Giant Eagle

 I did this race last year and really liked the course layout and the overall organization of the race.  This year it was part of the 5150 series, so I was excited to have it on my race schedule again.  I was mentally ready to race, but there was a problem, I had been battling some serious fatigue for about 2 weeks before the race.  I started to recover a couple days before and was feeling good about my chances of doing well at the race.  The will to win sometimes is just not enough though.  

The swim was a little shallow coming in and everyone started dolphin diving.  I started dolphin diving as well, but I did not have the energy to sustain the pace so I just swam in and lost a few seconds. Overall I was very happy with my swim and I got out of the water in a great position (for me).  Once I got on the bike I had a hard time getting my legs going.  It was a struggle to hit the watts I wanted but I was able to get there.  This race had a respectable field but if I could put together a good day, I could finally get a win!  I fought hard the entire bike and was able to get into T2 in second.  Dave Thompson once again was ahead of me and I knew if I could run well I would have a shot at catching him.  It just was not my day.  Everything I tried to get my legs moving was not working.  I was going to have to buckle down and just hang on for second place.  Overall it was not a great day but I was able to grab a second place finish and enough points to qualify for Hy-Vee.  A victory is still eluding me but hopefully some day I will achieve it!

It was great to have Kyle in the race as well.  Racing is a lot more fun with teammates in the race, even though it is every man for himself.  He had a good race and ended up 3rd.  IE did a great job at putting 2 guys on the podium!  That must mean that Greg knows what he is doing!  :) 

Since it was close to home I had a lot of support at the race.  Melissa, Greg, Lisa and I drove down together the day before the race and my Mom and Dad made the trip down the morning of.  It was nice to have a great group there cheering me on, too bad I had a rough day of racing. Melissa's friends, Kelly and Mark, who live in Columbus made it to the finish line.  It was great to see them.  Sorry I was a little grouchy while talking to you! Thanks to Greg for driving Lisa and Melissa around the bike course.  It was nice to get race updates and some encouragement along the way. I have the best fans and sponsors, and they all make racing at a high level possible.  Hopefully next time out my body will cooperate with my mind!!!

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all" ~J.K. Rowling

Kaleb (@VanOrt_Tri)

New York Podium

I finally made it on to the podium in a non-draft race!  Half way through my second year as a pro I was able to slate a top 3 finish in a non-draft race. Greg and I have been working hard so it was nice to have a great result to go with it.

Swim - The swim was in the Hudson River west of Central Park.  The current was extremely strong in the morning so I was looking forward to a fast swim.  I was hoping to get out of the water closer to the leaders than I normally do.  When the horn sounded at 6am we dove in the water and down the river we went.  The first 300m was a battle in the water.  Some guy kept knocking my in the face so I swam over him to the left side.  Once I did this I drifted a little too far and ended up alone, all by myself.  It was nice to not have someone bashing me in the face but now I was not getting the benefit of drafting in the water.  So I headed back to the right to try and get on feet.  I got close to the group and when I tried to get back into it and catch a draft I found my buddy again, and took a few more shots to the head.  I had had enough so I drifted back to the left and swam solo to swim exit.  It was fun swimming in the Hudson current other than the copious amounts of sticks I kept swimming into and over.  Once out of the water is was a long run to T1.  I could see some people in front of me and  ended up catching one person between swim exit and T1.  

Bike - Once out on the bike I wanted to make up as much time as I could.  I was riding hard and hitting my goal watts early on.  It was fun riding around New York City with no traffic.  The city is so busy and chaotic, but they shut down the north bound lanes of the Henry Hudson Parkway for the bike course.  We even got to go through the toll booth for the Hudson Bridge.  I couldn't help but smile and get a little chill as I rode by Van Cortlandt Park.  That was the location of the Big East cross country meet my senior year. The team won going away and that confidence carried us all the way to a 3rd place finish at NCAA Nationals, the best finish for the Men's team since winning the national title in 1957.  By the halfway point my legs were feeling the strain of the work I was putting in on the bike but I was in good position, so I had to push on.  With 1 mile to go we did one last flip and headed to the exit off the highway.  I got one last look at where everyone was ahead of me.  I was sitting in 5th place, but with a good run, felt I could get into 3rd.  Jordan Jones was way off the front and at the time, during the race, I had no idea who was so far ahead.  

