A Whole Different Kinda Season

Well there have been quite a few changes since last fall. The first thing I changed was went back to the off season routine I had before my great 2009 season. Getting back to the basics of weight lifting and concentrating on form. I also joined the Richfield Masters Swim Team and have seen great changes in my swimming. Now I have someone watching my stroke on a daily basis who can critique it and help me with the form drills that will most benefit my needs. They also give me a different routine every workout so that I don't get stuck in the monotonous routines. Thank god because I was really starting to get discouraged and don't have the funds to pay for a personnel training session every few weeks.

As for my bike training I had the best worst thing ever happen. Unknowingly my resistance cable on my bike was stuck on a level that was much harder than I thought I was on. In fact I'm pretty sure the week or two before I realized it I was stuck on level ten. I normally work out on level one and two. I was wondering why I was only able to be on my smallest three gears. I though I was just in bad shape after taking a couple of months off because of my knee. When I got the trainer back I noticed that I had developed some serious power. I'm now working out on levels 3-5 and it feels like it use to on one and two. Will this mean more speed on the road? We'll see.

Another big addition to this years training arsenal is a HR monitor Kelly got me for Christmas. I've never used one before and, to be honest, never wanted to. I felt like I knew my body best and that a HR monitor would actually hold me back. What I have noticed is exactly that. It holds me back from doing too much. It let's me know when I've had enough or when I can push harder. Most importantly it tells me how my body is reacting to either a single training session or training as a whole. So far I have really been impressed and will continue to use it.

Most importantly was the addition of our daughter in December. We named her Avery and she has taught me so much already. I can't tell you how much I LOVE being a dad. Coming home from work is ten times more exciting than before and holding her in the morning when she is first waking up, stretching and being cute is my favorite part of the day.

When she was first born my wife and I had no idea what to expect on many levels. People talk about how hard it is and how much patients it takes. I must admit we have found a pretty good routine and it's fell into place quite well. This was made a lot easier by Kelly not having any Med School rotations from December 3rd through Feb 4th. During that time Kelly did the brunt of the work while I did what I could to help her when I could. For the first couple of weeks Kelly did all the feeding at night. We decided that was not working well so we decided to have her take the first feeding and I would wake up at 4:30, feed Avery, put her back to bed and then get in my morning training session. This worked beautifully and allowed Kelly to get a good stretch of sleep while allowing me to get in my work out. This continued until about a week ago when Avery decided that she did not want daddy to feed her at night anymore and started sleeping from 8pm to 5-6am. AWESOME! While I loved feeding her having her sleep through the night is a huge step and for her to do it this early is a great sign.

What's in store for this season? More short course racing and a lot of flexibility. Right now I'm starting the season with a 10k in April and the Minnetonka Half Marathon on May 1st. Then Gear West and Apple Duathlons in May. After that Minnetonka, Waconia, Graniteman, Heart of Lakes, Turtleman Duathlon and St. Paul Olympic. I'm thinking of doing one or two races in Sept and going to finish up the season again at the Mankato Marathon with my buddy Tyler and hopefully a few other old fraternity brothers.

I'm not expecting much this year but hoping for a lot. When I started getting back into it again in February I was thinking that it would take a while to get back in shape. The good news is that getting back in shape is coming along faster than expected. The only setback is my weight is still in the upper 180s and need to get that down to the upper 170s. Normally that happens more in April-June with the increase in temp and training but I usually start seeing a little drop at this point. So far...notta. I guess that comes with age and children. Or so I hear.
While fatherhood has been great it takes a team to make parenting easy. Kelly has been fantastic and very supportive of my training and working. We have worked out a very good plan for training and racing this season but it is always a work in progress.

I am an IRONMAN!

What an amazing weekend! The anticipation for this race was huge as I have been wanting to accomplish completing an IM since I started this sport in 2005. Kelly and I drove over to Madison on Friday and got the ball rolling with registration. Madison is one of the coolest towns I have ever been to. I had the pleasure of partying there for a few weeks after high school before I left for basic training. The town is electric with fun and there is never a dull moment.

Registration was a madhouse. It went rather smoothly though and before I knew it I had been weighed and was on my way. I remember 2008 the year I got back from Iraq and how intimidating everyone was even though I was racing really well. Since then I have not been as intimidated until I saw the people doing this race. They all look ridiculously fast, everyone has a high end bike and it is hard to find an ounce of body fat to spare.

