2011 San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon - Race Report

The Good:

• An 8:15am start
• Passing the marathoners as they had already ran half of there race...kind of felt like Pre!
• Runner chicks...nuff said
• Crossing the finish line...and adding my 2nd open Half Mary to the books
• Food in the VIP area
• Post race massage...AWESOME!!!

The Bad:

• The thought of running 13.1 miles
• Waking up at 5:20am
• Averaging a Heart Rate of 185 for the race...is that healthy?
• Every single uphill
• Miles 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13, and .1
• Every single downhill
• Getting chicked by camo and flower skirt girls...it was down to the wire...ok just Mile 11 or so
• Walking around lost trying to find said awesome VIP area after the race...even though I was there before the race
• My SI and hip being done with about 3 miles to go
• Ohh Yeah...and running 13.1 miles

The Ugly:

• Getting a blister on top of a blister
• Having said blister break open mid race (though it actually felt better)...
• Walking to the Bart Station and back to my apartment...had the gangsta limp workin'

Seriously...WHAT WAS I THINKING!?! ;)

In all honesty, even though the race didn't go as planned (though there really wasn't a plan), San Francisco puts on a great event. The organization, the pre and post race festivities, the on-course management, this was a top notch race from start to finish and glad I was able to get out there and run!!!

San Jose Metro Triathlon - Race Report

First of all I want to start out by saying how impressed I was with this entire race. From the organization of transitions, to the music and announcements but most importantly, it was the in-race efforts that I most appreciated. I am not kidding when I say there was a police officer at EVERY intersection, cones and arrows at EVERY corner and people telling you exactly where to go. I have done many races, Ironman included and this is top-notch. I didn’t stick around for the awards ceremony but the 3 tables full of bottles of wine were a sure bet that this event was legit from beginning to end.

Swim and Expo Area

There is always a little bit of fear when getting ready for your first race of the year. Not knowing where your fitness really is, will you remember to do all the “small” things leading up to and during the race, will you take your helmet off before you head out for the run…you know, all the things that you might just forget.

My last race was in September, I spent much of the last month getting over a cold and poison oak, so much of my training was hit and miss. Riding has been most consistent but nothing more than some base miles. Running has been going ok but I never get out as much as I need to, but honestly that has been the problem since I started this sport. And swimming…well let’s just say I forgot the smell of chlorine…Yeah it’s THAT bad. I swam last Thursday just to see if remembered how to do it. Another athlete at the race made a funny comment and referenced it to that “Last Chance Workout” they do on Biggest Loser…that was my last chance swim workout before the race.

Swim Course (out around the island twice)

Just like every race morning, the alarm goes off WAY to early and I was out of bed by 4:05am and out the door 30 minutes later. It was about an hour drive down to the race site and like always, wanted to give myself plenty of time. I was ready to go with over an hour to spare…perfect in triathlon time.

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So with a little extra time, I took a moment to familiarize myself with the transition entrances and exits along with the first parts of the bike and run course. Mentally I was ready to go…it was only a matter of time until I would see if I was physically ready as well.

After struggling into my wetsuit and a quick warm-up swim, I was toeing the water’s edge ready to go. With a lack of confidence in my swimming fitness, I really forced myself to go out easy. I usually try to start fast before settling into a hard but good pace. I didn’t feel that would be a good approach at this race since it could leave me doggy paddling the rest of the race.

Photo by: Tom Vo

I was surprised on how comfortable and strong I felt throughout the swim. I knew I wasn’t going real fast but at the same time, I felt like I was working hard and didn’t feel like I faded…definitely a plus considering the last month. And if it wasn’t for the guy who kept touching my feet the ENTIRE swim, it would have been perfect and considering it was a 2-loop swim, with quick beach run…Ironman CDA-esque, well minus the few thousand fans cheering you on. I exited the water knowing I might have been able to go just a little harder but knew that I could have easily gone too hard and suffered the rest of the race. Swim Time: 25:31 (but I think this counts the run up to transition too).

