Collegiate Nationals 2012

This past weekend I competed in my 5th and final Collegiate Nationals. I traveled to Tuscaloosa on Thursday with the UD Tri Club and went to Olive Garden for dinner with the FSU Tri Team. On Friday I got up and had breakfast, made a quick Publix run, where I met James Haycraft and picked up my new pair of Shimano bike shoes thanks to Inside Out Sports, and then went down to the race site for our pre-race workout and packet pickup. My pre-race workout consisted of a 25 minute bike on the course, a 7 minute run, and a 10 min swim in the Black Warrior River with a few pickups in each discipline. We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit and then went to the free pasta dinner on campus.

Going into the race, I did my standard three day carbohydrate load. With nationals on Saturday, I started my carbohydrate load on Wednesday and kept track of everything I ate over those three days with an app on my phone. At 175 pounds (79.5 kg) I was aiming for 635 (8g/kg) - 795 (10g/kg) grams of carbohydrate per day. On Wednesday I took in 770 grams, on Thursday I took in 677 grams, and on Friday I took in 784 grams.

Race morning came and the women started at 7:30 and the guys at 10:30. All week there was a possibility for rain but it ended up being pretty great weather (60's and overcast) for the race with no rain. It was fun to see the girls start and I was able to watch them a little bit while trying to stay off my feet and get ready for my race. At 9:15 I hopped on the trainer we set up at our tent so I could get in a bike warm-up before the race started. After that, I grabbed my wetsuit and headed down to the river to get in a short swim warm up before the race started.

The swim: 20:17 (1:15/100 yd) - The start of the swim on this course is usually pretty crazy as you have over 100 people crammed into a very small space holding onto a dock. Luckily this year it wasn't too bad and I got out pretty fast to avoid getting kicked and hit around. About 1/4 of the way into the swim, I got kicked on the wrist and my Garmin 310XT fell off my wrist. I would highly recommend NOT wearing your Garmin during the swim portion of a triathlon. I know of another guy this happened to and its just not worth losing a $300+ watch...after that I was pretty upset about having lost the watch, but just accepted it and moved on knowing there was nothing I could do about it. Overall, the swim went pretty well. I took advantage of a couple of drafts and think I swam pretty smart.

T1: 2:13

The Bike: 58:54 (25.3 mph) - As I mentioned before, I got new bike shoes the day before the race, and I am 100% positive that they helped me have the solid bike split that I did. I took the first mile to get situated and from there pretty much hammered the rest of the way. I took advantage of the downhills and tail winds and held my ground pretty well on the uphills (where I have struggled a little bit in the past). I finished with the 3rd fastest bike split behind my Fast Forward Triathlon (FFT) teammate Jay McCurdy who split a 58:44 and Karl Kahsar who had the top bike split of 58:37 (only 17 seconds ahead of me). I came into T2 in 5th place and had made up a lot of ground on the bike.

T2: 0:38

The Run: 35:50 (5:46/mi) - I came off the bike and felt pretty decent. Knowing that there was a lot of great runners behind me my goal was to maintain a solid pace and hold off as many guys as I could, knowing also that the guys in front of me are all great runners and it would be difficult to catch them. The first couple miles are pretty hilly and tough and my medial quads on both legs started to cramp during the first mile. I have had this happen before so I knew that the only thing to do was to push through it and hope that it subsides, which it usually does and it did. I got passed just after coming out of T2 by Ryan Bice (who had the top run split of the day) but otherwise, I did not get passed the rest of the run.

Finish: 1:57:49 - 7th Overall and 3rd Graduate. I was very pleased with another top 10 finish and finishing 7th overall especially considering how competitive and deep this field was. Every year I have competed in nationals I have placed better. Back in 2008 in Tuscaloosa I was 25th, then in Lubbock I was 21st in 2009, 18th in 2010, and last year back in Tuscaloosa I was 10th. The atmosphere at nationals is outstanding and has always been a favorite race of mine, for the competition and the camaraderie that comes with competing with and against your friends and fellow athletes, many of which you have the chance to meet and come close to over the years, makes collegiate nationals a truly unique and fun race/weekend.

Congrats to my fellow FFT teammates Jay McCurdy who finished 8th overall and who motivated me to have the great race that I did. Jay and I went back and forth on the bike multiple times and I knew he had the ability to run me down which motivated me to run that much faster. Congrats also to the girls, Hallie Blunck, Erika Erickson, and Kathrine "Moose" Warren on finishing 3rd, 6th, and 7th in the women's race.

Thanks to my Coach Alex McDonald of Fast Forward Triathlon for pushing me in the months leading up to the race. I am looking forward to building upon this race and having a great 2012 season.

2011 Update: First Marathon, First Duathlon, First Draft Legal Triathlon, and a Few Other Races!

It's been quite some time since I've last updated the Blog. I guess school, training, work, and everything else that life throws at us makes it tough to stay on top of things like this sometimes. 2011 has started off great in terms of racing (and really everything else as well). I completed the Disney Marathon (my first marathon) and ran 2:56:40, which I was very pleased with for my first marathon.

Mom, Me, and Manda after the marathon


Finishing my first Marathon!

