This past Sunday, June 2nd, I competed in the Best of the US Amateur Championship race which was held in conjunction with Leon's Triathlon in Hammond, IN. I have raced in the Best of the US Championship race three times before, finishing 9th in 2008, 8th in 2009, and 3rd in 2011. I hadn't raced Leon's Triathlon before though so I was excited to race what is dubbed the "Worlds Fastest Triathlon". I was also excited to race coming off of the American Triple-T and not having any other races planned until August.
With the race being in Hammond, IN (right next to Chicago), I was able to stay with my mom. Race morning rolled around and I headed to the race with my mom and sister. The drive into Chicago isn't all that bad on a Sunday morning at 6 am when there isn't any traffic. I had my usual banana and Cookie Dough PowerBar along with about 10 oz of coffee on the drive to the race. We got to the race site in good time and I decided to hop on the bike for a quick warm-up before taking the bike into transition. The forecast called for temps in the low 60's with dropping temps into the 50's. While I was warming up and setting up transition, the temperature was cool but not too bad (low-mid 60's). I ate a few PowerBar Cola Gel Blasts and sipped on some PowerBar Perform drink while setting things up in transition. Shortly after exiting transition, there was a big gust of wind and with it came much colder air, and the temperature had to have dropped 5 degrees almost instantly!
Pre-race photo, right before the temps dropped!
Sporting the new FFT 2XU Distance Tri-Suit
I headed over to the stage where they were having an opening ceremony with the National Anthem and a few other things. We headed over to the start of the swim and were able to hop in the water for a short swim warm-up. The swim wave included all of the Best of the US athletes along with all of the Leon's Amateur All-Stars which made for a pretty big swim wave and what would be some competitive head-to-head racing! Luckily we had quite a bit of room for the in-water start so it wasn't too chaotic.
The gun went off and a few guys got out pretty fast and I wasn't able to hang with them. I ended up leading one of two groups. The water was a little choppy, but I felt good. I came out of the water in 6th or so, which was about what I expected. Toward the end of the swim, I could feel my feet were pretty cold and going a little numb. But that didn't stop me from a quick transition as I exited the water, made my way to T1, and grabbed my bike.
I passed a few guys pretty quickly and then a few miles in, made my way to 2nd place. Adam Zucco was in 1st place at this point and I knew he was strong on the bike. I tried to keep him in sight and not let him get too far ahead of me. I continued to ride strong throughout the 2 lap bike course. It was a little chilly on the bike but really not too bad. The wind was pretty strong though and at times I would get blown side-to-side. With a few miles to go, I got passed by Matt Payne, who had previously won the Best of the US race in 2011 when I took 3rd. I knew he could bike and run strong so I just tried to stay near him the final couple miles. I entered T2 just behind him.
Coming in off the bike, headed into T2 - in 3rd place
We came out of T2 together and made the move on Adam who was just a little ahead of us. I sat on Matt for a few strides, I felt good, and decided to make the pass and go for it. I came up on Adam and took the lead of the race. At this point, I was feeling great, but knew there were a handful of guys behind me that could run me down. My medial quads started to cramp a little bit before the 1st mile so when I got to the mile mark and there wasn't an aid station, I decided to take a PowerBar Orange Dreamsicle gel. I washed it down with some water when I got to the first aid station about a half mile later. I was feeling good and kept up the good pace to the turn-around. I made the turn and saw Matt, Adam, and Dan Stubleski all not too far behind. I picked up the effort slightly as I knew they were all trying to run me down. I made it to mile 5 still in the lead and still feeling pretty good. I wasn't really sure how far back the other guys were so I picked up the pace a little more. I made it to the final turn before heading into the park and through in another final surge to finish strong.
Right before the finish - Brooks T7 on the run!
Swim: 18:31 - 10th OA
T1: 1:20
Bike: 57:48 - 4th OA
T2: 0:57
Run: 33:27 - 2nd OA
Finish: 1:52:05 - 1st OA
Breaking the tape at the finish!
Overall, it was probably the best race I've ever had! I handled the cold and wind to ride strong and run even stronger. Thanks to my coach Alex McDonald with Fast Forward Triathlon! It's great to see all of the hard work I've been putting in over the past several months (and years) come together at this race. Congrats to Matt Payne, Dan Stubleski, Adam Zucco, Mark Harms, and the other guys that were out there racing!
A few articles from the race:
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/recreation/outdoors/top-leon-s-triathlon-finishers-like-it-cold/article_e7b91f9f-5de9-5170-a40a-f4a37bece0dc.html (video post race interview too!)
There is also going to be a televised broadcast on Comcast Sports Net over the 4th of July weekend. I was interviewed before the race and they were filming the entire race. Should be fun to watch!
The next race I have planned is USA Triathlon Age-group Nationals August 10th in Milwaukee, WI. I may try to hop in a race before then but I'm not 100% sure yet.
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