Spring Classic Triathlon: Part 2 of 2

A big shout out to Jena's friends, and my new followers in Afghanistan, thanks for reading :)

After a great night of sleep, Kevin and I set course for the race.  We were really lucky because Anne made the trip along with us.  Having her was a great treat; it was nice to have her cheers and pictures, her insight into our conversation, and her help in changing my wheels.  A big thank you to her.

*Anne helping me with my wheels, notice the surgical glove

We arrived at the race about two hours before the start, checked-in, got set up in transition, and said “hello” to all of our tri friends.  There were quite a few fast athletes in the field, which was nice. 

*The run-bully himself, Johmark Smith

*Speedos at the last race, full wetsuits at this race, go figure

 Among those fast athletes were my friends Trev Dakine and Johnmark Smith.  Johmark is always the top runner in the field, not near the top, but the top.  He told me before the race that his training was spot on and he had won a winter-spring trail run series.  The guy can run like the wind.  Before the swim I told Johmark (with a smile), “I will see you on the run.”  What that statement meant is open for interpretation.

I made the necessary race preparations, kitted-up in my Hammer Nutrition kit, and put on my wetsuit.  The water was cold, ice cold.  It is, after all, April.  One nice thing about having people take pictures is I get to capture those moments that are impossible to describe in words, or capture when I’m the one taking the pictures.

*Scuba diver water entrance

*Frogman, not my most flattering look

I could not get warm during the warmup period so I switched to doing some butterfly which did the trick.  I was ready for the swim.  The gun went off and we dove in, this is a short swim so the tempo has to be red-line.  Within 50 meters of the start I breached the pack and quickly went off the front.  The water is so cold that your arms begin to lock up from being cold, the trick is to swim fast enough to get out of the water before you get too bogged down.  I could feel the cold-lock starting to set in as my hand hit dirt and I rose up out of the water. 

*Brodacious going off the front

*My swim gap developing nicely

I had a great swim leading the pack by about 3 body lengths.  I made a smooth transition and left for the bike in first place.  The bike was windy with sun.  I am not yet used to the aggressive aero position so I did a lot of shifting around on my bike trying to get comfortable.  I haven’t spent a lot of time on the Murder Machine, as the season progresses I will be able to lock into that time trial position and not move. 

*Headed to transition 1

*About to flying mount the Murder Machine

*Kev and crew in T1

At about the four-mile mark on the bike the eventual winner, Graham Roche, slipped by me for the lead.  Graham is a phenomenal athlete whom I have had some great battles with in recent years.  At any given race, it’s a dog-fight as to which one of us will win.  There have been races when I have had his number and beat him, and vice versa.  Today was his day he had a great race and put a hurting on the field.

*Let the chase begin

I rode comfortably hard the remainder of the bike course and hit transition two.  I heard Anne give me some great cheers and traded my bike gear for run stuff.  I left transition two and took time checks.  Trev was right on my heels, and Johmark was close, too close for comfort.  I entered the run course making mental notes of not starting too fast.  The first mile came and went.

*The Murder Machine awaits the chase group in transition two

*Arm sleeves going on, it's go time

 For the first race, I felt swift and strong.  I ran tough and focused on staying relaxed.  I hit the run turn around and assessed the chase pack situation.  On the first half of the run I was able to run away from 3^rd and 4^th, Johnmark, the best runner in the field, was close but not dire.

*Bring it on Brodacious!

I simply had to run tough for 10 minutes and I would seal up 2^nd place.  In past years I would have run “not to get passed,” now I don’t think that way.  I have tried to shift my focus from “run hard and don’t get passed” to “beat the bully at his own game.” Wait, does that make me a bully?  What that means is to man-up and beat people at their strengths, that makes a statement.  If a guy is a great swimmer, out swim him.  If he is a fast runner, out run him.  Take his power, a tall order I know.

*Finish kick

With about a half mile to go I was really starting to suffer.  Spring triathlon is like a top, you wind it up and set it spinning as fast as you can.  If you make it to the end before the top stops spinning then you might win.  My top was beginning to wobble near the finish but I was fighting to stay in it.  I made a check to the chasers.  Johnmark had run his way up to 3^rd place, but I knew he wouldn’t be catching me. I cruised into the finish line in 2^nd place about a minute ahead of 3^rd place.

The following pictures are some of my favorites because they show how hard I ran.  I was in a CPR class and the instructor said, "If someone assumes a position of being bent over, with their hands on their knees, and struggles to breathe, they are totally fatigued and need to go to the hospital immediately."  His words, not mine.  It is my favorite position because it means I raced hard!  Thank you to Anne for capturing those "struggling to breathe, get me to the hospital moments." :)

*Hurt locker pic #1: "I am not taking another step past the finish line."

*Hurt locker pic #2 "Nope, still not moving."

*Hurt locker pic #3 "Seriously..."

*Oh psych, after a couple minutes it's all better.

For the first race of the season it went incredibly well.  Compared to the same race in 2011, I took nearly three minutes off my time, and moved up three spots, including moving ahead of two racers who beat me at this race last year.  That’s rewarding.  I know that "killing" myself with hard training (more figurative than literal) during the winter months when everyone else was having fun is what got me here.  It was fun to share the day with Kevin, he had a great race with frequent battles.  It was a great day.  Thanks to Anne for the pictures.

*Kevin in the finishing stretch

*Team Hammer Nutrition boys!

*We left loaded down with awards and feeling accomplished

Thanks for reading, rock on.