After registration I went for a dip in Lake Monona in front of the Terrace. I was told the water was about 75 so I didn't wear a wetsuit. The wind was up and the water was very rough. I still got in a good swim and felt like a few people might have though I was crazy to be without a wetsuit. As I got in the water someone behind me said "he's crazy" in a soft voice to her son. Yes, yes I am. Later that night I learned the water was actually 68 degrees. No wonder I felt a little chilly for the rest of the evening.

Kelly and I stayed at a friend of mine's house just off campus. Katie had done the Ironman last year and rides the course on a regular basis. I leaned on her for information all weekend. Saturday morning I awoke to red cups littering her lawn and I though how wonderful it would be to be back in college again. Katie and I went for a quick spin on a route that is rarely traveled by cars. On our way back there was some crap in the road so I went around it when a truck came barreling up from behind and laid on it's horn. Since the speed limit was 25 and we were doing about that not to mention we had the right of way I felt the need to give him the old your number one sign. We exchanged some pleasantries as he flew by and I asked him to stop and get out of his truck. Of course he didn't have the balls and kept driving. It was Wisconsin's first football game and I'm betting he was a bit under the sauce already. After that we went and turned in our bikes and transition bags and I went for another quick swim. This time I used my sleeveless suit and the water was perfect.

Katie's boyfriend happened to get a flat while riding out of town so we decided to pick him up and drive the course. Katie showed me the false flats, tough downhill turns and when to let loose and when to stay calm. Without this info it may have been a really rough race. Then it was dinner time and then a little Anchorman to calm the mood.

I actually got one of he best nights of sleep I have ever had that night and woke up feeling great. We headed down to the start and got our bikes ready. I noticed my front tire had lost some pressure so I took it to the mechanics to see if there was anything they could do. They explained that the tire I was using would loose 20-30 PSI in 24 hours and it was nothing to worry about. Problem was when I got back to my bike the end of the skewer was missing. Luckily I found it but the spring was gone. I went back to the mechanics and the had a spare spring. Thank god because I would have worried about that the entire ride.

It was then time to head down to the swim start. It seemed like forever waiting for the cannon to go off. Then it happened. With a loud boom 2,500 people started flailing for position. I stayed on the outside toward the front to keep from getting trampled. I went out perfect and got in a good rhythm. I used the swimming in close quarters technique Duane taught me and it worked like a charm. I felt like I was hardly using any energy and yet was making good progress. At about 3/4 threw I started hitting it a little harder and before I knew it I was running up the helix to transition. I looked at my watch and saw 1:07 for the swim. I was hoping for between 1:05 and 1:10. I felt fresh and very happy with how the swim went. I breezed through transition and before I knew it I was pedaling away.

The first 30 miles or so were a blood bath. At the first aid station I was struggling to get my water bottle in its cage when a guy passed me with a few choice words. I explained in some choice words back that I was just trying to get my water bottle in. A little later I passed him and told him all he needed to do was say something nice like on your left I would get out of his way. I was amazed at how someone could get so upset over a few seconds that could easily be made up in a 112 mile race. I then realized it was nothing to get bent out of shape about and I decided to apologize for my comments. We actually formed a bit of a friendship as I could tell he was a strong cyclist and everyone else around was either pushing to hard too early or using us draft off of. Eventually we dropped them and a little while after that I dropped my knew friend and I started picking people off.

After the first loop I knew I was doing well as I felt great and it had really thinned out. In fact there was hardly anyone around. I then came up on Cathy Yndestad and gave her a big CATHY! as I passed. She was looking good and gave me a big grin and a Go Steve as I passed. I then picked up a couple of guys just before the hilly section. They then found themselves getting dusted on the hills. On the hills I was feeling amazing and people said things like "now that's the way to do it" and simply "wow". I didn't even stand the first loop and then put a little more power in on the second. I felt as if it was almost too easy and never felt fatigued.

As I finished my second loop and started back I was all alone. I held back some to reserve energy and took down my Heed and took an Enduralyte to prepare for the run. I got out of my shoes and headed back up the helix. As I came in Kelly and my mom told me I was in fourth. The way things were going I thought they meant fourth amateur. I was really in about 12th and was fourth in my age group. Non the less I new I was in good shape.

