Kokopelli Triathlon

September 8th, 2018

Collegiate Triathlon returns!

After Boulder, I took 2 weeks almost completely off (I totaled like 7 hours of physical activity over that time) and before I knew it, I had another race in 5 weeks and it was definitely time to start to get back into it.

This year, since the Lifetime Tempe Triathlon was no longer USAT Sanctioned and therefore no longer a Conference Race, we traveled up to Sand Hollow Reservoir, for the Kokopelli Triathlon in Utah. The 8-hour drive was long and decently boring, going North through Flagstaff and around the Grand Canyon was quite the trek, but the scenery was worth it. The time difference between Arizona and Utah was unforgiving, but we arrived at packet pick-up around 4PM, and then it was off to the reservoir for a quick shake-out swim. There was a boat ramp with docks on the sides of it, which mean there was going to be a #FullSend right off of it to get into the water. A perfectly executed entry sent me into the water for a quick shakeout. Team dinner and bedtime quickly ensure after that and it was race time!

On race morning, that water was barely cool enough to be wetsuit legal which was certainly an indicator of how hot the day was going to get (since the previous days were just as hot).My assigned spot in transition was bad, right next to bike in/out. The traditional pre-race potty went well, so I was certainly ready to go. After the team cheer, all the collegiate teams were lining up. Since it was a smaller collegiate field, we all started at the same time, which was not a problem, but something nobody was used to.

After keeping myself in the front line with an optimal line to the turn buoy, the gun went off and it was hectic. Although I was right near the front from the beginning, everyone seemed excited to go. Quickly, less than half way to the sprint-distance turn buoy, I found myself next to just one other athlete. By the time we got to that sprint turn buoy, We had begun to swim through the wave in front of us. I made a move on the outside of one of them and got myself ahead of him. Even though I could not shake him, despite my forcefully kicking when his hands came too far up my leg. Just before the turn buoy, I had had enough of his annoyance, pulled off to the side, and let him go around. I swam along side of him and soon near his legs/feet. Some point during this time, I felt so fatigue and weak I had to fight myself to keep swimming. And after sticking with the draft for a fair length, the spotting became rough and our line was not straight. I came out of the draft and began to swim on my own, and despite multiple efforts to get myself going, I just had nothing in me. Before I knew it, the other athlete must have seen this and made a move. I soon found myself without a draft, but unwilling to look back, I presume I was alone. After pushing myself hard to continue at the pace I was, I knew I had to stick with it, because the swim is normally my strongest leg. Exiting the swim in second, about 15-20 secs down, we had swam through the entirety of the two waves proceeding us.

Up the boat ramp and into transition, it was a small transition which means every second counted. A quick transition got me out on the course in first and right where I wanted to be. With poor direction from volunteers and signage, I was confused about where I was supposed to ride our of the State Park. Once I got to the main road, it was pretty straight forward as to where I was to ride.

Before the first right hand turn, I was passed and it was all about me finding my biking legs. Long story short, I must've left them in Tucson because I felt like absolute trash. Riding towards the one major climb, I was passed again and continually thought that the hill would allow me to find my legs. About 1 mile at 6% was surely enough to get the blood moving down there, but apparently not. I crested the top, still in 3rd and gave one last hard surge to try and get going. This also failed and I concluded that it was going to be about damage control for the rest of the race. At the turn around, I was still in 3rd, and saw teammates Nick and Jeff about 1 and 2 mins away from the turn around and me. With the way back being primarily, it was all about getting aero and conserving for the run. My tenacious self, said screw that and took a large gamble before the run, which was looking worse and worse, the closer I got to it. I went way harder on the way back than the way out, which ended up being about 6 minutes faster (with that fat downhill). Coming in hot, I rolled in to T2 in 3rd, very happy with where I was. (check me strava)

