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!
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