Thank you sponsors!

With the triathlon season over, I just wanted to take the time to say thank you to my sponsors PowerBar and Brooks.

This was my first year being a member of PowerBar Team Elite and it was great having their support to keep me nourished throughout my 2010 triathlon season. Some of the products that I came to enjoy included the Orange Recovery Powder, the Smoothie PowerBars, the PowerBar Protein Plus Dulce de Leche, and the new IM perform, just to name a few. I'm excited to have their continued support through my 2011 season which will start right off the bat in January while I take on my first marathon, into April with the USA Triathlon Collegiate Championships, and numerous other races throughout the year.

I would also like to say thank you to Brooks who just recently began supporting me in my triathlon endeavors. I have been racing in the Brooks T6 for over 3 years now and love it as a racing flat! I have been training in the Brooks Glycerine as of recent and I am excited to start training in a little bit lighter of a shoe, the Brooks Ghost in the near future. I look forward to hopefully racing the Disney marathon in the Brooks ST Racer or Brooks Launch as well!

Training Update:

My marathon training has been going pretty well. I have continued to up my miles gradually and am up to about 40 miles a week right now. I have gotten in a couple of solid longs runs although I am struggling toward the end of them and am hoping that over the next 7 weeks I will be able to become stronger in those final miles. I have been going to yoga a couple of times a week and am keeping up some solid swim workouts. I am not biking a ton right now but am trying to get in at least one good, solid ride each week! This Thursday (thanksgiving) I will be competing in the Naperville Turkey Trot 5k and am excited to try and run a 16:30 PR.

That's all for now!

PowerBar Nutrition Talk at FSU

On October 12, I gave a nutrition talk to the Florida State University Triathlon club that I am now a part of. The talk was about basic triathlon nutrition including pre, during, and post workout nutrition and hydration. There were about 30 members in attendance and I brought in some PowerBar Orange Recovery Beverage and some Chocolate energy bites. The talk went really well and everyone seemed to enjoy the samples. A number of people had questions for me to answer and overall we had a really good talk and conversation regarding nutrition in the sport of triathlon. I wish I would have had more time to request product but the idea for the talk came up a little too late.

PowerPoint Presentation and samples of PowerBar Orange Reocovery

End of season recap

I have had a few races since my last post and overall the season ended on a pretty good note! I raced the Tarpon Springs Sprint Triathlon in Tarpon Springs, FL, Age Group Nationals in Tuscaloosa, AL, and Suncoast Sprint Triathlon in St. Petersburg, FL.

Tarpon Springs:The Tarpon Springs Triathlon was part of the Florida Collegiate Conference series so myself along with a couple of the FSU guys went down to compete and represent FSU. The race was out on this little peninsula (and by little I mean it consisted of a parking lot and small beach) and ended up going very well for me and the FSU team! I finished 1st collegiate and 2nd overall, Tommy Barton finished 2nd collegiate and 4th overall, and Javier Zamparelli finished 3rd collegiate and 6th overall! I came across the line in first however got edged out by another competitor who was in a later wave by only 9 seconds...I was bummed by that but still very happy with the 2nd place OA finish and for FSU going 1, 2, 3 in the male collegiate division! Abby Thornton from FSU also competed and did very well as did my girlfriend Amanda!

Javi, Me, and Tommy post race at Tarpon Springs!

Age Group Nationals:
Age group nationals was in Tuscaloosa, where collegiate nationals was in 2008, so I was familiar with the course. I again traveled with some of the FSU guys (Tommy, Austin, and Javi). We got there Thursday evening, stopping at Olive Garden on the way. Friday we headed down to the course to get in a pre-race workout. We biked some of the course and were able to get in the water briefly too! We saw a lot of the pro's who were getting in a swim too! We picked up our packets and had lunch, dropped off our bikes, and attempted to relax the rest of the night.