Strolling out of T2, I felt good, better than I was expecting. I downed a bottle of XRCEL, cause I only took in water during the ride. Knowing how previous races normally go from here, I tried to keep myself controlled as much as possible, still considering it was downhill for a bit, and it was only the beginning of the 10k. Right around the first aid station, about 2k in, Nick passed me, which I totally expected. Thinking I was still in the worst run shape (as always), I let him go, and gave him some encouragement, of course. At this point, I was wondering who else was closing in on me. At each aid station, I took some water to pour over my head and one to try and drink. Somewhere between 4 and 5k, Jeff passed me, which I also had expected. I definitely let him go because its Jeff. After the turn around which I got to in 20:28 (which was nice), I had timed it to be about 2 minutes from the turn around, before I saw the next collegiate athlete. After seeing that and realizing I was about 4 minutes up on him, I almost knew I was not going to die that hard, where I would lose 5th place. I kept my effort high as I was still feeling the best in the entire race. Seeing all my teammates on the way back was extremely helpful as it made the run back go by quickly. Nearing the uphill finish, I was still running strong and consistent throughout! Finishing in 5th in the Collegiate division was extremely satisfying for me (2:03.06 overall. (strava boi)

Shoutout to the rest of the TriCats for racing tough. Men's went 3, 4, and 5 and won the race for the collegiate men. The women went 3, 7, and 8, and claiming second place for the collegiate team. A short hike at Zion National Park rounded out our day. Thanks to XRCEL for keeping me fueled once again!

Next, Pumpkinman Triathlon in Boulder City, Nevada on October 20th!

Ironman Boulder 70.3

August 4th, 2018

I'll leave this here

The Half-Ironman Distance has been on my radar for a long time and in March I decided to take a stab at it over the summer. I chose Boulder 70.3 for a few reasons; the timing, it was long enough after the collegiate season for me to take time off and then still train,; the location, I have friends in the area and the destination wasn't too far; the course, a swim in a reservoir, bike course that was not too hilly but still had some climbing, and a looped run course, it seemed to be ideal for me. With this being my only race of the summer, my training was definitely geared this race. Admittedly, my motivation to train went through highs and lows throughout the summer, I tried to stay as consistent as possible. This summer my riding really started to feel good, and so naturally, I rode more. My swimming was static, and really just maintained it as much as possible from the spring, while my running on the other hand was almost neglected by me, which turned out to be a poor decision (as you can guess, but I hardly regret it).

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

The 12 hour drive on Thursday was uneventful and boring, but nonetheless, I was happy to have arrived in Colorado. Happy to see friends once again and grateful to have a house to stay in, Friday morning started with a quick shakeout run at Red Rocks Amphitheater. After breakfast, we drove up to Boulder to check out the race site and do all the things Ironman makes you do the day before. Upon our arrival at the reservoir, it began to rain pretty hard. Instead of riding first, we checked out the expo, I picked up my packet, and got everything else I would need for the next morning. By then, the rain had eased up a bit and it was time to do a quick ride. Although I did not ride on the course, a quick 30 minutes around the venue was all I needed to loosen up for the next morning. On the ride I noticed some handlebar bolts came loose and I made sure to go over all the bolts on my bike before checking my bike into transition for the night. After a few pictures (of course), I was ready to head out until the morning!

squad out in full force

Race morning wake up was 4:10AM and we were out the door by 4:45. We sat in a butt-load of traffic, since there was only one road to and from the reservoir, but still parked by 5:30, giving me almost 2 hours before I was to start. Pumping up my tires and loading my bike with hydration and nutrition, which consistent of a bottle of XRCEL, a bottle of water, a pack of blocks, and 2 broken Honey Stinger Waffles, and an empty bottle cage for the first aid station, the noble steed was ready to go. It was time to suit up and get ready to go. Finding my support crew on the beach (Hannah and Alex), I slid into my wetsuit and quickly got into the water to do 2 important things; 1) warm-up and 2) pee. After the two Pro waves were sent off, I positioned myself in the first corral in the 'Under 27 minutes' group, knowing that even though my swim was not exactly where I wanted it to be, I would certainly be under 27 minutes. As the time counted down, it was game time. The gun went off and as the eager ones up front, myself included entered the water, we immediately strung out. Being probably the 4th or 5th one in the water put me in a good position. A minute or two into the race I moved into fresh water to allow for my own sighting, and quickly realized I was right near the front of the pack, to my own surprise. The swim was a massive rectangle, so the two straights felt extremely long. By the time I got to the short section, I was sitting comfortably in second, about 5 seconds down from the first swimmer. The way back was an even longer straight, and it certainly felt it. Not being sure if it was me pushing hard or the altitude, I continued to stay on the gas, as the swim was definitely going to be my strongest leg - I had to capitalize. Swimming on the hip of another swimmer on the way back certainly helped me save some energy, although spotting became a little difficult, as I had to take his line, almost the whole way back. Emerging from the water in 3rd, I nearly slipped on the boat ramp, but caught myself before I actually went down and I could not be more satisfied. By the time I got to the wetsuit strippers, I had my Roka Maverick Pro around my waist, I picked my strippers carefully, sat down , and they ripped it off my legs and before I knew it I was running towards my bike. Luckily I remembered where my bike was, dropped my swim gear, strapped on my helmet, and I was on my way! 