I started the run feeling great but knew not to push hard. I kept a nice easy pace and was feeling great. Then I started to make a few bad decisions. First I decided I was doing so well to walk through the aid stations to conserve energy. In doing that I took some of the Endurance Powerade drink they had. This was a big mistake. I had not trained with this and soon after I started to feel bloated. I pressed on though and was still feeling good. At about mile eleven I made a bathroom stop that was actually a false alarm. I was still feeling good though and I was in perfect shape at the turn around with 1:45 left to come in at 9:50. Then at about mile 15 my stomach started feeling really heavy and yet I was still thirsty and getting low on energy. I had to take a needed bathroom stop and got back into the groove. Soon after that I started to slow down again so I tried some coke as I knew I had to try something to get back into shape. It felt like jet fuel for a few miles but then I started to slow down again. My stomach felt so full that I couldn't take anymore soda. On top of the the soda was not defizzed so it caused me to have to take another bathroom break.

At about mile 21 Todd Langraff passed me with a friendly tap on the back. I gave him a get that Kona slot as he passed. At that point I knew I was going to have to change my goal from making Kona to something else. My stomach was full but I felt like I needed more fluid. At about mile 21 I decided I needed to concentrate on finishing and decided to walk. While walking I met another guy named Joe that was on his first lap. We talked for a couple of minutes and gave a little encouragement. Joe then said he needed to get going and starting jogging away. I then started thinking that I didn't want to walk to the finish line. I made a decision that I wanted to come in before 10:30 and in order to do this I would need a walk run strategy. The strategy I came up with was simple. Run as far as I could then walk some and repeat. Then I started to shuffle my feet. Before long the feet were moving pretty good and my stomach was feeling less uncomfortable. Before I knew it I was clipping along at a good pace.

With about a half mile to go I was feeling great again and I came up on another guy in my age division. We were at the bottom of Capital Hill and I seemed to be in better shape than him. I made a goal to beat this guy. I felt very strong going up the hill and glanced back to see he was in no shape to make a move on me. As I passed the shoot at the turn around there were a few thousand people that went crazy for me. It is a feeling unlike any I have ever had. There were some kids wanting to slap some high fives and I was more than happy to oblige them. When I heard my name called out and that I was an Ironman I felt a rush of accomplishment go through me. It was a culmination of not just an amazing race but years of training and nearly a year pf preparation. I looked up and saw my time of 10:13:54. It wasn't a 9:50 and Kona slot but it might as well have been. I strangely was not disappointed at all that I didn't make my goal. In fact there was actually a little relief as I would not have to fork over another $650 and sacrifice for another year of training. With a baby on the way both time and money will be at a premium and I would rather not have the stress of Kona on my shoulders. Kona will come but it will have to wait a few years.

Ironman Wisconsin

The time has come. I have had many firsts in my life. Most of which led to more difficult firsts. Unless I decide to run an ultra marathon (highly unlikely with my bum knee) this will probably be the last first when it comes to testing my limits of endurance sports. Because of the hilly and difficult bike route Wisconsin Ironman is regarded as one of the toughest triathlons around. This is in addition to a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 making this a very difficult first to tackle.

I have absolutely no idea how this is going to turn out. I have been plagued with injuries all year as well as more than likely having an iron deficiency since June. I have tapered the past few weeks and feel much more rested and like my legs are ready to explode. However when I go on light runs to keep them up to speed the legs feel like they have forgotten what to do.

My goal for this is simple.... finish. After that the goal is to get a Kona slot. By my calculations if I come in at 9:50 or better I should get a slot. If I come in at that time and don't get a slot I will feel like I did all I could. Although I do have a few other fun goals. I want to be the fastest combat vet. Unfortunately this is nearly impossible to track but I'm betting this is an achievable goal. I would also like to be the fastest person from Minnesota. If it weren't for Todd Landgraff I would say this would be very possible. Unfortunately my knew found friend and arch nemesis will be there and has a wicked fast run split that will be tough to fend off. Regardless I hope we get to enjoy a trip to Kona together. That would be awesome!

In order to go for a 9:50 I have set some goals for pace. First I need to swim around a 1:05 and feel fresh. A month ago I was very worried about this but with another lesson from Duane Dobko I seem to have found my old stroke and feel very comfortable in the water again. I know I have thought this a few times this year but I know feel it more than ever. I seem to be skimming the water rather than fighting through it. Next I need to do around 22 mph on the bike. This is more than possible as I have been doing roughly 20.5 on my long training rides on my heavier bike with about 6 1/2 pounds of water to go a long with it. The question is can I keep that pace and still keep enough in my legs to run a marathon afterwards. Not only run it but run it in roughly an 8 min pace. I think this is very possible but I have no idea if it will happen.

