Nickel City EDR/Finally a pro!

So this weekends elite development- draft legal sprint race was cancelled, but Buffalo, NY hosted the Nickel City triathlon that would qualify the top three overall for Pro Licenses. This race was tough going in because of three crazy injuries that I accrued in the last week. After an XC meet last weekend, I hurt the tendon around one of my metatarsals that took me off my feet for two days. Then, while not running, I was hit by a car and possibly have a small break in my wrist. Thirdly, the day before the race, my knee started hurting every time I flexed it! I felt like the walking wounded, but tried to not even think about them because I knew when I started, the adrenaline would take over.

I was right for the most part. The swim was rough where I could feel my wrist's instability every other stroke, and that lack of power was exacerbated by the fact that I was swimming in no man's land. Dan Eckler and another 3 good swimmers had a big gap on me, then I was well ahead of the next group behind me. Ended up getting out of the water in 5th, about 2 minutes back.

The bike consisted of two loops, the first of which, I was just trying to warm up! Lake Erie is a cool lake with 67 degree water temps. After catching up to third place, I knew I was at least able to get my pro card if I could hold that position. Every bump in the road hurt the wrist, but that took my mind off my burning legs! I did not get my race split yet, but had 1:02:13 from my bike for 25 miles. Pretty solid split for some hills. Wanted to go faster, but can't complain.

The run went great. I knew there was only a 10k separating me from officially being a PRO. I took off hard to try and bridge up to the leaders (over 2 minutes ahead). While I put time into their lead, I never caught them despite a close to 32 minute run split. They had great races too!

After the race, I was able to talk with Barb Lindquist and watch the pro ITU races going on during the afternoon. I plan to race the Myrtle Beach ITU pan am cup October 9th as long as everything goes smoothly signing up through ITU entries. I learned a lot from watching the pros that day, and honestly cant wait to get a crack at draft legal racing!

The top three overall. All of us college athletes before turning to Triathlon. Big props to Barb Lindquist for her collegiate recruitment program!

Little molehills!

So this last week has been an interesting week for me. It all started on Saturday, September 16th with the University of Delaware XC meet. I do love running XC, so I was excited to have a chance to run a good race against some good competition from Ole Miss and George Mason. The 8k at UD is extremely hills, rocky, and this particular day it was very muddy and wet. Perfect XC conditions! The course is a big loop and a small loop each with a 250 meter hill at about 30% grade. It is ridiculous. This hill is honestly comparable to the incline in Colorado Springs, CO. The race went out slower than I thought at only 5:01 at the mile (the only flat ish part of the course). After the huge hill, I got into the lead pack of three guys. One kenyan from Ole Miss (8:40 steepler) and a Mason runner who was 30:45 for 10k last spring. I rolled with them until the second huge hill, where I got gapped. I mostly attribute this to the lack of hill training I've been doing. Finished the race in 6th overall in 26:10. For this course, that's perfect. At the same meet last year (when I was only training for XC) I ran 26:09. After the race, I noticed that my 4th metatarsal was hurting from a spike that has evolved through the plate. I did not think much of it during the cool down, but the next morning, when I woke up at 4:30 to get ready for a sprint tri to help out Brick's Multisport, I realized my foot was really hurting. I did not want to let Brick's down, but I had to scratch out of the race and let it heal.

By Monday, my foot was feeling much better, but I still only swim/biked this day to give it some more rest. On the bike ride, I was doing a pyramid based fartlek on a flat course. It was at this point, when a car turned into me and my bike. The car was not going too fast, and thankfully, I did not have too many damaged and my bike was OK. I did get road rash, and my wrist is swollen to this day (Wednesday). I do not think anything is broken, but a lot of muscles are sore around my body from the impact of the car. I am feeling better every day, and have huge plans for my race in Buffalo this weekend. My goal is to win the race, and qualify for my pro card. Once I get that, I will be able to race the ITU race in Myrtle Beach. This post is entitled as such because all these little problems can really get to somebody, but I refuse to let it bother me. Rather, after a long strain of not- so- great luck, I know I am due for a big performance and lots of good luck!

