The "Very Average" Race

Last weekend, I tried my hand at an Olympic distance, non draft race down in Knoxville, TN.  REV 3 Knoxville has been a very competitive race the last couple of years, and I was eager to get to race a REV 3 event. I had only heard positive things about the race company, and I can add that I had a great experience at the race (before and after) despite the cold temps (I hate cold, 58 degree water), and rain. They did a great job to make everybody have a world class experience.

I got into Knoxville a few days before the race and the race site was right below my hotel, which is such a great convenience.  I met up with some of the REV 3 staff, and thanked them for having me race their pro race.  The day before the race, I tested out the water and it was undeniably cold.  Yes, my body warmed up well in my XTERRA wetsuit, but my head was frozen. It would prove to be difficult conditions for the race.

One example of how REV 3 is pushing the sport forward is this PRO transition area.

On race morning, I woke up at 5 am to shake out. It was not raining yet, but by the end of my run, I felt drops coming.  For the 8 am pro start, the rain was coming down steadily and it was pretty cold on the ground.  We jumped in and "warmed up" a bit before the cannon.  Immediately, my goggles fogged up. I was wearing older sweedish ones I had that felt like the straps were more snug than my main sweeds that broke the day before. It may have been that combined with the frigid temps that made my vision limited.  I could not sight ahead of me with this, so I sighted to a green cap in my wave.  Knowing that the different colored caps were given to past winners and/or world champs, I figured I was safe.  I exited next to that green cap, who happened to be Conrad Stoltz (5 time XTERRA World Champ, and 2- time Olympian).  Problem with this situation was, he could bike about 5 minutes or more into me.  I swam slower than many people that I can usually swim with, and this was completely my fault for poor sighting and being comfortable sighting off somebody else and not leaders.

I am running up the boat ramp right behind Conrad and Dan McIntosh.

After a quick T1, exiting before both those that I came out of the water with (advantage of ITU racing is quick transitions), I was quickly and unceremoniously passed by Conrad. I tried to match him but was pretty anaerobic and couldn't maintain his pace and power.  My legs just did not have much power to them. I also did not get to ride the course the day before, so I was pretty cautious on the downhills, which cost a bit of time.  I did pass 2 cars on descents, so that was a mixture of cool and scary. I was about 2- minutes down to the main pack at the only turn around on the course, and about 1:30 up on another pack. I was riding solo, and gave up some more time the second half to both groups. James Burns and a few guys from US Pro Tri team caught me 2- miles from transition and we rode in together (legally).

My feet were frozen. More frozen than the Del Valley duathlon a few weeks ago. My second toe was curled up under my foot when I got off my bike and was slowly returning to its normal position.  Getting running shoes on was tough, but I took off with James Burns. We dropped a few guys early and were running well through 2.7 miles together. It was fun running with him as we raced a conference 10K track final a few years ago together in the CAA conference.  We both are victims of teams being cut.  Muscularly, I had nothing left when he made a move on me, so I just did as much as I could to limit the damage.  34:20 was my 10K split, which was okay. Again, just an average day. I am glad I finished, but know I can do a lot better than this.

After the race, I showered (and thawed out) and got going home. I have two weeks until another non draft race in Columbia, MD and then two more until the Dallas Continental Cup, which is my big goal race to run well in during the first half of the season as the U23 winner gets a bid to World champs.

Bridgetown Continental Cup

This weekend, I traveled down to Barbados for a continental cup. I got down to Barbados two days before the race on Sunday, April 22nd. Training leading up to the race was tough with the very sketchy riding on small roads with lots of cars, but it was fun being in a different country.

The swim was nice to train for since I could walk from my hotel room to the ocean and get in great swimming right in front of me!

The morning of the race featured what a lot of Barbados people called "liquid sunshine" or rain.  The country gets very little rain until the summer, so the roads were covered in oil and became very slick. I was slightly excited about this as I felt comfortable handling my bike on slick rainy roads. With two 180 degree turns, this would be paramount.

I got on the pontoon next to two guys who I have biked with in past races, so I figured I was in a good spot.  I started the swim well and was swimming next to Andrew Bysice and Jason Wilson (the eventual winner) the whole time.  I felt comfortable exiting the water in 9:50 with the leader only 10 seconds up on me.  I was stoked to be that far up and thought if I was in that group, I could win or get top 3.  That was, until T1 when I failed to buckle my helmet for a good 20 seconds and watched that group ride away. That was frustrating, and then a crash caused a lead group of 5 guys to get ahead on the bike and we never caught them.