The wild card is my nutrition. I should have done more research a few months ago as I found out I need to consume roughly 300 calories an hour. In order to do that I need to fire down three Gus' an hour. In training I have been doing 2 at most. I don't know if my gut will be able to handle the increase or not. If it does I will be in good shape.

I'm looking forward to the trip with my wife. Kelly has been extremely busy this summer with her rotations and has only been able to come to a couple of races. Also making the trip will be my new sister and brother in law and step father in law and as always my mom. It will be great to have all that support and I'm sure I will need it on the run.

This has been a tough road. Injuries, exercise induced asthma, time away from friends and family, insane long training days and weeks along with all the fatigue that goes with it. When I added up the numbers I was amazed. Since I started keeping records on Jan 15th I have run 790 miles in 99.15 hours, biked 2,928.1 miles in 136.75 hours and swam 332,150 yards in 129 hours. For a grand total of 364.9 hours trained. This equates to 15.2 days of straight training. Hopefully all this will add up to me becoming an Ironman on Sunday.

Blown Away!

Well, Detroit Lakes down WIM to go. Saturday was the much anticipated rematch of Sam Janicki and I. In the end it wasn't much of a rematch as much as it was more of an ass whooping.

Friday night I got in to register and volunteered to set up a fake transition area and help new athletes learn more about what to expect on race day. I had a great time helping people and answering questions. People seemed to be very interested in what info I had to offer and I really hope it helped out. I also saw Sam and we stopped to chat for a few minutes. This sport is full of great people and Sam is no different. Sam is a youngster compared to me at the age of 24 so if I call him a kid, please forgive me. Sam is a hoot and I really enjoyed getting to know him better.

Saturday morning started as all race mornings do. Sleep was moderate to good and I got to transition right when I like to with plenty of time to relax warm up and stretch. Before I knew it the race was about to start and the butterflies began to fly again. I knew I needed a great swim to have a shot at beating Sam to go along with a strong bike and a great run to finish. I asked my mom to tell me how far back I was when I came out of the water. I started strong and didn't hammer it like I typically do to try to save a little energy for the second half. Just after the first buoy I caught a draft off of two guys and realized that we were a three man chase pack behind Sam. Unfortunately Sam was way ahead of us. After the first turn the sun was right in our face and the glare made it nearly impossible to see what few buoys there were. I came out of the water in fourth and believe I was second out of T1. The swim was not as good as I was hoping for but compared to other times it was pretty good. As I ran by my mom she yelled four and a half minutes. I let out a little grown as I knew I was going to need help to catch Sam.

I got on the bike and started to push. I again started slower than I have lately to find a rhythm and save some energy for the last 20 miles. I felt strong and really started to feel it on the second lap. Unfortunately Sam never came into sight. That is until I was about a half mile from T2 when I saw him sprinting the other direction on the run course. I thought to myself there is no way that kid can keep that pace in the heat. I dismounted and picked a good start pace that felt very strong. Last year I had 5:55 splits on this course and I needed at least that to catch Sam and that would only happen if hew blew up. The run was extremely hot but I still felt strong coming up to mile 2ish. A short time later I saw Sam coming the opposite direction on his way back. As he was coming up I let him know he was having an incredible race. After Sam blew by me I started wondering how far I was from the turn around. After what seemed to be an eternity it finally came. I know I was a ways back but still had it in my mind that I wanted to break the 2 hour barrier. With as strong as I was feeling I though this was very possible. As I came up to the finish Sam was there cheering me on and looking like he hadn't even raced. As I crossed I immediately grabbed water and Powerade and started to rehydrate. When I saw that my time was nearly 2:04 I was a little surprised but not as surprised as when I talked with Sam and he said he went 1:55. 1:55! Holy Crap that is fast! Especially on a legit Olympic course. In fact the swim is even a little long. Granted the it is a fast course it is still 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. I don't care how flat it is 1:55 is blazing.

Sam and I talked a while as he was waiting for his girlfriend to come in. On top of being super fast Sam is super modest and very easy going. I think this kid is a legit contender to go pro very soon. Who knows maybe as soon as next year. I want to see him race against some tougher guys at larger events like Nationals, Dallas, Lifetime or Waconia but my feeling is he will do just fine. In fact I wouldn't doubt it if he wins. All the kid has done this year is win and set course records. This weekend he will probably destroy my record I set at Baxter last year. Mind you this is a record that was held by a very speedy Dennis Dane before myself. I though this record would stand for a while as there are not many guys out there that can break it. In fact maybe five in the state last year could have put in that kind of a race and they all tend to do larger races. Now comes a new era of Triathlon to our state with the likes of Sam, Patrick Parish and Dan Hedgecock. D1 athletes that decide to push themselves beyond the limits of their own sports and try triathlons. I've got some training to do.