Photo by: Tom Vo

Up and into transition I went. This is kind of my self-proclaimed specialty and for the first transition of the season, it went surprisingly smooth. I even did the whole flying mount onto the bike...SUCCESS!!!

Photo by: Tom Vo

Once on the bike, I still had to force myself to hold back. I wanted to push myself but at the same time REALLY didn’t want to blow up on the run. The course was flat and fast which can easily lead to pushing yourself harder than you really should. This was my fastest 40k (1:04:57) to date but I contribute that to the fast course and to these damn hills surrounding the East Bay.

Photo by: Tom Vo

Coming off the bike, I really wanted to see where my run fitness was at. So far I had only done 1 transition workout and that was after a 3 hour ride. Not a real good gauge on 10k fitness. I was surprised to feel my legs under me right from the start. I was passed pretty quickly by a couple of guys who disappeared in no time but I was just focused on putting together a solid run.

Photo by: Tom Vo

Without a watch, all I focused on was my effort. I wanted to make it to the turn-a-round and then begin to pick up the pace with each passing mile. This was by no means my fastest run off the bike but I really felt it was my smartest. Each time I wanted to speed up, the legs responded…especially when I heard one guy chasing me down.

Photo by: Tom Vo

I was able to hold him off and finish with a 43:23 or what I like to call… sub 7’s at 6:59.8!!! It felt like I was running faster but it was nice to “feel” what this pace felt like and now I know I can begin to push myself more and more.

Photo by: Tom Vo

All in all, this was a great race. I think this is my second fastest ever Olympic (2:15:37) and for the first race of the season with all that has been going on over the past 2 months, I will take it. I was impressed by the race itself and glad to get my first race of the year under my belt and finally some numbers to look at.

Sink or Swim Meet 2010- Meet Report

A few weeks ago I swam at our local masters swim meet called, Sink or Swim put on by the Spokane Waves. The event was held at Whitworth University and was sponsored by my triathlon club, Tri-Fusion. These are always a blast and a great change of pace from triathlon since all the races I do only last a minute.

With the severe lack of training on my part made this meet all that much more interesting. I hadn't see the line in the bottom of a pool for over 3 weeks and really had no idea what events I was actually going to do until the morning of. When all was said and done I participated in 8 events: 50Y Freestyle, 100Y Freestyle, 200Y Freestyle and to mix it up a bit the 50Y Breaststroke and 100Y Backstroke.

A special thanks to James Richman for taking all the photos. There are some pretty cool sequences.

Honestly my main goal was to just survive. I wasn't sure how the races were going to go and even though I wanted to beat the times I had done in this same race 2 years ago, I really didn't know what to expect.

First up was the 50 Freestyle.  These races are SHORT and PAINFUL! I goal was to go as fast as possible. Last time I swam a 26.08...so I set an outside goal of sub 26. So after a brief warm up and a few starts of the block for practice. It was go time. I was up on the blocks and ready for my first race in 2 years. The tried my best to channel my inner Michael Phelps but I don't smoke so I focused on the swimming. The gun went off and before I knew it the lactic acid was taking over my legs and then I was done. Ending up swimming a 25.91 and had a new PR.

50Y Freestyle...Just a bunch of splashing!

Next us the 100 Freestyle. Now I knew I could struggle through the 50 race but after how bad my legs were burning and the fact that it was twice the distance. Last time out I swam a 1:01.25. Turns out I raced a little smarter than the 50 and even without being in the pool so long still was able to bust out a 58.88. Definitely excited about that.

The last three races I had never actually done before in a meet but why not try something new...especially with the backstroke and breaststroke. Since we needed the extra points and since we dubbed this "The Year of the Breast...stroke", I had to enter at least one breaststroke race. Since I basically live with the best breaststroke in the area, I was hoping I could channel my inner Rory and just do what he does. In all reality, I was getting advice on how to legally make the turn about 1 minute before the race started. Fortunately it went well and I was able to finish without getting disqualified.