Race morning rolled around and we got transition with plenty of time to spare! The swim went really well as I came out of the water with Tommy. We were both back and forth on the bike the entire way. The bike course was PACKED and I ended up getting hit with (in my opinion) a very dumb "drafting" penalty. Anyway, me and tommy came into T2 right together and set out for the run. Tommy took off as I struggled for the first few miles trying find some sort of groove. It was starting to get really warm by this point. The run course is quite challenging with a couple of good hills. A few miles in, I was passed by this guy I decided I would try to stick with him as long as I could. He pulled me along for the next few miles and we went back and forth in the final mile. My finishing times were as follows:

Swim: 20:20
T1: 1:17
Bike: 1:00:15
T2: 0:43
Run: 37:59
Finish: 2:00:42 7th in AG, 22nd OA--> 2:02:42 10th AG, 32nd OA with Penalty

Congrats to Tommy who finished 7th in the Age group, Javi who finished 18th, and Austin who raced well too! Me, Tommy, and Javi all qualified for 2011 worlds in Beijing! After the race we got to watch the Elites race and then attended the awards ceremony. Congrats to Tommy who had the FASTEST combined transition times in the entire country!! Side note: I found out a few days after the race that had bronchitis and an ear infection so I'm sure that didn't help things.

Javi, Me, and Tommy before the race!

Suncoast Sprint Triathlon (Last triathlon of 2010):
The Suncoast triathlon was in St. Petersburg, FL at Fort DeSoto (a gorgeous peninsula). This race was another Florida Collegiate Triathlon race however this time I was representing FSU alone since FSU was putting on their own race, Tri the Rez. I got to Amanda's Thursday evening and we picked up out packets and got some dinner at Panera (Love the new Mac 'n Cheese...yum!). Friday I checked out the course; I rode the 10 mile bike course and got in a short swim. Race morning came around with an early 4:30 am wake up. The race was scheduled to start at 7 (however it has not been getting light out until at least 7:30). We got to transition about 5:45 and I set up my area and headed for a short bike warm up (in the dark) and a short run warm up along the beach.

The race was delayed about 30 minutes (because it was dark....I wasnt overly surprised...). The collegiate wave was first to go off. The swim was 1/3 mile and was wetsuit legal. I came out of the water in first (possibly a first for me) and quickly transitioned to the bike. I led the bike the entire way and entered T2 (while almost hitting 2 ladies and their strollers who were not paying attention right before T2). I headed out on the 5k run which was on sand on the way out and paved trail on the way back. I came across the line in first and felt very happy with my race. I finished 4 minutes ahead of the next collegiate and had to wait and see about the overall as I knew there were a few good guys in later waves (including the kid who had beat me at tarpon springs a month before).

Coming out of the water in 1st!

The whole run I just kept telling myself to keep going and not settle (thank you Tommy for the words of encouragement)....it paid off as I came away with the overall victory! It was a great way to end the season! Amanda finished 18th overall female and 2nd in her age group!

Me and Amanda with our awards. 1st Overall and 18th overall female!

After the race me and Amanda went for an hour run (I wanted to get in another run since I was going to be taking the week after the race off/easy). So we ran and then stretched and through a frisbee on the beach for a little bit and then treated ourselves to an Iced Coffee which hit the spot!

Recap: This season was pretty successful. Me and Adam won the American Triple-T team. I raced really well at Steelhead 70.3 and won the Naperville Sprint Triathlon along with the recent Suncoast Tri.

Next up: I am hopefully going to be coached by Tim Edwards this offseason who just started his own coaching business, North Coast Endurance Coaching (ncecoaching.com). I am planning on doing my first marathon (Disney, January 9, 2011) and am looking forward to having a run focused couple of months. Being in Florida I am really looking forward to training outside all year long and doing a few early season races and be ready to go for Collegiate Nationals next April!

Naperville Sprint Triathlon

The Naperville Sprint triathlon was just one week after Steelhead so I took the week pretty easy leading up to it. It's always fun to do this race! This was my first triathlon ever 5 years ago. Race morning rolled around and I got into downtown Naperville. I decided to hop on my bike and warm up a little bit before headint to transition. I got checked in and set up, went for a short run, got my swim stuff and headed to the water. I was unsure weather to wear my speedsuit or not but after a short warm-up without it, I decided to wear it (my jersey has a lot of drag in the water). The race has a time trial start with 4 athletes going every few seconds. I started in the 2nd group in hopes of avoiding as much traffic as possible.

I came out of the water in 3rd place overall (and had the 3rd fastest swim). I transitioned to the bike and was in 2nd place. A mile or 2 into the bike I took over the lead and was pushing hard knowing that there was some good competition behind me. The bike is a 2 loop course and at the start of the 2nd loop there are a lot more racers on the course starting their first lap. I got passed about this time but made sure not to let Jason (the guy who passed me) get too far ahead. I kept him in sight the rest of the way and passed him with less than a half mile left in the bike.