right after I slipped before the mats

With that speedy transition, I was the first age grouper on the bike course - how exciting! When mounting Natasha (my bike), I kicked my rear bottle off from behind my saddle, but it was only water so no need to panic. Although being in this position was not unfamiliar for me, I was not going to take any chances at this point in the race. Only a few miles into the bike was I passed, and although there was no pressure on me before, I felt relieved to not be in first anymore. The longer I sat in the front, the more tempted I would be to stay there. Since it was my first 70.3, I wanted to be careful with my effort and race my race, with my efforts, not anyone else's. Throughout the bike, I never felt like I was ever pushing really hard, except on the uphills, which is really relieving since I was able to stay mostly relaxed for my longest leg of the race. Throughout the swim and bike, myself as well as other age group men picked off some of the female pro's, which was always a nice boost of confidence, expect when they draft off of you (which I photographic evidence of, if anyone wants to see). At the first aid-station, I needed water, considering I had kicked off my only bottle, but each of the three bottles I attempted to grab fell from the volunteers hands prematurely, so I had to settle for Gatorade, as I needed to stay on top of my fluid intake. Not only did I stay on top of fluid intake, but calories as well. Over the course of the bike, I ate 3 halves of Honey Stinger Waffles, with additional calories from my XRCEL bottle totaling about 600 calories on the bike. Over the last two aid stations, I took two water bottles at each, one to drink, and one to cool myself off with, which was dumped by the end of the aid station. Before I knew it, I was at the end on the bike, and riding back into transition, very happy with my ride. Check out my strava here!

aero af

Coming off the bike I felt alright, and I knew this was going to be the hardest part of the race, getting my running legs under me. I took my time in transition, gathered myself, and ventured towards the run course. After strapping on my Lululemon headband (#sponsorme), Foakleys, Garmin, and racebelt, I ran out of T2 double fisting my XRCEL. 

so good

The first mile seemed routine, like I was not pushing tooooo hard. But upon arrival at the first aid station, my body was saying otherwise. Downing one bottle of XRCEL, I chased it with water, took a cup of ice to pour down my trisuit, I began to run again, but just could not. Again, not being sure if this was because I was not in running shape, or the altitude, I mustered up the strength to run to the next aid station. After doing that and calling for more water and ice, I walked through to make sure I was taking care of myself and being smart. The rest of the first lap was slow and the goal was to make it to the next aid station without walking. I was able to do so, and the second lap began the same way the majority of the first lap went. By the second half of the second lap, I began to feel better (most likely because I was just yelling at myself, mentally for a long time). I was able to pick up the pace significantly between aid stations, and actually feel like I was doing something. At the last aid station, I saw some teammates, Nicole and Tito, who were good to see some friendly faces on the course! After that it was hardly more than a mile until I was done and made sure that I continued to push all the way to the line! I could not be happier to be done regardless of my time (4:48:57, officially) and how my run went. Check out the strava here!

mmm all done

Thanks to my parents for helping me out this weekend. Thank you the Alex and the Hoffman's for letting me crash in Littleton for a few nights, and Thuyminh for the place in Boulder, as well as Conrad for the Zenves! Shoutout to Zach, Nicole, and Tito for racing as well and all finishing! To Hannah for travelling for support! And Thank you to XRCEL for keeping my stomach satisfied and energy levels up for the whole race!

pro woman drafting??? Your call. 

