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.