Coming down Aurora Ave on the bike (Picture by Brandon Gittlemen)

In T2 I turned down the wrong aisle and couldn't figure out where my stuff was! Always make sure you know where your going in transition! Me and Jason came out of T2 at exactly the same time and unlike last year at this race, my running legs felt good! We battled it out the entire way and with about 100m to go I pulled away and crossed the line in first! At this point I was estatic but still not totally sure if I had won since everyone starts at a different time and I knew there were a couple of really good guys behind me including fellow PowerBar athlete Ryan Guilano.

Me and Jason on the run...stride for stride the entire run!

A little while later they posted the results and it was official! I was so happy! The race couldn't really have gone any better. My finishing time was 56:37, about 15 seconds faster than last year and apparently the swim was a little long....My swim time was 5:55 (3rd OA), bike time was 30:57 (2nd OA, 26.5 mph), and my run time was 16:50 (4th OA).

Next up is age group nationals! This will be the first time I am doing this race and very excited about it! Training was a little down for a few weeks after Naperville as I was getting ready to move down to Florida to start Grad school at Florida State University. Between packing things up to leave, driving down, and looking for a place to live training was a little difficult. Things are back on track now though and I have my own appartment here in Tallahassee and have started training with the FSU triathlon club!

My new appartment in Tallahassee!!

Evergreen Lake and Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon Race Report

It has been a little while since I've posted and I have a few races to catch up on so here it goes...

Evergreen Lake Triathlon

I competed in the Evergreen Lake Triathlon in Bloomington, Illinois, an Olympic distance triathlon on July 16. Overall the race didn't go quite as planned. The swim was OK but the 82 degree water really got the best of me and I couldn't really get going and my shoulders were pretty tired most of the way. The bike was the only positive part of the race. I felt really strong and kept a solid pace throughout the slightly longer than normal 42K bike course (normally 40k for Olympic Distance races). I got to try out the new Ironman Perform drink by Powerbar (I went with the Orange-Mango flavor and loved it!). I made the transition to the run and wasn't too sure how my legs were going to respond after an aggressive bike leg. The temperature was warming up and soon after starting the run I knew it was going to be a long, slow run. I kept going the best I could and tried to increase my pace every once in while but my legs just did not respond well. I finished the 10k in 42:21, almost 7 minutes slower than last year on the same course which was pretty dissapointing but most of the run times were unusually slow. My overall time was 2:10:09 which put me at 13th place overall.

Before the start of the race (In my Xterra Speedsuit)

I was originally hit with a position/drafting penalty of some sort (which I didn't find out until the next day when the results were posted online...after some investigation and contacting USAT, the penalty was revoked...lesson's learned, 1. always check the results while at the race and 2. always follow up and stick with what you know is right). I was ready to move on from this race and focus on my next race, Steelhead 70.3 Half-Ironman 2 weeks later!

Steelhead 70.3 Half-Ironman

After a not-so-great race at Evergreen, I was really hoping to race well at Steelhead, a Half-Ironman in Benton Harbor, MI on July 31st. I headed up the night before the race to pick up my packet and got dinner with Amanda and her dad and aunt. The restuarant had a pasta bar set up (as they have a high demand from all of the triathletes eating out and wanting pasta the night before the race) which worked out really well!

Race morning rolled around and it was a wet, cool, soggy morning, not quite what I was hoping for but Amanda and I rode over to the transition area from the hotel and we got all our stuff set up. My wave wasnt scheduled to go off until 7:54 although we had to be out of the transition area at 7 (when the Pro's went off) so I had a little time to kill and try and stay warm before I had to to walk down to the swim start (a mile away...the swim is a point-to-point 1.2 mile swim with the current).

I did a short swim warm up and headed to the start. The water temp was pretty perfect at about 70 degrees or so (maybe a little less). Anyway, I felt great in the water! I had a nice long, strong stroke going the whole way. I lost the top couple guys after the first few hundred meters but then this one guy with the same colored cap passed me so I decided to stick with him; and that I did the rest of the way. I came out of the water confident and feeling good (minus the tough uphill run on the uneven sand from the water to the TA) and ready to start the 56 mile bike!

Coming out of the water, heading into T1

I got going right away and was feeling great from the get-go! The rain had let up but the temperature stayed cooler. I plugged away the entire time and ended up biking a 2:17:00 (24.5 mph average) which I was really happy about! At the very end of the bike I started cramping a little bit and was really nervous that it was going to affect my run...luckily there was no sign of cramping as I started the run otherwise it could have been a long, slow 13.1 miles. I felt strong running and averaged about 6:30's the first 4 miles or so. I slowed up a little bit but maintained a solid pace throughout. I ended up running a 1:29:13 half-marathon (6:48 average) which I was very pleased with. My finishing time was 4:16:00.

