Capping off an interesting season - Ironman Augusta 70.3

In early 2012, I was trying to decide which 70.3 would be my first to attempt. It came down to Beach 2 Battleship and Ironman 70.3 Augusta. Both offer great courses, current assisted swims and awesome crowd support. After I weigh it out, the race closer to home won out and you can read about that experience in this blog. Flash forward three years later, eight 70.3 distance races in the books and I am finally getting ready to toe the line in Augusta.

As this race grew near I was feeling amazing, coming off of a great race at the Patriots International and completed some great training efforts, it would appear that I was peaking at the best time possible.

I had planned this trip early on and added an extra day to travel down. Thanks to a suggestion from some friends I was staying at the Queen Ann Inn, which was right on the run course. 

The ride down to Georgia was pretty uneventful, until I got within a quarter mile of the Queen Ann that is. As I was waiting to turn left at a light, a car passes by making a left in the opposite direction and cuts the turn basically right after I pass. This causes their mirror to hit my bike, which is on the back of my truck. I felt a good bump and looked back to see my handlebars twisted and I could not see my front wheel in the mirror as I had for the last 8 hours. You guessed it, I freaked out, especially since the driver kept going. There was no way they didn’t feel the hit, anger level is reaching Incredible Hulk range. Luckily there was little damage to the wheel and none to the bike. The wheel, I found out when I got home was knocked out of true and luckily that was it. Damn, I hoped that was my bad luck event for this trip.

The Sherpa's/Parents

After this fun and getting checked into the Queen Ann, I meet up with my parents who made the trip down to be my Sherpa’s once again. They become very good at this task and depending on the location, could be available to Sherpa for you too, LOL!! I also learned that everyone staying at the house was doing the race and as it turned out, almost all were members of the DC Tri club which is affiliated with Snapple. How cool is that!

The next day, we took a trip to the expo/packet pick up. After getting my packet we explored the expo. I had a great conversation with Jason from Orr Cycling. He builds carbon race wheels and I have had a chance to meet him at an earlier race this year. I really like the wheels he had on display and when the time comes to upgrade, I will be giving Jason a call. I also spent some time talking to Johnny at the Ruby Project booth. Johnny is a great example of how customer service should be, he walked me through a few options for the glasses I have and help me decide on a pair of ImpactX lenses that are photochromic (which means the get darker the brighter it gets). This by the way turned out to be huge help come race day, Thank You Johnny!

Later that day we drove the bike course and I got to relax. Saturday, I dropped the bike off and got in a quick run, picked up some beer (for Sunday after the race) and spent the rest of the day resting and doing everything I could to stay out of my own head.

Race morning I was up before my alarm, got ready and my parents arrived to drive me down to transition. So this might be a good time to explain some of the logistics of this race. The swim was point to point, so I would have to be bused to the swim start from transition. Thankfully there is only one transition area but the finish line was at separate location. This all makes for some fun planning. Unlike Challenge, Ironman had morning swim bags you could drop off before the start, with not only your morning stuff but with what you may need at the finish line. Thankfully I have two great Sherpa’s so my after race bag was waiting for me in my dad’s truck.

As we got to transition, I started to get things set up to realize my bike had been re-racked. You see, because of being on the taller side I have a large size frame. As such, I need to rack my bike by the handle bars. Normally you would rack by the seat but my bike will not fit under the bar without having to tilt it and once all the bikes are racked, I don’t have enough room. So, as I re-positioned it, a volunteer comes running over giving me crap. I tried to explain to the kid why I was doing this and it was not my first rodeo. He just wouldn’t listen, this brought over the volunteer captain who I just so happen to have a chat with the day before. Super nice guy, he calmed the kid and now me, he also suggested to make sure this was not an issue we should walk over and double checked with the official. The official told us it was fine, explained why they asked to check but understood my situation. Now that is over with, my blood pressure started to come down, I did some dynamic stretches to help warm up using a new tool I got called Active-Stretch, this things is awesome and is becoming my go to warm-up routine. After finishing that, I sought out my parents one last time and headed to shuttle (a yellow school bus) for the ride to the swim start.

At the swim start I realized very quickly that I forgot one thing that would've been very helpful, my jacket. I took it off while setting up transition and now that I was sitting waiting and the breeze picked up with the pre-dawn temp left me a bit chilled. I found a good spot that blocked some wind, wrapped my wetsuit around me and waiting until it was time to head over for my wave start. I was lucky enough to be in the second wave, there were 26 total, wow that is a lot of people racing.

The time came to get my Xterra Vortex wetsuit on and I started to make the short walk to the starting arch. Last year in the two Ironman brand races I completed I earned the status of All World Athlete, there are three levels and I qualified for the bronze level, which is the top ten percent of my age group. I brag about this because this bestowed upon me a different color swim cap with AWA on one side. The cap became quite the conversation piece prior to the swim start. Some asking what it was and why I had a different cap, others asking how I got the cap as when they check in, there were none left. This conversation help make the trek down the ramps to the floating dock go by very quickly. Next then I knew we were jumping in and holding on to the dock waiting for the cannon (yes cannon) to go off.

I bring up holding onto the dock to mention the current, up river are a series of dams which provide the current. While we sat their waiting a few guys let go and were quickly heading down stream, one guy commented that he had to work a bit to get back to the dock. My gut was starting to tell me that this was going to be a fast swim.

BOOM! The cannon goes off!