I am very excited to race this weekend, and glad I was able to recover from this accident quickly.


Crossing the line at Nation's Triathlon...First time ever finishing with an American flag, and it was on 9/11. This was a huge honor!

The Nation's Triathlon

On September 11th, 2011 I was fortunate enough to be able to safely race in the Capital of the United States. This race had more significance than other triathlons because of the dedication to the troops, first responders, and everybody that was affected by this day ten years prior.

The race itself was bittersweet as I had the best bike/run combo I've ever had, but was penalized for drafting after the fact. The race started with no swim due to the monsoon that had passed through the mid atlantic area the previous week. The start of the race became a TT style start with 15 athletes starting every 15 seconds running through transition, hopping on their bike and going. While this led to a lot of congestion on the bike course, (the entire elite field was in a peloton save one guy who had a phenomenal solo TT) the course was still blazing fast. I did my best to not be drafting by trying to split up the field at the front, staying to the side or back, but there were a solid 30 riders together and we all were certainly closer than 3 bike lengths. Bike splits: 57:34 (25.8mph!)

After dismounting the bike, I was able to run through the now very muddy transition area, and start the run. I like to get out hard in runs, and this was no exception. I grabbed the overall lead by the 0.5 mile mark and tried to maintain high cadence and I passed. Slightly before 2 miles, somebody told me I had 15 seconds on second. I made sure to not look back but tried to slowly push down on the gas and by 5k (where there was a chip sensor) I listened for the sound of a runner crossing behind me, but I did not hear one. I still tried to maintain my cadence and form as I had bad memories of age group nationals, so I really wanted a good run split today. With about 400 meters to go, I was handed an American Flag which I was able to hold over my head to finish. This was a huge honor- and something I have always envied of the Olympic athletes you see on tv, etc. Upon finishing, my Mom thought I had run 5:15's, which I would have been happy with. The official results had my splits at 32:09 (5:11s) which is great! Also my Aunt, Uncle, and Grandpop were able to make it there to see me race and win, which was another great part of the day.

Obviously I was upset after losing the winning title, but with two great splits and a great day I couldn't worry about it too much. A mantra that I've had in my head for the race and past few weeks of training comes from Ghandi and is simply, "an indomitable will." I think that quote represents what it is to be a triathlete in the best sense. This sport, as Macca said, is not for wimps, and small circumstances can not get into your mental psyche. After this race, I was more motivated than ever to get back to training and racing Buffalo, and (hopefully) Myrtle Beach pro ITU race September 24th and October 9th respectively.

Great Training Block

So after a tough race at Age group nationals, I had two options. The first was to get out and train harder, the second, which was never even an option, was to feel sorry for myself and give in. The week after AG nationals, I logged my highest volume week while still maintaining intensity.  I was able to hit 150 miles on the bike, 65 on the run, and 15k in the pool. This included a set of 3*2 mile cut down reps the Wednesday after the race with the last two 10:13 and 9:59. I also was able to get a few good TT efforts in on the bike including one 8 mile TT avg 25.4 mph after a 15 mile ride, run, and subsequent run and ride home after. I'm really excited at how my cycling is coming along.

The other aspect I can't overlook is the resurgence of training partners! My running buddy, Andy Weaver, started his build up for a half marathon in September, so working out with him has made it so much easier to push the pace, go longer, and have good workouts. While doing workouts solo is mentally a good thing, sometimes the addition of a partner can bring you to bigger and better levels.



That's it for now, back to training with an easier week for The Nation's Tri on Sunday, September 11th. I'm hoping the monsoon that has enveloped the east coast will stop soon- or at the very least keep the swim at Nation's Tri still on!

Age Group Nationals 2011

Transition 2

So here is my race report from AG nationals in Burlington, VT September 20, 2011. This race wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but after a few days, I saw a lot of positives from the race. The run was really the only problem because I bonked on it, if it wasn't for that, I would have made the overall podium and fulfilled that goal.