I really wasnt sure where I was amongst the other guys in my age group and you can never really know how your doing overall (as everyone is starting at a different time) but I was very happy with how I did. Unfortunely I missed qualifying for Clearwater by 53 seconds (2 spots in my age group, I was 3rd).

Me and Amanda after the race!!

After I got done I waited for Amanda to finish (she did extremely well...way to go Amanda!). We went down to the water to soak our tired legs, got some food (and POP...haha :) and enjoyed the rest of the day and evening in Benton Harbor! My mom along with Mr. Bachman and Amanda's Aunt were there to cheer us on...it's always nice to have some family at the race to cheer us on!

Me and Amanda after the Awards Ceromony

Copper Creek Sprint Triathlon and Hy-Vee Triathlon Race Reports

On June 6th I competed in the Copper Creek Triathlon in Pleasant Hill, IA (Just east of Des Moines). The race is a sprint triathlon but offers nearly $5,000 in prize money so there is definitely some good competition that comes out to race. The race overall went really well. The swim was wetsuit legal at 75 degrees so I went ahead and wore my full-sleeve Vector ProX2 from Xterra and I came out of the water in 4th or 5th. The bike was OK. Legs didn't feel great but I came in on the bike in 6th place. Heading out on the run I was feeling good and was going to give it my all to see if I could crack into the top 3. I quickly moved into 5th and moved into 4th about a mile in of the 5k run. I got passed by Jason Maurice, who I had previously passed to get into 4th and had gone back and forth with on the bike. I hung with him hoping that we could work together to finish strong, and that we did as it came down to a sprint finish. He out kicked me finishing 4th and I finished 5th.

Practice swim the day before the race in my Xterra Vector ProX2!

My sister, brother-in-law, and niece live in Des Moines, so I was able to stay all week with them, help them out with Ava and get some open water swims at Raccoon River Park where the Hy-Vee Triathlon is. The new PowerBar Team Elite gear was finally available and I was able to have it overnighted in time for the race (pictures below!).

My niece, Ava, trying to eat a PowerBar....too cute!

This was the 4th year that I have done the Hy-Vee Triathlon. Race morning rolled around and about 45 minutes before the start, it was announced that the race was going to be a sprint triathlon due to a strong storm that was expected to move in. At that point I was definitely disappointed as I had planned on competing an Olympic Distance race but I quickly got over that and made sure I did everything I needed to do get me ready for this race. The race was wetsuit legal but with it being a supposedly 400 meter swim, I decided against using a wetsuit in hopes of gaining some time in transition; I went back and forth multiple times about what to do...it was a coin flip decision.

The swim started with a time trial start. The swim was OK. I'm pretty sure it was longer that 400 meters and maybe should have worn my wetsuit; oh well. The bike felt good, unlike last week where I just couldn't really get going. The run also felt pretty solid. I ended up running a 16:57 5k which I was really happy about and finished 8th place overall behind some really good competition!

Sporting the new PowerBar Team Elite Gear before the start of the Race

Manda, Me, Rachel, and Mom after the race

Me with Aaron Shiedes and his guide. Aaron has only 20% of his vision and finished right behind me during the race. Great guys!

After the race I got a free massage and ended up helping out at the PowerBar table/tent with Steve Rosinski, a fellow team elite member, when the storms finally rolled through. After the storms cleared up, we were able to enjoy the rest of the day, getting a bunch of free SWAG (stuff we all get) from all of the sponsors that are giving stuff away and were able to watch the women's and mens Elite races. Emma Snowsill won the womens race after an impressive run and Tim Don won the Men's race also after an impressive run.

All of the SWAG from the race: One of the great things about the Hy-Vee Triathlon!

The Pro's riding through Hy-Vee Stadium

Currently I have a nice 4 week break until my next race, the Evergreen Lake Triathlon in Bloomington, IL. I have already gotten in some good quality workouts including a solid 72 mile ride with some good tempo work where I tried out the new PowerBar Ironman Perform drink, a 14.5 mile hot and hilly run both down in Cincinnati, along with a great swim workout just this morning. Hopefully these next few weeks continue to go well so I can race strong at Evergreen and carry that into the rest of my races planned in 2010!