As soon as I let go the current grab me, I dropped my head and started to swim. No matter how much I tried though I could not get my breathing right. That is what I get for sitting around and not warming up at the swim start, there as no pre-race swim allowed but I should have brought my shoes or my active-stretch. It took a few hundred yards for my breathing to come around and when it did, I started to fly. After that point, I barely had to lift my head to sight. I was lucky that I was not running into many people from the first wave and when I did sight I was able to make corrections to avoid people up ahead. The next thing I know the buoys changed to orange from yellow, telling me I was on the back end of the course. After that it seemed like I was at the swim exit in no time. As I stood up I head my Dad yelling almost right away and I ran up the boat ramp unzipping my wetsuit.

 

Swim: 23:16 8th AG, 47th Overall

When I first saw transition the day before I thought WOW, this will be the shortest transition run in history, well was I wrong! I did not realize we had to run around transition then into it, based on my Garmin I ran a quarter of mile total. I did stop to take advantage of the wetsuit strippers along the way, still debating if this helps as for the third time my foot got stuck and I had to talk them through getting it off. That done, helmet on, took a big bite of a clif bar and I was off to the mount line.

T1: 3:28

The plan on the bike was to stay a little low watt wise and save some energy for the run. As I got to the 5 mile mark my average watts were 216, very low from the 250 I was shooting for but my speed was holding on the high end so I counted it as a win. By mile six, I finally saw another rider, by mile ten I saw a second rider. After passing him, I never did see another rider the rest of the ride, many time I wonder if I was even on the right course but there was a volunteer at almost every intersection, seeing them I knew I was OK. Also, my watts were still on the low end, averaging about 219 so what the heck, I keep it up that pace.

Shortly after mile 20, the noticeable hills started on the course, my watts slowly started creeping up to where I had expected them to be earlier.  I paid special attention to my output climbing, to make sure I was not above my threshold for more than a few minutes at a time. Still feeling pretty good, I pressed on and really attacked the downhills.

At mile 35, there was a quick sharp turn, almost a 90 degree turn, when I saw it while we drove the course I knew I had to remember to be careful and slow down. Now mid race, I forgot what road I was on and guess who forgot about the turn until I started to make it. Here is play by play, see the cones, slow down as normal for a turn, start the turn and realize the cones go around and it hits me this is the turn, grab the brakes and repeat the following statement over and over: “OH SHIT!” while the turn. The police officer working the intersection started laughing and as soon as I made it through upright and on the inside of the cones, so did I.

After that, I knew there was one or two steady climbs and then almost a straight downhill for the last 10 miles. The legs started getting a little sore at this point and I made sure to pick up the cadence some the help bring the legs back around. By the way, did I mention I have not seen a sole on a bicycle yet, what the heck??

The last 10 miles flew by, my watts drop down under 220 again but my speed is way up, must be the downgrade of the road. Then I see the street light and the corner store I knew lead back to transition. As I turn up the road I see my parents running down a hill at the end of the road, shoot them a thumbs up and start undoing my shoes and get ready to dismount.

As I get off the bike and start running towards transition, the crowds are cheering big time and a lady yells, “You’re in second”. I stopped, almost trip and yelled “wait, WHAT?” she yelled “second overall”, my response was simply, “HOLY SHIT!” This can’t be right, it was a good ride, maybe a PR but to in second????

Bike: 2:25:55, 6^th AG, 23^rd Overall

Transition was a little longer then I would have liked. As I put my socks on, my legs got tight and my head started to spin a bit. I stopped, took a deep breath and got back to work. Grabbed my hat, bib and bottle of Osmo and headed right for the run out.

T2: 2:06

The run out was the opposite of the swim in so almost a quarter of mile again and as I turn on to the road I see my parents and start asking am I really second, second overall. They both say yes and once again my response, “HOLY SHIT” then I look forward and see the coolest thing ever, the bike escort…SWEET!

That's my Holy Shit 2nd face

Bike escort!

He was a chatty guy, I think his name was Jamie, I really had a hard time hearing him, maybe because I am in shock. I know we chatted for almost the first full mile but I could not tell you of what. As the mile one marker got close one of my biggest fears started to materialize. My damn quads (both) started to cramp and bad! I had to stop and drive my thumbs into both, downed two salt pills and started off again. Now this could be from pushing the bike too hard but how can that be when my watts were so low, or I was not hydrating enough, again not sure how. I am using the same plan I always do and it is a cool wet day, my running pace was much faster than planned, you know being excited and all, that has to be it, right? What the hell!

As we get to the first aid starting and I was hurting. I was asked by a volunteer what I needed and I asked for anything that would stop my legs from cramping. A banana was shoved in front of me, never ate on in a race before but what the hell. It worked! 

Almost right after the aid station the cramps were gone and I went back to work. It was about mile four that I got caught and that guy went by like I was standing still. I held my head high as I never expected to be in this situation in an Ironman brand race and I was still in third. I got to a turn-around to head back up Broad street and I see my parents. My mom is reading me text messages from my training partner Steve Smith and you couldn’t of smacked the smile off my Dad’s face, LOL. I than hit the aid station at the turn point and everyone is cheering me on by name, I should mention my bib is turn around so how do they…..oh yeah, my mom!

I was able to hold third until just after mile six when I had to stop and walk a few time. By the time I came to start of lap two I was passed by two more people and by that time I was mixed in with all the waves behind me, I had no idea where I was. 