Run - I got in and out of T2 as quick as possible and started chasing down the guys ahead of me.  We entered Central park just before a mile and I passed Chrabot for 4th place shortly after that.  Once around him it was a lonely run knowing Dave Thompson was ahead of me.  We finish within 20 seconds of each other all the time in races.  He is a great cyclist so it all comes down to whether or not I can catch him on the run.  I kept getting updates from runners in Central Park that I was close, or that he was right up the road, but at no point could I see him until around 4.5 miles.  I figured I could catch him at the point but nothing is ever guaranteed in a triathlon.  I finally caught him right around 5 miles.  We had a brief exchange of words and I was on my way.  I respect Dave as an athlete and I feel bad about passing him late in races, but he races his way and I race mine.  Sometimes he has enough of a lead coming off the bike to get across the finish line ahead of me and sometimes I am able to run him down.  It would make for great TV if triathlons were more mainstream!!  I was excited to cross the finish line in 3rd.  I am still fighting to hopefully win a race someday, but I will take third...for now.

Post race I got in a cool down and enjoyed my Hammer Recoverite before heading back to Central Park for awards.  On the podium they interviewed each of us.  I was not ready for this but my fiancee, Melissa, assured me I did not sound like a complete idiot!  And before leaving the men's and women's podium finishers got to enjoy a champagne toast.  I big thanks goes to all of my sponsors!  It was nice to finally get on the podium for them.  They give me a ton of support and make this lifestyle possible.  Thank you Greg!!  This result would not be possible without your guidance.  Sorry you were in Europe during the race and missed the live updates!  And a huge thank you to Melissa!!  She put up with me prerace and was there for me during the race.  She gave me split and place updates throughout the race, kept my family and friends updated, and cheered me on with a smile!!  

After a nap and food we headed out for some sight seeing.  We went to time square and fought through all the other tourists!  I thought the city as a whole was busy but this place is 100% nuts.  We went to Rockefeller Square and found where they tape the Today show adn went into the Nintendo store.  And then we finally made it to the south east corner of Central Park.  We went into FAO Schwarz and saw the giant piano and then walked by the famous Plaza Hotel, where Kevin McCallister stays in Home Alone 2!  

It was a great trip and I am glad I was able to do the race.  It was very well run and the scenic tour of New York added a little extra.  I would do it again next year but it is right around the time of my wedding so I will not be able to.  I look forward to doing it again in 2014!!

I've worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals.  I will not let my teammates [coach] down and I will not let myself down. ~Mia Hamm 

Painful Half Debut

This past weekend I competed in Rev3 Quassy.  For the first time in my life I decided to do a half ironman.  I want to do well in the Rev3 series and I know in order for that to happen I had to step up to the half. Once again Rev3 put on a spectacular event and I am glad they are involved in triathlons.  Check out the race recap video here: Rev3 Quassy

Swim - The water was low 70s so I did not have the good luck of a wetsuit swim. The swim started off very well and I was on feet in a small pack to the right.  I was drafting a guy who was drafting Matty Reed...I knew I was in a great position!  Then the pace slowed down and I knew we came off Matty's feet and now I was following someone who was in over his head.  I went around him and stayed course on the right side while I could see everyone else was far to the left.  I knew crossing over to the other pack would cost more energy than swimming solo. Everyone came together at the first buoy and I was able to get on feet coming around the turn.  The pace was comfortable to draft off, but I would've been swimming too hard to break my own way through the water.  I also did not know how hard I should be swimming since I still had 56 miles of biking and 13.1 miles of running to tackle once I got out of the water.  So I just settled in and waited to get out of the water!

Bike - It was a chilly morning in Middlebury, CT so I decided I was going to put on arm warmers in T1.  This proved to be a little difficult with wet arms but I was very happy I had them on when I started riding.  The first 4 miles were a net downhill and I was a little chilly even with the arm warmers on. Greg and I laid out a plan for the bike of holding watts we felt would get me off the bike quickly but still have legs to run.  Based on my workouts leading up to race day I was thinking about riding at lower watts so I could make it off the bike.  Three weeks before the race I bonked 75% of the way through my bike workout and 2 weeks before the race I got so dehydrated I could not get my heart rate lower than 180 on the bike.  This made me a little nervous but my body always seems to come through on race day so I did not worry about it too much. I was amazed at how fast everyone rides fro 56 miles.  I rode 8 watts higher than we agreed on and still lost 8 min to the top 6 guys on the bike.  Maybe in the future I will be able to improve my biking but for my debut and for where my cycling is right now, I will take it.  I told myself to relax till 30 miles and then go faster if I could.  At about 30 miles I had to pee so for the first time in my life I peed while I was biking!  The only trick that I had to figure out was how to get relaxed enough in order to go.  Finally on a long downhill I was able to.  After that it was time to ride and forget about watts until the finish!  I rode a hard relaxed pace until T2.  It was a little faster than I was expecting to go but I am not sure how much faster I could have gone for 56 miles.

