Maumee Bay Olympic Triathlon – 2H10M00S – PR, 1st AG & 11th overall!

Summary:
I came to this race with one goal. 2 hours 10 minutes… which would be 3.5 minutes faster than my fastest race ever. I’ve had a good season so far in running (5k, 15k PRs and a solid Boston Marathon)… but I want to see where my triathlon fitness is after a spring of run focus, that shifted into a bike focus for these past 6 weeks. Despite a longer swim time than expected, I pulled it off and hit exactly my goal – 2 hours 10 minutes and zero seconds – 11th overall, including the Elites! It was a thrilling race for me and a testament to controlling the mental aspects of racing.

My cycling was the 3rd fastest of the day (including Elites) and my bike + run was 5th fastest overall! My swim was 52nd overall – which highlights where I need to now focus on improvement to become a true overall contender.

This was a fun and special race because it was a “who’s who” of Ohio triathlon. There were 15 members of Snake Bite Racing (my sponsored team) and a large number of our “rival” team – Spin / Second Sole Multisport Team. Also on hand was one of my fraternity brothers from the Beta House at Ohio State – Scott Anderson – who is an incredible triathlete. Conditions were pretty good for the race… 75-80F, sunny, and with a stronger wind than most gave credit (thanks to the exposed sections of the bike course along the lake and through open spaces). My pre-race routine was a little disrupted because of all of the friends there at the race. Maybe a little too much socializing and not enough focused preparation – left me scrambling a little before race time.

Swim:
When the gun fired, I started the swim with what I thought was great gusto. In the first 100 yards, I got punched hard in the left eye. Thankfully, the new goggles I bought for racing were very “padded” and took the brunt of the hit. Usual racing goggles would have been dislodged, or transferred all the pressure to my eye socket. Whew! While I felt like I was working the whole swim, I knew I was not so fast when Eric Gibb (teammate and kick-ass swimmer) passed me from the group behind (-2:00) right before the swim exit. Out of the water and I saw 26:30 – SHIT – I was hoping for 24:00 to 24:30. Was that the end of my 2:10:00 dream already? I WAS PISSED!!! (and luckily, I focused this emotion on going forward, instead of causing panic and frustration and distraction). I blew through transition with the one goal to beat Eric Gibb out onto the bike. I did. At least I did something right!

Bike:
Now I’m on the bike, and I have nothing to lose. If I don’t give it everything on the bike, I can kiss my goals goodbye. I had a very solid bike + run two weeks before at Deer Creek Triathlon (23rd overall – 54th swim, 12th fastest bike, 15th run). I had confidence after riding with the new teammates and the Spin group this spring, that I should be able to really crank it out on the bike. I did!

I stayed totally focused on the bike… pushing into every headwind… and maybe more importantly, pushed extra hard during the tailwind sections of the course. I think a lot of people coast and enjoy the break from the winds – instead of take advantage of the low wind resistance. I was pushing every meter of that course like it was all I had to do that day. On the second loop, I caught up to Kevin Krol (SSSMT). We went back and forth 3 or 4 times passing each other, before I decided “enough of this”… I put my head down and went as hard as I could for 60 seconds to see if I could get him to crack. As I approached a turn, I had a chance to look and see if he was still there – he was nowhere to be seen! I then saw Joe Bush (SSSMT) ahead and powered hard to make sure when I passed, there was no trying to hold on. After the race, Joe said – “man, you were FLYING on the bike” – hell yeah, I was! I was riding on the edge of stupidity, and didn’t fall into the typical trap of “what will I be able to do on the run”? This was the first of many “shut up and race” moments in my mind. Worry about the run during the run!

I tore into Transition from the bike and there were not very many bikes on the racks – that’s when I knew that I had a good ride! (Turns out I had the 3rd fastest bike overall – including Elites!)

Run:
The run started, and since I’ve been doing more hard bricks, felt “normally bad”. I kept thinking of Mark Allen’s article about the mental side of racing, and how you don’t have to “feel good” during a race to be having a good race. So true. If you feel good, you are probably going too slowly, and your body is comfortable. In this race, I was no where near comfortable!!
The first mile of the run was hot and windy and seemed to take forever. It was a 6:40 mile. Not bad – considering how lousy I felt doing it. But I did have a few thoughts of “how the hell am I going to hold this pace for the next 5.2 miles?”. Quickly replaced with “what do I need to run to hit 2:10:00” and then “shut up and race”.

Mile 2 was still plenty hot, and I settled into an uncomfortable rhythm. I was still mad at myself for the long swim time and that messing up my 2:10:00 goal. Kept pushing, and taking on the fluids and the salt caps I brought along. It was quite warm, and I also knew that the headwind we were running into now, would turn into a horrible “hot windless situation” on the 3.1 miles back. If you are running 9 mph and have a 9mph tailwind, you are stuck in the same hot, stale air. You cannot get any cooling effects from the wind. It is the worst! I was prepared for this in advance and loaded up physically, as well as mentally. Mile 2 (6:37) was faster than mile 1. : ) That’s good!