The next six miles was a mix of run until I couldn't tolerate the pain any more or get reach an aid station. The walking helped reduce the pain and I also realized if I slowed my pace that helped as well. As I made the second to last turn, it felt an eternity to complete the short distance to the actual last turn towards the finish line. The crowd support was amazing and really brought up my spirits, I was determined to run the rest of the way no matter what. As I hit the carpet I saw my Dad and reached out for a high five and I was across the line.

Run: 1:43:22, 11^th AG 59^th Overall

My legs cramped down the minute I stopped and was helped to med tent where some rest, stretching and a lot of Gatorade helped. It would take a while to find out where I placed as with 26 waves of athlete and three in my age group alone still had to finish. 

When it was all said and done, I was 59^th overall out of 2,580 and 11^th in my age group out of 322. Best of all, I crushed one of my big goal for this race, to set a new personal record. I did that by over 10 minutes finishing in 4:38:07. I have not been able to beat my old time in almost three years but it was worth the wait to have it happen at this race.

What a great way to end this tri season and for the most part this year. I have been very frustrated over the years not being able to make any real improvement in this distance in regards as to time. This just goes to show how hard work, dedication and a desire to always improve will pay off. Never give up!

Getting the results you are looking for can not happen without great support. Thank you to Primal Sports Mud, putting some mud on my quads after the race helped me recover much faster than I expected. A huge thank you to the Snapple tri club and their amazing sponsors, Osmo Nutrition, Clif bar , Rudy Project, Xterra wetsuits and SweatVac.  Also I want to send a very big thank you to Point2 Running Company and Bike Beat of Newport News.

To my Coach Adam Otstot, trust the training, trust the plan and listen to Adam, it's a formula that works. Thank you so much Adam for all of your guidance and support, I can't wait to see what next year holds.

My Granddaughter Addison

Thank you to my entire family, to my parents who were on site race day and to everyone who couldn't make it, I really appreciated all the comments and texts. Training and racing long course triathlon and endurance sports a whole, place a big strain on the family and without everyone's support this could not be possible. I know I miss a lot of family events and as painful as it is to hear how much my Granddaughter misses me (I always seem to be missing events with her due to races), I do hope one day she is proud and inspired by what I do and learns to work hard towards her dreams and never quite, no matter what!

So what’s next, good question. I plan to do some short distance race(s), specifically the Christmas Town Dash 8K in December but my hope was to be spending sometime in April in Boston but that did not workout, by 35 seconds. Thanks to a large number of entries this year into the Boston Marathon, the qualifying times were moved up by 2 minutes and 28 seconds, this put me in with 4500 fellow runners who got the thanks but no thanks, slow pokes (Just kidding).

That said, later the same day I learned my application was not accepted, I learned that I was selected to be an ambassador for Point2Running company and Flat-Out Events. I am truly honored to get to represent two local companies that do great work for our running community. 

This also helped me decided that I will make my attempt for a faster Boston Marathon qualifying time at the Newport News, One City Marathon in March. I am highly motivated to crush my BQ(Boston Qualification) time and make sure I am a least in the 5 minute plus group of qualifying time. 

So as of the time I am writing this, the plan is to resting up and recharging but I am looking forward to getting back to work.

International fun at Patriots

Since July 2013, I have not race a triathlon distance shorter than a half (70.3 miles). This year I jumped at the chance to race an International distance race (1500 Meter swim, 40K bike, and 10K run) three weeks prior to my final race of the season, Ironman 70.3 Augusta. This race is held in Williamsburg on a course that I train on weekly. I have spectated at the half event the last two years but this year the international distance was brought back and the timing worked out perfectly.

Leading up to this race after Challenge Pocono, I have had a pretty good training block. A functional power test on the bike, showed a 15 watt jump, my running has been returning to early season marathon form and my swimming has been on point. I was really excited going into this race and getting a chance to just let loose. I was also excited to have many friends racing alongside me or in the half distance race held at the same time.

Race morning was quite a new experience for me as I was really calm. I decided to not think about the "what if’s", worry if I am ready, look around and wonder if that guy is in my age group. For the first time I didn’t care about any of that, I was enjoying the environment and catching up with everyone.

chatting with Justin

As I got my warm-up run done and headed down to the swim start, I got to see my coach Adam Otstot start his wave for the half, Adam has won this race the last four years and we all knew he had a great shot to make it five. After Adam was off, I got on my Xterra Speedsuit and did a quick swim myself, then waited around for my wave to start.

I mention the half going first for a reason but I maybe getting ahead of myself. My wave was the second of the international distance to go, each wave was separated by 4 minutes which was pretty nice. I walked out to the start and made my way to the front, not because I thought I was faster but it is easier than fighting with a group from the sound of the gun.

This time it didn’t matter, the water was shallow, about waist deep and even though I swam from the start many people walked out to the first buoy. What was frustrating is while you are swimming, you realize the people walking are going just as fast. The difference is I am not using as much energy as they are. 

After the first buoy I caught onto someone's draft and was able to hold it for a bit, we bumped a few time and then separated, darn. Things were going well and I was feeling good until the next turn buoy, this one was into deeper water and the start of the long leg of the swim. Almost instantly the water became choppy and not only did I and a group of guys from my wave catch the group in front of us and had to fight through the pack, the fun of a triathlon swim.

It took about 100 yards or so to get a feel for the chop and find a rhythm, what sucked was every time I did find a rhythm I would run into someone or have to fight through another group.  As such, the next 5 to 600 yards were slow and frustrating. Once I reached the last turn buoy I was able to make a beeline for the swim exit. Now that I was out of the chop and the groups (for some reason they were all drifting to the left of the sighting buoys) I was able to pick up the pace. I hit the beach feeling good and looking forward to the bike.

