2014 Is Underway

I have some catching up to do!  It has certainly been awhile.  I've been so busy this spring that I just haven't had time to keep up with the blog.  2 race reports from my most recent races...here we go!

Cooney Duathlon -

This was my first du and first multi sport race of the year...naturally I was nervous.  You never really know where your racing is to start a new season off, which is where most of my nerves were coming from.  I opted out of the traditional Lake Mills route to try something new and to make sure I was somewhat fresh going into my first tri of the year at Elkhart (RR below).

The Cooney Du is a 2 mi run, 20.7 mi bike, 2 mi run.  All pretty flat and fast.  Since I had no idea how to pace a du and knew from word of mouth they really hurt, I kept the first run quite easy.  My goal was keep my breathing in check.  I was amazed at how hard some of these guys went out!  Guys all around already had their efforts spiked, all I focused on was quick turnover and keeping my effort in check.  Run 1 came in at 11:33 and I was about 1 min down from the lead.  A quick T1 had me in good position on the bike.

Finishing up the bike

Since I kept the run easy I found my biking legs immediately and took over the lead around mile 2/3. The leaders seemed to be lolly gagging which I didn't like, so I put out a pretty big effort for a couple of minutes, only to have the lead guy tag along and draft for the entirety of the ride.  I'm not one to complain but this pissed me off!  The course was too flat to drop him, so all I could do was focus on my race.  A couple of times I thought maybe he was further back than I thought, but seeing his shadow next to my bike told me he was being blatant about it.  With a couple miles left he took off, had one of the worst transitions I have ever seen which gave me a 20 sec lead on the 2nd run.  The one thing I'll give him credit for is his run speed...super fast.  But not an honest racer.  Whatever.  I ran a very painful 2nd run at 11:37 to cruise in for 2nd.  I did this race to gauge my fitness and was very happy with everything.  Also, my mom, girlfriend and her parents came to cheer me on, which was awesome.  I also won a cutting board, how cool is that?!

Du 2nd run feeling the hurt!

Yes for sweet prizes!

Elkhart Olympic -

Booyah first tri of 2014!  Always an exciting day.  We headed to Elkhart Fri evening to pick up our race stuff and get to our hotel.  Scott, Jess and I checked out the race venue, drove the (really effing hilly) run course and then got dinner to ensure an early bed time.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  I did have to put together a very janky flat kit set up as I forgot my normal flat kit.  Picture a wad of tube and CO2 with lots of electrical tape...ya.  Whatever works sometimes : )

Race morning was relaxed.  We got set up, test rode the bike, jogged it out and got down to the swim start for more warm up.  Everything felt good so I was looking forward to a solid race.

Out of the swim with PB!

I felt comfortable swimming, I need to start pushing the swim a bit more.  Had some issues sighting on the way in which probably added some time, but that's ok.  It was my best 1.5 k swim to date at 23:35.  Pat Brady and I came out of the water together!...but I still beat you by a milli second Pat!  We can see I'm clearly in front :P  I'll make it clear this was the last time I stayed in front of him, he went on to kill the bike and run course.

Since the bike was longer than the usual 40 k (45 k) I took it out very easy.  I told myself no pushing until at least 10 miles in.  This resulted in getting passed by quite a few guys (and girls) early on but I knew I'd likely reel them in later on...which is exactly what happened.  I moved up to 6th place (I think) with a split of 1:11 and change for 28 miles.  Considering I felt like I was biking at HIM effort I was very happy with this ride.

The run course at Elkhart is a BEAST.  There is one nice hilly, shaded section, but other than that we were met with a hot, hilly, and windy run.  I just didn't have my running legs on.  I felt slow, heavy, and tired, but kept plugging away.  Matt "The Beast" Braaksma was close on my heels.  We always end up very close to one another whenever we race together, but have slightly different strengths.  This usually results in a foot race...and let me tell you he is not a guy you want running you down : )

Luckily I saved just enough in the tank to put in a solid effort for the last 1.5 miles or so.  I knew we had a big climb to get up around mile 4.5...once I crested that I picked up my effort.  Surprisingly I felt better and held on for a 7th OA finish.  I want to give MB a shout out because he kept me in the game on a tough run and I look forward to many more races with this guy!  Total run time was 40:03.   Not my best run but still very happy with everything.  Right on track for the next one in Door County...and ultimately IMWI.

Ya...he's been done and cooled down.  Pat had a very solid day!

The rest of the day was nice and chill.  Scott, Jess and I hung out around the finish with my parents to enjoy some post race food/beer and wait for the awards.  The sun was out and feelin' great.  Definitely a must do race.