Thanks Rev3 staff for the great shot on the bike.

Run - The first mile was a huge downhill.  I was trying to slow myself down and stay relaxed but my legs were starting to get away from me.  it was not taking a toll on my body to let my legs go, so I went with them.  It was rolling to "flat" until mile 4, and then the real fun started!  It was uphill from 4 to 6 and then some rolling to uphill  till 7.  That is where I really used a lot of energy.   Looking back on the race I think I should have let my average pace go a little through here to save some energy for the back half.  But things were still going well when I got to mile 8.  As mile 10 approached I knew things were getting bad.  I tried coke for the first time on a run but that did not help either.  After averaging 5:30s through 10, I went 6:05 pace for miles 11 and 12 and then on the uphill, kick in the pants, final mile I did all I could to run a 6:50 last mile.  There was nothing left in the tank and my legs did not want to go any longer but I made it to the finish line.  

Post race I stumbled around for a little bit and ended up getting some food.  I was so happy to see my fiancee, Melissa, when I got done, and I was able to lean on her and walk around post race.  It was great to have my mom, Greg, Melissa and Nicole's husband, Wes, at the race.  Greg drove them all over the course on the bike and run!!  It really helped having them out there!  I could not have done it without the guidance from Greg and the cheering from a great support group!!

Top 10 Podium!  Thanks for the great photos sweetheart!

In all I am happy with my debut at the half ironman distance.  I still have a lot to learn about the sport or triathlon as a whole and especially about racing the half distance.  I will hopefully be back at Quassy next year and I plan on doing another half at some point.  I just need to work on my biking, because the top guys really know how to lay down a fast split!!

Always do your best.  What you plant now, you will harvest later.  ~Og Mandino

Kaleb

Hammer Endurolytes Product Review

I did the Memphis in may triathlon last weekend in incredibly hot conditions.  The pros start 3 hours after the age groupers.  The gun did not go off until 10am and the average temperature on my Garmin for the time I was racing reported 97.5 degrees.  Luckily, I had Hammer Endurolytes for the race.  I took four Endurolytes on the 40k bike ride and carried more Endurlytes out of T2 with me so I would have them on the run in the event of cramping.  I ended the day 3^rd overall and had the fastest run of the day by a minute.  I was able to perform under extreme heat because I had Hammer Endurolytes to prevent cramping and keep me hydrated to finish strong.  Thanks Hammer!

Long Time Coming

Wow, it has been a long time since my last update.  It is amazing how time flies!!  Over the past few months I have been working really hard in the pool and on the bike.  At least I am starting to see gains on the bike!  I have been on the start list for 4 races but I had to take the first DNS of my career in Mooloolaba, Australia.  


Mooloolaba
  I got some sort of stomach bug 2 days before the race that required frequent trips to the rest room.  The night before the race I still wanted to make it to the starting line but when I woke up in the morning I had very little energy and still had a hard time keeping calories in my body.  It was a miserable trip, but helped me realize how much I rely on my family and friends when I am sick.  Without a result at this race, my dream of making the 2012 Olympics Games was dead.  It is a tough pill to swallow, but Greg and I have been looking at 2016 since we paired up, so that dream is still alive.


Nautica South Beach Triathlon
  This race was the weekend after Mooloolaba.  I got home after 26 hours of traveling on Monday night.  I then left for Miami on Friday morning.  It was a crazy turn around but I wanted to get a race in before St. Anthony's a month later.  Greg was a little weary about me racing not only a week after getting sick, but also less than a week after traveling 26 hours from a place that is 14 time zones ahead.  I told him not too worry, I was not going to kill it, I just wanted to race, to remind myself how it feels to do a 40k individual time trial on the bike after swimming 1500m and before running a 10k!!  I did not have the greatest swim, but I never really do in rough water.  This swim was a point to point swim in the ocean.  The surf was not too bad, but still a lot rougher than what I have been swimming in - a 4 lane pool at the health club!  My bike went surprisingly well.  As I was saying earlier, my work on the bike is starting to show up in races!  Once off the bike I tried to stay relaxed and have a good run from start to finish. The field was very strong for an early season race!  I passed a lot of people on the run and ended up 6th.  I had the second fastest run, 18 seconds slower than Javier Gomez.  For those of you that don't know, Gomez is one of the fastest runners in the sport.  I will take that after all the stuff I went though in the previous week and a half.