Swim: 28:08, 12th overall

T1 was a blur and I was off on the bike.

The first quarter mile I used to settle down, I had two turns/bends to traverse and I stayed on the bull horns. As I came around the last bend for some reason I looked at a women I was passing and said out loud "game on", dropped into the aero position and well, went to light-speed, LOL!

It was literally like a switch was flipped and I was dialed in and cranking out the watts. I spent most of the 23 plus miles yelling "on your left", I was passing people like crazy and didn't even realize it when I passed people I knew. I heard my name a few times and shouts of encouragement but all I remember seeing was the road in front of me.

This course was an out and back, mixed with the half distance racers who would go straight when I would turn-around. This gave me the advantage of seeing who was ahead of me on the way back. It wasn't until mile 10 that I saw the first place guy, I really thought I missed people while I was zoned out but I did start counting people that passed by. At the turn-around I was (by my count) in the 10th place, this sparked a fire causing my watts and speed to jumped up.

By the time I was rolling back to transition I had caught four riders and now (again by my count) was in 6th place. This ride by far was one of my best ever, so I apologize if I come across as bragging but I have worked really hard at this discipline and to see the payoff is extremely exciting.

Bike: 57:14 2nd overall

As with T1, T2 is a bit of blur except for the fact that my area of transition was on an incline and trying to put socks on was a bit of an adventure. Finally completing that task, I head for the ran out banner with a bit of a slow but respectable 1:28 T2.

The run has been my nemesis, I have tendency to push the bike to hard and not leave enough in the tank to run to my capability.  As I started, I realized quickly that the pace suggested by my coach was not going to happen, well at least not right away. I was holding about 7:20 -7:25 minute mile pace when the plan was to go sub 7's. The upside was I was alone.

By mile 2, I started to hear footsteps and saw there was a guy catching up to me. Shortly after making a turn onto a tree covered trail (this course was mostly shaded and on gravel, which was awesome). I could hear him behind me but he was not getting any closer. I was still holding that pace I set out of transition at and was feeling good. I thought, if he catches me, he does, but I felt it was too early to push the pace and by mile 4 he passed me. I tried not to think about it and the fact he was not in my age group helped, so I kept on working. By mile 5, I caught back up to him and shortly after was able to gain some distance. Then a half mile later some young pup, LOL went flying by and I realized I would have to settle for 7th. Right like 7th overall is settling.

The upside of him passing me is it spurred me to pick up the pace and went sub 7 for the remainder of the run. Turning towards the finish line I was feeling amazing. After crossing the finish line my Garmin showed a time of 2:15 and change, if that was even close to the official time I just set a big personal record.

Run: 46:00, 11th overall

Overall, 2:15:48, 6th overall, 1st Masters and about a 6 minute personal record.

Not only was this my first triathlon podium in two years, it was my first Masters win. For context, Masters is everyone 40 and over, the top three overall are pulled out then the top three masters finishers and then the age groups are settled. To add to the brag fest, I also set a personal record for this distance on the bike by five minutes plus.  This was also a big day for the Snapple tri club and Otstot's Hotshots who all either reached the podium, set personal records or tackled a new distance and crushed it. Congratulations everyone!

Masters awards

The Hotshots talking with the coach after his big win!

This all doesn't happen without the great people and groups that support me. Thank you to my coach Adam Otstos (who by the way won the half distance race for the 5th straight year), to Primal Sports Mud, whose product helps me recover from hard workouts to tackle whatever Adam has planned for me the next day. Snapple Triathlon club and their amazing sponsors  Osmo Nutrition, Clif bar, Rudy Project, Xterra wetsuits, Louis Garneau and SweatVac.  I would also like to thank Point2 Running Company and Bike Beat of Newport News who always help with whatever it is I need to keep training and racing. Lastly, this doesn't happen without the support of my family, thank you!

Up next is Ironman Augusta 70.3 in late September and then a well earned rest!

Challenge Pocono

What a difference a 2 months can make, earlier I was nursing an injury, coming to terms with pulling out of my first triathlon due to said injury, as well as dealing with a limited training plan. During that time period an opportunity was presented from my beloved Snapple Tri Club, to submit a brief write-up to one of our great sponsor Finis, answering a few questions. The company would review the submissions and offer entry to a Challenge Americas race to those they selected. As you can guess I was one of those selected. I choose Challenge Pocono, the timing seemed perfect as it would let me get a few solid weeks of training in after my injury and success at Challenge Atlantic City. Also, two friends Jason Bridges and Peter Lubrano were racing as well as a large group of Snapple teammates.

I had a great solid training block leading up to the race and was feeling pretty good. Jason, Peter and I drove up the Friday before the race, using a site called Air BnB, I was able to secure a great condo, 2 miles from the race site or as it turns out the parking area for the race. The ride up to PA, well, it sucked! Traffic was a nightmare from the start and it made a 7 hour ride into just about 10. The upside was the company in the car, we were laughing most of the way.

Saturday morning, we got in a run, headed to packet pick-up, took a quick spin on the bike as well as a short practice swim. The swim proved to be the most informative as it showed that the first 800 plus yards of the swim would be against a current. Nothing too horrible but enough to move you quickly downstream the minute you stopped swimming. After resting for the remainder of the afternoon we meet some Snapple teammates for a great dinner in a very interesting restaurant with some pretty good food. (Wish I could remember the name of the place).

