Last weekend I headed out to Buffalo for the Nickel City Triathlon. This would serve as my first ITU draft legal race and see if the style of racing fits me.
Headed out there late Thursday and chilled most of the day Friday. Had some great food at a place called Anchor Bar with my parents as my pre-race meal. The race was not until 2:00 in the afternoon so it was nice to sleep in and hang out in the morning before heading to the race site.
Going into the race I had no expectations and 2 goals: be able to finish (not get lapped out) and not get last place. The goals were not too lofty but with a new format and not knowing how things would play out I was just getting my feet wet with this one.
Mission accomplished: 65 guys on the start line- 46 finished and I placed 38th.
Results here: http://www.score-this.com/ResultFiles/20110924NCTMResults.pdf
I was pretty much dead last heading out on the run but had an ok run and picked off some guys.
My weakness is the most obvious right from the gun. I was damn slow in the water. The full second loop I was all alone and was kicking myself for not finding some feet. This set me up for getting caught in the tail end of riders. I was between a pack of 15 guys in front and 3 behind me. After the first lap I could tell I was not gaining any time so sat up and hoped to work with the group behind to make up time. We didn't make up much time but at least I was not dumb and TT'd the whole thing. We almost got lapped but luckily were able to finish and get onto the run. For a bit of the first lap I was running in last but then started to pick off some guys. Ended up 38th.
My education: SWIM FASTER. Thats it- Dont find feet or get in a decent pack and thats it. So back to the pool!
Need to throw a huge thanks to Ruster Sports for their Hen House bike case. It got my bike there SAFE and CHEAP. If you dont know about these you should check out their website or follow them on FB or Twitter.
Only cost me $50 round trip as a single checked bag to get the bike there. No more $150 each way bull crap.
Another thanks to DiscountTriSupply.com for all their help with gear. Check out their end of season sales and save some $$$.
Now it's time to get back to studying and prepping for Myrtle Beach in 2 weeks.
Enjoy the fall weather because it will soon be winter!
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Copper Creek
A few weeks ago I participated in a local sprint tri called Copper Creek. For being a small local race it has some pretty steep competition. IM professional TJ Tollakson had won it two years in a row and other local stud racers like Chris, Matt, Adam etc always show up. I was pretty nervous going into it since the last time I raced TJ he blew me out of the water.
My strategy for this one was simple. Dont let TJ get away on the bike. He is one of the best in the business on the bike and could easily put 1+minutes on anyone in a super short race. The strategy ended up working and I got off the bike about even with him and was able to put together a good run to take the win.
Up next is Lifetime in 2 weeks. First time racing with a HUGE pro field so we will see how the nerves hold up.
Big thanks to Discounttrisupply.com, Multisport Mastery, Ruster Sports, Krueger Chiropractic and everyone else who is helping me out this year. Couldn't do it without you!
My strategy for this one was simple. Dont let TJ get away on the bike. He is one of the best in the business on the bike and could easily put 1+minutes on anyone in a super short race. The strategy ended up working and I got off the bike about even with him and was able to put together a good run to take the win.
Up next is Lifetime in 2 weeks. First time racing with a HUGE pro field so we will see how the nerves hold up.
Big thanks to Discounttrisupply.com, Multisport Mastery, Ruster Sports, Krueger Chiropractic and everyone else who is helping me out this year. Couldn't do it without you!
Picture thanks to Adam Wilson
The Kyle's crew!
Slap hands
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Report from Trinona
Last weekend I headed up to Winona Minnesota for the Trinona triathlon. This was not a race I had heard much about and did not know much about the area. I was definitely in for a treat. It was a great small town feel with some amazing scenery.
The race is relatively new but wow they did a great job. What was interesting about this race was the "Battle for the Bluff" challenge. The challenge is a separate split time for a mile long climb up a bluff in the middle of the ride. Lets just say I was a little nervous about how that would leave me for the rest of the race.
As the second race of the season there were still a lot of "what ifs" about where my fitness was and a lot of pre-race nervousness. Not a whole lot of thought went into pacing, race specifics or who the competition was. Although there were a few names that I had either never beat or knew would most likely take it all. Most of my thought was geared toward the basics like transitions not making any stupid mistakes.
The race was absolutely gorgeous. While riding to the race site there was some thick fog over the lake and surrounding bluffs. While burning off there were spots where the sun was really bright and others that still had the grey haze. Once the sun was out the weather could not have been better. We were blessed with perfect temps and sun.
The strategy was similar to Pigman: get out fast and hold on. I swam my fastest split ever and then topped it off with a 45 second run pr. By not thinking much about the uncontrollable parts of the race, such as who else was on the line and how hard the ride might be, my mind was where it needed to be. Mostly I just didn't mess anything up too bad and had a good result come from it.