200 Freestyle: 2:24.99
50 Breaststroke: 38.17
100 Backstroke: 1:23.64

Sink or Swim Meet 2010- Champions

All in all, it was another great experience. I was able to participate in a few relays and even though at one point I had to do back to back to back to back races, the Spokane Waves Masters Team took home the title. Congrats to all the swimmers and already looking forward to the next one.

Grand Columbian 2010- Race Report

Some may call it under-trained, some may call it lazy but I call it WELL rested. Training the last few weeks has been non-existent. I hadn't swam in almost 3 weeks, running occured maybe 2 twice a week and my butt doesn't even know what a saddle is anymore...and to add a cherry on top of my trainingless sundae, I have been fighting LONGEST congestion cold I have EVER had!


All 4 bikes loaded up! Thank You Thompsons for letting us use the bike rack!

 I had absolutely no expectations going into the race. Last year, my tri club Tri-Fusion, narrowly won the North American Club Endurance Challenge by 1 point. Though this year we had a large turnover in athletes from our club, we still had plenty of people representing and we wanted to bring back another victory...which by the way we did with Josh Hadway winning 1st place overall in the Olympic and Ben Greenfield winning 1st place in the Half-Ironman. We also had plenty more athletes taking age-group awards! All in all we DOMINATED once again! Great job Tri-Fusion.

So onto my race. Have you ever had those thoughts that this just might be 'YOUR' day. Everything is going to go right and you might just surprise yourself with an extraordinary effort and an amazing PR? OK...maybe I am the only one living in that fantasy land ;) Since my training was anything but, physically I felt good. No aches or pains but I knew that this was a tough race and it was going to hurt no matter how easy or hard I went. I just wanted to make sure I finished it and kind of see where I compared to my results from last year.

Adam, Jenn, Cam and I loaded up and headed down to the Grand Coulee dam and Banks Lake where the race was held. With the 10 AM start for the Olympic, we were able to leave the morning of and still make it down in plenty of time to get everything set up and stand around for an hour or so and cheer the half ironman competitors out of the water.

I wanted to make sure that I got a good, yet short, warm up in since I haven't had the wetsuit on much this year but at the same time needed to save EVERY.LAST.BIT of strength for the race. After a quick dip and a few yards of swimming, we were lined up and ready to go.


Getting ready for my first open water swim since CDA Triathlon!



Even though I knew it wasn't going to last, I went out strong for the first couple hundred yards. I wanted to avoid any congestion and see if there was any way I could find some feet and hang on for dear life. Since the race had a buoy line to follow from start to finish, I was able to keep my head down and just focus on trying not to die.

The swim was pretty uneventful. About halfway through I was ready to be done and was just pure survival mode. I was unable to keep up with the main pack of swimmers as they pulled away shortly after my strong start and much of the rest of the race was spent swimming alone, leading the second pack out of the water.

I think the swim was short this year since my time was 1:08 faster and I felt at least 108% worse.

Swim Time:
2010- 23:21.5
2009- 24:39



Heading out of T1...notice the bike in the left hand. WTF?

 As I have mentioned in previous race reports, transition are one VERY important key to a good race. I really try my best to have great transitions as it is basically free time. T1 was no exception. I could have definitely gone faster but due to the fact I was exhausted from the swim, I just tried to keep my feet under me and do my best to think through the entire transition process. I was almost 18 seconds faster than last year and 13 seconds ahead of 2nd place.

So 1st place...for T1!!! It's the small things in life...right?