First, I traveled with my Mom and girlfriend via car to Burlington. Got there the Thursday before the race, and Friday was my 21st birthday! On Friday, met with some of the crew from the collegiate recruitment camp and swam, biked, and ran on the course. Also sight saw the Ben n Jerry's factory which was delicious! To the race:

Pre race: Woke up at 5:20 (sleeping in for a tri!) and jogged for 10 minutes, ate my usual breakfast, showered and off to the race. Set up my transition area, and relaxed for awhile as my wave started second to last in the whole race. I knew this would mean I'd have to pass people during the whole race, and not have a great idea of where I was relative to my competitors.  Warmed up with surgical tubing.

Swim:

The swim split was 20:02 which put me about 6th out of the water in my age group, only 45 seconds behind the leader. This was a really choppy and physical swim as we started out behind so many waves that we had to swim over to of them. Everybody on the swmi course got off course at one point. It was bad enough that everybody was treading water at one point looking for the next bouy. Exited the water in front of most of the contenders for the race. Got into and out and T1 pretty well with wetsuit coming off pretty well and rubber bands on the shoes.

Bike: 

This was a phenominal bike ride for me! Got out of T1 and immediately passed Dan T from camp. I figured that meant two things. First, I had a good enough swim to be that close, and two, I was moving on the bike pretty well. The beginning of the bike was very uphill, so I stayed mostly on the horns and in a lower cadence. Was battling back and fourth with another guy in my age group when I saw the eventual winner, Kashar, come by up the hill on I189. I tried to hang with him for a little, but the course got so congested at parts that I eventually lost sight, and he was flying. Only finished about half of my water bottle during the ride, which probably led to the problems on the run. At one point, there was a course marshall actually blocking me as I wanted to pass some of the people in front of me. That was not fun, and I was a little worried I'd get called for drafting. Once I hit the turn around on Dorset, I stayed in the aero bars the whole way in. I did get out of one shoe too soon as I misjudged the transition area, but sprinted with feet on top of the pedals to the dismount.

Run: 

The actual run was disasterous. 36:10 for a 10k. Felt ok off the bike, but that huge hill really made me work. Felt fine once I crested it and I immediately started passing people in droves. Got a huge side stitch around mile 2 that I tried to forget about. Once I started downhill, the side stitch really was hurting, and then my stomach started hurting all over. At this point, any water I tried to take in just made me feel worse. I had to REALLY mentally focus on just finishing. I do not know if I have ever hurt that much physically and mentally. I was dry heaving, and actually had what I think were tears coming out of my eyes. Weird stuff. i put any effort I had into the last 100 meters, and thought I may actually collapse after. This was completely my error by not consuming enough carbs/sugar on the bike leg. With such an improvement on the bike leg, I was just not ready and prepared to run my best off it.

Post race: 

After the race, I was initially dissapointed, but then I thought about a few things. First, if I had run 32:30 (what I normally would run), I would have been 6th overall and beaten a lot of guys just by moving up by only a minute. I am not a 5:51/mile runner, so this was not an indication of my ability, but rather my best effort on the day. Second, I have only been training since late May for triathlon, and I am already able to stay with most swimmers (off relatively little swim work compared to future winter plans), I just biked 24.2 mph for a 40k (which is a 2 mph improvement over Philly less than 2 months ago!) and I already know I can run with anybody in the country at the end of the race, barring today. Overall, this was a positive experience, but I do wish my run could have been on.

nearing the end of the bike


The Bricks Squad and myself (left)

2011 Mid Atlantic Sprint Regional Championship

On August 7th, I competed in the 2011 Steeleman triathlon sprint division that was serving as the MA region sprint championships. I came out with the overall win by 5:31, so it was not as close of a race as I would have liked. The race did simulate the course in Vermont for AG nationals, so that was a very positive result. Also, it was my first wetsuit swim ever, so that was good experience. Here is my race report:

Pre race: Woke up at 4:30 to do a short 10 minute shakeout run. Found it was pouring rain outside, o well. After my run, I had standard banana, bagel with peanutbutter, and coffee for breakfast before heading to the race site. There, I warmed up another 2 miles on the run, about a mile of biking because there was no good place to go, but I did practice the tough hill 200 meters out of transition and decided on climbing it in the small ring. After that, I waited around for my wave to start.

