Top 5 at MIM

Since I met Greg, he has talked about doing the Memphis in May Triathlon. Last year my sister, Karly, got married the weekend of the race so I was unable to make it.  This year I finally got my chance to race there, although the race was held at a new venue in Tunica, MS.  Lucky for the athletes, the race took place on the other side of the Mississippi River levee.  The race was very flat and very fast.  The area would have been great, but a lot of the restaurants and casinos were closed due to the Mississippi flooding.  As long as Mother Nature cooperates in the future, this race will become a must!  Even with all the weather related problems this year, it was a great experience and I am glad I got to race.  A big thanks goes out to the race organizers at start2finish for allowing the race to go on!

Pre-race – Kyle Lee, who is now part of Team IE, was here so I was excited to have a teammate in the race.  Our race was supposed to start at 10:30 so I woke up at 7 and ate my normal prerace breakfast.  It was pouring down rain, so I did not venture out early to watch Greg, Lisa, John, and Enrick race.  I felt bad, but at the rate it was raining I wanted to avoid getting soaked as long as I could.  At about 9 I headed to transition to set up my area.  After I finished setting up transition I headed out to get a jog warm up.  On my way out Greg was finishing so I stopped and talked to him.  About 5 min into my warm up, I saw Lisa on the run course so I yelled some words of encouragement to her.  After warm up I stretched in the hotel since the rain was still coming down hard.  At about 10:15 we had a meeting to see if we were going to get to race, since the lighting had started up about 9:30.  They said we were going so it was into the water for a little swim warm up.  About the time we were going to start they decided conditions were too bad to let us swim.  They were going to postpone the race up to 1 hour, after that they were going to cancel the swim and have a ride-run, not even a Duathlon.  They decided on this since they only had the police and volunteers until 1:30.  With all the waiting around I was starting to get hungry but I did not want to eat solid food so close to the race start.  I found Greg and he was able to get Hammer Gels for Kyle and I.  Greg saved me once again!!  Finally at about 11:15 it was race time!

Swim – Memphis in May is a unique race, in that the race starts in a time trail fashion.  The pros went off in alphabetical order, alternating men/women, every 10 seconds.  I went off about 6 minutes after the first person.  A time trial start for the swim was a very hard thing for me.  I am a very competitive person and I like being able to race head to head, but here I just had to swim hard and hope I could stay focused for 1500 meters.  I caught a couple people and I was happy that no one passed me!  I had a great swim and I ended up catching David Thompson at the end, he started 20 sec ahead of me.  I was feeling good and I knew I had just put together the best swim of the season!

Bike – Once out on the bike, Thompson went around me easily, and I knew there was no way I was staying close to him.  I used watts as my pacer and just settled in to my usual race pace.  I caught Michael Poole after he got a 1 min stand down penalty at about 5 miles.  I wish I was faster because putting up with him on the road was a hard task.  He swerved a lot and was very inconsistent with his speed.  This would not have been a problem, but the pro rules on the bike are very different than the age group rules.  At no point can you be directly behind the person in front of you, even if they are ½ mile up the road, and everyone has an imaginary draft box that you can only be in for 15 seconds.  This is where his swerving became a problem.  I did not want to get a stand down penalty because of someone else’s inability to hold a line.  I just road my pace and tried to stay a legal distance from him.  Coming in to T2 I had a great bike dismount and when I entered transition Greg was in there cheering me on!!

Run – Starting out on the run I could see Kyle so I figured I was doing well.  He started well ahead of me and he is a very strong swimmer, and a good cyclist.  The run was very painful!!  Greg and I have been messing with my position on the bike, to try and get more speed at a lower effort, so my back was not happy and it took a little bit for my legs to come around.  I had no idea how I was doing since everyone started at different times, so I just had to push to the finish.