Transition 1:
2010- 1:24.5
2009- 1:42

Here is one of the videos Dave put together for the Swim and Transition 1

Now transitions are one thing...getting on your bike out of transition is something complete different. I usually do a running or flying mount from the right side of my bike. For the first time ever, I ran out of transition with my bike in my left hand. I really have no idea why I did this, but it resulted in me feeling in complete no mans land. It was like trying to throw a baseball with your left hand or kicking a ball with your left foot. It wasn't pretty and the best part was Dave Erickson got it all on camera...thanks Dave! Dave and Melissa made a special trip down to video the race and take pics...which you will see throughout the report.

Now this bike course is a B.I.&.%.H!!! And yes all caps are required. The bike starts out with a brutal climb shortly out of transition and then a series of tough rollers that seem to go on FO.EV.ER! There is really no chance to get into any sort of rhythm...and just when you seem to get in control you hit a LONG downhill. By long I mean averaging 40+ mph for over 10 minutes and at one point hitting 48MPH for a few minutes and you don't even have to peddle.

With no real judge of my fitness, I could have road hard and completely blowup on the bike and would have probably suffered even more on the run. I just tried to keep a constant pace the entire bike and do my best to chase each athlete down one by one. Overall I think I passed 5 or 6 racers and rolled into T2 feeling pretty good.

Bike Split:

2010- 1:15:52
2009- 1:11:20

It was at this point Dave informed me that I was in 4th overall...and it was at that exact same moment I almost crapped myself. There was no way I was in 4th. He must have missed some people come in. I knew if he was correct and the fact that my running has been getting slower and slower throughout the year that it was going to be difficult to hold on for the next 10K.

Transition 2- Much better dismount and off on the run. Thanks Dave!!!

Trying to save every last second before I was run over by the freight train of athletes behind me, I did my best to get through Transition as fast as I could. I wish I could report I had the 2 fastest transitions of the day but my buddy Cam beat me by .6 seconds...

Transition #2:
2010- 1:03.6
2009- 1:04.3

Every time I get off the bike in a triathlon, I know this is where I lose any time of athletic advantage I might have gained in the swim and bike. As I left transition, there was no one in front of me. I couldn't see 3rd place, even of the half mile long bridge. I really tried to focus on being consistent and in all reality, just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I was passed by one guy before the turn-around and knew holding onto 5th place was going to be tough...but I had no idea.

The great thing about out and back run courses is you get an idea of who is behind you and how big you lead is. About 30 seconds after I made the turn, I saw 6th, then 7th, then 8th...they were stacked up and barreling down on me like a train. I made a conscious effort to pick up the pace and did my best to hold on.

The Run and Finish...and my first interview EVER!!!

I have said this in the past, but I have a real problem going to the really dark place in a race when you are pushing yourself to the limits. I know it's not because I can't physically do it because I have done it many times in training but in a race I just lack that extra kick. I think it is fear of blowing up with the result of walking but there might be something else. This is one thing I really want to work on. Not sure how to do it but I will figure it out.

This Is I!!!

Overall the run was solid. Nothing crazy but all in all it was a good effort. I was passed by one more guy about a mile from the finish and held off the top female finisher by 12 seconds...didn't want to get chicked ;)

Run Split:
2010- 46:04
2009- 45:23

Still Smiling!

This race is always going to be tough. It is late in the season when everything is winding down. The course is tough but once you are finished it was a great end to another success season of triathlon. I am already looking forward to next year and can't wait to see what is in store.

Overall:
2010- 2:27:45.9 6th OA, 1st AG
2009- 2:24:09.8 5th OA, 1st AG

Tri-Fusion Age-Group Hardware!!! Nice Work!

I want to send a special thanks to Dave, Melissa, Jay and Michelle for coming down and cheering at the race. I also want to say thank you for all the good lucks and well wishes for this race and all my races of the year. There is nothing I like more in the sport of triathlon then the athletes I get to share this great sport with.

Thanks again for reading...Until next time!