Race morning, seem to come to quick but when does a 4 A.M. wake up call not come to quick. After getting those every interesting race number tattoos on, we drove to the parking area. This is where the race gets a bit interesting logistically. It was set up that we parked at one location, got on (school) buses to get to transition and the swim start, then the finish was in a third location. After the race, you would get bused back to where you parked and drive to transition to get your bike and gear. The problem here was after the race, you are at the finish with nothing to change into unless of course you had a Sherpa (family, friend, some stranger you trust to carry your bag and deliver it to you).

So with that said, we parked got onto the school buses (I got the back seat and forgot how much fun it is to sit there on poorly maintained roads, weeeeee!) got to transition and started to get set up. One cool thing was Challenge racked the teams/clubs together so all around were my Snapple peeps.

Now, just as we got ready to leave for a warm up one of the USAT referees comes by checking bikes and tells us who had prior race stickers on our bikes that we have to cover or remove them OR we will be disqualified. WHAT! Context, on the steam of my bike I kept the sticker from Ironman Lake Placid last year, many triathletes keep a sticker on their bike usually from their last Ironman. Ego thing maybe, but we did earn the right, LOL. I have had a sticker there for a two years and in over 10 races this was the first time this came up. Peter had the idea of putting electrical tape over it and it worked perfect, came right off after the race and the sticker was fine. Now that the drama was over, Jason and I got in a quick run, finish a bottle of Osmo Pre-Load , got my Xterra Vortex wetsuit on and had time to get in the water for a quick swim.

The start time was pushed back 15 minutes due to fog, the delay worked out well. This race was an in water start and for the first time I was not nervous at all. I had decided that worrying about where I may finish, if I could break 5 hours or my PR was just stupid, I really don’t have any control over that. When we were allowed into the water I swam out and worked my way to the front, lining up so I would have a direct shot to the first buoy. We had to hang out and tread water for about two and half minutes, everyone was joked around a bit, waiting for the horn.

Swim:

This swim was in the Delaware River and I was pleasantly surprised as to how clear the water was, it made it so easy to see my fellow competitors and reduce the amount of times I had to lift my head to sight. Provided of course that they were swimming straight, this would be very helpful. As mentioned earlier the first part of the swim was up current, my plan was to keep long, glide as much as I could maximizing distance per stroke. I would also increase my kick until the turn, than dial the kick back as I went downstream until I got within 300 yards of the finish. The plan worked great, I felt like I was at the turn buoy in no time, by getting in the front at the start I had very little jocking/fighting at the start, actually it felt like I had the water to myself. After the turn buoy it seemed like someone put a rope around me, pulled me downstream. Before I knew it the start arch was on my right. About that time the current seemed to lighten up and I re-engaged my kick for a bit. When I realized I was at the second to the last buoy before the turn home I picked up that pace and pushed it a little more as I turned to the finish. After it was all said and done, I was really pleased with the swim! I didn’t break 30 minutes which is a goal of mine but everything went as good as it could have.

32:29, 4^th AG/26^th Overall

T1:

Leaving the water I had what my Garmin told me afterwards was a quarter of a mile run to T1. I was feeling a bit winded as I stood up and started to take my wetsuit off but as I jogged towards transition my energy levels started rising. As soon as I got to my bike I grabbed a bite of a Clif bar, got my gear on and headed to the mount line.

3:43

Bike:

The bike course was within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation area which was closed off to the traffic. It was awesome to have no traffic to worry about in a race but the road conditions over much of the course had a lot to be desired. The first 5 plus miles of the course as well as the last 5 were over some good climbs. Right before the first turn there was one that I swore would be the end of my day, my quads were screaming as I hit the top. Luckily over the next few miles it was mostly all downhill, I coasted over most it dodging pot holes left and right. What really sucked was my sunglasses had started to fog up and there since there was a lot of shade it was becoming hard to see. I didn’t want to take the glasses off as the aero helmet does not make that task easy, so I just slid them down the bridge of my nose, this worked well as long as I was in the aero position. A bit annoying but at least I could see the mess the roads were.

After the downhill we turned onto Route 209 which we would stay on for the most of the ride. Road condition were much better as well as visibility. I was staying conservative with my watt output and by the first turnaround at mile 25 and by my count I was in the top 20 overall. To be honest here, we all know that wouldn’t last long but I was going to enjoy it for a bit. It gave me a real boost of energy as well as I started seeing a few of my Snapple team mates.

This course offered two out and backs and both were pretty straight forward. After the first one I backed off a little bit worried I would burn my legs out for the run, also knowing I had some climbing to do to get back to transition. The rest of the ride was good, but after the second turn-around I was starting to get mixed in with the back of the pack of the Olympic race. Normally not a big deal but it appeared most of these folks didn’t read the rules or listen at the meetings, they were all over the road. Really how many time do you need to hear “ON YOUR LEFT” before it clicks to move over? Once I hit the last few big climbs I was surprised as my energy levels were still high and as much as it hurt I pushed up those hills. I was able to recover a bit and enjoy some fun technical descending even if I had to ride the breaks because of the road condition, it felt like the bike would vibrate apart.

As I came rolling back towards T2, I was feeling great. My legs were 100 times better than after Challenge AC which by the way was a flat course and I was feel optimistic about the run.

