The U.S. Open

The U.S. is now behind and the 2010 season has come to a close after 8 months of solid training and racing. Compared to my expectations for the event, I have to say I'm disappointed, but there were definitely reasons to be happy after it was all said and done.

The day started off pretty exciting as I got to the race site and discovered the Amateur Elites (me) would be sharing a special transition with the pros. Yes, the pros. Hunter Kemper, Greg Bennett, Bevan Docherty, Filip Ospaly, Stuart Hayes, Lisa Norden, Daniela Ryf, and the list of Olympians and World Cup champions goes on.
As I set up my transition, going through the usual motions of attaching my shoes to my bike etc, one of the pros came up to me and asked if he could borrow some elastic bands. It was Stuart Hayes. This was going to be an awesome day.

I got in a good warm up and got ready to get into the water for my seven o'clock start. The water temp was borderline wetsuit legal, luckily on the lower end. We dove into Lake Ray Hubbard my goggles smashed straight onto my face. Unable to see clearly I just stroked madly for the first set of feet I could find and held on. I worked my way up through the middle of my wave and came out of the water with a respectable 25 and some seconds after swimming in a rectangle into the current. I made the long run to transition and hopped on my bike, hitting the climb out of transition at top speed.

Once my shoes were on I tried to settle into my time trialing rhythm...but it never came. The course was covered with short, steep hills and narrow, curvy roads that really slowed my time. I got off the bike very dispirited with an average speed of just 21 miles an hour for the slightly shorter than 40K course. I slipped on my running shoes fairly casually as I looked around at all the bikes on the rack, seeing that I was one of the last elites into transition.

I set off on the run, legs on fire from the tough bike. The first three quarters of a mile was uphill so I just tried to relax and let it flow, not pushing too hard knowing how much racing was left. As I finally crested the hill I started to come up on the mile marker and saw 6:12 on my watch. This wasn't going to be a fast race. I kept pushing forward, lifting the pace just a little now that it was a little flatter and just tried to find a good tempo. I passed the two mile and looked down at my watch. 5:45. Things were heating up fast! I kept rolling and just felt the pace get easier as I neared the turnaround and my splits continued to get faster. With two miles to go I started to push really hard and just hoped I could hang on. Up and over a few more climbs then the long downhill run to finish was all that remained. With two tenths to go I caught a runner from the sprint tri and tried to beat him to the line, falling just a meter short. Run split: 35:49. A two minute triathlon 10K PR! Finally some silver lining to an otherwise unspectacular performance.

Looking at the results that afternoon I saw that I had the 22nd fastest run INCLUDING the pros, and was the 22nd non pro, 45th overall. Not what I was hoping for, but definitely something promising to build on for the future. Now it's time to take some time to relax and do some base work. There's another long season ahead.

Outdoor Adventure Triathlon: Two In A Row

The OSU Outdoor Adventure Triathlon took place on September 25th and I was easily able to defend my title and take my second victory in a row after my win at PrairieMan. I stayed with the leader (who ended up being a relay) in the water after doing a lot of extra work to fight my way to front, dodging around the overzealous. I ran fairly comfortably, meeting up with Dad who was on his cross bike around the halfway point. I kept the pace pretty high, but still conversational; it felt like it was about in the 5:45 to 5:50 range. Cruising into T2 with no one else in sight behind, I set off on a pretty casual ride out and back on the hills of Bronco Road. I saluted the crowd with two fingers as I glided easily across the finish line, well over five minutes ahead of the next finisher.

This weekend is what counts. The U.S. Open triathlon. The race Marcin and I have been aiming at for more than fourteen months. It's finally here. The last two weeks have been the biggest taper of my life and I have to say that I've never been fitter and never more optimistic. I know a top three (for a pro card) is in my capabilities if I have a good day, I just have to perform when the time comes. I'll be in the Elite Amateur wave, starting right behind pros like Matt Reed and Greg Bennett. I'm ready to go.