American Triple-T Race Report

Our Awesome Cabin Before the Half-Ironman On Sunday!

Last weekend I competed in the American Triple-T, a race that consists of 4 races in 3 days; a Super-sprint Friday evening, 2 Olympics on Saturday (Morning and Afternoon), and a Half Ironman on Sunday. The total distance of the races equals roughly an Ironman. The courses are all very challenging with a lot of hills on the different bike courses and the same out and back rocky trail for the run course. The race is held in Portsmouth, Ohio in southeast Ohio.

The race can be done with a teammate where drafting is allowed on the bike during the 3rd and 4th races. I teamed up with Adam Brown and we ended up taking 1st place overall in the team division.

The first race went well and I finished 4th place overall. This race consists of a 250 meter swim, 5 mile (or less) bike, and 1 mile run; just enough to get the legs ready for a fun weekend ahead. I was lucky enough to stay in one of the cabins right in the park just a mile or so away from the entire race site with a bunch of great people!

The second race went really well and I finished 4th place overall in that race as well. Our cabin took 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th overall which was a major accomplishment! Between races we went back up to the cabin and took a nice 1.5 hour nap. Race 3 was the first "team" race with a slightly different order than the typical swim-bike-run. This Olympic distance race started with the bike then goes to the swim and then finally the run. Me and Adam raced well taking the whole thing nice and conservative and finished 5th overall.

Adam and Me getting our recovery on Saturday night before the Half Ironman!

Sunday rolled around and Adam and I had a pretty good lead going in so the goal was to keep things nice and steady to make sure we could finish the run strong and steady. We finished 7th and 8th overall for the Half Ironman and took home the team title!

HFP racing does a fantastic job of putting on this weekend of races. There is great food after all of the races and everything is very well organized. This "race" is unlike any other in the country and is definitely a very unique, challenging, and fun race experience with great camaraderie. I would definitely recommend it to anybody looking for a challenge!

Thanks to PowerBar for keeping me fueled over the entire weekend. PowerBar Endurance Formula kept me fueled on the bike, PowerBar Recovery Formula helped me make sure my muscles recovered quickly after each race, and the PowerBar Smoothie Bars, energy bites, and gels kept me fueled before and during the races!

Thanks to Xterra Wetsuits as well. This was the first race I was able to use my Vector Pro X2 Wetsuit and it was great!

At the Awards Ceremony: After 140 miles of racing, were all still standing and smiling!

One week until the Copper Creek Triathlon in Des Moines, IA and 2 Weeks until the big Hy-Vee Triathlon also in Des Moines, IA! Very excited for both of these races. Race updates to follow after each!

Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Thanks to all of those that serve in our military and keep our country safe!

April 30th: A Day of Remembrance

It is amazing how fast time flies. As I write this, I am trying to finish up my last project of my undergraduate career at the University of Dayton. Today, however, marks the 4 year anniversary of the day my dad died. As some of you may know and others of you may not, my dad suffered from alcholism and struggled with it for many years. This is the reason why to this day I do not drink, and never have, as I know I possess those same addictive qualites that he once did; this is one of the major reasons why I love the sport of Triathlon as well, because I can transfer those qualities into a sport that I have come to deeply love and become quite competitive at. It is those qualites that have helped me become the triathlete that I am today and will continue to carry me into the future.

I wish he was still here to see me compete and to be here this weekend to see me graduate. He was always so proud of everything I did, as well as my 2 older sisters, and I know he would be very proud of me this weekend for graduation and for my all of my successes in triathlon thus far.

Today is about remembering my dad. All of the good times that we had together; going to baseball games, going to baseball card shows, watching our cleveland sports, going to cedar point, and so many other things. It makes me sad to think back to four years ago when he passed away the day before my sister's college graduation and how he won't be there for mine. However, I know he will be there in spirit.

My mom and sisters, brother-in-law, and niece are coming into town today for my graduation weekend. It will be good to all be together on this day, something that has not happened since four years ago.

I just want to end with a few words: You never know when you might lose a loved one so make sure you tell those people in your life how much you love them and how much they mean to you and enjoy the time you get to spend together, even when they may get on your nerves, because once they're gone you will miss them more that ever. Do it today for me, in remembrance of my dad, but do it everyday or everytime you talk to someone special in your life; life's too short not too.

