Going back to Hampton Roads

Last year when I broke my collarbone, I was able to defer most of my scheduled races for 2016. One of the races was the Revolution3 Williamsburg Olympic distance race.

As such, what  would have been a hometown race last year, was now a bit of a homecoming. In mid-September last year, I moved back to NJ and this trip would be my first back to VA since that move. I would like to send a huge thank you to Justin and Melissa Highley for letting me stay at their house during this trip!

Addison and I

I could not wait to see my grandkids and stepson as well as catch up with all my friends. I drove down on Thursday to have some extra time to spend with friends and to have as much time as possible to see Addison and Jaxon (my grandkids).

(Side note, I should add that a week-and-a-half before this race, I threw my back out really bad. I want to send a huge thank you to the staff at Thompson Healthcare and Sports Medicine, here in Stafford for getting me moving again and race ready).

As the weekend progressed, my last few workouts went well. There was a small bump in the road though, I found a big gash in my front tire prior to leaving NJ. I visited my friends at Bike Beat of Newport News. I am sending a huge thank you to them for rush ordering a new tire for me. After that my days stayed low-key; getting to see everyone was great, but I was getting a nervous feeling about the race. I have had a lot of success at the Olympic distance during the last few years, but something about this specific race has always been off. I have completed Rev3 half distance races in Williamsburg a few times and I was never satisfied with my performance or the outcomes.

Peter, Jason and I

Race day arrived and I woke up feeling good. As always, I arrived at the race site early and made my way to transition. Once there, I got to catch up with my Hotshots and Snapple teammates, Peter, Jason, Justin and Craig. As I started to prepare transition, I realized my helmet was in the car. Craig offered to go get it for me as I went out for my warm-up run. Thanks man!

The warm-up went okay; my breathing was off and my heart rate was high. Weather could have played a part.  Even though it was a beautiful morning, the humidity in Hampton Roads is much different than in NJ, but I brushed it off to nerves, collected my Xterra speedsuit and headed to the swim start.

Swim exit

This swim was an in-water start.   As I made my way out to wait for the ‘gun’ to go off, I positioned myself up front and in the middle. Lately, I had been swimming well and figured it was as good spot as any. When the ‘gun’ went off, it was a wrestling match from the start. I was getting hit, grabbed, kicked, bumped and someone even tried to swim over me. I am a bigger guy in this sport so this normally does not happen to me. My heart was racing and felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. No matter what I did, I could not find any open room to swim. Finally, after what felt like forever, I found some space and went to work. The half distance racers started before us and as I reached the turn buoy to head to the swim exit, we merged (collided) with that group.  There was such a traffic jam of people at this buoy, I decided to dive under. I spotted the buoy tether rope, swam past it and shot up to the surface in the first open spot I saw. At this point I started find my rhythm and was swimming well. About 200 yards from the finish, the river became so shallow there was just no way to swim. It was a long trek in mud that you could sink into from your ankles to your knees. During this time my feet became scratched up pretty good thanks to a lot of debris in the mud. As it turns out this little fact will come back into play later in my day.

Swim 22:53

There was a relatively short run from the swim exit to transition compared to other races, which was nice. I was feeling a bit tired coming out of the water but figured it was from all the fun at the start. I got my speedsuit off, helmet on, grabbed the bike and I was off.  

T1 1:46

I know this bike course like the back of my hand. I have been training on these roads since 2011 and was excited to race on them once again. Williamsburg is such an awesome place for cycling:  flats, hills and well maintained roads (for the most part).

The ride started off really well. I was staying under my watt target and was flying. In a short time, I started to catch riders like crazy and even played tag with some friends. By mile 15,  I passed one friends who was in the first group to start the race and had a 2 minute head started on me. My spirits really had lifted and my confidence was on the rise. This awesome feeling stayed with me up until about mile 20. At that point, my hips and upper legs started to feel sore and tight; well angry may be a better description. Quickly, I realized I must have had pushed too hard, even though through mile 25, I was well into the middle to low end of my target race pace range. As I came to the Chickahominy bridge, which was right before transition, my legs and hip got much worse. Rolling up to the dismount line I realize some bad news, I was feeling smoked and my legs were not moving well.

Bike 1:08:22

Transition 2 went really well. My Salming Race 5’s went right on and out the exit in under a minute.

T2: 0:00:59

Coming out of transition, it hit me pretty quickly that this run was going to suck. My legs had nothing

Photo by Joy Richardson

left. My right foot started hurting right away. I thought I must have developed a blister while riding or maybe something stuck to my foot while running into transition and rubbed the entire ride. As I started my climb up the Chickahominy bridge, I wasn’t sure I would make it to the top. Ironically, as I finally reached the top, I started to feel better, but could not generate any speed at all. I decided right there my goal was to run the entire distance (except for aid stations; I always walk aid stations while taking in some hydration) even if it was slow. I wanted to keep myself moving. I talked to a few people along the way to help take my mind off things. No matter what I tried, I could not generate more than an easy jog. At this point, my foot was hurting but my heart rate was low. My nutrition was on point and I was taking a lick of my Base Salt every mile.

About mile 3 or 4, my buddy Peter caught up. I could hear him before

Peter having some fun

he even spoke. Well to be honest, by the end, almost everyone I passed on the bike seemed to catch me on the run. He had me laughing and helped me feel relaxed. I decided to work to try and keep him insight. As I came around transition and headed towards the finish chute, I was finally able to generate some speed, but that may have been because I knew this adventure over.

Run 51:59

Overall 2:25:58, 7th age group, 34th overall.

My friend and Base Team mate Jami

Looking back on this, I was and still am at a bit of a loss as to what happened. In talking with my coach Adam Otstot, the numbers on the bike were inline. Maybe I could have ridden a little easier on the back half of the bike course to set myself up to run better. Heart rate on the bike and run were good, but maybe the back issue I encountered a few weeks earlier took away some endurance.  Oh yeah, what I thought was a blister on the bottom of my foot, turned out to be a small gouge from something I stepped on during that trek in the mud to exit the swim. Oh well, as mentioned earlier, this particular race and I do not have a great history. In the past, I had overcooked the bike every time and was not able to run in those past events; I walked a lot.

I do take a big victory out of the fact I ran the entire time:  no walking (outside of aid stations of course). I did have a great bike ride and enjoyed most of the race very much. I got to spend time with and catch up with family and friends. Monday, after the race, I met many folks at the Point2 Running store for the pub run before heading home. It was great to reconnect with friends from the running community and catch up over a few miles and few pints.

I want to thank my girlfriend Lori for being so amazing and supportive. She always helps keep me grounded and my head in the game. I want to thank Base Performance and Salming running for all of their support and the Snapple Tri Club along with their amazing sponsors for helping with great gear. To my coach Adam Otstot for all his guidance. As mentioned before, thank you to Thompson Healthcare and Sports Medicine for not only getting me back in shape, but for continuing to help me. I want to thank all my family and friends for all the support and a big thank you again to Justin and Melissa Highly for letting me stay with you both.

Next up is a big test for me, especially after last year’s crash. I am taking the short trip into the mountains for the Rev3 Pocono Half.