​Needless to say, I am excited to get racing this season. After taking a long 6 months off after my last Tri in early August and enjoying some vacation over the winter, I came back ready to tackle the training load in 2018. In December, I challenged myself to run every day for at least 30 minutes to build up the base coming into January, most weeks were 30-35 miles and 136mile month which is the most I’ve run in a few years. Between the runs in Baltimore and finishing the year in France and Belgium with family, my legs and mind felt refreshed.

I set out this year to mainly race 70.3 races. This is my 10th triathlon season already and I have my sights on a few big goals over the next few years including 70.3 World in 2019 in Nice, France and qualifying for Kona in 2020. Unlike years past, I have not signed up for 5-6 races throughout the summer already. I have signed up for 1 Half IM in the spring and have yet to select 1-3 Halfs for the fall. I will be using the summer to keep the training load manageable and perhaps a little unstructured in an effort not to get burnt out like the past 2 seasons.

With a Half IM in early May, my focus has been on staying healthy and improving upon my running which continues to be my weakness coming off the bike. Last December, I signed up for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler lottery and got in for the 4th year which is very lucky. Last year, I was not in great shape going in after having some nagging pains in my left leg coming off the early season Half IM in Clermont, FL where my run fell apart in the last 5k. I ended up doing it as a workout and coming in around 1:00:13, which is a decent time and good training run for sure. This year was another story, I wanted to go out there and push my limits.

Leading into Cherry Blossom race weekend , I had been building quite a bit of swim and bike volume for 2 weeks. My body was definitely feeling the stress in the legs and I ended nixing a 2h30 long run the Sunday before. Oddly  enough, a nagging cramp in the left leg was back after some strides just the Wednesday prior and lasted a few days,  but the good news was that the hamstring felt good. I did a ton of rolling and wore compression sock to work and bed and by Saturday things we looking great.

The day before the race is also always a great day as Cherry Blossom race weekend coincides the Back on My Feet Baltimore spring half marathon race and relay at the Oldfields School and NCR trail north of Baltimore. This event is very special because many BoMF members, who are in recovery run their longest run ever, thus achieving many goals they hadn’t even dreamed possible just a short time ago. The BoMF Staff and all the Volunteers on the course are always phenomenal and this Saturday was not any different. Even though it was a chilly start, we were all thankful that the snow and freezing rain stayed away. As in years past, I sped up and down the NCR trail taking thousands of pictures at various points in the race, and seeing hundreds of smiles along their journeys to conquer the 13.1 mile race. I was also very pleased to have 3 of my Tri Team Invicta Teammates there, Deborah, Mike and Rich, who killed it out there.

On to race day, Sunday morning we drove into DC early after spending the night in Northern Virginia and found the ideal parking spot right on the Mall. I was feeling a bit tired from a long workweek but figured the adrenaline would push that fatigue out of the way once race time hit. It was right around freezing for the start of the race. Tori and I warmed up on the mall and I shed some layers and found my way into wave corral. I knew from years past that I’d want to be to the outside and not too far off the start line so as not to have to fight through the traffic of the start. This worked and found myself with a few Falls Road guys Sean and Terry. It was quite puzzling for all of us because we were looking for the 6:00 pace group being led by Meb Keflezighi but it was nowhere to be found even as we were pacing in the 5:35 in the ¾ mile. Sean had an amazing race coming off a broken foot and Terry was trying to beat his 10year old younger self. Another friend James came flying by at mile 2 and I never saw him after that, he had a huge PR in the low 58min, crushed it!