Post-race – It was a tense few minutes waiting on results.  I felt like I pushed hard and had a good race, but it was so close, I was not sure where I ended up.  When the results came out, I ended up 5^th!!  My highest placing as a pro in a non-draft race.  I was very happy with the result, but I later found out I missed 2^nd place by about 35 seconds.  Things are getting better and I am satisfied with the fact that I am continuing to improve throughout the season.

A big thanks goes out to my mother and my grandparents for being at the race!!  And thanks to Greg and Lisa as well for cheering me on.  Greg’s booming voice and constant race updates always make it easier to compete at a high level!  I always have a great race when you guys are there!  My mother also drove Greg, Lisa and I down to Tunica, so she was a saint for putting up with us for the weekend!

Congrats to Lisa for winning the sprint on Saturday and the Olympic race on Sunday!!  By winning both she ended up winning the amateur challenge by about 3 min!  And Congrats to Greg for winning the masters title and ending up 5^th overall!  Kyle had a great race as well, in his first ever pro race.  It is a big step up to the pros and he will only get faster as he gains experience.  Team IE once again had a great weekend!  Good Luck at CapTex Nicole!!  You are gonna rock!!

“Constant dripping hollows out a stone.”  ~Lucretius

Kaleb

St. Anthony’s Race Report

Kaleb and I just got back from St. Anthony’s triathlon this past
weekend in St. Petersburg.  Wow! What an amazing, world class field. I
have never been in such a deep, competitive field before.  With a
bunch of international folks and some of the fastest WCS racers on the
ITU circuit, it was certainly going to be a competitive day.  The
men’s race was even more ridiculous, with olympic medal winners and
ITU world champions in the mix- crazy!!  I guess that is what happens
with St. Anthony’s becomes double points for the Hyvee triathlon
qualifying process.

The swim was cut short to 1K because of bad wind and there was
certainly a bit of chop in the water.  The short swim was compensated
by a long 800m+ run to transition and we were off on the bike. Only
one word to describe the bike- windy!!!  Now I realize why cyclists
have tended to win this race in the past. Wow- it was a challenge!  I
am pretty sure I pushed higher watts on the bike than I have yet this
year in a race. I knew I had to push the bike more than I usually do
in this race and so I did it and tried not to even contemplate the
run.  I made a bigtime amateur mistake at the dismount and couldn’t
get my shoe off before the line- I ended up unclipping the shoe as I
practically fell over on the bike standing still on the dismount line,
running for a while in the shoe  and then stopping to take it off and
carry it- must have been hilarious for spectators to see this from a
pro- but, oh well- it is good to be humbled sometimes!! The bike ended
up as a 1:02:07 which I was very happy with considering the wind.   I
think my new profile 80 Altair wheels were the secret to keeping my
set up super aero on this bike.
http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/wheels/wheel-category/carbon-wheels/altair-full-carbon-clinchers-80.html
 My friend Allison (hey Allison if you read this! =)) just purchased
these wheels too after I told her how great they were and we both
loooove them- I am sure Kaleb is super happy with them too, they feel
extremely fast and I am so happy that profile design is entering the
wheel market.  Anyhow, the run was HARD, I think because I had pushed
the bike a bit more that I usually do – the start was rough for
me….slooooww…but the funny thing about me is I always speed up as the
run progresses.  I am pretty sure I am always getting faster and this
is unusal because most people are slowing down as they get to the end
of the run.  My 5k splits were 18:30 and then 17:35 according to the
chip- pretty dramatic- for a 36:05 10k that was only 10 seconds off
the fastest run of the day and the $1000 run preme- bummer- but I had
the fastest run in south beach by only 2 seconds so I cant complain
too much- you win some/you loose some.  Overall I got 7th and 5th
american behind some tremendous performances from the competition. I
was very happy with the result and considering I am now second in the
hyvee point series I think I will hopefully by ok for a spot for the
big race come september after a few more 5150 events =))

Kaleb was an absolute super star, he finished 12th is a ridiculously
competitive mens field. Pretty awesome for a first year pro. Way to go
Kaleb!!!!!!! Great day (yet again!) for Team IE!!

