Age Group Nationals

I was really uneasy going into this race. I didn't really have any desire to compete and knew I wasn't very well trained for it. Plus, it is always hard to go into a race where you know you ass will be handed to you. Nonetheless, I made the decision to travel to Tuscaloosa after what was probably the most stressful week of my life.

I arrived in town late Friday and grew increasingly frustrated with the 20,000 students crawling around on campus and the lack of USAT signs pointing us to registration. One day a race will get it right. You can't put registration and bike check-in on opposite sides of the world. I went for a quick spin to workout some frustration before finally retiring back in my hotel.

I woke up at 5 am Saturday morning and was ready to get it over with. I ate a banana, clif bar and consumed a bottle of gatorade en route to the race. Because bike check-in was the previous night, there wasn't much to do but put my stuff out and chat with friends. The race started in small waves so I didn't start until about an hour into the race.

Swim:

This was one of the hardest things I have ever done. You could tell there was a bit of a current so I watched the earlier waves. It was almost as if they weren't moving out there. The current was strong enough to slow them down that much. I tried to tell myself that I am just watching a pack of mediocre swimmers and my wave would be much better.

I got in the water about 10 minutes prior to my wave start. The current was evident as you struggled to hold onto the peir. My plan was simple--have a nice relaxed swim and draft as much as possible. Well I did that for the most part.

The first 150-200 was with the current before making your way across the river. I made my way around the first two turn buoys and prepared for the back stretch. I stuck to the feet of the guy in front of me. I could tell he was zig-zagging but I didn't want to lose my draft. After about 10 minutes on the backstretch, I popped out of the water to see where I was on the course. Wow....I had barely moved. I was using the dorms as a site when I breathed to my right and it wasn't getting any closer. I just put my head back in the water and focused on smooth strokes and following the bubbles in front of me.

Nearly 10 minutes later I could tell we weren't making any quick progress. I was hoping that the river was playing tricks on my mind so I did a fish roll to look at my watch. 30 minutes. Wow. I had been in the water for 30 minutes for the 1500m swim and I wasn't even at the final turn buoy. A few minutes later I was at the final buoy and struggled to get around it. All of us were getting sucked under the buoy because of the current. I stuck to the feet of my fish and made a bee-line for the swim exit only to miss it by about 20 feet.

I exited the water in 42 minutes. All I could do was laugh.

T1

I exited the water and made the trek up the stairs into transiton. I had the best rack ont the course. I the last person on the row of 200 bikes. There weren't many bikes in my area so it wasn't difficult to find my bike. I grabbed my stuff and got out of there asap

1:37

Bike

The plan was the to push the bike in a conservative/aggressive way. I didn't want to kill myself but I knew that this was my time to play catch up. I saw a number of friends and teammates on the first out and back. They were a few minutes ahead of me. I just put my head down and went.

The course was two loops with about 3 solid rises in it. I would try to back off during the climbs and make back up the ground on the descents. I finsihed the first loop feeling pretty good. I proably went out a bit too hard as my watts were high. My plan for the second loop was to just maintain the aggressiveness, catch who I can but try to keep my heartrate in check. Around mile 20, I felt my stomach get a bit bloated from my nutrition. Due to extenuating circumstances, I had to change my diet and race nutrition around for the weekend. DO NOT TRY ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY.

I backed off the pace for the final few miles and mentally prepared for the run.

1:05:33 (22.6 mph)

T2

I had a good dismount and run to the rack. I slipped on my Nike Free's, tried to motivate Kirk and took off running.

0:54

Run

I knew I would get smoked here, as usual. My instructions were to go out at 5k pace for the first mile and the back off. That hurt. I developed side stitches high in my ribs that aggravated me the rest of the run. I presume they are from my back being really tight. Normally I can work through them but I can't recall the last time I got one that high. I hit the first mile around 7:15 and backed off.

The course had three short but steep hills that just took it out of you. One the second hill the combination of the heat and extended time in the water began taking its toll and I began slowing. I was still determined to have a good race so I somehow found the energy to keep moving. I tried to pick it up around mile 4 and then again at mile 5. The side stitches just screamed at me so I focused on maintaing the current effort and that seemed to be enough.

48:32

Total time: 2:39:20

It was far from a PR day for anyone. Aside from the half I did on the final day of Triple T, this race was hands down the hardest I have every done. The odd thing is that none of the individual disciplines were all the difficult but the combination of all three made it a brutal day. The run was little to no shade and while it was cool for Alabama in August the sun was beating down hard.

Overall, I am pleased with my race. It went about as expected. I need to have a decent race after my last few showings. I feel like I executed well and pushed through some of the more difficult times. That is the least I could ask for given how my season turned out. As for the rankings, it was humbling. I just need to remember that I was racing against the best of the best. And I was clearly out of my league.