What is next for me? The collegiate triathlon season starts for me on September 8th, in Hurricane, Utah with the Kokopelli Triathlon! Until then, I'll see y'all soon!

 

USAT Collegiate Club Nationals - Duathlon?

April 28th, 2018

The drama all started the Tuesday before, on the 24th, when an unbelievable email came from USA Triathlon, stating that all races this weekend have been shifted to a Duathlon (run-bike-run) format. "Heavy rainfall in Tuscaloosa the past two weeks led to the Holt Dam spillway gates being opened by local officials to avoid flooding. Heightened volume in the Black Warrior River necessitated that the gates remain open through race weekend, resulting in overly strong currents that were deemed unsafe for swimming." Not only was this extremely disappointing for me, a strong swimmer, it was devastating to everyone but runners (who can't swim), as they would not be able to see their hard work in the pool pay off. Not only that, but none of us had trained for a duathlon all year, as we were training for a triathlon. After some frantic phone calls, many of us were freaking out, unsure what to do about the news. 

Once the news set in, motivation was sideways, but the show must go on. Wednesday started with a 3:30AM wake-up to being our journey to Tuscaloosa once again. The day went just as planned and ended with a short shake-out run the get the legs back after 3 hours of driving and 4 hours of flying. Thursday began with an extremely wet and rainy run on the campus of the University of Alabama. A quick 35 minutes was enough to get the legs primed for the weekend. After some downtime and clearing up of the weather, we got out bikes and took a loop of the course, which was unchanged from last year. Although this year, we'd be biking off a run instead of a swim, which was too late to practice for. Big shout-out to Conrad Sanders, TriCat Alumni, current team EMJ member, and recent 70.3 St. George Amateur Champion for letting me use his Zenve wheelset ;) 

ready to send it

Sadly, we did not receive any Draft-legal spots for Friday's races, but since everything became a duathlon, I think nobody on our team was really disappointed with that in the end. After watching those races, it was all game-faces until the next morning. The rest of Friday was spent relaxing and walking around the campus with my parents and some friends. 

s/o to hannah for flatting, again

Saturday morning started with the Female race and then the Male race several hours later. The mass start in a narrow chute was not ideal, but with a chip start, it made it slightly more fair. Nonetheless, everybody pushed to be at the front of the corral. Before the start of the race, I poured a bottle of water over my head, because it felt wrong to start a race dry, even if it was a duathlon. The first run went out fast, as expected, but I tried to stay as relaxed as possible. One benefit of doing the same run twice was being able to find landmarks for the second run, where I knew from previous duathlons that the second run sucks. Going out in the first mile was always too fast, but I felt in control, which was more important than the time I ran. Once the first mile was complete, I tucked behind some other runners and tried to stay as relaxed and as comfortable as possible. The last two miles were very steady and split almost evenly. Running through transition without a wetsuit, cap, or goggles was something foreign to me (and probably most other people), but it certainly made for a fast transition. Sliding out of my shoes and clipping my helmet was all I had to do before I was running with my hog out of transition. (check out that first run on strava, here)

My mount was ideal, and probably my best flying mount to date, as my feet landed IN my shoes and they were basically already on. After a few pedal strokes, I reached down and tightened them and I was rolling out. 