Ask anyone and they'll tell you the 2018 Cherry Blossom race conditions were ideal. The course was changed where it didn’t go over the bridge into Virginia, thus eliminating a typical windy section. This morning however did not have any wind as in the past 4 years I’ve run it. I had wanted to pace 5:55 per mile or faster. I saw that my splits were pretty consistent and at 10k mark in 36:40, so I decided that I’d push the pace with such a perfect day. I was hurting pretty badly by the beginning of mile 9 and at the 1200m to go mark the slight incline out of Hains Point got me, my legs were lead filled. My pace dwindled to 6:00 then 6:10. I saw Tori with about 400m to go and my form was absolutely atrocious, I tried to relax the arms and took it all the way in.
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As I crossed the finish in 59:31 (not working the tangents also gets you off pace, ran 10.08 according to GPS), I can say I was very content with my race. I know I could have played it conservatively at 10k and maybe even gone 20-25seconds faster overall; but as I spend most of my efforts throughout the year doing multisport races, I rarely get a chance to redline in road racing and therefore I was pleased with this training effort in the lead up to the first half Ironman of the year. I am thankful to be healthy, be able to push my limits and especially for all the help along the way from family, friends, teammates, and My Tori. A little more work still needs to happen on the track but very happy with the winter training and spring progress. Ready to go crush some swim and bike splits in a few shorts weeks!! 

It has been a number of months since my last report and honestly I have been dreading putting my thoughts down. This is actually the 3 rewrites and every time I think I am ready hit post  there is a certain hesitation and call to finish it later. I know that in a few years looking back at my 2017 tri season, I will be happy that I wrote this and see where I have improved.

I have to say that these last few months since my last race in the Poconos which resulted in a DNF have been difficult. More so mentally than physically. As many of my teammates and friends continued to push hard and have great fall tri and racing seasons, I decided to hang up the shoes for the season. The fear of missing out aka FOMO was ever present, and I found myself on several occasions nearly signing-up for races even though I hadn’t been doing any structured training or workouts just to get back out there and a chance to redeem myself.

The truth is that I’ve been fighting with a bad case of Burnout in all facets of my life since late Spring. My mind kept telling me ‘I want to do it all…take those weekend trips, dinner dates with Tori, HH with friends, family visits, intense training blocks, getting up early to volunteer several times per week,  achieving crazy work deadlines, road trips and vacation!’ I think my summer was the busiest and the most intense tri schedule I have ever laid out for myself. Looking back, it was definitely a mistake: I was not able to achieve any of my goals, the sub 2hr Olympic and Half Iron PR results I had dreamed of in 2017 just faded into continued disappointment.

I had really had high expectation for myself this year after a great finish to 2016 and a solid early season Half Iron in Florida where unfortunately I didn’t stick to my game plan and got beat off the podium going from 1st to 4th in the final 5K of the half marathon run.  Things definitely started unraveling after our 10 day road trip to the Smoky Mountain and my Columbia Duathlon victory. I think I perhaps came back more tired, things at work picked-up as well as the training load and I just continued to dread the training with little excitement to even race. My Invicta Racing Teammates all kept me motivated and helped me get through some very hard sessions so I am thankful for their company and encouragements.

After following intently 70.3 and Kona Ironman Worlds, and SuperLeague this fall, I’ve read a number of Pro Triathlete and a few friends’ blog and race recaps and they have definitely helped give me perspective. I know above all that I need to continue to follow in the process. I believe also that I did not give myself a goal that I could achieve given how much I had stacked on my plate this year. Not to mention hoping to go under the 2hr mark in an Olympic also isn’t going to happen when you are overworked the entire week prior to an A race getting very little sleep or when the swim is canceled multiple times during your season.

