RMC Sprint Triathlon - Race Report

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

Blue Seventy Reaction Wetsuit

TYR Special Ops 2.0 Goggles

Look 576 Triathlon Bike

Louie Garneau Tri HRS Shoes

Giro Aero Helmet

Oakley Half Jacket XLJ Sunglasses

Zoot Kiawe Shoes

Hammer Nutrition Tri Skinsuit

Hammer  Nutrition Visor

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)

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!

RMC Sprint Triathlon - Race Report

Why this Race

When I was structuring my 2014 race season, I wanted to get in one final tune-up race before the National Championships on August 10th.  Luckily I was off from work this past weekend which allowed me to sign up for the Ripon Medical Center Triathlon.  This race could have been placed in the category of "races I have always seen, but never thought of doing."  Ripon is about an hour southwest of our home in Kaukauna.  An hour drive is definitely a doable drive on race morning.  The only hitch in my usual preferred prerace night was we had Sarah's cousin's wedding in Appleton on Saturday.  Sarah agreed to allow me to drive a separate car to the reception and said it was OK for me to leave earlier to get to bed.

Training for this Race

My training has continued to be focused in on my "A" race which is two weeks after the RMC Triathlon.  The week of the RMC Triathlon was one of my last big hard weeks.  On the Sunday following the final night of Rock USA, I had one of my last long hard workout.  The workout was a long bike ride consisting of a 15 minute warm up, then 2 sets of 30:00 of race intensity intervals with 10:00 recovery.  Immediately after the workout I laced up my shoes for a 10k run which was broken down as follows: 5k easy, 3.5k race intensity, 1.5k easy.  The workout took about 2:20 start to finish.  I then had a swim day and then right back into the hard training.  I had an 8 mile run with three 1 mile interval repeats.  The next day I had a bike interval workout in the morning followed up with an afternoon 5 mile run with hill sprints in the middle.  I took Saturday off for recovery, which I definitely needed.  I was pretty sore and tired on Saturday, so I was glad to see a recovery/rest day on my training plan the day before my race.  

Prerace

As I mentioned above, Saturday was not only a rest/recovery day, but it was also my wife's cousin's wedding day.  In the morning we were up early and went to the Farmer's Market with Sarah's sister.  After the market, we came home to get the kid's ready for the wedding service at church.  Later that night we went to the reception which was in Appleton.  The entire wedding was very nice.  The food was really good and the cake was exceptional.  Maybe a little too good.  I was able to not drink any alcohol which was no biggie, but I still haven't figured out how to build my self control to resist my urges for food.  As soon as we got to the reception they had appetizers out which I of course ate.  For dinner I ordered the fish and rice, which was really good.  Then they came out with the cake.  Delaney didn't want her cake, so I jumped right on it.  I left the wedding after the first few dances of the night.  I left stuffed and regretting my choices and worried how it will impact my race. 

I ended up getting to bed around 10pm and set my alarm for 4am to leave before 4:30am.  I was on the road shortly after 4:30am.  The drive wasn't bad and I got to the race site right as the sun was coming up over the waters of Green Lake.  It was beautiful, like something off a postcard.  There were a few sailboats on the water, which was as calm as glass.  After snapping a quick photo of the sunrise, I picked up my race packet and proceeded to get my transition area set up.  There was no specific assigned bike racking for athletes.  They did have bike racks assigned depending on what event you were racing in and your sex.  So I was assigned to the "Short Course Men" bike racks.  I was able to nab up one of the spots on the end with how early I was to the race.

Nutrition Plan

With the distances of this race being short and my hope was to finish shortly after an hour, I opted to not take any fuel or water with me during the race.  At 6:45am I took my usual doses of of Anti-Fatigue Caps (2), Race Caps Supreme (2), and Mito Caps(2).  I also set up my bike to carry a couple Energy Surge on a piece of electrical tape on my top bar.  My plan was to take the first Energy Surge shortly after getting out on the bike course and then take the second serving right before dismounting and heading out on the run.

Gear/Equipment

Blue Seventy Reaction wetsuit from www.TheTriShop.com
Custom TYR Special Ops 2.0
Look 556
Giro Aero Helmet
Rydon Rudy Project Sunglasses
Louis Garneau Carbon Tri HRS Shoes
Zoot Kiawe 2.0 Shoes

500m Swim (7:45)

A big debate for me lately was whether or not to wear my wetsuit, not only for this race, but at Nationals in Milwaukee.  Rumor has it, the water temperatures for Lake Michigan near Milwaukee are darn cold this year.  On the other hand, you can save a lot of time not wearing a wetsuit.  I opted to wear a wetsuit for this race to allow some extra practice taking the suit off coming out of the water in the event that I end up wearing it in Milwaukee.  The race started promptly at 7:30am with the Olympic Distance races.  The first wave was for men and the second was for the women.  They then took a 10 minute break between the Olympic and Sprint distance starts to allow the Olympic races to spread out a bit and be off of the sprint swim course.  The Sprint race started right around 7:45am.  It worked out well for Sarah and I, because Sarah arrived to the start of the swim right during the break.  It was great to see me kids before the start of the race as I don't often get to do that.  So I took advantage of them being there before the start of the race.