Then in February I competed in the Chilly Willy Duathlon which consisted of a 5k run, 10 mile bike, and 5k run. I came in 2nd place overall and it was a great way to get the feet wet into multi-sport racing so early in the season.

Peter, Javi, and Me after Chilly Willy

In March I went to Clermont, FL twice for races. The first race was the inaugural Draft Legal Challenge Sprint Triathlon. This was my first opportunity to participate in a draft legal triathlon and I loved it! It was a 3 lap bike course and I spent a good amount of the first lap going close to all-out in order to catch up with the 2nd bike pack but was able to relax (slightly) once I caught them. We kept working hard the rest of the way and made a little ground on the lead pack. I came into T2 in 4th place and felt really strong on the run, running with a couple other guys I had biking with. I ended up finishing 4th (and missing my elite card by one place) but a blast doing this race and definitely want to do more draft legal racing in the future.

Amanda and Lauren came to watch the race!

Peter, Javi, Tommy, and Me

The next race in Clermont a few weeks later was the Great Clermont Triathlon. This was intended to be a tune up for Collegiate Nationals which was 2 weeks away at the time. I came out of the water in first place but quickly got passed on the bike. I wasn't feeling it on the bike and just felt totally flat. I came into T2 in 3rd place and had some work to do on Thomas from U of Miami who through down a killer bike leg. The run was a 2 loop out-and-back and I was feeling good so I could tell I was closing in on him each time I saw him. It wasn't till about a mile or so to go that I passed him but then I was in first place and kicked it in and held onto first overall.

1st out of the water at Great Clermont

Next up was the first big "A" race of the season, Collegiate Nationals in Tuscaloosa, AL. I had pretty big goals going into this race, hoping for a top-5 finish (or at least a top 10 finish, something I had not done at this race). The swim was pretty standard, pretty rough start and took me a little while to get going and I came out in a decent position, on the bike, I rode pretty well, and the run was pretty tough with a couple of big hills over the first few miles. I finished in 2:00:41 (21:15 swim, 1:01:03 bike, and 36:59 run) which was good enough for 10th overall! It was a great weekend of racing and hanging with the FSU Tri Noles.

FSU Tri Noles after the race!

I ended up doing the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg last minute and it turned out to be a great race! (Thank you to Jennifer Hutchison on helping me get in last minute!) They had to shorten the swim due to major waves at the swim course but it turned out OK. The swim was 1000m with a long run (quarter-ish mile) to T1. I came out of the water feeling pretty good about my swim but not really sure where I was at. I passed a few people on the run over to T1 and headed out on the bike. It was a nice flat bike course and I didn't really get passed or do any passing of anyone else so I was still not really sure where I was at. Side note about the race: This guy was drafting on me (literally right on my wheel), I told him to stop but he continued to. He backed off when a few race officials came our way then got right back on me. I was so angry! We went around a turn and he crashed hard. I guess you get what you deserve....don't DRAFT!!! :) Back to the race. I came into T2 and saw that there were 3 bikes on the racks so I knew I was in 4th place. The run was an out and back and I was feeling pretty good. There were a bunch of pro women in front of me because they started a few minutes before we did so I just kept going after each of them and slowly made my way into 3rd place overall (age group). With about a quarter mile to go this guy tried to make a move on me, I sped up a bit, then slowed down knowing it was too soon to kick. He passed me, I sat on him for a few strides, then with just a couple hundred meters to go I took off and held him off. This was the hardest I have finished a race in a long time and it was a good experience knowing that theres almost always a little more to give. I finished 3rd overall Age Grouper and qualified for my Pro/Elite card! I'm not going to take it immedietly as I still have a lot more work to do to get to the ability where I can really race with other Pros out there but maybe at the end of this year. My times for the race were: 12:21 swim (1000m), 59:03 bike (40k PR), and 35:18 run (10k PR) with a finishing time of 1:51:11.

Javi, Me, Alexa, and Amanda after St. Anthonys

And my most recent race was the American Triple-T Ohio, 4 races over 3 days and over 140 miles of racing! I did it again this year with a teammate (Adam Brown, who with last year we won the team title). The race is a super sprint triathlon Friday night, 2 Olympic Distance triathlons on Saturday, and a half ironman triathlon on Sunday. We finished 2nd overall this year as a team and had a great weekend of racing.

Before the start of race number 3 (bike, swim, run)

I don't have any races planned for a while but am looking forward to the Hy-Vee Triathlon and the Best of the US triathlon Championship in September and then another draft legal triathlon at Myrtle Beach and the other Triple-T in North Carolina in October.

Shout out to PowerBar and Brooks for their continued support! Check out the Vanilla and Chocolate protein (not pictured) for an extra boost to your post workout recovery...the stuff tastes awesome too! And the oatmeal raisin energy bites are great pre, during, or post workout and taste awesome as well! I finally got the new Brooks T7 as well as a few pairs of shorts (HVAC and Infiniti) all of which are great products. The shorts are incredibly comfy...I would highly recomend them if your looking for some new running shorts!

Lemon energy blasts, oatmeal raisin energy bites, cookies and cream and vanilla performance bars, Ironman Restore and Ironman Perform!

Thanks to my Coach, Tim Edwards and North Coast Endurance Coaching (http://www.ncecoaching.com/) on a great start to this season!

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