The bike was chaotic as there were so many crashes, and guys were putting their feet on the ground to make the 180- degree turns. I never had to do that and even made a small break with Eric Lagerstrom after a 180 turn when people took it very slowly.  The break did not materialize, but it was good to keep the pressure up. After riding fairly comfortably, I was confident in my run.

I got out of T2 hard in pursuit.  Alex Hinton got a small gap on me early, and we caught some of the early leaders.  I moved from 8th to 7th in the last 1/2 mile and was pretty happy, but not satisfied.  If I had not had the hiccup in T1, I could have contended, but with variable change, there is really no telling of what would have happened.   

Next race up is REV3 Knoxville in two weeks time. Time to get on the TT bike.

Delaware Valley Duathlon and Philly Pro Team

Last weekend, I decided to get a tune up race in before heading to Barbados for a continental cup later in April.  I traveled to the Delaware Valley Duathlon with the knowledge there were a few other fast guys that would make for a good race. I had raced Dave Slavinski and Holden Comeau before and knew they were both very good multisport athletes. They are both training for longer course races, so this would probably be an advantage to me for this particular race. The distances were 5k run/ 25k bike/ 5k run.

Pre Race:
Woke up at 6 AM to do a 15' run with some drills. Was COLD! 30 degrees with winds 20 mph from the northwest. I was immediately scared about biking with no booty covers! My feet were going to be in for a cold morning. After coffee and some PowerBar energy chews (cola flavored), got to the race site to set up and do a long warm up.

1st 5K: Went out solid but very controlled. Dave was right behind me for 0.5 miles and then he said he would see me on the bike (after joking about my goofy running form, which I completely agree is odd). I felt pretty comfortable the whole first 5k and had garnered about a 30 second lead with a 15:47 first 5k.

The Bike: Was Cold! http://app.strava.com/activities/47532495 is the strava file from the race. It's visible as to how hilly the ride is. You are almost never riding flat, so it was either uphill or screaming down (where the feet really started to get numb). First race since Philly Tri last year on a TT bike, so my goal was to just maintain my lead. I was expecting to see either Dave or Holden come by me during the ride as I was unsure of how far ahead I was.  At the first turn around, I had 40" to Dave and I believe one minute to Holden.  The second turn around (about 2-3 miles from the finish) I still had 40 seconds, but on Holden this time.

The 2nd run: Felt a little cramping on the run and the end of the bike so I tried to drink. Mostly calf pain and I didn't want to repeat duathlon worlds last year.  The 32 degree weather probably didn't help my muscles stay warm either.  I started out the run very gingerly as my calves were objecting a bit, but as my legs warmed up, I was able to speed up.  Didn't have to push the second run much and ran a conservative 17:10 for the win

 

Dave, myself, and Holden L to R

Had a very nice talk with Holden after the race about developing as a triathlete, especially during the swim. Just another example of the great community in triathlon.

I also won a pair of Scott running shoes. These shoes are awesome, the T2 EVO are really awesome. I wore them the day after the race for a 15 mile long run and they were awesome.  I am looking forward to trying more Scott shoes as it's a company I've never tried before.

Also, I will be working with the Philly Pro Triathlon Team starting immediately.  They are a great group of guys racing together and an awesome organization trying to professionalize triathlon even more. I am excited to begin working with them.

Only about 11 days until the Bridgetown, Barbados continental cup. Starting to rest up and get ready for another big race.

Florida double to start 2013

Hey all!

Been a few weeks since my last update as I've been busy training, working at the motor control/biomechanics lab at Univ of Delaware, and TA'ing a few undergraduate classes! It's been a busy time, but I was excited to go down to Clermont and Sarasota, Fl to start the 2013 race season. I flew down Thursday, March 7th before Clermont continental cup.  I had a fantastic "home stay" at the AAA triathlon camp run by John and Jodi Hoovis. This place located just 20 minutes from the national training center in Clermont is a triathlon haven! They have all the facilities you could wish for as a triathlete, and a bunch of us were staying there between the races. After Clermont, I went to a home stay for one night, then stayed in a very shady $40/night hotel for one night as I went back to Delaware to speak at the Salesianum Sports Banquet. That was a really fun experience, and they flew me home for one day to speak there; what an honor! After that, I flew back down to Florida on Wednesday, stayed at the AAA tri camp that night, then down to Sarasota on Thursday. This trip was quite the whirlwind.

I also must say I've met some great friends over this trip. Others with me at the AAA tri camp were Connor Murphy, Lawrence Fanous, Andrew McCartney, Jonathan Rodriguez, and Graham Leitch, as well as the Portuguese National Team, and a few others for a day or two. So many nationalities staying under one roof made for a really fun time. 