Moving on post Philly Tri, I had originally set out to race 2 races prior to REV3 Pocono Half: the Coney Island Aquathlon Long and the Maryland Duathlon. Coney Island would a good chance to work on my OWS skills in ocean with some fairly big swells and a chance to push the run. I was happy to take 2nd Overall with fastest run on the day. I then decided to not do the Maryland Duathlon to focus on the training for the remainder of July.   
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The weeks leading up to the Pocono race, I slowly kept drifting further and further into mental and physical exhaustion. I just told myself to  that it was part of the training and take the recovery seriously and just go out to have fun. This race was not meant to be unfortunately as I posted after dropping out in T2 after some nutritional difficulties which just didn't give the will the continue the race:
        ‘As much as pains me to DNF, the run was not in the cards for me today. After a solid swim(28min ish), I hit the bike course enjoying every bit riding the Pocono Raceway and the rolling Pocono mountain roads on pace for a 2h26 bike. Unfortunately I realized, after the last aid station, that my second carb bottle had somehow been dropped earlier and my last solo 15miles would be a fight to keep my legs alive for a challenging run and prevent cramps from taking over. With no fluid or food I just focused on getting back to T2. I stood in transition for a good 5 min trying to loosen up to find gels and liquids to refuel but I was mentally absent from the race already and so I pulled myself out. I do believe it was the right call on this day. Things don't always go according to plan, this week's lesson for sure. As always a big thanks to My Lovely Tori for keeping a big smile on my face!!’

Even though I found myself extremely disappointed to end my season, without either of my goals achieved, I was certainly very happy during the taper week. I did see a bright smiling light at the end of the tunnel as I had decided one morning to Propose to Tori during an easy early morning run where she had said ‘Yes’ in bewilderment. I am so incredibly lucky to have her, she has been so supportive this whole year when I wasn't the most pleasant to be around and I couldn't have made it to the start line on a couple of occasions without unwavering Love. I don't take any of it for granted and will continue to do everything I can to Love and cherish her as we start a new chapter in our lives together.

Things were still very busy for both of us but we have enjoyed the remainder of August together and have been taking the Fall very easy emptying many beer bottles and boxes of Cheez-It’s along the way. I have not yet decided the extent of my racing schedule for next year, but I know I will not take a page out of this year's playbook and overload the schedule to hopefully keep my mind and body fresh. I incredible thankful to have stayed mostly injury free and I am incredibly greatful for that. Thank You for the support and interest from all, it really means a lot. I'm still learning many things about myself and racing and as I head into a tougher and older age group next year. I just hope to come back hungrier than ever in 2018!  ​

​The last six weeks have not been ideal for training away with from home most weekends.  Coming into Philly Escape Tri, I had a few good sessions under my belt and knew that I would have a chance at fighting for a top spot. The Olympic race was Sunday and so we drove up the day before to Philly. Growing up around Philly, I had always biked along the Schuylkill on Sundays with my parents, but this would be my first time racing along its’ banks. Our Airbnb was one and a half miles from the race start which was perfect since transitioned open at 4:30 AM and the Pro start was at 6:30 AM. 
 
I was feeling good on Saturday had a great Italian meal for dinner and I went to bed fairly early. In the morning, a few of the other people staying at the Airbnb told us that the swim had been canceled due to high water levels and debris in the Schuylkill River. When I had been at packet pick up the day before I had noticed many trees in a lot of gunk on the top of the water and I figured this might be a possibility. This was a huge disappointment because I knew my swim was very competitive and I would've been able to hang with some the top contenders. Instead the race was turned into another duathlon: which is not my forte. The race director decided to split the second run into two runs of a 2 mile start, then 40 K bike and a 4.2 mile last run. 

We made our way to the start line, I set up my bike and knew that I would not have to worry about a wetsuit which was comforting. The thing I knew I had to execute was my warm-up and my first run. I've had a tendency to go out to way too fast. This time I decided to throttle my pace back to manageable 5:55, right around my threshold pace currently, so that I could perform on the bike. 
 
The Pro race started we could see immediately but some of them we're going under five minute per miles for the first 2 mile leg, it was nuts! The Pro women wave went off and then it was a mass start for the 40 and under. I found myself in the middle of the pack trying to maintain good form and good speed. I felt smooth and saw Tori right before the transition, probably in 80th Pl. 
 