Immediately, I felt good, which was a great sign. Without a swim, riding was certainly my best discipline and I knew that I had to capitalize on that. With a good first run under my belt, I had a strong feeling that my second run would not be better than what I had just done so a game-time decision was made to just send the bike and have little regard for the second run. Using that determination and frustration from the lack of a swim, I charged into the first portion of the bike. Admittedly, looking at my ride, I went out a bike too fast, but at the time it felt good and if I were in the same position again, I would do it exactly the same way. Coming off of the bridge, a little more than half way through a lap, I picked my head up, with my mouth up, and I felt something hit my lip, then the back of my throat and no, it was not a rock. It was a bug, which I tried to spit out, but it was too far down. Frantically reaching for my water to wash it down, I tried to remain as calm as possible after realizing I had just swallowed a bug. That as about as exciting as the first lap got, which was fast, and although I was not staring at my Garmin, I was certainly keeping tabs on it to make sure I wasn't doing anything on the first lap I didn't think I could do again on the second lap. At the first lap turn-around, I felt a little tightness in my right calf, but upon getting out of the saddle to get my speed back, it worked itself out and I was on my way again for lap two. Almost immediately, I realized my and three other riders were working together (legally, of course) and it was certainly helpful. Soon into the second lap, I knew I was riding with less steam than I had on the first lap, and tried to be mindful that as much as I didn't want to, I had to run again after this. The only good thing, and it wasn't even that good, was that it was only a 5.2k, which I could really struggle through depending on how the rest of the bike went. At the far turn-around on the second lap, I decided against the second run, and stormed back into town, faster than I did on the first lap. (Check out that fresh strava, here)

roll tide

Swinging my leg over my saddle to dismount resulted in a painful calf AND hip flexor cramp, which by no means were welcome. Without breaking stride, by the time I got to my bike spot, they both went away. After removing my helmet, and sliding back into my running shoes, I grabbed my sunglasses and race belt. Before the end of transition, my race belt and sunglasses were both already on, and it was time to suffer, more. The first half mile felt good, but things quickly deteriorated after that. The second mile of this run was probably one of the more demoralizing things I have had to do in a while, as I was looking at my watch and seeing a pace that was hurting much more than it should have. Seeing a pace for what was supposed to be a 5.2k, slower than I had 15-20k training runs at faster paces was extremely tough to deal with. Nevertheless, it was still a race and I had to push on. After what seemed to be forever, I was finally back towards the finish and with about 800m to go, I decided that no one else was going to pass me, and after what felt like a mile on legs made of lead, I crossed the finish line. Filled with mixed emotions of 'this race didn't count' and 'I'm so glad to be done' and 'that really sucked,' I took a moment on the ground to gather myself before being forced up by the medical staff, whom I had to repeatedly tell that I was fine, to avoid being taken into the medical tent. I had little time to dwell on what I just went through as my day was just getting started! (peep that strava, here!, and full results here!)

friends or something

After a few hours of trying to recover, it was time for the Mixed Team Relay, which was more of a track meet without a swim. It consisted of 4 members, 2 female and 2 male, alternating, each competing in a 1.0k run, 5.9k bike, and 1.1k run. Luckily, I had the ever important job of anchoring the team, by going fourth. Honestly, it's pretty self explanatory how this went. It hurt. All of it. It was a running sprint, then a bike sprint, then a running sprint, again. So if you really wanna know how bad it hurt, just ask me personally cause I do not want to relive it again right now. So here are each of the stravas, in order: run 1, bike, run 2.

MTR team!

Just a few words on this past year, which I am kind of bummed it ended the way it did, but also more motivated than every for next year. I was really looking forward to swimming, and improving 30 spots on my 31st place swim finish last year ;)  (which if you do the math, 31-30 = 1). I have no problem sharing my motivation and belief that I can have the fastest swim in the nation, and not being able to get the change to test that was extremely disappointing, but has me even more motivated to get it done next year. As far as the bike goes, just gotta keep sending it like I did this year, after improving about 5 minutes at nationals on the bike alone (with a run before this time). As for the run, yeah, I'm still working on it. And it is a struggle, but there cannot be progress without struggle.

Big ups to my parents for making the trip down to see and support me, as well as my team for a great year, despite the conditions, we made the best of it! 

What's next for me? Ironman 70.3 Boulder on August 4th! 

Anyways, thanks for tuning in, again. Roll Tide, and I'll see y'all in a few months!