Lisa Mueller and Jake Rhyner also deserve some huge recognition for
their 3rd and 4th place finishes at Duathlon Nationals on a super
tough course…wow!!!

I thought St. Anthony’s triathlon was really a top notch event and I
understand now why it is so popular and has such a storied history.
Althought I know everyone would have liked a 1.5k swim,  I admire the
race directors for putting the safety of the age group athletes first.
I know they will figure out a way to hold a 1.5k swim in the future
that will be safe no matter what the wind conditions.  After
paricipating in a race last year where an athlete passed away in the
water, I admire and respect those who had to make tough and unpopular
but right choices. The race personal seemed great and I know they will
have a safe and creative solution to this issue in the future.  Great
race in everyway- definitely going back next year now that I know
where the bike dismount line is =))

Stiff Competition at St. Anthony's

The best of the best showed up at St. Anthony's to gain much needed points for the 5150 series.  Nicole and Kaleb had great races on the biker friendly course.  A shortened swim, due to high winds, helped Nicole and Kaleb come out of the water closer to the front.  Nicole ended up 7th overall and Kaleb finished in 12th - securing valuable points toward Hy-Vee!  It was a great weekend for TEAM IE!! 

A big congrats goes out to Lisa Mueller, who made the podium, with 3rd place, at Duathlon Nationals!!  And Jake Rhyner had a great race as well to finish 4th overall!!  Congrats!

Making Strides at South Beach

PRERACE – It was a 6:55am race start so I was up early to eat breakfast and get my stuff around for the day.  I got into transition around 5:30 and I felt like a freshman on the first day of school!  With a couple of the big names from the Ironman circuit here and a handful of the usual suspects for the non-draft Olympic scene I felt a little out of place.  I just went about my business and got my transition area set up and headed out for a jog warm up.  The swim was about 1200m away from the swim exit/transition, so I did a little shorter jog warm up because I was planning on running to the swim start after stretching and doing swim cords.  After a few last minute transition checks I did swim cords, grabbed my Profile Design speed suit, and jogged to the swim start.  The beach in South Beach has a “road” running down it so I jogged on that.  It is very hard packed sand, and I felt more comfortable running barefoot on that versus the concrete path.  I did a 5-6 minute swim warm up and then waited on the beach for the start of the race. 

SWIM – It felt like they held us on the beach forever, but finally the horn sounded and we were off.  I am starting to enjoy beach starts more and more!  With my height and natural bounce in my running stride I am able to run a lot farther out into the water than everyone else.  This time around, that meant I was winning the race when we started dolphin diving/swimming!!  My lead only lasted a few seconds but it was fun!!  After we rounded the first buoy, I was still in a great position so I tried to stay on the feet of some of the best swimmers in the sport.  It did not last long, I quickly found myself swimming solo so I just set tried to set a solid pace for my current swimming level.   The water was rough and I was getting tossed around but it was fun to be swimming in the ocean as the sun was coming up!  A couple people went around me and I tried to draft them but I could not hold on.  Finally a pack of 4-5 caught me and I was able to stay at the front of that pack.  Coming out of the water there were sprayers since it was a salt water swim, but I think I was the only one to run through them!  Oh well!  I also noticed I had lost my chip!!  This was the first time this has ever happened to me.  I did not know what to do but so as I ran into transition I yelled “Number 14.  No chip!”   I think I was hoping that would allow them to record a time for me and mark that I was not cutting the course in any fashion.

I had a great swim for the conditions and I knew I was doing well when Wes (Nicole’s husband) yelled at me that I was 30 seconds down.  I did not know if that was to the front or the next pack, but I was feeling good!  I think the Profile Design speed suit played a huge role in this and I was happy to have it on!  With no results posted for me I believe my swim time was somewhere around 21:10.  I’ll take that!

