Throwback to the original Duathlon: Dallas ITU Pro Race
There are some races that go under the radar because of school, weren't what I was looking for, or any host of reasons. Today I thought I would bring back a race report the world never saw before continuing with the rest of my summer reports. This one takes us back to 2015 when I did my first Pro race after earning my Elite card in the Monroe EDR. This race at the time was both exciting and eye opening in many ways. I may have earned my Elite card, but I was (and still am) far from the top despite what I dream. That is the best part, I have so much room to grow and learn. This trip was a father-son adventure as we set off from Iowa in the Grand Caravan which has been on so many trips across the nation. We headed down a week early to get used to the air and weather a bit before competing. As well as not having the travel heavy in the legs. On the way down we make a quick stop at Lake Murray State Park where I do a pre-race fartlek on national running day. The weather beautiful and warm I slowly get used to the weather as well as rest up before the race.
The actual event took place on June 6th, 2015 in case you want to look up the full results and see who else was in the race that day. A few of the ones that I recall the most are Austin Hindman (Z3 teammate), Alan Webb (American Mile record holder who I took second to in Monroe EDR), and Hunter Lussi(worked with on the bike and have raced a ton of times over the years, great competitor!) Anyways time to dive into my race report that only Jenny Weber(my coach) and I have seen.
PRE-RACE TIMELINE
I arrived to Dallas on Wednesday so had 3 days in the heat to get used to the weather. I think being here early did in fact help me take the heat better. I hydrated well, but there may have been room for improvement. The morning of the race I followed my nutrition and hydration plan almost perfectly, but didn't quite get down the second bottle like I was supposed to. During the bike warm up I felt good even with my cadence not being high enough. After checking in to the athletes lounge I went for my run warm up and broke a good sweat so I knew I was ready to race. Once back I drank more water and got an ice towel to keep me cool during dynamics. I believe that my timing was good leading up to the race in the matter of warming up.
Run #1
This run was very good in my mind, I stayed controlled throughout. I may have been able to hang closer to the lead group like planned if I pushed a little more and should have. However, during the second loop I gained back time that I had lost during the first half. I caught up to the pack and was ready to jump on their wheels as soon as I exited transition. I was very consistent during the run and put myself on the line without crossing it. I ran a 15:48 which is far from my PR, but for a hot run it was good. One thing I would say is that I didn't really respond to the other racers as well as I wanted to when they did make moves.
THE BIKE
This was my weakest leg of the race for a few reasons. Off the gun as I mounted I was right in position to be in a pack however as I looked down to get my feet in my shoes I realized that I still had my run shoes on. I tried to fit them inside my bike shoes unsuccessfully and after pedaling for a bit and losing the pack I figured out a plan. So I take them off and stuff them in my uniform because I know I can't leave them on the ground and going back in to transition was a bad idea. I believe this was good improvising as it was legal to my knowledge and ended up being legal yay! With the ground lost and shoes stuffed in my uniform I found a wheel. Hunter Lussi and I worked together, but quickly my calves began to cramp up. I worked with him as much as I could, but wasn't as much help as I wanted to be so we could catch the pack. So we got caught by the pack behind us. (not what I wanted to happen) We work together fairly well until the final lap where I make one technical error and it cost me. Going into the straightaway before the final u-turn I was leading and pulling when they all passed me and I went into the u-turn at the back and was dropped as they took off. I ended the bike not too far behind them and was ready to chase, but the damage was already done as I lost a lot on the bike.
RUN #2
It doesn't matter how much I trash myself on the bike, I will push it on the second run. Although my time wasn't the fastest I still put what I had out there and caught a few people. With it being such a short second run I ran out of ground really though. I was pushing throughout, but couldn't quite get my legs moving to the level I would want them to be. I guess if I had something negative to say about the run it would be that even if I did most likely negative split the run I could have pushed more the first half.
TRANSITIONS
Sooooo...these were not my best. I had fast transition, but they were only like that due to effort. During T1 I was not used to the duathlon format and tried to take off my cap and goggles to no luck as I didn't have any. So I proceeded to throw my helmet on and take my bike out on to the road. Without taking my shoes off. Only noticing after the mount. For T2 I got it and out as quick as possible, pulling my shoes out of my uniform and whipping them on.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT WERE IDENTIFIED
I definitely need to work on the bike as I don't like feeling that vulnerable to attacks without the strength in my legs. For the rest of the summer I will have you coach and dictate my bike workouts. Along with that I will also be at CIA every morning during the week to improve my swim. My run coach has a really good plan for me as well as strength. I will need better recovery methods and perhaps some yoga/flexibility. Canada is an "A" race and I plan to perform to the highest level there. This was a good warm up and experience for the start of the
summer.