Havasu Triathlon and MCTC Championships

March 17th, 2018

With spring break and most of my midterms completed, it was time to have some fun. And by fun I mean racing. Racing fast. Last year, Havasu was probably my best race of the season and I was looking forward to making this the best race of my season (so far, bigger goals in April). As our conference (mountain college triathlon conference) championships, it was our last chance to measure our racing fitness before Nationals at the end of April. Just a week removed from some high altitude training in Flagstaff, AZ for spring break, I was ready to fire up my engines and race hard. Without taking much time off the week of the race to rest, it was time to go, whether I was ready or not. The ream drove up Friday morning and once at the race site on Friday afternoon, a quick dip in the lake (to test the water) was followed by a quick preview of part of the bike course. Last year, it was extremely hot, but this year had cooler temperatures, most likely from the wind blowing out of SSE. This wind meant a tailwind on the slight uphill ride out and a mean headwind on the return. Nonetheless, the race plan never changed and it was time to get after it.

hi Zach

Race morning was cool, with temperatures in the mid-50s and the water in the mid-60s. With the collegiate race starting at 7:50AM, the sun was up for well over an hour, allowing the temperature to start to warm up. After setting up transition, warming up with a jog to and up the stairs at the foot of the London Bridge, and my pre-race ritual, I got my legs into my wetsuit and threw on my final game face. The swim this year was different than last, longer, thankfully. This year we started in the channel, and then swam out into the lake as we did last year. With it being about 800meters until the first turn, but only about 100meters until the end of the channel, sighting was extremely important. The race director instructed us that our first turn was at the green buoy, and while there were a yellow and orange buoy between the start and the green, they were slightly off line and certainly not the fastest way. Immediately when the gun went off, I made sure to stay very close to the front without burning too many matches. By the time we got into the open water of the lake, another athlete from CU and I (he came out of the water 12 seconds ahead of me at Pumpkinman), we're out ahead of the rest of the pack. Sighting only on the green buoy, I tried to stay on the most direct path, but the wind was causing some small swells in the lake, causing some unwanted side-to-side swimming. Once we finally made it to the first turn, we were separated from the rest of the group and it was time to push the pace a bit. It was a straight shot to the next green buoy, and given it was a short distance to it, I put in a small surge to see if he would come with me. As I began to push the pace, he followed and we both realized that we could come out with a large gap. Once we arrived at the last buoy and made a very sharp, almost 180 degree turn, it was a straight line to get back to shore, if you did not use the other buoys to sight. Again, the yellow and orange buoys were for sighting purposes, but were off a direct line to the swim exit. Once I was finally able to find the swim exit by the flags on shore after picking my head up and practically stopping (looking directly into the sun), I put my head back down and charged towards the exit. Near the end of the swim, he put in a small surge ahead of me, and I followed but had no reason to challenge as we exited the water.

unknowingly had over a minute gap

After stripping my wetsuit and clipping my helmet, I unracked my bike and began to run out of transition, immediately following the other athlete. My mount was routine, I got my feet in my shoes, tightened them and was on my way! 