Now the one thing I hated about the race:  the prize purse associated with lifetime fitness!!  I was 6th place in a strong field and I walked away with $400.  This barely covered my hotel in "beautiful" South Beach, Miami!  I am not sure what keeps pulling be back to lifetime races, but I am not sure if I will do any more this year.  They pay appearance fees for the top guys to come in, and they win the majority of the money.  The top 2, sometimes 3 make a good amount while everyone else struggles to pay for their hotel, let alone their airline costs, between the ticket and bike fees!


Now the good from the race: my girlfriend and her family were at the race cheering me on and then I got to spend a week with them in Ft. Lauderdale.  Thanks Melissa, her parents, her brother Zach, and her Aunt Katie and Uncle Ryan, who I believe set the wheels in motion for us to get together almost 2 years ago, it was great having you all at the race and it was a fun way to recover from the first non-draft race of the season.


St. Anthony's Triathlon
 Once again I was up against a strong field!  Almost anyone who is anyone in non-draft racing showed up for the race.  The swim went well for the first 500 while we were in the sheltered area of the swim.  Once the pack got out into the rough waters of Tampa Bay, I was not able to hang with the pack and ended up losing a good bit of time again during the swim.  Once on the bike I let it go.  I was not going to wait for the run, I wanted to try and make up time on the bike. I had a great bike split, but I paid for it on the run.  I got off the bike with Chris Foster and I had a hard time keeping pace with him for the first 2 miles.  He ran at Penn State so I knew I had good company, but my legs were not listening to me. My legs did not want to turn over so I just let them do their thing and waited for them to come around.  When they finally did I just tried to catch as many people as I could over the last 4 miles.  I ended up 8th overall and still had the fastest run split of the day, after handing out some high fives right before the finish line.   I was very happy with the result, but a little frustrated in my swim.  I think I had the fastest bike-run combo on the day.  If I can sort my swim out I might actually be able to win a race in the near future.
 A big thanks goes out to my mom for driving me around all weekend and putting up with me prerace.  And thank you to one of my sponsors, Bill Hohler of Bralin Laser for cheering me on at the race. It was also great having his wife, Mary, and mutual friends of ours Mike and Joyce Boswell there.  Post race they had a cookout at their place so it was nice to relax and enjoy the evening with some friends.


Rev3 Knoxville
  This was the first time in my life racing triathlons on back to back weekends.  I was a little nervous because I could remember having a hard time racing 2 weeks apart in past years.  With the help of Hammer Nutrition, I was able to not only get ready for Knoxville, I was able to have a good result.  I took Recoverite immediately following the race at St Anthony's and after every workout during the week, as I usually do.  I also used Hammer Nutrition's whey protein every night before bed, to safely raise my hGH levels to allow me to recover and boost my immune system to keep me healthy.  This allowed me to finish 4th at my first Rev3 race of the season.
  The swim was a wetsuit swim in the river.  I have not had a good swim yet this year so I was hoping the wetsuit would bring me a little luck.  Last year I had my best swims in my wetsuit.  My swim was ok, but still not where it needs to be.  Once I got out of the water I was off on the bike, and once again trying to make up as much time as I could.  Chris Foster and I were  together again, this time it was on the bike though.  We were never really close to one another though.  He would put about 5-10 seconds on me and then I would end up passing him and getting a little lead.  It was like this for most of the ride until we started catching people.  This got a little chaotic, trying to navigate through 7 guys while climbing and descending small mountains on the back roads of Tennessee, all while trying to ride within the rules.  With about 3 miles to go Chris was going to pass me over some rail road tracks and dropped his chain.  I felt bad and initially slowed up as if I was back home riding a training ride with Greg, but then I snapped back into race mode and hit it hard back in to transition.  I came off the bike in 6th place and passed two guys within the first mile.  I was in 4th and feeling good enough about how the race was going to not notice how bad my legs were feeling.  At the turn around on the run I got to see how far behind 3rd place I was and how close 5th place was to me.  I made up my mind that 5th would be just fine but did not want to settle for it.  I was able to keep a fast enough pace to stay ahead and finish in 4th, my best finish as a pro in a non-draft race. It was a hard 2 weekends of racing but I proved to myself that I could do it, I just don't know how many times I will!
  A big thank you goes out to my Grandpa for driving me all the way to and from Knoxville.  He made the trip quick and it was great to hang out with him for the weekend.
  I am excited to race in the Rev3 series.  They do an amazing job of putting the races together and they have all the triathletes in mind throughout the weekend.  The expos are very family friendly and very welcoming to athletes who travel with kids.  I think Rev3 is the best race series currently going on in the US and I wish other series could learn something from the way Rev3 takes care of all the athletes.