I grabbed my bike and exited the transition area. The cat and mouse game was about to start.  I had a smooth controlled start to the bike, I knew you didn't want to go above 90% of threshold for the first few minutes while my leg still warmed up. The bike course was two 20K loops along the Schuylkill banks with a lot of technical climbing turns.  The course also ended up being very crowded one the second loop once the whole field of athletes was out. There was a constant worry of being called out for drafting when it was really nothing we can do about it. I would drop back then surge on the downhills. I found myself in a pack of eight or nine that just kept passing each other throughout the race. When we got to the second loop, the pace group had gotten smaller to maybe five. At some point going up narrow hills just before the Boathouses, we were five or six wide and some were walking their bikes up and almost blocking the road catching us off guard and breaking some of the momentum.  I made a choice push the last 3miles to the finish and see if I could set myself up for a decent finish.
 
I entered T2  and tried to make it a speedy as possible. I started my run at the same pace as my first run and stayed solid until mile 3. The lack of run volume over the last few weeks surely didn't help, I started having a foot issue that felt like a pinched nerve in my big toe. My pace load from a 6:05 to a 6:25. What I'm not proud of is getting passed in the last 100 yards but I wasn't going to risk injuring myself over what had become another training duathlon race. I crossed the line in 1:43:34 for 30th Pl. including Pro and Open fields and 4th in Age Group. This was definitely the toughest field I've raced all year and it felt refreshing to be hurting so much. It has me very motivated going into my next half iron. I was glad to see a few familiar faces once again and to have Tori cheering me on. Looking forward to a strong training block in July! 
Next time I’m going to have Tori write my race report, I think she may have more interesting things to say.
 
1:43:34 (R1: 11:54 T1: 1:06 B: 1:03:38 T2: 0:57 R2: 26:01)

Sleep deprived, overwhelmed, mentally exhausted are all things that many of us can relate to in our daily lives. Leading up to Rock Hall Olympic distance, this is exactly how I felt. I went into taper week not even wanting to race, I got home on Friday night before the race seriously thinking about not even getting up to run. One of the biggest parts of being successful has been to be mentally focused, being able to break away and block out all of the noise around me. The culmination of 5-6 weeks of the ‘go go go’ attitude had me truly worn out.  I calmed down and started to get my things together and organized nonetheless for the early morning departure to Rock Hall.
 
I slept very little but slept deeply the night before. For a change, it wasn't Tori driving us as I slept in the front seat, I felt wide-awake and ready to just get the race over with. I knew that with Rock Hall Olympic being the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship there would be a lot of good competition, which is something I was looking forward to. Odds were I would have a very tough battle to defend my 2016 title; not being in the right mindset surely would not help.
 
We got to Rock Hall a little before 615am, with a race start at 8am. I went to packet pick up at to set up my bike up in transition. I was setup right next to Deborah and we met up after she did her short warm up. I went on to go warm-up for 25 minutes finishing off with some strides. I was in the first wave and got to the start pretty warm already and put on my Xterra speed suit. The water was at 73, that's way too hot for me to wear a full wetsuit. As it looked around, I sighted the buoys that I would need to to go around and we were off. 
 
I feel pretty good I did not start too fast, and my arms felt strong. Deborah who is in a later wave told me that she saw me swerve off course as I was pacing and one of the lead groups. I could've sworn I was going to shortest distance between the buoys but looking back in my Garmin file, I could see that I did in fact go off course on 2 occasions and swam an extra 200m. I missed the last buoy and was turned around by a kayaker. I finally made out on to the pier with this minor hick up in 22:50 not knowing I had made the mistake. It was still 3 minutes faster than last year, but in seventh place as I headed on the bike.
 
I had a quick transition, grabbed my bike and set off. I didn't feel like I was working hard and felt great as I started passing a few people for 5 miles and passed another group of three and found myself probably being in third or fourth place. I did make a critical mistake by starting too fast at 103% of threshold power for the first 5 min as Ben later pointed out to me. I went on and tried to keep as steady as possible around 275watts. Around mile 18, the anxious start caught up to me, I started feeling sluggish; my left hip and hamstring feel tight. I came into transition with the bike split around an hour and change and felt pretty depleted. 
 