2:36:00 4^th AG/26^th Overall

T2: Blink and T2 was over and I was running. Got to love those types of transitions

1:19 by my Garmin, 2:05 by the race site

Run:

This is where the race got interesting, based on what had happened in Lake Placid I learned to walk big climbs early on. In Placid I ran the hills early and my quads were shot mid-way through. As I approached mile 3 there was the first uphill of the course and I put the plan into action. Now just after mile 4 was a BEAST of hill, it actually hurt walking up it and everyone around me walked it as well. I think just about everyone I spoke to did, it was that steep. Luckily about all the hills on the course were shaded and let me tell you that made for an entirely different and amazing run. Shortly after the one of the hills there was a clearing and even a short time out in the sun, you could feel the energy just drain away.

So for most of the rest of the race it was run to the base of a hill, try to run up the smaller ones only to not make it too far. I was passed by a few guys in my age group but the great equalize was those hills. All but one of those guys I caught back up to at aid stations or while walking up hills. As the miles ticked away I would try to run farther up each hill before walking and that was paying off as I kept getting closer to those guys ahead of me. Right before mile 12 there was the last climb and it was a big one. I had caught the last guy I knew I could and ran up half of the hill. At the top I took a big hit of Osmo Active and put all I had left into the next mile. I was able to drop my pace down to just above 7:30 and as I closed in to the finish one of those guys in my age group I had passed went sprinting by. Damn! I had no legs left to try and chase him down, I was using what was left to cross the line.

1:50:32

Total time: 5:04:50 5^th AG/ 40^th Overall

So the guy who sprinted by me only beat me by 6 seconds. Turns out when I got home and the website was updated that there was one guy right in front of him that beat me by 42 seconds. I still missed the podium by seconds but a little more than I initially thought. Damn, had I not stopped for ice at a few aid stations or started trying to run up hills earlier I could of bridge that gap. Lesson learned.

Overall I am very happy with this race. There was still some lack of training at this time of the year because of the early injury and for a big guy like me to put up a bike time like that, it was a good sign of progress. My run, could have been executed better but I went in planning to be conservative so I can’t be too upset over that. Best part of all was getting to race with a big group of dream crushers who took spots on most of the podiums including 2^nd overall. It was a really good day for Team Snapple!

I can’t do this with the support of my family, friends, coaches and sponsors. A huge thank you to my family for their support and encouragement.  As always, thank you to my coach Adam Otstot as well as my Masters coach Steve Hennessy, they both help keep me on track, help me balance all this fun and continue to grow stronger. I am so grateful to be able to represent Primal Sports Mud as a brand ambassador, their product helps my muscles recover to be ready for the next training day or whatever adventure comes my way. Thank you to Snapple Tri club, it is awesome to be part of such an amazing group of supportive athletes. It was great to race alongside so many of you. To the Snapple Clubs sponsors, Osmo Nutrition, Clif bar, Rudy Project, Xterra wetsuits, Louis Garneau and SweatVac. Also I want to send a very big thank you to Point2 Running Company and Bike Beat of Newport News. Finally, thank you again to Finis for this opportunity but for some great swim gear.

The month of September will be fun, starting with an international distance race early in the month and finishing off the tri season with Ironman 70.3 Augusta.

All comes back to the Boardwalk

The 2015 race season as a whole started off great, my first age group win and other podiums in the 5K distance. A Boston qualification at the Newport News Marathon and large gains in the one discipline I have struggled in for the last two year, running.

So I was going into this tri season feeling confident that I was going to finally to have a breakthrough at the 70.3 distance. Since 2012, when I completed my first, I have gotten within 40 seconds of my personal best but I have not been able to break past it.

As the early season went on a few muscle related issues had started. Then a few weeks outside of what was to be my first race, Ironman Raleigh 70.3 at the end of May, I developed an injury. The injury involved my mid and lower back, hips, piriformis and glutes. Believe it or not it seems a leading factor was not doing yoga since late last November. Thanks to great support from my coach and doctors I was able to recover and hopefully become stronger. This along with a course of dry needling, practicing yoga daily and my masters swim coach who made a small change in my head position, which help relieve a lot of pressure from my low back I was feeling more confident each day.

All of this was leading up to what would be my first race of the season, Challenge Atlantic City half (70.3). Any time I get a chance to race back home in NJ and have my family on site, it’s a special opportunity. My last race in NJ didn’t go so well and coming into this race I had limited training in the bank and was worried how the race would go. Coach Adam and I had discussed a race plan that helped my confidence. Since I had been swimming strong throughout the injury, the plan was to attack as normal. The bike, he recommend lowering my watt range down to 80-85% of my functional power threshold and race within myself. This would be a big key to success as my last few races I burned too many matches pushing the pace too hard. Then for the run, start off slow and work to a faster pace. This is something outside of running race I have struggled with and for perspective, I had not only not been able  to run the full distance in my last 4 races at this distance but I had not run longer than 4 miles in a few months.

One benefit of going to NJ early was getting to see Dr. Phil Crane. Dr. Crane has been helping my family for a long time and there is no one I trust more. I was able to see him a few times leading up to the race and as always amazed as what he can help with even in a short time frame!

The day before the race I drove down to Atlantic City for a practice swim and to check in my bike. While there I had the chance to meet two of my Snapple team mates, Leslie and Oliver Mellet. The both are amazing athletes and I really enjoyed the chance to talk with them. Once the bike was securely on its rack, I drove home, got in some yoga, tried to relax and get to bed early.

Race morning was an early wake up; we had a 40 minute drive to AC from my parents’

Moms traditional pre-race photo

house. My father drove down which allowed me to focus and stay relaxed. It had been a while since I went into a race without putting a lot of undue pressure on myself and since I really had no idea what the day would hold, I was going in with the mindset that finishing and hopefully finishing pain free was what was important.