Swim: 10:16 for 860 yds (fastest by :58) Unfortunately, the sprint race started a little late, and I was in the 4th sprint wave, so I had to make my way through throngs of people, but again, good practice for AG nationals where my age group starts later. Wetsuit swim went great, I got out really hard and by the first bouy (100 meters in) I was in front. There was a group of swimmers from Liberty University that I thought were going to get out after it, but they did not get going. I exited the water, and began the wetsuit removal.

T1: No official time yet, but wetsuit came out pretty well. This was the part of the race I was most nervous for, but everything worked out well. Rubber bands on the shoes worked perfectly and saved a lot of time with them.

Bike: (39:06 for 15.5, fastest by 1:20) New Trek Speed Concept 9.8 is simply incredible! Only problem was, the sensor did not pick up my speed, so I rode the bike with only cadence and perceived effort to rely on. Ended up being a pretty hilly ride with no flat sections. I rode the uphills (my stronger suit) well, and again was passing droves of people as the Olympic and Sprint courses converged on each other. The downhill into T2 was technical with a 90 degree turn at the bottom, but I navigated it pretty well. Was probably a bit conservative on this since it was rainy in the morning.

T2: Again, no time, but everything went according to plan in T2, got out hard on the run.

Run: (16:42 for 5k+ fastest by 2:00). Plan for the run was to get out harder on the uphill out, and let the downhill back carry me home. Felt like I had the race in the bag at this point, so I did not kill myself to put crap in my legs for the next few days. Had plenty left in the tank for a 10k. Good overall race, would have liked more head to head racing as I was 8:00 in front of the next person in my wave, but great simulation for Vermont, and nice race.

Overall 1:08:09 for 860 yd swim, 15.5 bike, slightly longer than 5k run. (First by 5:31)

Time to rest up, hit the next week of training, and then rest up for nationals. I have a fun team XC race in Tuesday night with two former UD runners and a current ST. Joes runner. 4 man team race in West Chester. It's always fun for me to get into a purely running race.

Rest of the Summer

I have finalized my races for the rest of this 2011 season. I am doing the Mid Atlantic Regional Sprint Championship, Sunday August 7th at Noxamixon State Park, PA. After that, US Age Group nationals will be August 20th (day after my 21st birthday), then the Nation's Tri September 11th in Washington, DC. After that will be two draft legal races, September 25th in Buffalo, NY, and October 9th in Myrtle Beach, SC. I am excited that I will be able to do a mixture of draft legal racing and non drafting racing to hone my bike skills.
This first week after Colorado Springs has been a hot and humid adjustment in Delaware, but I've still managed to get a good week of training in. I have done a track workout, a bike/run brick, a swim/bike brick, and a hill workout. There will still be a long run, and long bike this weekend with some swimming both days. Endurance Films will be announcing their elite racing team next Tuesday, August 2nd, and I have applied and am a finalist for this team. I hope I will be able to align myself with such a great company!
The last bit of exciting news I have is that USATriathlon has helped me find a good draft legal bike to rent until I get an official bike sponsor! They have provided me the frame of a Blue RC4 bike, and I will be switching all the components from my current road bike (much too big on me) to make this one my race bike in Buffalo and Myrtle Beach. I will also get my first TT bike ever, courtesy of Bike Line Middletown, a Trek Speed Concept 9.5 I am excited to see what I can do on a truly fitted time trial bike. It looks like quite the machine, and I can't wait to try it out.

Speed Concept 9.8

Blue RC4