My transitions were on point, under 60 seconds each and I got onto the run. Another thing I had overlooked was the run course map. I've done Rock Hall and Waterman's a few times now in the past 4 years and thought I knew the course, yet this year the run course was running the opposite direction. Right out of transition, I went running past the intersection of the first left turn, almost as in a trance not seeing the signs signaling me to turn. Luckily, the triathlete, who was a quarter mile behind me and was surely going to pass me in the next mile, yelled out and told me to turn around. I was sitting in 4th place after missing the first turn, and we kept going and I decided I would just fallow him. It turns out we made another wrong turn in the neighborhood which was not well marked, which ended up being the same distance on the first loop. Lesson learned: always look at the map! My sluggish feelings from the bike persisted until mile 2.5 at which point I was able to speed up my pace up from the 6:14, 6:10 to a final mile at 5:55. I ended up crossing the line finishing my run in 39min, 1 min slower than last year’s run, but with an Overall 90second PR, 2:04:27. There’s nothing like a regional championship to make you realized how much work still needs to be done!
 
Realizing I had made so many mistakes as a veteran triathlete angered me; with the later waves still on the course, I finished 10th place overall and 1st in my 25-29 age group. The fatigue, mentally and physically, was still present as I walked around. I really wasn't upset that I had not won, I was upset that I had let myself lose focus, be distracted, wing-it when I had wanted this race to be my goal early season event.  
 
My teammate Deborah had a great day as well, deviating from her Ironman and Marathon training and coming to race a shorter event, and had a 10k PR. Many other friends had great day and it was good to catch up with Andy, Graham, and the Welch Brothers. It has taken me way too long to finally get a moment to write this race recap as the last few weeks have just been crazy with work, events, and just being a responsible or not adult. I still feel like there is something wrong with me, but I assume that being constantly overbooked will catch up to you. Hopefully, I can kick the constant fatigue and get some good sleep as I head for vacation before Escape Philly Olympic. Huge thanks to Tori keeping a smile on my face, and Ben and Team Invicta for the support. Looking forward to some group sessions in July to hopefully get back on track and focused.  
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2:04:27 (S:23:34  T1:1:02 B:1:00:07  T2: 0:45  R2: 39:01)

​For those who aren’t familiar with the Columbia Triathlon, it used to be the premier triathlon event in the Mid-Atlantic. Top professionals would compete alongside a sell-out field of 1,500 age group athletes all on one of the most honest courses out there. If you were a triathlete in the area, your presence was obligatory. I have done many rides and runs on the Columbia course over the years, however this was my first go at racing the course; I decided to skip the swim and do the Duathlon.

The race had been on my radar early in the season but I signed up for the Columbia Duathlon about 6weeks prior, mainly out of worry that I would be coming back from 10 day vacation in Smoky Mountains extremely out of shape and not be able to perform prior to Rock Hall Olympic in early June. During the 10 day vacation, we drove 2000 miles through southwest Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina; I did unstructured training, some workouts were good others not so much. The Duathlon would be an ideal course to help push my run fitness on a very tough course coming off vacation.

On race day we planned to get to Columbia around 5:30am. Since I had racked my bike the night before and was doing the Duathlon, very little needed to be setup in my transition area. Made sure all fluid and nutrition were setup as I had laid them out the day before and went to relax back in the car until 6am. The morning in Columbia was prime cool weather for fast Bike and Run splits. I went into warm-up feeling a bit cold with the outdoor temp at 50F; 3mile warmup with strides around Centennial Lake got me to the start line 10 min prior to start feeling good for the race.  As I came around to the lake the Triathlon Elite waves were going off. The Triathlon and Duathlon race start timeline were well timed to have most Elites in both raced end up on the Bike and Run courses at the same time.