Now while this race wasn't what I was looking for, it was my first experience racing the big boys. It is amazing what racing a large field of athletes better than you will do for you. It really humbles you, but at the same time shows you that you can belong and all it takes is just years of putting in the work and believing that you should be up there. Hope you enjoyed this throwback and exclusive look into my development as an athlete. A side note to why it was a duathlon and not a triathlon, the water quality was bad due to heavy rainfall causing flooding an cross contamination into the lake. Anyways keep reading and following my adventure to being the best I can be, thanks again as always!!!
 |
| Photo Credit to my dad who took me to the middle of nowhere to run. |
The actual event took place on June 6th, 2015 in case you want to look up the full results and see who else was in the race that day. A few of the ones that I recall the most are Austin Hindman (Z3 teammate), Alan Webb (American Mile record holder who I took second to in Monroe EDR), and Hunter Lussi(worked with on the bike and have raced a ton of times over the years, great competitor!) Anyways time to dive into my race report that only Jenny Weber(my coach) and I have seen.
PRE-RACE TIMELINE
I arrived to Dallas on Wednesday so had 3 days in the heat to get used to the weather. I think being here early did in fact help me take the heat better. I hydrated well, but there may have been room for improvement. The morning of the race I followed my nutrition and hydration plan almost perfectly, but didn't quite get down the second bottle like I was supposed to. During the bike warm up I felt good even with my cadence not being high enough. After checking in to the athletes lounge I went for my run warm up and broke a good sweat so I knew I was ready to race. Once back I drank more water and got an ice towel to keep me cool during dynamics. I believe that my timing was good leading up to the race in the matter of warming up.
Run #1
This run was very good in my mind, I stayed controlled throughout. I may have been able to hang closer to the lead group like planned if I pushed a little more and should have. However, during the second loop I gained back time that I had lost during the first half. I caught up to the pack and was ready to jump on their wheels as soon as I exited transition. I was very consistent during the run and put myself on the line without crossing it. I ran a 15:48 which is far from my PR, but for a hot run it was good. One thing I would say is that I didn't really respond to the other racers as well as I wanted to when they did make moves.
THE BIKE
This was my weakest leg of the race for a few reasons. Off the gun as I mounted I was right in position to be in a pack however as I looked down to get my feet in my shoes I realized that I still had my run shoes on. I tried to fit them inside my bike shoes unsuccessfully and after pedaling for a bit and losing the pack I figured out a plan. So I take them off and stuff them in my uniform because I know I can't leave them on the ground and going back in to transition was a bad idea. I believe this was good improvising as it was legal to my knowledge and ended up being legal yay! With the ground lost and shoes stuffed in my uniform I found a wheel. Hunter Lussi and I worked together, but quickly my calves began to cramp up. I worked with him as much as I could, but wasn't as much help as I wanted to be so we could catch the pack. So we got caught by the pack behind us. (not what I wanted to happen) We work together fairly well until the final lap where I make one technical error and it cost me. Going into the straightaway before the final u-turn I was leading and pulling when they all passed me and I went into the u-turn at the back and was dropped as they took off. I ended the bike not too far behind them and was ready to chase, but the damage was already done as I lost a lot on the bike.
RUN #2
It doesn't matter how much I trash myself on the bike, I will push it on the second run. Although my time wasn't the fastest I still put what I had out there and caught a few people. With it being such a short second run I ran out of ground really though. I was pushing throughout, but couldn't quite get my legs moving to the level I would want them to be. I guess if I had something negative to say about the run it would be that even if I did most likely negative split the run I could have pushed more the first half.
TRANSITIONS
Sooooo...these were not my best. I had fast transition, but they were only like that due to effort. During T1 I was not used to the duathlon format and tried to take off my cap and goggles to no luck as I didn't have any. So I proceeded to throw my helmet on and take my bike out on to the road. Without taking my shoes off. Only noticing after the mount. For T2 I got it and out as quick as possible, pulling my shoes out of my uniform and whipping them on.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT WERE IDENTIFIED
I definitely need to work on the bike as I don't like feeling that vulnerable to attacks without the strength in my legs. For the rest of the summer I will have you coach and dictate my bike workouts. Along with that I will also be at CIA every morning during the week to improve my swim. My run coach has a really good plan for me as well as strength. I will need better recovery methods and perhaps some yoga/flexibility. Canada is an "A" race and I plan to perform to the highest level there. This was a good warm up and experience for the start of the
summer.
Now while this race wasn't what I was looking for, it was my first experience racing the big boys. It is amazing what racing a large field of athletes better than you will do for you. It really humbles you, but at the same time shows you that you can belong and all it takes is just years of putting in the work and believing that you should be up there. Hope you enjoyed this throwback and exclusive look into my development as an athlete. A side note to why it was a duathlon and not a triathlon, the water quality was bad due to heavy rainfall causing flooding an cross contamination into the lake. Anyways keep reading and following my adventure to being the best I can be, thanks again as always!!!
 |
| Run along the lake we never got to swim in. |
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