IM Training and DL Preview

Wisconsin is less than a month away. My volume is huge right now and all three disciplines have shown huge improvements since Chisago. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I believe I have been anemic for some time and have started taking an Iron supplement. Since then I have been able to go over 90 miles on the bike three times when before I was struggling to do 75. I believe I am actually ahead of schedule for the race. Now I just need to hit my nutrition and hydration.

Well, the Young Life Triathlon in Detroit Lakes is on tap for this weekend. I picked this race for a few of reasons. This was my first triathlon win in my career and I have a weird felling of loyalty to it for that reason. DL also falls on a Saturday and fit into my training schedule pretty well for IM Wisconsin. I also missed a turn last year and want to see how fast I can go on this course. This was the race that started to set me apart last year when I started racing really fast. I'm hoping that will continue.

As far as I know Sam Janicki will be the toughest challenge there. Sam destroyed me at Land Between Lakes Tri in May this year. I don't feel like I raced to my potential there but that would have made little difference as there is no way I believe I could've shaved two minutes off my time. It may have at least made the results look a little more respectable. Sam is having a great season and will undoubtedly win the Tri MN Series unless someone off the radar button hooks him. Which I seriously doubt.

I am in by far the best shape of my life right now, which is part of the problem. My Ironman Training volume is way up and after my longest training day yet consisting of a 104 mile bike ride followed up with a 17 mile run last Saturday. This has left me quite sore and on the edge of injury. I am following my standard race week tapering schedule but I'm not sure that I will be fully recovered by Saturday. Regardless as much as I want to beat Sam (I'm sure he wants to beat me too) I am focusing on a sub 2:00:00 race. If I can do that it will be a victory regardless of place. Last year I came in at 2:04 and change. I'm guessing that you can shave about 3 min off from the wrong turn and the swim was treacherous last year with a pretty good wind and only three buoys to mark the course. If the course is properly marked and the correct distance it could save me an additional 2-3 min. Since my run still has not developed like it did at the end of last season I may need it. Although my main concern is staying healthy and if I feel like I am about to pull something I will not hesitate to call it a day. I don't think that will be an issue.

Anemic?

Ever since Liberty I have not felt myself , been lacking in power on the bike and struggled on the run. After Chisago I started having chest pains when I would run for the first 10-15 minutes of my run. I've had that happen before but in the past it would go away within a minute or two and only for one day. This has been happening since Chisago.

Being that I have a fourth year med student as a wife who is scared to death of something called hypertrophy I didn't want to take any chances. I went in to see my family practice doc last week to see what he thought. At first he was thinking it was still the asthma bothering me. Since my breathing has been fine lately I steered him in a different direction. Doc then gave me an EKG and a chest X-ray. Besides the fact that my resting heart rate is 38 everything was fine. My Doc then came up with a theory that I may have some cartilage damaged between my ribs. Possible, but I again thought this was unlikely. Why would the pain go away? I then asked for a Heart Stress Echo. My wife thought this was the best way to see if my ticker was tocking correctly.

I went in for the test last Thursday wondering what it was going to be like. I was told that I was going to be on a stationary bike and they would be doing an ultrasound on my heart while I worked out. When I arrived I saw a type of bike, only I would be lying down while pedaling so they could do the ultra sound. There were three fun nurses who were administering the test and seemed to really enjoy their job. One explained that they were going to need to get my heart rate up to 161 in order to get a "good test result". I then told them that this would be a while. They explained that only one person had ever almost beaten the bike and they had atropine to get my heart rate up if they needed it.

I started pedaling at 50 watts. They quickly realized this would in fact be a while. Every two minutes they bumped it up 50 watts until they finally reached the max of 275 for about 15 minutes. Problem was I was still only in the 140s. The girls were astounded and started to get a little panicked. They did not think they would need the atropine so they didn't have an IV in. Then they had to give me an IV mid test. The nurse first gave me .5 milligrams which had little to no effect. She then decided to administer 2 milligrams which is the most she was allowed to give me. This still only got me up to 155. At this point there was nothing they could do but finish the test with a little lower than the desired heart rate of 161. I now have the distinguished title of being the only person ever to beat the bike at the Methodist Hospital.

