Timberman Race Report

I haven't written a race report in a while, but think this will be helpful for future races. The week leading in I felt lethargic and a bit cranky. It was tough for me to sit back and relax. I watched my diet and just crawled through the week. Saturday - I pretty much nailed my "day before" nutrition. I started this before Eagleman and it worked really well. Saturday night I actually slept well and was out by 930. Sunday 3am - I had been up since 2 am just kind of laying there. Nervous stomache, but felt pretty good. Espresso,apple sauce, etc. 445am/7am- Get to transition. Three trips to bathroom, not fun. Nerves started to kick in from sitting around so long. The pros go off and Shaun and I warm up for 15 minutes or so. I watched a couple waves go off and figure out where I want to start. 3rd row, inside. I am basically going to try and use MC's feet for as long as possible. 745am - Our wave goes off. I swim the inside and lose the front group right away. I am sighting well and feeling pretty good. The first turn I make it without any real problem. Bouys feel like they are all over the place. I am still sighting well and working off peoples feet. I swim behind a couple athletes for a while and then move on. At the 2/3rds point I think I see MC. I know I am having a decent swim and that just reconfirms it for me. A couple times I get log jammed between two people. Not a big deal, but still annoying. My right calf does cramp up a bit, but it goes away withing 30 seconds or so. Get out of the water and feeling good. Swim 33:19 Rank 24th in AG - Happy with this. Swam to my ability. Transition - Very smooth and fast Bike - I start on my nutrition and keep my power in check. MY HR is VERY high, so that makes me a touch nervous. There are people everywhere. Starting in the second to last wave stinks. I basically just stay towards the left and try and pass everyone. I see lots of guys surging the first 12 miles and its hard to let them go. I know that I will benefit from patience and stick to my plan. I get through the majority of the climing and start out in the fast section. There seems to be a tailwind and I am moving along at a decent clip. Pretty uneventful until the turn around. At mile 28 I averaging 189 watts. (Goal is 190) I know I have paced well and hit the lap button. There seems to be a slight headwind on the way back, but really not that noticeable. Its actually a bit boring until mile 35. I start to struggle a bit, but I am passing a lot of riders. I get passed by one younger rider which helps me refocus. There are 4 of us that are working hard and it brings me back fairly strong. One of the riders is a draft pig. He makes everyone surge and is just an idiot. I actually mentioned it to antoher guy in my AG who also rode a Guru. He too was sick of it.We get to a hill and finally drop him. Super annoying. The decents back in are fast and sketchy. I lose a couple seconds playing it safe, but since my crash, I want no part of it. The last couple miles I feel really stronger and I am psyched to get on the run. Heading into transition I hear my name. I also look ahead and see MC. I know he poured it out, so the fact I feel strong and only a little behind him really makes me feel confident. Bike - 2:32:58 Goal was 2:33 and 190 watts. Exactly on goal. Transition I chat with MC and ask how he is doing. I tell him lets blow the roof off this F-er! I was jacked up!! Run - MC was on the run about 20 seconds before me. I see Kate and she is cheering me on to go get him!!! After a couple minutes I am with MC and another guy in our AG. I feel pretty good, but not awesome. We run a 6:40 for the first mile. The guy in our AG starts to pull away,so I go with him. MC and I never really say anything, but I take off. I am not sure how the day is going to go, but overall I feel pretty good. I am hitting every aid station and nailing my plan. It was pretty uneventful for the first 6 miles. I see Kate and Tony again and I feel good. It really is so motivating to see Kate when I race. It helps me dig deeper. I never want to pressure her to be there, but it is so nice. It breaks down the day. At mile 7 I caught up with a stronger runner in the 35-39 AG. I ask him how he is doing and we chat for a second. I tell him I am nervous to see what happens the next couple of miles, but push on. At this point I know my day is going to be awesome. I try to push it a bit harder, but my body rejects it. So I pretty much play it safe. Mile 9 - I hear footsteps and without looking I say, "You better not be in my AG" (kidding of course) It was a younger guy and we introduce each other. We were running at 630s and I told him I was going to blow up if I didn't slow down. He peeled off and I told him good luck. Roughly 2 minutes later one of the 4 guys I was riding with earlier caught me. I looked over and said, "I was wondering where you were" He laughed and we moved down the road at a blistering pace. At this point I passed the younger guy who I had just been running with. He gives me a look of, WTF? I point to the guy in my AG and he yells, "CRUSH HIM!!" (Or something like that) Pretty cool how I had just met this guy and he is now cheering me on. Really cool. I run with the guy for as long as I can, but know he has me. I wasn't going to just give it to him, but he had me. I let him pull away in fear of blowing up and losing more positions. Once I regroup I rev it up again and throw it down as hard as I can. A LOT of people see that I am tearing myself apart and cheer me on. Really encouraging. I make it to the shoot, see Kate and throw it down. The crowd is really behind me for running so strong. I feel awful, but amazing at the same time. Run 1:32:03. Right on goal! The guy who beat me comes over and shakes my hand. He thanks me for pushing him. I love it. So much mutual respect. Overall I am estatic with my performance. It was my "breakout" triathlon. I am really excited for what the future is going to bring. Getting on the podium is going to be a realitiy in the VERY near future. Everything is looking bright and positive!