Work To Be Done

While I was not disappointed with my race on Saturday I need to make rather drastic improvements if I want to be competitive this season. I was hoping for a sub 37 before doing some outdoor track work last Wednesday where I realized that a sub 38 was a better goal to shoot for. I was a little optimistic that I was in nearly as good of shape as I was at the end of my season in 09. In the end I had to settle for a 38:43 and fourth place. I was not disappointed but not overjoyed either.

Before the race I saw fellow Elite Triathlete Kortney Haag. She also had a baby last year and is in the process of getting back into top form. We both talked about how we were both not as excited as usual for this race. It could have been that it did not play to either of our strengths or the fact that is was about 32 degrees. Either way neither of us was anxious to get out of bed for this one.

I made one big mistake before the race even started by putting on my leggings. It was cold on my warm up run but the sun was rising fast and I knew it could get warm in a hurry. In the end I decided to leave them on.

Then the horn sounded and off we were. Two guys took off and I knew I would not see them again until the finish. A few other guys got out ahead of me and I figured they went out a little hard. I ended up passing them at about a half mile but they did not drop back. One of them looked like a serious runner but wasn't working very hard. The other looked like I looked in 2005. No technical gear and not savvy to race strategy yet. As we hit the mile and a half mark there was a pretty good hill and I felt good going up it. Problem was the runner felt better and passed me towards the top. I stayed with him for a bit but he started pulling away and I didn't want to gas myself too early so I laid back and let him go.

After getting passed for third I got into a little groove and found a good rhythm. I knew the other guy was not far behind but not close enough to draft. Every now and again I'd feel him moving up but he couldn't sustain it and would fall back to about 10 yards behind me. On the second loop I started to get a little warm and pulled off my thin gloves. It helped a little but the leggings were what needed to come off. Oh well. That is why you do these races. To gain experience and fitness.

With about a half mile to go I knew that if the guy behind me was inexperienced and fatigued he would make his move to early and sure enough I felt him make a small push to get on my heels but again couldn't sustain it. I had plenty in the tank though and got a good finishing push to take fourth by 8 seconds.

I saw Jon Achey, the runner who took third at the finish and chatted with him for a minute. I wasn't trying to be arrogant but I talked about my excuses for him beating me. I was "too heavy" and it was "early in the season" were some of my lame excuses. In reality Jon just flat out destroyed me by a minute. I wasn't trying to be that guy but I'm sure that's how I came off. To Jon's credit he is in serious shape and seemed to toy with me out there. He ran a 6:2oish first mile and then went sub 37. That is impressive. Jon told me he is going to try some triathlons this season. I hope to see Jon on the course and wish him luck.

Kortney and I planned on getting in a cool down run but we missed each other at the finish line. I got to talking with Nate, a buddy I knew from college and Iraq. Nate is the brother of one of my soldiers in Iraq. They are both super studs. Nate is doing his first Marathon in a few months. It was great talking with him and hearing about what him and his brother are up to.

As much as I love having Kelly at races and can't wait until Avery yells Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! when I come across the finish line it was too cold for Kelly to bring an infant out. My mother once again braved the cold to watch me race. As always she was very supportive and reminded me how fantastic it is to have someone cheering for you.

Moral of the story is I learned a lot from this race. One was that I need to figure out how to increase my training without taking time away from Kelly and Avery. Second was to never give excuses at the end of the race. Concentrate on the positives and congratulate those who were graciously victorious.