Back in the early spring of this year, I received a personal email from the Race Director of the Ripon Medical Center (RMC) Triathlon. He informed me that as last year's winner of the sprint event, I would be offered free entry into this years event. I was thrilled and honored by his offer. I immediately accepted and inserted this race into my race schedule. At first it was unclear whether or not I would be able to even participate in this event due to starting a new job with the City of Kaukauna. In June, I was slotted into a permanent rotation and I was scheduled to work the night before the race until 3am. I was fortunate to agree to a shift trade with a co-worker to allow me to race in this event. The race itself was well run last year, I had no complaints, and was very impressed with the awards offered, especially because it is a relatively small race. This year, I went into the race with high expectations....to win it again.
Training for This Race
As with many of my races this year, I have been relying on the base I have built up over the past 6-7 years of endurance training, opposed to following a strict and thorough training plan. I was a little concerned whether or not I would even be able to finish the race at all. During a weekend camping trip at Devil's Lake State Park, I went out for a run and a tweeked my right calf. After taking the remainder of the weekend off from any form of exercise with hopes of it healing itself, I tried running. I was able to finish two runs, but it was still present. I opted to take the next week and a half completely off from running. I focused on my cycling and swimming. I was leery to whether my calf would heal or not in the limited time I was giving it, but I was willing to try it.
Prerace
I had to work Friday into Saturday morning before the race and was going on limited sleep. On top of that, it was just me and the three girls, as Sarah was in Chicago all day and night for a bachelorette party. It was a low key day for me personally, as my dad wanted to take my two oldest to a local splash pad for the afternoon. I got to bed early and had my alarms set for 4:30am. My hope was to get on the road before 5. I was close to my goal and ended up on the road at 5:05am. The drive took about an hour and was my chance to visualize my race and listen to some good music. I got to the race right around 6, which left me more than enough time to set up my transition area. The RMC Triathlon does not have designated transition areas, which allows you to choose any area you wish. Since I got there early enough, I was able to get a spot on the end of the row. This is a prime location as you do not have to worry about getting caught up in the crowded aisles. This also means there is less distance you need to run to get your gear. After getting my transition area all set up, I got into the water and did a good, thorough warm up in the lake.
Nutrition Plan
This is now my second straight year of focusing on short course triathlon racing. With the two years of focused attention, I feel very comfortable racing at high intensities with limited to no nutritional assistance, before or during the race. On my ride to Ripon, I drank a cup of fresh brewed coffee. After my transition area was set up and I was ready to race, I took two Hammer Nutrition Anti-Fatigue Caps about 60 minutes before the start of the race.
Gear/Equipment
500m Swim (7:34)
The race started about 10-15 minutes after the Olympic distance race started. The first wave of the sprint triathlon consisted of males under 40 years old. The swim start was a mass beach start in about 1' of water. The water depth dropped off in a hurry. Within about 10 feet of the shoreline the water was at least 4' deep. My start was basically one large dive into the water and then right into my stroke. I initially had to fight a for positioning with one or two other guys. I was getting a little frustrated with one guy who was on my left and was struggling to swim a straight line. So no matter how often I would attempt to reposition my self along a new line, we would run into each other. I held up for a split second to let him get ahead of me and then passed him on his right as it seemed he was always pulling to his left. Once I did this, it was pretty much smooth water ahead of me. I ended up being the third one out of the water.
T1 (0:41)
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| Why yes, it does appear I have a mullet. |
The transition area was very close to the beach, which allowed for a quick T1. I had no issues with taking my wet suit off and since I was the third one out of the water, I have virtually the entire transition area all to myself. After getting changed over and ready for the bike, I was out of the transition area. I made one mistake during my T1 and it was actually a mistake from my preparations that came to light during my T1. I forgot to preset my crank arms to my desired angles. Normally I have my right pedal in the forward position so I can swing my right leg over the cross bar and clip right into the right pedal. My crank arms were all backwards, so, after swinging my right leg over the cross bar, I had to take a few seconds to readjust my crank arms, then clip in. In all reality, it probably only added a second or two, but it sure did feel like forever I was sitting there trying to just get clipped in.
15 Mile Bike (40:48)
Once on the bike course, I saw two others ahead of me. They weren't too far ahead of me, maybe a quarter mile and a half mile respectively. I immediately began to hammer with the idea of passing them as soon as possible. After the first mile or so, there was a deceptively challenging climb. My heart rate soared and my legs began to burn. I immediately began to question my tactics of trying to pass the two dudes ahead of me. I made the decision to just settle into an aggressive, but maintainable pace and just pass the others as the opportunity arises. I told myself that even if I don't catch them, I know I am a strong runner and would more than likely pass them on the run course.
