroit Lakes

After the learning at Lifetime the Waseca triathlon was just what the doctor ordered for my confidence. I seem to have regained that extra gear was missing on the bike. Last night I went over to Jeremy Sartain's house for a custom bike fit. I have not had a good one yet for my new P3C. I have been fooling with the seat position to try to find more power. After Lifetime I knew where it wasn't supposed to be and moved the seat back. As suspected I actually had it dialed in about perfect. Jeremy just raised the seat a couple of millimeters and it was like a light went off and said there it is.
Besides the bike I seem to be improving at both the run and swim. Jeremy gave me some tips on better swim training and I have shaved about ten seconds off my 200 meter in the past month. That is a drastic improvement as it had taken me nearly a year to shave off the last five seconds.
This weekend is the Young Life Triathlon in Detroit Lakes. I'm hoping that this could be my first win but we'll have to wait and see. Every time I think this could be the one someone who is faster shows up and has a great day or I have a bad one. Unfortunately Kelly has plans to go out with her friends on Friday night and won't make the trip. She has been on her surgery rotation and pulling 80-90 hour weeks for the past month and a half. I don't force her to come to my tris and she needs some time to un wined. I will miss her cheering for me but my ever supportive mother will make the trip with me again. We'll see how the three hour car ride and sharing a hotel room will work this time. I think we both learned how to deal with each other better at Waseca and I am more mentally prepared for a long trip with her. The key is to keep relaxed which helps keep her relaxed. When I get frustrated if something goes wrong she tends to compound the issue with a thousand questions. I just hope it goes as good or better than Waseca.

Waseca Triathlon

I was a little sketchy going into the race on Sunday. I had no idea what to expect as this would hopefully be the first time I would finish anything longer than an Olympic distance. Not to mention how I had to take a step back and reevaluate my race preparation entirely after Lifetime.
Unfortunately one of friends had baby shower that morning and Kelly needed to get back on track with her surgery studying. Luckily my ever supportive mother made the trip down to cheer me on. I must admit she is a trooper. I think we all get frustrated with our parents but that is multiplied by ten for me the day before a race. Especially when I need to travel and spend the night in the same hotel room with them . My mother put up with my short fuse and was a crucial part in my outstanding performance. During every transition she would run to where I was at and tell me where I was compared to everyone else. She was so cute as she would cheer me on out of the water and off the bike and then run to catch up to me in transition. She was a key part of my success.
I knew Dan was the favorite and to catch him I would have to hope for some sort of miracle to happen. Instead of trying to keep up with him on the bike I decided to keep a steady pace but was careful not to hammer it and cash myself for the run. I knew this would put me in a good position to have a good run and hopefully catch who I thought was going to be Bret Lovass on the end of the bike or run course. What I didn't know was their was a wild card named Doug Davis who would eventually be a serious challenge.
Here's how it unfolded. Doug was a little ahead of Bret on the bike when Doug was chased by three dogs. When Bret came to get up the hill the three dogs were all in the middle of the road waiting for him. Instead of trying to blast through them and risk getting bit Bret turned around to notify a sheriff who was directing traffic at the last intersection. While on his way back I was passing him and he yelled something at me. I couldn't make out what he was saying so I figured he flatted out. Luckily the dogs were gone when I got up the hill.
I felt fantastic on the bike and know I could have put more into it but wanted to see how my legs were going to react to a near 9 mile run after the bike. The result was one of the best runs I've ever had. My mom yelled I was a light year behind Dan but second place was only about 2 minutes ahead. Sure two minutes sounds easy to her but that is not a small gap. Luckily I found my stride right away instead of a couple of miles in like I was planning. At mile 4 I saw Doug about 200 meters in front of me and I knew I had him, but he would not go without a fight. He noticed me at the halfway mark and did all he could to keep the gap but I caught him between mile five and six. When I came up on him he sounded gassed so instead of recharging my batteries and catching a draft I decided to pass. I hoped this would either cause him to drop or gas out trying to keep up. After I passed I could hear his footsteps and was waiting for them to drop back...but they didn't. They just kept hanging in there. They would fall back gradually but not nearly as fast as I was hoping. I started checking how far back he was with about a mile and a half left. Doug was still there about two hundred meters back. I had enough gas in the tank just in case he tried to make a move but I would rather not have to use it. In the end he didn't have enough to make the move and I finished feeling great and felt like I could have done another lap around the lake. Doug finished about 40 seconds behind me and was able to easily take third.
After the race I met Dan Cohen and Doug Davis who are both on the Gear West team. Dan is a monster and it was great to finally get a chance to shake his hand after a race. Doug is also an ultra nice guy and we ended up taking a cool down lap (4.4 mile cool down lap) around the lake. I told Doug he is one tough SOB for pushing me after I passed him. Doug said he wasn't going to give me second and certainly did that. I hope to race with Doug again and I will certainly know his name the next time he pops up on the participants list.