Given we rode the first part of the course the day before, it was a good refresher as to what lay ahead. The slight uphill on the way out was essentially cancelled by the tailwind we had. After pre-race talks, it was decided to increase effort slightly in the two neighborhoods and keep the effort strong everywhere else. Arriving in the first neighborhood came with a small climb to begin, before turning and going up and down for a bit. Everything was status quo, and near the turn around point of this section, Ian and Shea (CSU athletes) rolled through and encouraged me to work with them, which I was all about. On the way out of the neighborhood, which was mostly downhill, I saw all my teammates begin to flood the course, and that encouraged me to continue to push the pace. After turning back onto the main road, the tailwind was back and my effort began to level out on the way to the turnaround. The turn around was not exactly halfway, since we rode through a different neighborhood on the way back and it was slightly shorter than the other. In the second neighborhood, which was in the shape of a lollipop, there were three short but very steep 'hills.' Getting over the first two went according to plan and on the backstretch I downed a gel (contrary to what I wanted to do) because I knew I was going to need some energy later in the race. Coming over the final hill and shooting down it, I was excited to be down with the hardest part of the bike. As I was exiting the neighborhood, I heard a pop and a loud, long hiss, Looking down I had to face the inevitable. A front flat, presumably from a bump, sidelined me briefly. Once stopping and dismounting, "F#$%!" was yelled and pretty sure a lot of people heard it, including the police officer who turned and said "so is someone coming to pick you up?," which struck me the wrong way. I did not reply to that and as I walked by him I held back some choice words as it would not change my situation. Leaving my shoes clipped into my bike, I took my helmet off and began to walk my bike back towards the main road. Knowing I could not ride back the 8 miles back to transition, I began to think of how long it would take me to walk back. Figuring it would be about 2 hours, I knew I could still finish the race. A resident passed me in his car and offered me a ride, and after kindly declining as the goal was to still finish, continued walking towards the main road. Near the main road, my main squeeze Conrad began to slow down and ask me what I needed, but told him to keep going and that I was going to get help (not knowing if I actually would), but I refused to let another teammate take time out of their race for me. After walking somewhere near a mile and coming to the main road, I was offered another ride by two CU parents who claimed they were going back in a few minutes. Again, I kindly declined and explained how I would still like to finish. And by the stoke of a miracle, they said they have tube(s) and a pump. Now realizing the potential of me still being able to race, I ripped off my tire and thew in that new tube, probably faster than I've ever changed a tube. As we pumped it up and began to put it back on my bike, POP. I pinched the tube when I put it back in. But, something was meant to be, because they had another tube and I repeated the whole process, this time, making sure to keep the tube INSIDE the tire. This time it worked, and I threw the wheel back on my bike, buckled my helmet, gave the kind souls some words of gratitude and exclaimed how they saved my life today and put my game face back on. Being all amped up now, the send became real as it was slightly downhill into a headwind all the way back to transition. The one positive thing about flatting was seeing all my teammates, who I was able to encourage as I saw them on the course. It took me a minute to start to think about the rest of the race, since I was still ready to make the most of what I had. After a very quick ride back, I set a goal for myself on the run to give the best effort I could, knowing that my time and placing was already out the window from being stopped for so long (strava here).

still aero

After dismounting and racking my bike, I took a deep breath and got my shoes, glasses, and race belt on. Knowing I had absolutely nothing to lose on the run, I was ready to see what I could produce after being mentally taken out of the race once I flatted. Going up the stairs to the London Bridge two at a time, I got to the top and say Jimmy and Doug who said "we're happy to see you, Dean, get in a good run here." And believe me, I was happy to see them too, and I gave them a thumbs up on my way out onto to course. Settling into a fair pace, I wanted a strong, steady run as the race had felt like a hard workout at this point, since it was extremely difficult to be competitive being where I was in the race. Seeing my teammates coming back was extremely helpful, as they were all excited to see me still on the course. Some low-fives and words of encouragement were exchanged as we passed each other. Hitting the turn around came quicker than I expected as I was doing my best not to look at my watch and racing on how I felt. Turning around, I knew I was almost done and wanted to push a little bit harder. Over the course of the entire run, I did not take on any water or gels, since I was running on emotion, knowing I had put in too much work this year not to finish well, despite what had already happened in the race. Going back I saw more and more teammates, whom I all encouraged as went by. Getting back on London Bridge, Doug told me that I had a gap from whoever was behind me, but they were not allowed to pass me. Knowing I was around half a mile to the finish, I was definitely not going to let him down. The pace increased and after snaking towards the finish line and kicking for the show, I finished well and was utterly disappointed with what happened (strava here, results here).

Albeit I was highly disappointed with what had happened, there was really nothing to hang my head on. After a great swim, an exceptional bike (until the flat), and being able to string together a run that I would have been happy with regardless. But shit happens, and that day it did and there was nothing I could do about it. Thank you to my teammates for trying to keep me positive after my race and I love you all. And despite the result, it was time to move on and get ready for the big one (collegiate nationals) next month in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Until then, I'll be training hard because #RollTide.

Catch y'all on the flip!