BIKE – This was my first time in a large race riding a disc.  I just got a Quarq on my bike, so I am able to ride a disc now and have power data.  I have heard a lot about how a disc is faster, but I had no idea!  I felt like I was flying and the sound it makes as it rolls down the road is one of my favorite!!  If you have ridden a disc, you know what I am talking about, but if not, to me it kind of sounds like a quiet jet engine.  Hence the feeling I get that I am flying!!  I felt great as I started out on the bike but a few guys went around me pretty fast so I just kept myself calm and rode a tempo I thought I could handle.  There were two 180 turns on the course so I was able to get time checks on the guys ahead of me.  At the first flip I was about 4 minutes down to Cam Dye, who was leading the race, and about 2:30 down to a group of 5-6 guys.  At the second flip I was about 4:30 down to Cam and about the same down to the group.  I knew I was doing well!!  I have never been this close to the top 10 at a non-draft race!!  With about 2 miles to go on the bike I started to feel the power leaving my legs.  This is a normal felling for me at the end of a 40k but I was doing well so I fought it off as long as I could.  I was around 13^th coming off the bike, and I thought I could get in the top 10 with a good run.  I had finally put together a swim-ride that would allow me to be competitive!!  I was very happy with my wheel combination of a disc on the back and an 80 deep Profile Design on the front.  Profile Design just entered the wheel market and they make some very good wheels!  I think my ride was around 57:10, which is by far the fastest split I have ever had!!

RUN – My legs were not happy, which is normal coming off the bike, but I had a shot at the top 10 so I had to push.  I hit the first couple miles hard.  At most races the volunteers do a great job and overall they did at this race as well, but I had issues at the aid stations.  At each aid station they had accelerade and water and not only did it change what cup each was in from station to station, but the volunteers where mixing it up as they were telling me.  This would not have been an issue, but accelerade is similar to Gatorade, and contains too much sugar for me!!   I am a Hammer Nutrition man and I cannot handle anything else during a race.  I did not want to bonk on this run, so I did not get any fluids at the first 3 aid stations.  At the third station I tried to grab both color cups to be sure, but I just knocked a white cup straight to the ground.  Of course, that was water at that one!  Finally at the fourth water station I slowed down and made sure I grabbed 2 water cups!  It was hot and I needed a drink!  I am not sure if it was the lack of water during the run or the fast pace I was running early but with 1 mile to go in the run, I was cramping up but gaining on Andrew Yoder, who was in 5^th.  I tried to push and catch him but my body was out of energy.  Had it been 11k I would have caught him, but I did not have enough speed at the end this time.

POST RACE – I found Nicole who was 2^nd overall!!  Amazing!!  She is a rock star!!  I congratulated her and we got some photos together.  What a great day for TEAM IE!!  With extra points and money involved with the fastest run split, I went to the timing tent to see if they could get a run time for me.  I was not sure if I had the fastest run or not, but I at least wanted to make sure!  They ended up being able to calculate my time based on when I left transition and when I crossed the finish line.  I did it!  I outran the second fastest run by 13 seconds!!  We later found out that Nicole had the fastest run for the woman!

I believe Greg is the best coach in the world, and results don’t lie!  All TEAM IE athletes get faster, but it still amazes me on how well they continually do!!  There will be ups and downs in life, especially as an athlete, but there are far more ups than downs on this TEAM!!  Thanks Boss!!

And a big thanks to Wes!  It was great to have you on the trip!  It was a lot of fun to hang out with you and you were a great spectator, with your strong words of encouragement and split updates.

“The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.”  ~ Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Kaleb

TEAM IE Posts Fastest Run Splits

Nicole and Kaleb had a great start to the Toyota Lifetime Triathlon Series at the Nautica South Beach Triathlon.  Nicole had the fastest run split for the women to end up 2nd overall!!  She ran strong to the finish line to have the fastest split by 2 seconds!!  Kaleb posted the fastest run split of the day on his way to 6th overall!

