St. Paul Tri Recap

Going into Sunday I knew Brett Lovaas would be my toughest competition. I would give me the upper hand but not by much. When Brett is on he is tough to beat. I knew that I would have to bring my A game or Brett would take it to me.

Race prep went as normal but I somehow was running later than usual. Because of this I didn't get in a very good swim warm up. I really didn't think this would matter because my best swim this year came with no warm up. I also decided to go with my sleeveless wet suit for the swim since the water temp was probably in the low 80s. This suit worked well for me at Graniteman and I like having no sleeves to keep a little cooler. Unfortunately I seem to have lost some body mass since July because I noticed it was a little looser than I would like when I put it on.

As the swim started I immediately did not feel as comfortable as I would have liked. Then for some reason I kept drifting to the left. I would try to compensate but just couldn't straighten it out. I also did't feel as fluid as I had in the past this year. After the person just ahead of me tried to exit after one lap and had to go back I was in second but was pretty far behind Brett.

I exited the water knowing I didn't have a strong swim but figured I was only about three minutes back. A gap I thought was overcome-able but wold not be easy. I hit the bike a little conservatively in the first loop and just didn't quite get into a groove until the second loop. Unfortunately the second lop we got mixed in with the sprinters. Combined with the rough rode the sprinters made for a very dangerous second loop. No one seemed to be staying to the right and the bumpy road made people very unpredictable. In all I thought it was a strong bike but after a slower transition was still a minute and a half back from Brett to start the run.

With how I my running seems to be improving and from past races with Brett I figured I may be able to close the gap but it was going to be close and possibly even a sprint finish. The first loop I felt very strong and held back a touch at the beginning of the second loop for a mile or so to save a little for the finish. With about two miles left I started to really hit it hard but with about a mile left my buddy Ross Wienzeirl (who won the sprint) told me I was about 45 seconds back. At this point I knew I was beat but kept pressing as my HR seemed to be within tolerance and I wanted to see how hard I could push.

In the end Brett took me by a little over a minute. Looking at the results he really put it together in all three legs and had a fantastic run to close it out. When I'm on I usually out split him by 10-15 second miles and I felt like I had a great run on Sunday. Yet I still only out split him by 5 second miles.

Congrats to Brett on a great race and as always I look forward to racing against him again. He is always tough and we have battled each other now for a few years. Next is Maple Gove Olympic.