Tritonman Triathlon

February 17th, 2018

San Diego is always a great place to be, whether it be for a race or vacation, it never disappoints. This time around, it was no different, the weather was ideal (although a tad nippy on race morning), the team was happy, and we were all ready to race! Given that UCSD's Tritonman Triathlon was not a conference race for us, there were no implications on the race results which is surprisingly less stressful. Additionally, given the race is a sprint, and in February, it is a great early test of speed and a good fine-tuning race for the remainder of our season, which is rapidly approaching. Since Pumpkinman, I got a new bike (yay, 2018 Trek Speed Concept), tested my bike-racing skills with a road race and criterium, broke a finger, strained a shoulder, and badly bruised or cracked 2 ribs! But nonetheless, I was excited to get out there and drop some bombs.

smiling cause we were on the way to dinner

Race morning was status quo with no surprises or anything unexpected to unsettle my nerves. It was a chilly 50 degrees out, with the water of Mission Bay in the low 60s, it was most certainly a wetsuit swim. Luckily, I was drawn into wave 2 (Collegiate A), although it was completely randomized, I was happy to be able to tackle the course with the least amount of people on it. The swim started across the bay, and we 'rectangled' it back to the swim exit, with two right turns and a left. Prior to the gun, I put myself right out in the front line and waited. When the gun went off, elbows were flying and my right eye was lucky enough to catch one! Thankfully my goggles did not fall off nor did fill with water. Getting hit slightly angered me (I don't know why, I should have expected that), but I channeled that energy to get out front into unobstructed water. By the first buoy I was swimming next to another athlete, as we were out front together. A small surge on the short end of the rectangle put me out front alone. Towards the end of the short swim, I began to find a good rhythm and coincidentally I was already at the last buoy. Exiting the swim first, I heard the spectators cheer (in general, not for me) as I reached to begin to take off the top of my wetsuit.

Once in transition, my wetsuit was slightly stuck around my ankles (of course), but once I got that taken care of, my helmet was on and my bike was unracked. After a quick flying mount and inserting my feet into my shoes and tightening them, it was time to get serious. I got onto Fiesta Island and it was definitely game time. With the weather being ideal, despite the cold, there was hardly any wind, which favored fast bike splits, from everyone! The first lap was controlled and the island was still empty, but once lap two hit, the course began to get much more crowded and the third lap would only be worse. Once the second lap began, I was feeling good and began to push some more watts. I was passing people and getting passed all at the same time and was unsure of where I sat overall, but was not concerned with that at all. The third lap was extremely crowded but I did my best to hold a constant pace and turn the cranks as steady as possible. Even though there was hardly any wind this year, a 4 minute improvement over last years bike was nothing to hang my head on. After my three laps, I exited the island and rode back into transition getting ready to run. Strava here.

head down!

I got off my bike and racked it, took off my helmet, and shoved my feet into my shoes. I could not feel my hands so I was unable to tighten my shoes, but visually saw that my feet were in my shoes. Without sacrificing any seconds, I said 'f*** it' and took off. About 4 steps out of transition, "14th place, 1:20 down" from Coach Cara. It was good to hear where I was, but at the same time, it caught me a tad off-guard. For the run, my main focus was to descend and test my legs off a hard bike. With each lap of the run being roughly 1 mile, it was a good indicator of how I was doing, allowing coaches to give me feedback on how I was looking and doing. The other benefit of the short laps was running with teammates. Being able to run with others certainly helps, no matter the situation. The descend worked well, but its no doubt that I started off waaay too slow (run Strava here). Coming down the finishing chute, I was thrilled to see the 58-minute tick to 59:00 as I had broken an hour with a final time of 59:03 (results there), over a 7 minute improvement on last years duathlon. Once I had finished and gathered myself and congratulated other teammates who finished right near me, it was time to cheer on the rest of my awesome team.

post race

Once the race festivities concluded, we packed up and headed to the beach to hang out for a bit before heading back to Tucson. Thankfully the weather cooperated the rest of the day and we enjoyed some Pacific Ocean with salty air and ocean hair. Despite only being in San Diego for just over a full day, we headed back to Tucson to get back to business! Shoutout to Coaches Thane, Doug, and Cara for coming out and supporting us all, Hannah for using Zach's camera to take some bomb-a$$ pictures of us, and the rest of the team for making it another enjoyable trip!

messin around w/ Tito

Whats next? Havasu Triathlon for MCTC Championships on March 17th!
See y'all soon, stay sweet!