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