I ended up passing them both around the 3-4 mile mark of the bike course. At this point I was leading the race. I then began to rethink my strategy for the remainder of the bike course as I had over 10 miles to go. I figured I had two options, I could throw the hammer down and build as much cushion as possible and hope I don't fade on the run. My other option is to realize that I had no positions to gain by hammering hard and just ride fast enough to not get passed, then to rely on my run legs to hold off others on the run course. I opted for my first choice; to ride as hard and build the largest lead possible and hope I can hang on during the run with what ever may come my way.
I was riding strong and felt good throughout the race. All of a sudden around mile 13-14, a guy I didn't recall passing flew by me on his bike. I down shifted and my cadence dropped, with hopes of at least keeping up with him. Even though I was redlining at this time, I couldn't even keep him in sights. I ended up coming in with the second fasted bike split of the day, but it didn't even compare to the other guys split of 37:12!
T2 (0:21)
Coming into T2, I was very confident I would be able to run down the guy that was currently in the lead. I had the second fastest T2 in the race. I feel very confident in my ability to transition from the bike to the run. Coming out of T2, I needed something to drink. I have been opting to forgo any fuel/hydration during the bike portion of the race. The weather on race day was hot with limited wind. I became very thirsty on the bike and had to get something to drink. I took a few seconds to stop and get some liquids in my system, I figured that no matter how long it took to stop and get some liquids in me, I would have been worse off not stopping.
3.1 Mile Run (20:32)
Remembering from last year, the run course was extremely challenging. At least the first half mile or more is straight up hill. After climbing, you come back down, just go back up hill for the next quarter mile or so until the turn around point, just to do it all over again. Once I started my run leg, I tried to the distance between me and the leader manageable and I was going to try and make my move on the first downhill. As I was climbing the first hill, I was passed by one of the guys I initially passed on the bike leg. He looked fresh and fast. He just looked more comfortable than I was feeling, as I was breathing hard and my legs felt heavy. It was at this point that I felt like winning was not going to be an option. I tried to keep a positive mindset in case the two of them faded after the turn around due to the hills. After climbing the first hill I eased into a more relaxed pace to gather myself and hopefully have a strong kick during the second half when the other two would hopefully slow down. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I just couldn't catch them. I was the third one to cross the finish line and could tell just by the way I felt, that I gave it my all. I was gassed.
Post Race
After the race, I congratulated the other two finishers that finished ahead of me. It turns out that the guy that passed me in the late stages of the bike was in the second wave, meaning I had about a 2 minute head start on him. That completely explains why he was able to just blow by me that late in the bike leg. Even though he was the second one to cross the finish line, he ended up winning the race overall, again due to the 2 minute discrepancy in waves.
I ended up finishing in 1:09:57, 3rd overall, and 1st in my age group. Even though I came in 3rd and didn't win the race, I was extremely happy with my race time. I improved my swim time, my T1, my average bike speed, and my T2. My run leg was barely slower than last year.
What's on Tap
To keep on track with my goal of completing at least one race each month, I have a 6 day turnaround to my next race. I am racing the Green Bay Packers 5k on Saturday, August 1st at 6:30pm. After getting home from the race we got all packed up and headed out of town for a short family vacation to Wisconsin Dells. It was a nice relaxing vacation and I was able to get out for a couple shorter runs just to stay fresh for the upcoming race.
On the Friday before the race, I found out that I was awarded a spot on Team USA for the upcoming ITU Age Group Sprint World Championships. I was full with mixed emotions upon receiving this email. First I was thrilled for the opportunity as it was the culmination of all my hard work throughout last year leading up to the Age Group Sprint National Championships. On the other hand, I was looking at a minimum of $1,000 of unplanned money to spend on a single night stay in Chicago and race fees. Upon making it public knowledge that I was offered this opportunity by would likely turn it down, I received many offers to assist in paying for the trip. I also received encouragement to ask for donations or do some fundraising. First, I just can't ask or accept money from friends and family for this opportunity when I can "technically" afford it. It would just be such a big hit to our family finances, that I am having a difficult time justifying it. It is also a very short notice, with the race taking place in about 6 weeks. Had I earned the spot outright, immediately following last years National Championships, I probably would have been able to saved the finances and better planned for the $1,000 commitment. Currently I am asking around for corporate sponsorships from local businesses to assist with the financial responsibility of representing Team USA in the ITU World Championships. As of writing this, I have not received any sponsorship money and doubt I will, meaning I will have to regrettably turn down the opportunity to race for Team USA this September.
As always, thanks for reading and keep on keepin' on!