I met up with my friend James at the race start and we waited for the gun. As they announced all athletes at the race start, we heard Dave Berdan’s name announced and we all know we’d have to work really hard on the bike to have a shot at competing with the multi-time Baltimore Marathon Champion in his multisport debut.  I figured he’d be running 5:30pace or faster on both runs and I started doing the math in my head of how many minutes I’d have to put on the run leaders to have a shot in the race.

The gun went off and Dave and another Falls Road Runner Zack we off. They were going faster than any pace I could sustain, out of sight by mile 1. James and I and 2 others ended pacing around 5.55pace for the first run leg of 2.2miles. I felt comfortable, but should have tried to go a little faster. I came into transition in 13:00 and had a quick 0:49 second transition.

I hit the bike course very familiar of all the key sections I needed to hammer and where to not over work my legs. During my first run I had been doing the math in my head and I estimated I’d have to put at least 7min on Dave and Zack. Around mile 2, I did that going up a hill and just kept pedaling as smooth as I could on such a hilly course. The day was cool yet humid. My trisuit was soon soaked and I keep my hydration up all while being weary to not over hydrate. I took in 3 GU roctane gels with gulps of water and half a bottle of roctane energy mix. I soon passed a few other Elite wave triathletes and saw Charlie Larsen at the mid-point of the bike leg. We both stayed pretty close for the remainder of the race. I ended up with 2nd fastest bike split on the day 1:06:31 (22.55mph). I was very content considering I had only done a single bike workout in 2 weeks. I had another fast sub 1min transition and went to attack the grueling run course.

I pushed myself to stay at 6:30 pace. The first 2 miles of mostly rollers went well; Charlie Larsen passed me with his blazing 6:04pace around mile 1.5. I saw Tori soon after cheering me on which was a welcoming sign but when I got to the hills going up into the neighborhood, my pace significantly slowed. I tried to stay cool, use my small hydration bottle and keep my right calf and hamstring as loose as possible with a smooth stride. Coming up into the neighborhoods, I took 2 cups of water and powered back up the last hill back to the park. Even with all the hiking in the Smoky Mountains and some base run fitness, the course's with nearly 500ft. of climbing got me good, again! I came around the last straight away and saw Tori again, she caught me in a smile thankfully. I did not see anyone behind me and pushed harder to the finish. I ended crossing the finish line running the 10K in 41:30 (6:41pace) and overall time of 2:02:47 for 1st Overall in the Duathlon. Not a phenomenal finish but acceptable one such a tough course. A mere 45 seconds later Dave Berdan came blistering through, finishing his 10K 6 min fast than me. Get Dave a TT bike and some more time in the saddle and he’ll be crushing everyone around town in Duathlons for sure. I was very glad to have pushed the bike legs the way I did. James had a great bike leg himself and finished just out of an overall podium spot in 4th position and behind Zach.

This race workout really helped me re-acclimate after a structured training hiatus and before a summer full of Tri racing in the Mid-Atlantic. I’d say one of the best perk of the race this year were the 2 beer tickets on your race bib as well as the massage by Nava Health and Fitness afterward. Tori took good advantage of Harpoon Brewery selections post-race.  I have to say was very honored to share the podium with two of the top runners in the area and I know I will need to keep improving my run if I stand a chance to compete in the coming years. Looking forward to future racing and always to happy to see new faces entering the sport!

Big thanks to Tori for getting up at the crack of dawn again on a Sunday, friend and family for the continued support, Coach Ben and Team Invicta Teammates who make me want to keep getting better and stronger every year and all the Sponsors who help my body perform during training and racing . I may just have to come back next year and defend this title!
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2:02:47 (R1:13:00  T1:0:49  B:1:06:31  T2: 0:58  R2: 41:30)

When I first started looking to fill up my 2017 race calendar, I wanted to get one early season Tri in to test progress through the winter months. Last fall after finishing with a huge Half Iron PR, I knew the first race of the season would be a half. I went looking online and came upon the Florida Intimidator Half in Clermont, Fl. Clermont is a world class Tri destination for early season training; it’s got the swimming, the boardwalk running trail, and most importantly all the hills in Florida it would seem!