Clermont:

I landed feeling fairly sick and honestly lacking the competitive edge to race my best. I had a headache and just felt drained in the two days leading up to the race. Once the gun went off for the swim, I was immediately behind Sam Holmes, who had a great start.  I tried to keep composure and swim my heart out! This year, the swim was an actual swim and felt on the long side (as if the swim legs aren't already long enough!). I exited the swim in okay position, but it was only my third swim in a wetsuit in the previous 9 months, so I was not as prepared as I should have been (my fault!).
10:20 was my official split and I was a few seconds down to the chase pack, but still ahead of the third pack.
The bike went well. My group caught Andrew Starkowytz and I was certainly hoping being an uber biker, he could TT us up to the front. He was not feeling well, so we were eventually caught by the third pack.  I can say there was some shady riding by one person in our pack who almost caused a crash, but thankfully the rubber stayed down!

The run was very "meh." I was happy to finish the slightly long 5.3k in 17:13 (or about 5:14 pace). I was just happy to have the first race out of the way.  A few people that I know I am better than beat me, but I can only use it as motivation for the future.

After a few days, I flew home to speak at my high school (Salesianum) for their senior sports banquet.  I was super honored they wanted to hear my story and it was great to be home for one night.

I wore a different kind of "suit" for this! No lycra.

The next day, I was back in Florida and rejuvenated and ready to race Sarasota.

Sarasota:
The swim was a pontoon start with some fast swimmers including my fellow home stayer Andrew McCartney, Tommy Z, Joe Maloy, and Lucas F.  In essence, they broke off the front, a solid pack of swimmers was about 20 seconds behind them, and then about 40 seconds back to a pack of runners.  I came out of the water just in front of Nicholas S and Kaleb VanOrt, who I knew were strong cyclists and good runners as well.  I figured we could work together nicely

We had begun to suck packs up in front of us and we were really flying. We caught three or four small packs and eventually became the main chase pack about 1:45 down on the leaders! Looking at my garmin, we were averaging over 26 mph for the first 15 miles.

I am the one with the green lid in second position.  I found I was able to hit the tangents really well and keep my speed up, which definitely made others hurt a bit if they tapped the breaks coming into the turns as they needed to sprint to get out. Thanks to my mom for getting the vid!

Then disaster struck, as I was coming through transition, just past the wheel station, I pinch flatted my rear tire. After not causing a crash, I had to figure out what to do. 2 laps to go, and I figured I'd ride as hard as I could go. Riding a clincher with 19mm tires that are flat doesn't work well.  All the hard work and awesome positioning I had done came to nothing.  It's super frustrating for something like this to happen, but it is part of this sport, and I can take a few things away from it.  I am biking strong, and I was right in the mix to put together a top 15 finish.  I definitely could have secured a spot for U23 worlds but I was not able to run after a long 10K with no air in the tires. I should have done a few things in retrospect such as putting caffelatex in the tires or putting training wheels in the wheel stop (although I had passed it and would still have ridden 5k before being able to access it).

Onward and upward! After this dissapointment, I want to show that I am in shape and am a world class athlete.  I head to Barbados next month for the Bridgetown continental cup to make up for lost chances here- and I will remember this to fuel the fire.  That's all for now!

Kiwami

Today I will be giving a review of the Kiwami Amphibian 008 triathlon suit.  Kiwami was nice enough to partner with me for the 2012 season, and hopefully beyond.  I wore the Amphibian 008 with ITU customization on there.  Above is the uniform I wore in the Clermont Continental Cup.  Some of the features of the Amphibian 008 include:
           Being the lightest speedsuit on the markey (weighing about 100 grams).
           Having a flat zipper and cord that are easy to pull down if it is warm, but will not come off in the combative ITU style open water swim.
          It just FEELS FAST.

I have worn suits by other companies when I began dabbling in triathlon, and I have always preferred a one piece suit.   The Amphibian is the fastest feeling suit i have worn, and it has never felt too hot when racing in the hot conditions such as Texas or Florida.

There are other suits by Kiwami if you are not looking for a back-zip single piece suit.

The Kiaman is a front zipper suit that still provides all the comfort and speedy feel of the amphibian, but also a pad for longer races.

Also, the Prima Top and Bottom combination provide a great two piece suit to keep cool in a long course style event.

Lastly, here is a shot of the suit I wore for the majority of the 2012 season including the 2012 USAT Elite Nationals in Buffalo, NY.