The good news is that the test was normal. So what the hell is going on? I'm guessing that I'm either short on Potassium or Iron. I started taking Iron pills and got back on my multivitamin about ten days ago and have been feeling better by the day. My strength is back and I've been putting in two of my longest runs and bike rides I've ever done back to back on Saturday and Sunday the last two weeks. The better part is they have even felt rather easy, in fact easier than some of my 70 mile rides from earlier this year.

I did get a blood test done today and we'll find out what the results are but I'm guessing that I will show up on the low end normal for Iron levels. This will point to me being anemic for who knows how long. I'm sure I've been anemic in the past few seasons as well. All in all though I seem to be back on track. Swim times are back were they should be. Bike volume is way up, sprint times are down and my run is feeling more solid than it ever has. I have also added my Physical Therapy back into my training regiment and I feel stronger than ever. Hopefully this adds up to success in my last two races as I've felt like the season has been a bit of a let down since after my win at Minnetonka.

I must stay focused on the prize of Wisconsin IM though. Sam Janicki will be at Detroint lakes and I would love to defend my honor as much as he would like to prove that he can beat me again. Still, I must focus on the ultimate goal right now. To be honest I believe if I stay on track for WI then I should be in peak shape for Detroit lakes. If Sam beats me he beats me. Lord knows the kid is fast and has proven to be faster than me before. I just hope it will be an exiting race for LuAnn and the Young Life crew.

A New Arch Nemesis

In 2008 Matt Payne and I formed a friendly feud. Without even knowing each other we seemed to post nearly the exact same times in every race. That year I only got the best of Matt once at Mankato sprint. What isn't posted in the results is that Matt raced a Half IM the weekend prior. I'll take my single victory regardless. Since then Matt has been improving even faster than myself and has gone on to be one of the premier triathletes in the state if not country. Now I have found a new nice guy to hate.

Todd Landgraff has been dinking around in triathlons for a few years but has never taken them too seriously... until now. Todd's times while always fast but were nothing spectacular except for his run. Come to find out this speedy runner used to run for the U of M. This year Todd has gotten serious in a big way. Wisconsin Ironman is his motivation and there is no doubt that Todd is possibly the most improved athlete in the state this year. At Liberty Half in June I bested Todd by nearly five minutes (before a penalty). Yesterday was a different story.

I started the day with a later than normal wake up and ended up getting to the race a good 30 mins than I would normally like. Since it was a half I wasn't concerned since most of the warming up is done on the course. The water was posted at 76 deg however it was more like 83. This pissed me off a little because I had brought my sleeveless wet suit in case the water was warm. I wore my full sleeve because of the information and posted on the swim. Luckily I didn't push it too hard and was able to recover on the bike in the first 15 miles. I moved my seat post up a mm to see if that could help me run better off the bike. It didn't hurt me too bad but I'm going to move it back down. The bike felt good but was much longer and hillier than I heard it was. Apparently they changed the course and therefore making it a legit half IM.

I came off the bike in 4th and soon got passed by the Pro Justin Henkel who must have had something go wrong in the water as his swim was four minutes slower than mine. It was hot and I knew Todd was coming for me. I was in fifth and the last money spot for the race is fifth. I won't lie, $250 is a great motivator but I didn't want to blow up like I did at Square Lake last year against Rhett Bonner. There was a loop at the turn around for the course that was about 3/4 of a mile around. I just caught a glimpse of someone who looked to be at nearly a dead sprint going into the loop as I was coming out. I knew in the back of my head that it was probably Todd but all I could do was worry about me at this point. I kept checking my rear on the way back and never saw Todd. With about a half mile left a checked for the last time and didn't see him and thought I was good to go. Then it happened.

All of a sudden With about a quarter mile left I heard someone coming up hard from behind. When I turned Todd passed me like I was going backwards. As he passed I let out a friendly"you bastard." I tried to kick with him but could only hang on for about 150 yards. Todd kept the jets on and ended up gapping me by over 22 seconds in the last 250 yards of the race.

At the finish we congratulated each other and went down to the lake for a cool down. Todd is ultra nice and he said he was sorry for taking the $250 from me. My response was. "Why? That is what racing is all about." I would do it to him and I expect him to do it to me. There is no hard feelings and I'm not happy he passed me but not mad at anyone who finishes ahead of me. What I am concerned about is that Todd is in my age division and we are both going to be fighting for a spot to Kona at Wisconsin IM. I hoping that we both can get a slot and the way we both have been racing that is entirely possible. However, as much as I like Todd I want that slot. I just pray I can stay ahead of him at Madison.