Thank you to Greg and all of Team IE for getting me to where I am, and N.B. Properties, Bralin Laser, Profile Design, Scott Shoes, Hammer Nutrition, Rudy Project, Champion System, Cobb Cycling, Computrainer, Express Press, Enzyme Research, and ProForm Bike for being great sponsors and allowing me to compete to the best of my ability.  I would not be putting up the results I am without their support.


"Follow your dreams, work hard, practice and persevere. Make sure you eat a variety of foods, get plenty of exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle." ~Sasha Cohen

Kaleb

Thanks to Hammer!

As some of you know, this season is my first season racing as a professional.  However, I’ve had to forgo my first three races due to an injury.  Six weeks ago, I had a little spill on my bike that resulted in a small fracture of my wrist and some soft tissue damage.  I have been in a cast for about 2.5 weeks…only five more days to go though!  Since the fall, I have not been able to swim.  However, this hiatus from the pool has allowed me to focus on my bike and run…a lot!  I am not able to ride outside, but have been putting in a lot of time on the Computrainer and using my new Quark for my workouts…sometimes twice a day!  I am worried about getting back into the pool, but I know the time I’ve put in on the bike and the miles on the run will pay off!

With this injury, I have looked to Hammer Nutrition for a lot of help!  I have been using Tissue Rejuvenator three times a day and Vanilla Whey Protein powder in my smoothies and at night before bed.  Both products have helped me recover from my injury and accelerated the healing process.  I truly believe they have made a difference.  I also continue to enjoy Strawberry Recoverite following my hard workouts.

Back in the pool 24/7J in a less than a week and hopefully back to racing in a few short weeks!

Lisa

Secrets to Success

Everyone wants to know what the secret to another athlete’s success is. It seems to be a common question, “what are they doing different than me that makes them better?” Many times we are looking for that perfect practice, set, or drill that will help us qualify for nationals, a world championship, or just give us a personal record.  I learned something about this back in 2001. I discovered what champion’s do that makes them great.         

                I was a counselor at the Longhorn swim camp for kids 18 and under. If you are not familiar with the University of Texas swimming, well simply put, they are the best. They routinely have one of the top teams at the NCAA’s and on the men’s side it seems as if half the Olympic swimming team is made of Texas swimmers.  Being a swimmer this was a thrill for me to be at the camp as a counselor and learning from Eddie Reese (the head coach of the Men’s team). I was not alone. All of the counselors wanted to know what drills they are doing that make them so good. What practices they are doing that make them so much faster than everyone else?  After the first week of helping and coaching at the camp we, the counselors, were disappointed. I remember all of us sitting around and talking about how these are the same drills we do or give to our swimmers when we swim or coach. Many of us thought we were not getting the secrets to their success. But in reality, we were. It was right in front of us.

                I learned the secret when I was able to observe several practices of the Texas swim team. It was a thrill to see what Olympic and World Record Holders were doing. After attending several practices I came to a realization. These Olympic swimmers were doing the same drills that the coaches were giving out to the 10 and 12 year olds. The drills consistently reinforced good habits and proper technique so that when the swimmers did go fast they did it right. What they did better than everyone else was the basics, the fundamentals. There was not some top secret formula that no one knew about. The Men’s Texas swim team just reinforced what skills the swimmers needed to do to be fast.

                I feel this is the same for all athletes in all sports. If you are constantly looking for a short cut, some secret, then you will never realize your top potential. The secret to success is right in front of us. Do the right things right and be willing to put in the time. If you do that, then you will find success and you can obtain your goals. 

Nick