I crossed second after David Tompson tore it up. I knew my result was pretty good as I had kept the distance about the same on the run with the guy behind me. It wasnt until later that found out I had 2 PR's and ended up having the fastest split up the bluff. I do, however, owe that to the riding I did in Italy. Lets just say there are some more hills there than in Iowa. The State Fair Crit may have also helped out a little as well.
It was awesome to be able to spend the weekend with my parents and Aunt Joanie. It is nice to be able to hang out with them every once in a while.
I need to thank everyone else who is helping me reach my goals; Discounttrisupply.com for supplying me with gear, Kruger Chiropractic for getting me back to 100% after injury, Multisport Mastery for being the brains of the operation, Ruster Sports and Kyle's Bikes.
Next up is Copper Creek!
The race is relatively new but wow they did a great job. What was interesting about this race was the "Battle for the Bluff" challenge. The challenge is a separate split time for a mile long climb up a bluff in the middle of the ride. Lets just say I was a little nervous about how that would leave me for the rest of the race.
As the second race of the season there were still a lot of "what ifs" about where my fitness was and a lot of pre-race nervousness. Not a whole lot of thought went into pacing, race specifics or who the competition was. Although there were a few names that I had either never beat or knew would most likely take it all. Most of my thought was geared toward the basics like transitions not making any stupid mistakes.
The race was absolutely gorgeous. While riding to the race site there was some thick fog over the lake and surrounding bluffs. While burning off there were spots where the sun was really bright and others that still had the grey haze. Once the sun was out the weather could not have been better. We were blessed with perfect temps and sun.
The strategy was similar to Pigman: get out fast and hold on. I swam my fastest split ever and then topped it off with a 45 second run pr. By not thinking much about the uncontrollable parts of the race, such as who else was on the line and how hard the ride might be, my mind was where it needed to be. Mostly I just didn't mess anything up too bad and had a good result come from it.
I crossed second after David Tompson tore it up. I knew my result was pretty good as I had kept the distance about the same on the run with the guy behind me. It wasnt until later that found out I had 2 PR's and ended up having the fastest split up the bluff. I do, however, owe that to the riding I did in Italy. Lets just say there are some more hills there than in Iowa. The State Fair Crit may have also helped out a little as well.
It was awesome to be able to spend the weekend with my parents and Aunt Joanie. It is nice to be able to hang out with them every once in a while.
I need to thank everyone else who is helping me reach my goals; Discounttrisupply.com for supplying me with gear, Kruger Chiropractic for getting me back to 100% after injury, Multisport Mastery for being the brains of the operation, Ruster Sports and Kyle's Bikes.
Next up is Copper Creek!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Exciting news!
There are two awesome things that I am very excited to talk about!
1) I have recently added TJ Tollakson's Ruster Sports as a sponsor of mine! With my upcoming trip to Europe and 2011 racing plans it was time to see how I could start saving some money while flying my bike. After contacting TJ I was very excited to hear that he would be interested in partnering with me. This is one of my first relationships with a company and am excited to see how we can help each other out.
In a few days I will be writing again about my first experience with the Hen House!! Very exciting.
Take a look at TJ's innovative products at: http://www.rustersports.com/
2) Rome!!! Thursday morning at 9:55am I will be leaving the country until May 12. I am doing the ISU Rome study abroad for the architecture program. This is going to be an awesome and hopefully life changing experience. My bike is coming with me and my training will continue as normal (hopefully!). I am hoping to be able to see a lot and understand how things differ from the American way of life.
Wish me luck!
1) I have recently added TJ Tollakson's Ruster Sports as a sponsor of mine! With my upcoming trip to Europe and 2011 racing plans it was time to see how I could start saving some money while flying my bike. After contacting TJ I was very excited to hear that he would be interested in partnering with me. This is one of my first relationships with a company and am excited to see how we can help each other out.
In a few days I will be writing again about my first experience with the Hen House!! Very exciting.
Take a look at TJ's innovative products at: http://www.rustersports.com/
2) Rome!!! Thursday morning at 9:55am I will be leaving the country until May 12. I am doing the ISU Rome study abroad for the architecture program. This is going to be an awesome and hopefully life changing experience. My bike is coming with me and my training will continue as normal (hopefully!). I am hoping to be able to see a lot and understand how things differ from the American way of life.
Wish me luck!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Blood and guts in Dallas
This past weekend was the finale of the Lifetime Series. I did Minneapolis and Chicago this year and qualified for this race at each of them. This time I would be on the start line with most of the top amateurs in the country. As opposed to the other races where a bunch of guys who have gone a certain time at another race get on the line and have to duke it out for the first 300m there were only 11 of us. Mentally it has its plusses and minuses. It is good because the start is much less of a fist fight and bad because all 11 of those guys have a chance of winning on a given day.
Into the water we dove and I knew that I had to stay with the front pack no matter what. Weather that be if a few guys go off the front and everyone else packs up or if it is a smaller group. By the second buoy it had turned into 3 guys off the front and a pack of 4. I was in the pack of 4 and content with that.
