Originally I had planned on doing this race as a backup to Kona if I was not selected for the Air Force slot. Luckily all of that played out right and I got the Air Force slot, but my travel plans back from Korea changed as well. It just so happened that this race still lined up on my schedule other than it was a bit close to Kona, 13 days to be exact. I talked it over with my coach and he thought it was a good idea to race it so I registered for it, about 2 weeks prior to Lance signing up. With him signing up it ended up not being a USAT race which was a bad thing for me as I was hoping that it would be my 3rd USAT race of the year which would make me eligible for All American or Honorable Mention. So now with it not being a USAT event it just means I have to sign up for another race after Kona.
I came into the race after a long flight back from Korea and then a quick 2.5 days at home. Needless to say I hadn't got much training in and was a little jet lagged but for the most part my body adapts quite well to all the travel. I got down to San Diego on Friday and stayed with some friends and had a quiet night. Then Saturday night I stayed with some old friends from and went out to the Giants/Padres baseball game. It was a nice relaxing night prior to the race and it was the first time I had been to a ball game in quite some time.
Woke up race morning with a not so restful night of sleep, not sure why I couldn't sleep it wasn't a big race for me or anything. My pre race nutrition was sub par to say the least, I was able to at least get a Honey Stinger Protein bar down and a banana, but that is not my usual pre race meal as I like the usual oatmeal. I was feeling alright going into the race with all the training in the past 9 weeks, but the days leading into the race weren't ideal.
Swim-
For not being a swimmer I was a little skeptical on the ocean swim, especially considering the size of the swell, someone reported 6ft, so yeah I was a little worried. I struggled a little bit on the first of 2 laps to make it through the surf but eventually got out and into a rhythm. Coming in from the first lap I caught a small wave in and it bridged the gap that I had between 2 guys. I followed them out for the second lap and made it through the surf with them. I figured if guys were ahead of me they had a little more experience in the ocean so I just followed their lead. I missed a wave on the way back in but still felt I had a good swim. I didn't really know how bad or how good my swim went, but felt pretty solid with it.
T1-
Uneventful as usual, other than I have been struggling to get my wetsuit off, so I need to work on that prior to next year. Once out of the wetsuit everything went smoothly. I make it a very simple T1; shoes are on the bike and my glasses are looped around my cables and I don't put them on till a few miles into the bike. Saves a little time in my opinion.
Bike-
This was the area where I knew I could make up some ground to the fast swimmers. I just settled into the bike and took it fairly "easy" for the first 1h30m and just slowly increased my power and effort through the whole ride. The pro's started 15mins ahead of us so I was a little worried about getting "Lance'd" I mean lapped. Luckily I would just see him with the other pros at the turn around and made it without getting lapped, other than by the relay team cyclist who was flying. He was a little surprised when after he passed me I gave him his distance then came back around him to ask him if he was an AG'er or not. We exchanged a few words and then off he went. As I started my last lap Lance and the rest of the pros were just entering T2. The last lap I really put my head down and put in a solid effort. Felt good coming into T2 and knew I had a solid ride a little under 2:15, right where I wanted to be.
T2-
Left the shoes clipped in and came off the bike at a decent pace right into my run. No problems getting the shoes on, the Zoots are great for transitions. I carry my watch, visor, and glasses with me out of T2 and put them on while running. Once again trying to save some time.
Run-
Really wanted to hold back here with Kona being 2 weeks out. I talked to my coach and we came up with the plan to just run IM pace, little did either of us know how much sand would be involved in the run. I kept it at IM pace but felt the effort was comfortable but a little harder than I expected due to the sand. I think there was about 5 to 6 miles of soft and hard sand over the whole run. I stopped once to use the bathroom, which I had already done on the bike as well, I guess I was well hydrated. I felt really solid with my run and felt that if I wanted to push it a bit harder I had plenty in the tank to run in the mid to low 1:20's. Overall I was really happy with my run and it was a huge confidence builder going into Kona, as well as a huge PR for my half IM run.
Overall-
I was extremely happy with how the race went and couldn't of asked for a better race leading into Kona. I was a little skeptical about racing this race 2 weeks out but felt like it did a lot of good, and only time will tell if it did any damage. It felt really good to show up to a military event, primarily Navy and Marines and be able to win for the Military and the Air Force, as well as being able to represent Team RWB.
Swim- 31:17 5th in AG/20th Amateur/26th Overall
Bike- 2:13:28 1st in AG/1st Amateur/5th Overall
Strava Link: http://app.strava.com/rides/23647362
Run- 1:29:27 1st in AG/1st Amateur/5th Overall
Strava Link: http://app.strava.com/runs/23648400
Overall- 4:13:48 1st in AG/1st Amateur/6th Overall
Here are some pics from the event
Love or Hate the guy he is still the one person to put Cycling on the map in the USA and is making a huge impact with LiveStrong and triathlon these days. I think the race director of SuperFrog said it best with something along the lines of "For every hater he has he has 20 more people that support him".
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