An interesting twist to this race was the night before a really bad storm has come through, pictures on Facebook showed that transition took a beating. I was worried how my bike and the rack of bikes around me held up, I was not sure what to expect when we got there. Well a mud bog for a parking lot, the tents and barriers were all back up, and my bike was exactly where i left her, just a wee bit wet. The Challenge Americas and Delmo sports race crews did an amazing job and had the entire course ready to go with only a minimal delay.

Once everything was set up in transition, it was time to head off to warm up. I went for a 20 minute run and felt good but and best of all no pain. I had also hoped to get some time in the water but thanks to the storm the race crews were still working right up until we started. So, I finished some Osmo pre-load and a package of sport beans, talked with my parents and tried to keep calm and relaxed.

Here is a PSA for everyone, no matter how warm the water temps are the week and days

leading up to a race, NEVER leave your wetsuit at home. I left mine in VA, after inquiring a few times on social media about the NJ water temps, it seemed like a no brainier to leave it home. It was 80 degree plus temps in the bay and the extended weather forecast didn’t seem like it would cool off. I really wish I could be a weather person, you can be wrong 90% of the time and probably get a raise! Well, a few storms including the one mentioned above rolled through in the preceding days that help drop the water temps to a nice 74 degrees. Race morning was even colder than it had been just the day before when I got a practice swim in. Thankfully I did bring my Xterra speedsuit, maybe not as buoyant as neoprene but reduced drag is always welcome.

Swim:

The swim was a time trial start, all the men for the half lined up, first come, first serve, walked out onto a pier and jumped in. The only other time I had a swim start like this was Ironman Louisville, that time I was almost a mile back in the line. This time I was lucky enough to be close to the front. Instead of a 15 minute plus wait it was more like 5 minutes. I crossed the timing mat, hit a button on my Garmin (so I thought) and jumped in; WOW, it was cold, see the PSA above!

Swim exit

I was worried that I would have to fight through crowds and was pleasantly surprised to have clear water all the way the first turn buoy. Actually, throughout the swim the only time I was slowed up or had to fight through crowds was at the turn buoys.  As far as the swim itself, it felt great! I thought I had a good rhythm and it seemed to me that my sighting was spot on, I passed every buoy very close or even bumped into it. There did seem to be a little current but nothing that seem to affect me at the time. I made the final turn kicked it up a bit as I headed to the finish. I took it easy up the ramp of the floating dock. I learned my lesson the day before at the practice swim, at that time I jumped out of the water and smashed my knee on the dock. It not only left a good bruise but a nice cut that I didn’t know was there until 30 minutes later when I went to put on socks and shoes to go for a run.

As I got up and looked at my Garmin, I was shocked to see the clock screen. I must have hit the wrong button as I went over the timing mat and turned the watch off. As I ran to transition I quickly reset the watch, started it in Triathlon mode and switch from swimming to T1.

In the distraction it had not hit me that I came out of the water feeling amazing, not only was I not tired but I felt refreshed, excited as well as I felt as if I crushed the swim and maybe, just maybe finally broke that 30 minute mark.  Well later after the race I learned I was not even close. As great as a swim as it felt, I was very disappointed in my time. I really thought of all three disciplines the swim would have been my best of the day. Time: 0:35:37, 22ng AG, 108th Overall

The first transition flew by, I got my compression calf sleeves on quickly, this had worried as I had not worn them in a triathlon in over 2 years. I grabbed my Rudy project helmet and sunglasses, took a big bike of a Clif bar and was heading towards the mount line. Since I was feeling amazing I was dying to get rolling, a line from my last email with my coach hit me, “you have the endurance from years of training to draw upon, so it is there. You don’t lose that kind of strength in a month” I was starting to think today may be a better day than I was expecting. Also some more of his sage advice came to me; “be patient and finish strong!” I knew I had to stay within myself over the next two and half hours. Time: 2:36

Bike:

As I rode out of Bader field (it was pretty cool riding down a runway) I kept saying to myself over and over “be patient”. I have had a tendency to push the bike to hard and I was worried I would go all squirrel (you know, like a when a dog see one and must chase it down). A few minutes later as I rode up the on-ramp for the short 2 mile ride on the Atlantic City Expressway, knowing there was clean, flat, new pavement as well as a closed off lane, this would be a good test.

A bit of rain started to fall, that helped in my thinking to back it down a little. Ironically that smooth surface lead to some nice speed with little effort so as long as the watts were low, I went with it. About a mile down we got to ride through the toll booth. That was actually pretty cool; I am still waiting for the ez pass violation to come in the mail, LOL. Once off the Expressway at exit 4, I was time to get to work.

About halfway through, I had notice my power was in a nice low spot and I was holding a better than expect average speed. I soon hit a 5 mile plus stretch of road that as it turns out was a slight downhill. I also had a nice tailwind so I decided to jump up into my normal racing power ranges for that stretch. I was flying and it felt awesome, I caught a lot of guys that had passed me earlier and started to play tag with one gentleman. A few miles after I passed him he would pass me back and this would continue all the way to the finish. I never tried to ride him down or hold him off, it just kept happening.

After the third or fourth pass, about mile 40, he slowed up as he went by and told me that I was riding a hell of a ride for such a big guy. (I seem to be getting that a lot lately, the big guy part.) After that we kept chatting as we passed each other and he was in the same boat I was as far as going a little too hard over that middle stretch. Those conversations were the perfect distraction and really help me not over think what was going on.