Dad, I love you and miss you each and every day...forever you will be remembered and in my heart

PowerBar Team Elite and Collegiate Nationals Recap

It's been a while but I'm back and hopefully will be making updates on a more regular basis. Training over the winter went well. I competed in two indoor triathlons at UD and Ohio State and took first place in both of those races. About a month ago I found out that I made the PowerBar Team Elite! I am very excited to represent PowerBar and their great line of sports nutrition products. They are and have been one of the leading sports nutrition companies for the past few decades and I feel very fortunate to have their support as I go forward in my triathlon pursuits. I just got my first order of product a few weeks ago and was excited to have a great supply of products, both ones that I have tried and other new products that I had not tried yet.

This past weekend I traveled to Lubbock, Texas for the 2010 Collegiate Triathlon Championships with the UD Triathlon Club. We left Wednesday morning and arrived in Lubbock Thursday afternoon after we stopped in Witchita Falls, Texas Wednesday night for a quick night's sleep. When we got into Lubbock on Wednesday it was raining and it would continue to rain almost non-stop until Friday night before the race. A few us went for a short run in the rain Thursday afternoon to shake out the legs after the long drive. Thursday night we had an "Ohio Dinner" with all of the collegiate triathlon clubs from Ohio. A lot of us have gotten to know each other over the past few years so it's fun hanging out and socializing with each other over dinner.

Friday rolled around and sure enough it was raining. We had a quick team meeting and headed to the race site, Buffalo Springs Lake, to get in the water and check out the course. It decided to start pouring right we got there, along with being windy and about 50 degrees. I got my temporary new Vortex 3 Wetsuit on (will be getting the Vector Pro X2 by Xterra very soon) and got in the water for a nice 1000 yard or so swim, checked out the transition area layout and got back in the car so we could drive the bike course.

Getting blown by the wind and rain after our short swim the day before the race in my Xterra Vortex 3 Wetsuit

We got back to the hotel and I decided to hop on the trainer instead of going out in the cold rain. After that I went to the pre-race captains meeting and rules briefing and then we went to the Texas Tech Rec Center for a free pre-race pasta party. Dinner was good and a bunch of teams came dressed up in all sorts of different costumes as there is a spirit award given out during the awards ceremony after the race on Saturday. We through in a little UD chant as well. After dinner we made a quick walmart run and got our stuff ready for the race.

Saturday was race day and the rain had finally let up. The race didn't start until 9:00 which gave us a little extra time than some races to "sleep in". We got up a little before 6 and got to the race site. The swim ended up getting cut in "half" (more like 1/3 or about 500 meters) due to the weather conditions and cold water temp (54 degrees, although last year it was 53 degrees and it felt A LOT colder last year). I got in a few strokes before the start of the race and it really wasn't too cold. I finished the swim in 6:28 with the 26th fastest swim. I headed out on the bike which is a very challenging course, especially with 20+ mph winds and 30+ mph gusts! I finished the bike in 1:07:45 which was good enough for 28th overall on the bike. At the end of the bike I started cramping up and new that it was going to carry over into the run. I started the run and started to cramp up. Within a half mile my legs were on fire and I was literally hobbling at one point and forced to a slow jog for about a half mile. The pain subsided and I was able to pick up the pace a little bit, but had to keep it under control to make sure the cramping didn't return. The run was a 2 loop 5k course so I was able to see where I was after the first lap; I was about 12th with a few guys in front of me. I kept pushing away and was finally able to pick up the pace in the last 1.5 miles and finish strong coming across the line in the top 10, although I finished 18th overall and 14th of the undergraduates. Run times were slow and someone had a GPS on the run and it was apparently 6.5 miles. My run time was 39:17 which was good for 25th overall in the run.

We all enjoyed the rest of the day after the race including the MWCTC (Midwest Collegiate Triathlon Conference) awards ceremony which I took home the award for top Male triathlete. Additionally, UD took home the awards for 1st place female team, 2nd place male team, and 2nd place team overall.

Overall I was pretty happy with the race. I was really hoping to be in the top 10 but am OK with 18th especially considering the cramping on the run. I know I have a lot of work to do to get to where I want to be. This was my first big race of the year and I know that things will only go up from here. Next up the race schedule is the American Triple-T, which is 4 races in 3 days, which I will be doing with Adam Brown. I know we both have high goals for this race which is now only a month away.

A few other things going on: I graduate now in less than 2 weeks (May 2nd). I cannot believe how fast time flies and how quickly these last 4 years have gone. This fall there is a good chance that I will be at Florida State for my masters in Sports Nutrition which I have already been accepted into.