Into T1 I knew most of the guys around me and that I had to get out quick and start hammering. As soon as I grabbed the bike off the rack I should have slowed down a bit and made sure everything went smoothly. Through the transition my shoes were hitting the ground and my bike was jumping all over. As I went to mount a shoe hit and the bike went down with me on top of it. My first thought was "wow did that really happen? Just get up and go!" I got up and looked down at the bike. The bars were way out of alignment and a spoke had broken. At this point I was thinking "Crap, I came all of the way down here to do a swim. This sucks." And then I took a look at my arm which was dripping blood. At that point the medical people came over and started bandaging up my arm. The only thing she said to me was that i would probably need stitches. All I said back was "ya looks like it." While I was getting bandaged up the bike mechanics had grabbed my bike and started fixing the bars and getting me a new front wheel. At this point there was hope that I would be able to keep going. I think about 3 min had gone by but I was back at it.
Nothing really hurt and I really just wanted to save face by finishing. Throughout the bike I thought I would be able to see everyone else ahead of me and hopefully catch a few people. I only managed to pass one person and keep up with someone else who caught up with me. All I knew was that I had not gained much and needed to start hauling on the run.
I came out of T2 with Brian Duffy and knew that he was a solid runner. Through the first few hills I was hanging with him and found the pace about right. At the turnaround there were 5 guys ahead of me. I had in my mind what I knew I was capable of and this was not it. There were two guys that I knew were within reach but Gavin, VanOrt and the other guy were way too far up. It took a while to catch the other two guys but by mile 5 I had passed one of them and up the last hill I surged to pass the next guy. At this point it was just a sprint to the finish and ended up 4th.
Overall I am very happy with a 4th place finish under the circumstances. The bar was set a little higher than that but still came away with a run pr of about a minute. It is my fastest 10k ever and it felt great. The big picture for the last few weeks of training has been Clearwater and getting prepared for the run. I would not have expected that to come with a 10k PR but that leaves me very excited for what is to come.
After the race I got my wheel back and somehow ended up pulling the nipple out of the rim. Lets just say paying for that is not going to be fun. I had also managed to get blood on the broken spoke, shoes, brake lever, shifter, me, and my glasses. There always has to be stories like this, right?
If I am able to make it through the next few weeks of classes I have a trip to Clearwater planned for next month. I am super excited to get on the starting line of my second half ironman.
Into the water we dove and I knew that I had to stay with the front pack no matter what. Weather that be if a few guys go off the front and everyone else packs up or if it is a smaller group. By the second buoy it had turned into 3 guys off the front and a pack of 4. I was in the pack of 4 and content with that.
Into T1 I knew most of the guys around me and that I had to get out quick and start hammering. As soon as I grabbed the bike off the rack I should have slowed down a bit and made sure everything went smoothly. Through the transition my shoes were hitting the ground and my bike was jumping all over. As I went to mount a shoe hit and the bike went down with me on top of it. My first thought was "wow did that really happen? Just get up and go!" I got up and looked down at the bike. The bars were way out of alignment and a spoke had broken. At this point I was thinking "Crap, I came all of the way down here to do a swim. This sucks." And then I took a look at my arm which was dripping blood. At that point the medical people came over and started bandaging up my arm. The only thing she said to me was that i would probably need stitches. All I said back was "ya looks like it." While I was getting bandaged up the bike mechanics had grabbed my bike and started fixing the bars and getting me a new front wheel. At this point there was hope that I would be able to keep going. I think about 3 min had gone by but I was back at it.
Nothing really hurt and I really just wanted to save face by finishing. Throughout the bike I thought I would be able to see everyone else ahead of me and hopefully catch a few people. I only managed to pass one person and keep up with someone else who caught up with me. All I knew was that I had not gained much and needed to start hauling on the run.
I came out of T2 with Brian Duffy and knew that he was a solid runner. Through the first few hills I was hanging with him and found the pace about right. At the turnaround there were 5 guys ahead of me. I had in my mind what I knew I was capable of and this was not it. There were two guys that I knew were within reach but Gavin, VanOrt and the other guy were way too far up. It took a while to catch the other two guys but by mile 5 I had passed one of them and up the last hill I surged to pass the next guy. At this point it was just a sprint to the finish and ended up 4th.
Overall I am very happy with a 4th place finish under the circumstances. The bar was set a little higher than that but still came away with a run pr of about a minute. It is my fastest 10k ever and it felt great. The big picture for the last few weeks of training has been Clearwater and getting prepared for the run. I would not have expected that to come with a 10k PR but that leaves me very excited for what is to come.
After the race I got my wheel back and somehow ended up pulling the nipple out of the rim. Lets just say paying for that is not going to be fun. I had also managed to get blood on the broken spoke, shoes, brake lever, shifter, me, and my glasses. There always has to be stories like this, right?
If I am able to make it through the next few weeks of classes I have a trip to Clearwater planned for next month. I am super excited to get on the starting line of my second half ironman.
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