Race Report: Coeur d' Alene Olympic Triathlon

Leading up to this race I really focused on getting a few runs under my belt. I know two weeks is hardly enough time to become good at ANYTHING (it might be different for you) but I just wanted to have a couple consistent weeks of running before the Coeur d' Alene Tri. I have a feeling it benefitted me more mentally then it did physically but I didn't care, I was going to run.

It started off with me entering a local 5K the Tuesday after Race the River with the plan of running hard and seeing when I would fail. I am happy to report that I didn't die though with a heart rate of 198 over the last .1 miles...I am pretty sure I was on the verge. I did set a new open 5K PR of 19:14 for the distance (my Bloomsday 5K split was about 1 minute faster) so I knew my legs had a little bit of speed in them...but the trick would be to have it off the bike.

After my new PR!!!
I would have been faster if I was wearing a shirt like the kid in the background...

So over then next week and a half it was all about the run. My bike sat in the house...exactly like it was after my last race and didn't move until I loaded it up for the race on Saturday morning. I did get a few rides in on my road bike but that was it.

As I went to bed Friday night and set the alarm for the UNGODLY zero hour of 3:45AM, I was excited to see how it would go. So FREAKIN' excited in fact that I couldn't even fall asleep...like a kid on Christmas eve. All in all, I think I slept about 30 minutes...nothing like trying to amp yourself up when all you can think about is lying down. It got to the point where I actually contemplated rolling up my transition towel and just taking a quick nap next to my bike...but I figured I would wake up with a wetsuit dripping on me as the first swimmers were coming out of the water.

I also decided to do this race without a watch and just go by feel. No heart rate to keep low or time to try and beat, I was out there to race with my legs and just see what happened.

The Swim:
The great thing about doing a race each year is that you can see how much you have improved from the previous year.

Photo by Rory Buck

As the gun went off, I went out hard. The plan was to position myself up near the front, find some feet and settle into a solid pace. As we started in, I felt some open water immediately but knew with some serious swimmers in the bunch and it would take long for the wave of people to come flying by...and that took all of about 15 seconds. As I reach the bouy I found a familiar friend right next to me.

Unorganized Chaos!!!
Photo by Rory Buck

For the next 15 minutes or so, Nate Duncan and I swam stroke for stroke. I was able to draft of the EAC for a bit on the backside of the course and try to pull my fair share too. As we made the final turn back towards the finish I tried to open it up a bit, only to find Nate right there. Two years ago, I had a similar experience, he happen to be the guy who got the little extra kicking, see Coach Kevin and Rory...even triathletes can kick while swimming...but this year as we are wisely veterans, we were able to keep it clean and with a last little push and some swim traffic ahead of us, I was able to finish strong and swim what I believe is a new PR for that 'distance'.

Heading into T1
Photo by Rory Buck

Swim:
2010- 24:38
2090- 19:27
2008- 26:05
2007- 30:41

Transition 1:
When you are not as 'fast' as everyone else around you, a quick way to make up time is in transitions. I have always made it a point to use this as my advantage and pick up those valuable seconds. After a quick challenge from Roger Thompson to have the fastest transitions (nothing like a little extra competition) I was ready to go.

My Transition Area...Key to successful transitions!
Photo by ME ;)

At Race the River I was passed by 3 or 4 people on the run up to the bikes. NOT THIS WEEK!!! I came out of the water flying. As soon as I reached the park I picked up the pace and flew through transition like I was being chased by the cops.

Sprinting towards my bike.
Photo by Kathy Worden

Even without the best location (near the exit since they had to run less with their bikes), I was able to have the fastest T1 at 53 seconds which was 5 seconds faster then my buddy Derek Garcia and 3 seconds faster than last year.

The Bike:
You only have a good bike if you have a good run. Since my focus for this race was the run, I knew I needed to be a bit conservative on the bike. It wasn't that I didn't ride hard I just didn't push myself like I normally would. It felt more important to leave a little more in the tank and give myself a chance on the run.