I hit the Expressway again and this time had about a 15 mph tailwind, I took advantage of that and rode down a few more people. As I came down the off ramp I look at the running time on my Garmin and realized something was not right. It read about 2:30 and counting, based on the speeds I had been holding I should have been back in transition 3 to 4 minutes ago. Turns out the course was 2 miles long, they measured not from transition but from exit 4 on the Expressway. It is not a big deal but I wish I knew that beforehand, that said I am still super excited about this ride. Time: 2:35:14, 6th AG, 41st Overall

Transition 2 was a blur except for the fact that some inconsiderate athletes around me decided it was cool to hang their wetsuits on the rack. I had to move the wetsuits so I could

rack the bike. For a moment, I was letting a bit of frustration seep in but a deep breath and bite of a Clif bar and I started to re-focus. Sock on, gear in hand, it was time to see what is left in the tank. Time: 1:33

Run:

I started off well, I got to see my family on the way out and I felt good. Shortly after leaving Bader field, things changed. I started to up the New Albany Bridge and the inside of both my quads cramped up, bad. I stopped on the other side of the bridge and drove the palm of my hand in to both areas and tried to massage it out. As the cramp subsided, I got moving. This time I made it to the boardwalk entrance when the cramps came back. I started to have flashbacks of Ironman Princeton 70.3, the most painful 13.1 miles of running, cramping, walking, than repeat, I have ever experienced. I quickly popped a salt pill (which I had been taking two every hour since I got out of the water), this time, thankfully, after massaging with my palm and also pressing my thumb into the muscle, the cramp went away and this time for good.

The strategy had always been to start slow over the first few miles and as I hit the boardwalk I kept telling myself to slow the pace down. The next couple of miles went fairly well, the course took us to the south end of the boardwalk, turnaround and run to the north end. The south half of the route was a bit tight, the boardwalk is not as wide as it is on the northern side and I spent a good amount of time dodging people walking or on bikes. It was not terrible but I was glad I was on that section of course before it got crowded with racers and folks on vacation.

Mile 3 passed by and fatigue was starting to set in, each mile was starting to tick off slightly slower than the last. I was walking aid stations which is part of my normal race strategy but that bit of rest was not helping me recover as much as it should. Around mile 4 I passed on of my Snapple team mates Oliver Mellet going the other way, he was looking strong, I saw Oliver a few times on the course and his high fives and encouragement inspired me to dig a little deeper. Shortly after that I saw my family just after mile 5, this really brought my spirits back up. I was holding a good pace until shortly after miles 7. At that point I had to walk; I was using small things to work towards and gauge how long I would walk. If I hit any shade or cover, I would walk that distance until I hit sun again. If I was in between aid stations and felt as I had to walk. I would take as as long as it took to hit the top of the next minute, sometimes it was 10 seconds sometimes 40 but I was happy to see my overall average pace was not falling off too much. Also, thanks to another spot on weather report occurrence, it was getting much hotter than reported. At each aid station I was dumping ice down the back of my top, down my shorts and filling my bottle with ice to cool off the Osmo Active as well as the palm of my hand carrying it.

Miles 10-12 were tough, after mile 11 the guy I was chatting with on the bike caught up and we talked for a while. I finally told him after we hit mile 12 to go on; I would meet him for a beer shortly.

Mile 13, I dug deep, went primal as I was determined to run that last mile. Shortly after this point the entire race changed, as I approached the finishing chute I had wish that I had told my family about Challenges policy on running with me to the finish. I decided at that point if I could grab anyone, I would and as I got close there was my Dad, standing between the fence and the start of the chute. I started to yell to him to come with me and he yelled back “won’t I get you disqualified!” I yelled no, Challenge encourages this and grabbed his arm. The next few minutes were by far the most memorable finish to a race I have ever experienced. I think the pictures below tell the story the best. To Challenge, thank you!! Time: 1:52:18: 7th AG, 65th Overall

Congrats to Leslie and Oliver on their podiums

For a race that I had no expectations for going thanks to an injury and lack of training, this turned out to be an amazing day. My final time was 5:07:18, I am a bit disappointed in going over 5 hours but had the bike course been 56 miles or I had been able to run the entire course I would have been under. Oh well, it is a triathlon, if it was not tough and curve balls not thrown your way, everyone would do it. LOL.

I want to thank Primal Sports Mud, I am very proud to be an ambassador for your company and was thankful to have a some mud to put on those quads. It has really helped speed my recovery. 

Snapple tri club and their amazing sponsors, Osmo Nutrition, Clif bar , Rudy Project, Xterra wetsuits and SweatVac.  Also I want to send a very big thank you to Point2 Running Company and Bike Beat of Newport News.

Thank you to my coach, Adam Otstot, my swim coach Steve Hennessy, who made a small change to my head position recently that has made a big difference. Dr. Michael Potter my orthopedist and my Physical Therapist Cory Newman (also an Ironman), for helping get me back to training. To Dr. Phil Crane, who helped take care of a some lingering issues once I got to NJ and really helped get me ready to race.

To my family in VA and NJ, thank you for your support, encouragement and well everything. Also thank you to the endurance sport community as a whole, there are not many sports where you see the type of camaraderie, encouragement and support for fellow competitors as I see and experience all the time. It truly is an honor to be part of this sports and to race with such amazing athletes.

Next up is Challenge Pocono Mountain Half distance; I am excited to get back to normal training schedule.