As soon as the race started my plan was to really push hard for the first 100 meters or so to hopefully break away towards the front.  After the first 100 meters I was in third place and I just tucked in behind another guy who was right ahead of me for a draft.  I stuck right onto his feet right up to the turn around point at 250 meters.  After we hit the turn around I moved to the inside (left) and picked up my stroke cadence and slowly passed him.  I came out of the water second about 10 seconds behind the guy ahead of me.  The swim course was well marked and the water was near perfect temperatures.  The water was crystal clear and you could see the bottom.  My one complaint was all the weeds, but they really didn't effect the swim at all, they were just there and occasionally you would have a piece of seaweed on you.

15 Mile Bike (41:58)

After going into transition, I really wanted to be the first out of transition.  I had one of my smoothest transitions I can recall.  It paid off, because I was the first out of transition and the first out on the bike course.  The bike course started straight up hill as you exit the conference center that hosted the race.  Here I was hoping that would be the only major climbing that I would be doing during this race.  My hopes were quickly crushed....over....and over......and over again.  The bike course was one of the hardest bike courses I have ever done.  Take the distance out of the equation, I would even consider this was just as hard, if not harder that IM Wisconsin.  According to my Garmin, I had a total elevation gain of 751' over 15.42 miles (43.11 ratio of gain to miles).  At IM Wisconsin I had a total gain of 3114' over 111.58 miles (27.90 ratio of gain to miles).  That's nearly twice as much climbing, relatively speaking.  Like I said, the total distance on an IM bike course undoubtedly makes it significantly tougher.  But, good lord, it felt like the hills were never ending on this course.  Either way, the course was tough, not impossible, not frustrating, just tough.  Throughout the entire bike course I was anticipating to be passed, but no one ever came.  In fact I took a couple peeks behind me when I could and never saw another racer.  I kept worrying that I missed a turn or took a wrong turn.  There were a couple sections of the course that were on straightaways with no volunteers, no intersections, no signs, no markings, no nothing.  That was the one point where I thought I was lost.  It's a position I have never been in before, the lead on the bike course.  I was not only worried about getting lost, but I was constantly questioning my race effort (intensity).  I would sit there and have mental debates of if I was going too hard to avoid the possibility of being passed.  Then I would think am I not going hard enough, as though I was getting too comfortable being in the lead.

5k Run (20:08)

I went into transition without being passed on the bike at all and without even seeing another racer behind me  I once again had one of my smoothest bike-to-run transition I can recall.  After leaving transition, I continued to wonder if this would be the time I would be passed.  In my head I kept telling myself that it was coming, I was going to be passed.  And if I wasn't passed, I would miss a turn and end up off course.  The first half mile or so of the run was straight up hill.  I thought, are you f--king kidding me?  There weren't enough hills on the bike course?!?  I quickly threw that thought out of my head knowing that it would do me no good.  I just tried to stay strong, mentally and physically.  While I was running up the first hill, a guy on a gator offered to lead the way to the turn around point, as the run was a simple out and back route.  I thought, hell yea, now I don't need to sit and worry about getting lost.  I just followed the gator and smiled as this was one perk I never get to take advantage of.   With the run course being an out and back, I would get the opportunity to finally see where the hell everyone else was.  I hit the turn around point and started making my way back.  I didn't see anyone after turning around.  I immediately looked at my Garmin to make sure I was at 1.55 miles to double check that I didn't cut any corners or anything, it read 1.56, right on the mark.  Huh, maybe this was just going to be one of those days were everything goes right!  I finally saw the second place guy at the 1 and 2 mile mark, I was a full mile ahead of him!  Crazy!  That really motivated me to push harder during the last mile, which was all downhill.  As I was getting back to the finish line I started to see a lot more people who were just starting their run, they all gave great words of encouragement which also really motivated me to keep pushing.  I ended up finishing in 1:11:14 with the second place racer finishing in 1:17:11, about 6 minutes behind me!

Post Race

After the race I got a big kiss from Sarah and high fives from the girls.  Sarah was honestly, about as happy as I was.  I couldn't believe I just won my first triathlon ever.  I put together a great race from start to finish.  After finishing, we stayed around the area to watch other racers finish and let the kids play on the park which was right by the transition area.  Sarah and I chatted about the race and just enjoyed the morning.  The race itself was exceptionally well run.  There were a ton of volunteers, nearly all of them were full of energy and cheering on the racers and helping out when needed.  The courses were well marked, even if I was a little paranoid of getting lost.  

After letting some time pass, the awards ceremony started.  I didn't know what to expect for my first ever overall win.  When it was my turn for my award, I found out that I had won a hand blown glass vase from Savoie Glass of Ripon along with a $100 gift card to Festival Foods.  The vase is absolutely gorgeous and pretty sweet looking!  Plus a gift card to the best grocery store in the valley.  I was thrilled!  So was Sarah!

What's on Tap

I now have two weeks of training before the USA Triathlon Sprint Age Group National Championships.  This next week will be slightly less volume from previous weeks as my taper is just getting started this week.  In the second week, I will be in full fledged taper mode.  It works out perfect as we will be on vacation with the Nissen's in Rhinelander the entire week leading up to Nationals.