Power Bar review

As a neo- professional triathlete, I want to find things that I can do for companies that help both of us in a symbiotic manor. Now, many athletes say this, but I intend to help my sponsors to try and do as much for them as they have for me.

Because of this, I am going to start a performance review of sponsor (and non sponsor) products that should occur biweekly.

The first edition will be today consisting of some of the PowerBar products that I have raced with this year. 

As a member of the PowerBar Team Elite, I have been graciously allotted product from this awesome company.  Some of the kit I have received is incredible, including bike clothing, bags, and more, but really the most helpful has been all the nutritional aid from pre workout, during workout, and post workout recovery.

My before workout depends on the time of day, but for a morning workout, I like to try and have a regular PowerBar or some PowerBar Blasts.  This gives me the calories (and caffeine in the case of the Cola Blasts) to get through the workout, but not too much so I have to fight my stomach.  When digesting food, blood has to rush to your gut to digest, so the more complex the foods, the more blood needs to go there. If you add in working out, then there is a competition for blood between your muscles and your gut, thus creating the stomach ache.

I have found either of these with some PowerBar Perform during the workout are enough to get me through any workout that is 2-hours or less.  The workouts lasting longer than 2 hours require additional calories and simple sugars to sustain a good intensity.  I choose the PowerBar Double latte gels to get me through a higher intensity workout, or simply some more bars or blasts if I am doing a long and lower intensity bike ride.



 After a workout, it's important to combine carbohydrates and protein within 15 minutes of completion to maximize fuel absorption. 
I am a big fan of PowerBar restore drink mix as well as the cookies and cream recovery bars (something that I had not seen until I was sponsored by PowerBar,
but now everybody I know has tried them and loves them.

 

I look foward to another year of racing with PowerBar products and hope you have enjoyed the ones that I use daily in training and recovery.  Happy Training.

 

World Duathlon Champs/ Start of a new Season

First off, let me say that I initially had this post titled as the end of my first season as a pro, but decided that had too much of a negative connotation.  World Duathlon champs did not go as well as I would have liked, I ended up being hypernaturemic and cramping all over my legs and passing out. I was predictable disappointed and was quite honestly pissed off. I felt like I was robbed of an opportunity to perform well, but I was not robbed, I was the cause of my cramps- lack of planning on my part for international travel.  Instead of being super down on myself, I am taking this as a learning experience. Anywho, here's about the race.

View from the hotel

One of the tight 90 degree turns near transition to hit every lap

It was pretty sweet traveling to France to race, but at the same time, was TOUGH.  Adjusting to the time zone wasn't so bad, but being in a completely foreign country trying to get proper food, and talking to people was tough. Luckily, I had great teammates from team USA to hang out, ride, and run with.
Onto the race:
The first 10K went out hard, and because I was number 54, I started in the 5th or 6th row back of the start line, which was on cobblestones!  This plus the 5-10 thousand people cheering along the course (I have heard figured from both 5 to 10, thus the broad range!) Somebody spilled early in the race, but then around half mile in, I found myself next to Tim Don! I was pretty stoked, but I was also feeling a little in debt.  It was not so much the hard pace, but the 8 sharp 90 degree turns on the run that took away momentum and required hard accelerations that made me a hurtin' pup.  I ended up having a good last two laps and leading the group of  Mexican and two Belgians into T1.  We were only 13 seconds down of a huge pack, and with two strong Belgians, I figured that would be no problem.

First run

Bike pack shortly after transition before the hill.

The start of the race, compliments of ITU photography

We started out the bike hard, and got through the technical section near transition well and were already bridging the gap once we got to the first of two 180 degree turns. This is where my cramping started. I got a charlie horse in my calf and made it stuck in a plantar flexed position.  I forced my knee down but the muscle still was firing.  After drinking and coasting, the muscle chilled out enough, but then the cramps came back in all muscle groups on both legs.  All I remember is getting to the side of the road and then black.  Honestly, not much else to say on the subject, just a learning experience.  Other members of Team USA felt rough with cramps too, but these were much worse than the standard cramps you get in training.


Onto training for next season after a few weeks of just training how I feel and doing some things I wouldn't normally do such as mountain biking, basketball, football, etc. Would like to really thank all sponsors such as Powerbar, USAT Collegiate Recruitment Program, Bifferato Gentiloatti, and Delaware Orthopaedics as well as my coach, Brooks Doughty Until later!

Lastly I would like to thank my incredible family and friends for the support! Couldn't do it without my Mom, Grandparents, Aunt, who all helped me to get to France and all my incredible friends and girlfriend who encourage me when I'm out racing or training.