Mile 3 was toward the out-and-back turn-around, and a chance to see how the race leaders were doing… where were they? Closer I got to the turn-around, the closer to them I was! Wow! I was close! Still running into the wind, and pushing it, banking time for the slow-down that would inevitably happen with the hot tailwind. Mile 3 (6:31) was faster than mile 2 or 1! : ) That’s AWESOME!

Mile 4 was the mental turning point. Doing the math… I may be able to get to that 2:10:00, but it will take one hell of an effort, and a real PR of my 10K run time. I’m in – let’s do it!! (mile 4 was faster than all the others!) (6:30)
Mile 5 was torture! So hot, no cooling from any air movement. At this point, I’m pushing myself inside-out chasing the clock. Someone I pass yells to me… I realize this about a minute later – I’m lost in the pain and the push. Doing the math again – I can get to 2:10:00, if I run sub 6:30 for these last 2.2 miles… PUSH! Everything hurts. Nothing feels right… but this is red-line racing, right? To borrow Mark Durno’s words – “I can endure anything for 15 minutes”. It was time to find out if that was really true for me. I kept thinking about the torrid pace of our track workouts… at times sub 5:00/mi pace, surely I can muster fast miles now. So hot and red-lined for nearly 2 hours… but this is my chance of the season to place high and pull off a 2:10. Mile 5 was the fastest yet!!! (6:27) I CAN DO THIS!

Mile 6 and the last 0.2 miles were just a blur. No thinking now, except - thinking to not think (if that makes any sense). Body is out of energy (or close to it). Everything is screaming for me to take in fluids and calories – but I know nothing at this point will help except some water on the head. Anything else will only slow me down to take in, and could only give me problems in the gut or stay neutral at best. PUSH! The finish is so close! Or is it? The course is ‘mean’ in that you come within a few yards of the finish with about 1.5 miles to go. See the lucky souls who can stop moving, hearing the announcer beaconing in the finishers… but now we run away again, for one last hot loop around the lake. It’s taking forever, and I’m wondering how the body is holding up, but I dare not ask it, for fear of the answer. PUSH! Suffer just a bit more – for my goal, for the team, for the love of the sport! Last mile was 6:25!

I crossed the line and was ready to collapse. I was so glad to be done having to move!! I need a drink, some cookies, and a place to sit down! Then, I had the pleasure of cheering in team mates and friends.
It was quite some time before I knew what my finishing time was for sure. I didn’t trust my watch reading at first, because I’ve had too many mishaps before. When the posted the final results – I was ecstatic! 1st in AG, 11th overall! And true to my goal – 2H 10M 00S!

BULLSEYE!

Shut Up and RACE! (mental aspects of racing)

One of the most difficult aspects of racing is keeping your head on straight when things start getting rough. I've been working on controlling the mental side of racing - and it is working! Here are some of the most helpful advice I've been able to use. I should say that mental control while racing doesn't come naturally. The ability to quiet the mind isn't as easy as you think on a good day - it's nearly impossible when you are hurting and trying to push your body beyond limits. This requires practice and focus while training to develop these skills.

Mark Allen's advice that you don't have to feel good, to be having a good race. Quite the opposite sometimes. When you are digging deep and pushing beyond your limits, this rarely feels "good". This helped me greatly during my most recent race... I was feeling horrible during the run (after an incredible bike split), but I didn't let that get me down. Instead, I kept telling myself I felt like this because I was racing harder than I ever have before, and that if it were comfortable - it would be too slow. To "expect" to feel like that and embrace it, instead of panic and slow down - helped me negative split the run and set a run PR - despite feeling like crap from mile one. This was very helpful during the majority of the run.

Jef Mallet had an interesting story in Triathlete magazine a few months ago about red-lining and made an analogy to the "check engine light" in your car. The gist was that just beause you are hurting while doing intervals, or climbing a hill, etc. doesn't mean you have to pull back. You can always push it a little further and find some time to recover. This is especially helpful to me at the track or pool doing speedwork. During a 5 minute hard set when everything hurts and all you want to do is stop - it is so helpful to know that you can hang on just a bit more until the recovery.

Finally - Simon Whitfiled talked about how he bounced back and pushed through serious exhaustion and anguish during the 2009 Hy-Vee triathlon to win $200,000 for first place in a sprint finish. For him, when things are tough, he shuts off his mind completely... "Shut up and race" is his trigger to stop thinking, and let the body do what it can. Pushing through the pain, blocking out any mental chatter and just racing - is a pretty powerful tool. Not easy to do, but can come in very handy for shorter periods of time. "Shut up and race" were the last words in my head when the clock hit 2hours and my goal was 2h10m... The last mile and a half of my race, I was red lined and on the brink of falling apart. I kept running faster and blocked out all the pain, all the calculations, all the pressure... I just ran... and had my fastest mile and a half of the day.