Photo by Rory Buck

The great thing about this bike course is that it keeps you honest. You can't go to hard at any one point or you will suffer bad later on. I really think this bike course suits me well though. There is a great mix of flats, rollers and a 'small' 3 mile hill thrown right in the middle.

Leaving the shoes on my bike!
Photo by Kathy Worden

I know I could have easily pushed myself harder and had a much faster bike split but that wasn't the goal for this race and even if I could have have gained 1 minute on the bike, with my current run it could have added 3-4 minutes on the run. As it turned out, I was 3 seconds slower than last year but think I probably rode easier. It is a good sign my bike fitness is there.

2010- 1:06:09
2009- 1:06:06
2008- 1:09:31
2007- 1:12:32 (shorter course)

Transition 2:
Once again I was trying to put down a solid T2. I had a couple issues trying to roll my bike along but was still able to lay down a solid 30 second time which was good for 2nd. I was beat by 3 seconds but was 8 seconds faster than last year.

Photo by Dave Erickson

The Run:
I can't say I was dreading the run but I was very nervous and didn't know how I would feel or how to attack it. I had a few people out in front of me to chase down...which never happens and I knew I had some dang fast runners behind me who were going to be flying.

Smiling on the run...must have been a good race!
Photo by Rory Buck

Since I had no watch or heartrate monitor, this was going to be on complete feel. I left transition with a 23 yr old and made it a goal to keep him in sight. I NEVER pass anyone on the run and usually get passed by 2 or 3 people before the finish. This time was going to be different.

Photo by Rory Buck

As we headed out, I really focused on keeping my pace up and it helped to have the 23 yr old to pace off of. At one point I actually passed him and he was pacing off of me...I know CRAZY!!! I pretty much caulked it up to him not knowing who I was :)

Just around the park!
Photo by Kathy Worden

Since Nate and fellow Tri-Fusion teammate Trevor Blackwell didn't catch me on the bike I knew they were back there somewhere. I was leaving transition when Nate was coming in and figured I had about 40-60 second lead. It didn't take Nate long to catch me and by mile 1.5 he was pulling away. Now it was up to me to stay focused and race my race.

And DONE!!!
Photo by Rory Buck

Overall, I am very pleased with my run. It definitely wasn't my fastest run split for a 10K or even at this race but with the struggles I had at Race the River, it was great to be able to run consistent and finish the race. I probably could have run just a bit faster but it is easy to say that now...not so much when you are struggling for each last bit of oxygen coming to the finishline.

2010: 42:40

2009: 41:29

2008: 42:18

2007: 49:41

I have the EXACT same photo from last year...
Photo by Rory Buck

Thanks again to my roommates Rory and Carla for coming out to cheer and take some awesome pictures. Also thank you to everyone for the text messages and cheering me along. It was not my best race but a race that I can build on and now work to improve.

Until next time...

Race The River 2010- Race Report

I know this may sound ridiculous but I considered this my first triathlon of the season. I know that Ironman is a triathlon but in my mind, it's really 3 different races that just happen to be done back to back to back. Race the River is a sprint triathlon or as I like to think of it, 1 hour of pain!

I was actually pretty excited to do this race. Last year I had 4 or 5 races under my belt by now. So being my first 'real race', I wanted to get out and see where I was at. I had done a few hard efforts in training since Ironman but nothing like what you experience in a race and knew it was going to urt.

Race the River is a great local race put on by Christine and Curt DuPuis and honestly, these two know exactly how to put on a triathlon. They are always looking for ways to improve and make their races top notch. Case in point, they added an elite wave to the mix. Since the bike course can be a bit crowded and a chance to race against the top athletes, I put myself in the elite wave and tried to hang on for dear life.