Checking in with Kaleb!

Check out Kaleb's interview with Slowtwitch HERE

Adventure down South

I wouldn’t be giving my South American adventure justice if I only write about two hours of my trip (the race).  I was a bit nervous about traveling to Lima alone especially with the language barrier. A good friend of mine who lived in Lima last year helped me find a cheap hostel to stay in which was next to the host hotel.  I highly recommend the Dragonfly hostel to anyone who is planning on going to Miraflores. It was so much better than I had imagined. The best part was the delicious pan con fresa marmalade (homemade rolls from the bakery with strawberry preserves) in the kitchen waiting on us every morning. I recruited Joe Maloy, Chris Lutz, and Harry Wiltshire to stay in the hostel as well. We made a great group and it was quite entertaining listening to Chris pretend to know fluent Spanish, Harry’s British vocabulary and Jersey Joe. There was this awesome café/bakery underneath the hostel and we ate pretty much every meal there. So many tortas….I think Chris and Harry ate at least 3 desserts a day!

The fabulous four with our waiter at dinner

I was there for a few days before the race so I had to get some training in. Luckily, the guys got there earlier in the week so they had already found a pool to swim in at a private health club a few blocks away. I got to get in a swim with a Pervian club team. It was interesting swimming with a group who does not understand anything you say. The running was beautiful. We stayed right next to the beach and there was a running path along a cliff that overlooked the sea. Cycling was pretty nonexistent which I would regret later in the race. 

The running view

The pool we swam in

The race was about 45 minutes away by bus from where I stayed.  I was very thankful that the race director organized a bus to take the athletes and bikes to the race site. The weather was pretty strange…it was not really hot but it was. That makes no sense at all but needless to say I got a wicked sunburn L The swim was wetsuit legal and the water was quite freezing. The swim was a beach start, but the beach was made out of large stones. I was kind of nervous that I would slip on a rock at the start but when the gun went off I just forgot about it. Swimming with the boys gave me a little boost of confidence so I decided to go out hard on the swim and see what happened.  I ended up swimming alone the whole time leading and it was SO COOL! It was really hard to site because the sun was in my eyes but I made it through and was first out of the water. I have been struggling with swimming in races so it is very rewarding to see hard work pay off.  The bike course was 8 laps with 10 speed bumps (or sleeping policemen I was informed) per lap. I rode the first lap by myself not really knowing what I should do. There was a huge group and I knew I would probably get caught so I decided to just ride and not kill myself because I knew I could probably outrun the field.  On lap 3 my seat fell down and made it really hard/uncomfortable/painful to ride. Note to self #1 -always make sure the seat and handlebars are screwed in tight enough. The ride was not very challenging but it really took a toll on my quads because of my awkward bike positioning. I told myself this would not ruin my race so I just kept going. The run was pretty technical. There were some round abouts, sharp turns, slippery pavement, children and their toys, pets, and steps! It made things interesting to say the least. I went hard out of T2 and I got a minute lead and decided to just chill out for the last lap. 

My bike seat position--yowzers

Start of run

Four goals were met at this race: won the swim, got to grab the tape, sprayed champagne, and got a cardboard check! Note to self #2- champagne smells REALLY bad and I thank Joe and the boy from the Netherlands for the way my bag currently smells.

I love racing abroad. At the end of the day a race is just a race. The important thing is the people you meet and the memories you create. This trip to Lima was one I will never forget and I am so happy I got to spend time with other great athletes from across the world. Thanks for making my experience a great one :) Next time I hope I know a bit more Spanish!

Now I am on my way back to South Bend to get recovered and start training for my next race. I am retiring Miss Green Machine and starting a new relationship with Snook the Look. I am SUPER excited to get on my new Look 596 and go fasst! I am also excited to see Nicole and Kaleb dominate this weekend in Miami!