Rhythm and Racing: A Double For The Books

So as I finish up my first weekend of racing this summer I have mixed feelings all over the board from bad to good. I started the weekend a little bit nervous that my performances would wouldn't be up to par because of being very sluggish at the beginning of the week, along with a "tempo" run that was far from my normal on Monday and not in the right direction. However, ultimately the disipline I was most worried about is my strength so I mentally over powered the sluggishness starting with the Dam to Dam 5k on Saturday.

I woke up that morning feeling slightly better than I had the previous days. I had the night in downtown Des Moinesjust  blocks away from the start of my race. So with no rush I throw on my running uniform and head out for a warm up. It is a pretty warm and muggy morning, so I am able to break a sweat easy during my warm up and stretches. This is perfect because being sluggish I knew the start of the race would be harder due to taking a bit longer to get going quick due to the state of my legs. So as I approach the line, I have one goal in mind. To win.

On the starting line wearing a Triton Jersey.

The race goes out quick, and I go with it for the first 1300m about before the other two leaders begin to pull away a bit. They do this without me being about to pick up legs speed, so I tell myself that they hit can't gap me too much and I will catch them when they die. I chase them for the rest of the race, but I am unable to catch them like I planned. I was pretty disappointed with 3rd place, but as I look back with the week I was having, I did a pretty good job. Now with a nice Pre-race run under my belt I get a quick swim and bike ride in before resting to prepare for Pigman Sprint Triathlon the next morning.

Pigman will be my first non-draft sprint of the season, and my first on my new wheels I bought that week.

My setup for the race

As excited I was about the wheels they end up coming back to bite me because I forgt some key details. Anyways after warming up bright and early, I head to the starting line along with Z3 teammate Connor Dilger. The gun goes off and right away I notice that my rhythm is off with my arms. I am sloppy and desperately try to relax and fix my form. However I run out of distance in such a short swim. -'d only have good form for about the last 100m. As soon as I hit the beach I sprint up the beach in my normal fashion. I came out of the water in 15th place, but head out to the bike in 4th after a quick transition.

The bike is basically a "T" starting in the middle at the park entrance and heading south to start. As I head down the first hill I notice right away I don't really have a rhythm once again. This continues as people pass me one by one on a flat course which I would consider my specialty. I make it to the 180 degree turn at about the 5 mile mark. I make the turn around and head north back towards the park. With the wind at my back I get a second wind (no pun intended), and start to get into a rhythm finally.

This rhythm continues to remain steady, but only a few miles after the turnaround that changes quickly. My chain drops, and as I frantically get it back on another biker passes me. I get going again, the rhythm is back, but time is lost. I remain strong mentally and push on. Asi approach the middle of the "T" once again, I begin to climb. Then it strikes again, my chain drops and throws off my steady climb.

Getting a bit more frustrated, I quickly get it back to normal, finish the climb, pass by the park entrance , and head down the hill. Things aren't quite going my way yet, but the rhythm returns luckily. I make it to the turnaround without anything else going wrong finally. I turn back south and whack the wind nails me. This shouldn't bother me, yet it does. I keep pushing through the wind until I make it to my final climb to the park entrance, and just when I thought the bike was over my chain drops for a third time.

I later learn that I forgot to adjust the back derailer for my new disk, and that caused all the drops. However, at the time I was baffled. I do remain composor and remind myself that I am going to have an amazing run. With a few s-curves and a very slight uphill while in the park I reach transition finally.

I find my rack quickly, and as I throw on my Newton Mv2 the announcer tells the crowd I am all-American runner at Iowa Central and to expect a quick run. This boost my confidence a bit, and I blaze out on to the course. Right away I find a high cadence, a good lean, and I relax my upper body. Time to chase.

With my eyes up I search out my first target and begin to run them down. As I am doing this I pass my dad around the 1 mile marker where he tells me I am about just about 3 minutes behind Connor. As soon as I hear this I tell myself I am going to catch him. I focus on the catching him so much to the point that I don't remember how many people I passed or when I did. I just keep chasing and finally he is site.

I push harder and harder as we get closer to the finish line. With about 800 to go he still has a good lead on me, but I continue to close. Then with about maye 50 meters to go I blow by him with a quick powerful stride. I finish the race with the fastest run time of the day. My place is a disappoint to me however. I congratulate other racers, grab some food and hydration, and head out on a cool down run with Connor. We talk about our race and training, so the cool down goes pretty quick.

I grab my stuff and head home. Once home I hop on the bike to head to my mom's house. As I ride, I reflect on my race and start to think about what I need to do for my first Olympic distance triathlon next weekend in MN.

Back to the gride once I get home