Pre-Race:

Pre-race consisted of me completely freaking out. As I went to air up my front tire, I had to removed the valve extension to make sure the valve stem would take air. When I went to put it back on I couldn't get each piece to line up. For some reason, my tire was actually spinning on the wheel which resulted in me having to completely removing my tire and putting it back on. Greg was able to offer a little help but I can't say how freakin' nerve racking something like that can be. Since the tires are suppose to be glued on and with this course having some serious corners...I really had to make sure at take it easy around each one.

Trying to get my tire back on!

With a disaster diverted and only a few minutes to spare, I put on my wetsuit and headed for the swim start.

The Swim:

This is my first hard effort in an open water swim. The kind where you are positive your heart will jump out of your chest and become fish food at any moment. As the gun went off, I did my best to go out fast and try to find some feet of a faster swimmer. I have never been good at drafting during the swim and I usually just forge my own way.

Picture by Rory Buck

Even though I knew it would be difficult to keep up the current pace the entire time, I was able to find some feet and did my best to stick with them. At one point, I was sure he veered way left which left me with open water in front of me. Convinced it would be best to stay in my line, I left his feet and tried to focus on keeping a similiar effort. Eventually I could see my draft slowly pulling ahead and even with a brief surge I was unable to close the gap and was forced to slow back down and get back into the comfortable...yet uncomfortable pace of a sprint tri.

Heading up to the Transition (They all passed me before we got there)
Photo by My Dad

As we reach the exit ramp, I had one last surge to avoid the congestion and think I came out of the water in 4th or 5th. Since it was a long run up to the tranistion area, I was passed by Nate, Greg and a few others but I was encouraged with my swim effort and excited to build on that.

The Bike:

After the long run and a mediocore T1, I was off on the bike. This is where I feel I have improved the most over the past couple of years...I really feel I can ride with some of the top racers. Starting in the elite wave gave me a wide open road which after hearing some stories from last year...was quite nice...if your heart pounding, legs burning and spit everywhere is nice :)

Picture by Rory Buck

I pushed hard on the bike. I didn't feel I was out of my 'Sprint' comfort zone but I was definitely pushing the limits. It took me the first two loops to get into a groove and before I knew it we were headed back into transition. I was able to chase down two guys and only let Nate going flying by. I was able to ride myself up into 5th pace and exited the bike ready to run...or so I thought.

Picture by Rory Buck

The Run:

I have never been a runner and honestly have never claimed to be, even back in high school track. I know that there is a good chance I will get passed and RARELY do I ever pass anyone myself. This race was no different.

Greg and I entered transition side by side and after a quick T2 I was out on the run course. I knew Greg was going to catch me, that really wasn't even a question. The big question was who is behind me and can I hold them off.

The great...or not so great...part of this race is the out and backs on the run. You are able to get an idea of how far behind you are and also how far ahead. At the first turnaround I was about 50 seconds up on 7th as Greg had passed me in the first quarter mile or so. I could also tell I was 1:00+ up on 8th...aka Germany (he was wearing one of those national tri suits) and he was moving fast.

Heading into the finish!

On the second out and back, Germany was now in 7th and my shot at 6th was quickly evaporating. With few hard efforts in my legs, I honestly had no idea if I could have run faster, I did my best to stay consistent and just hope that I would run out of room before I was caught.

With a half mile to go, I got passed and did my best to run with him but Germany was flying and that dream fell like the Berlin Wall. I was still able to finish strong and ended up 7th overall.

And DONE!!!

The only problem is that my run split was SLOW...like REAL SLOW... for me. In any other race, Germany would have never caught me and I would have cruised on in. There are a number of reasons: Ironman training, going hard on the bike and the biggest culprit...just not running enough in training. But the good thing is that this can be fixed with a little hard work and a few more miles.

All in all, this was a great experience. The DuPuis sure know how to put on a quality race from the Kids duathlon and Expo on Saturday and the race on Sunday. They had over 800 people registered and if that ain't a sign of a good race...I am not sure what is.

Also a special thanks for my parents coming out to watch me race. Love having the support and hearing the cheers!!!