Last time I had raced in Florida was 2013 on Kennedy Space Center for the now discontinued Rocketman Triathlon. I was visiting Matt at the time, my good friend from College, and he had said he’d probably do a Tri one day. Since I was seriously planning on doing this March race, I roped him into signing up for the Sprint Tri the same day as me.
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Going into a Half Ironman this early in the season, I wasn’t expecting very much from the result other than gauging my overall fitness. After last fall, I took 3 full months off structured training and really enjoyed it through the Holidays. I came back into January feeling very refreshed and ready to take on 2017 training workload.
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In the weeks leading up to my race, I tried to do most of my biking outdoors. I knew that with a course with over 2000ft. of elevation gain as an early season race, I would have to get my long rides on real hills, the trainer just wouldn’t cut it. I lucked out a few times with some great weather in February for group rides, but most of my 60+ milers in March were in freezing temperatures. Pedro and Adam can attest to the misery of those rides and on several occasions we came home not fully realizing the extent of our frozen extremities. Other than those rides, I did most of my training solo. I tried to keep up with the strength training, flexibility and focus on my early season swim fitness. Unfortunately my run fitness stayed very flat as I had a Hamstring issue 5 weeks prior to the race and decided to take 10 days off to not waste a whole season by pushing through it.
 
Race week, I took my taper seriously! No extra miles, no unnecessary time spent standing. Got an average 7-8hrs of sleep each night and come race morning I felt great. Tori and I headed to Orlando on a Thursday afternoon and decided to relax a little on Friday prior to the race at Cocoa Beach which is an 1hr from Orlando where we were lucky enough to have our friend the Sun make an appearance the whole afternoon.
 
Race morning Matt, Tori and I drove to Clermont where the race was taking place. Matt and I each got our race packets, I help him setup up a few things in transition and I went off to do my pre-race run. I was torn going into the swim whether or not to wear a wetsuit or swim skin. After feeling the water, I decided I was happy with my swim fitness level and would not risk overheating with a full wetsuit. The Half Iron Race went off an hour prior to the Sprint Tri; the horn for the third wave went off and I entered the water taking my pool training into the open water of Lake Minneola. Almost immediately, my left shoulder started to tighten up, I wasn’t sure what it was but figured it would ease as the swim progressed. My swim felt fairly smooth outside of the shoulder issue. I came out 5th in 30:34 which I was l disappointed with considering I had been pacing in the 1:10 per 100yd in the pool. Open water is a whole different animal that I will conquer before the next race.

I ran into transition and saw Matt and Tori cheering me on. The sandy grass transition area made it a bit difficult to not fill your shoes with sand but I did my best; slow 2:34 T1 later and I was exiting to the bike course. I got into my easiest gear to climb out and start and smooth and steady push to the front. I had planned on staying steady for an 1h15 and see where I was on the course. At that point, I checked and was 30miles in and had just passed the lead biker and was now behind the pace Cop car. (A few things that really made me nervous were the amount of traffic on the road, especially the wide-load 18-wheelers carrying farm equipment, and also the fact the lead vehicle should have been a pace bike instead of a car as the car trapped traffic and when the shoulder disappeared, I nearly found myself in a creek). I slowed my pace and decided to keep my Normalized Power around 245Watts for the remainder of the bike. Coming into the transition, there was major mishap after the cop car stopped prior to transition entrance. There was no arrow or volunteer signaling the final turn and I ended shooting passed the intersection and going down a hill having to loop around; cutting through sand pit and doing a little cyclocross for a 100 meter on the tri bike to make it back to transition. I ended tacking on about 1/2miles and entering transition in 2nd place; still maintaining the top bike split of 2:27:58 on course with 2165ft on elevation gain.

As I sped through transition in 1:29, I thought about pushing my run and try to hold 6:35/miles. The lead runner was 30sec ahead and I finally passed him at 2.5 miles. I continued to build my lead and felt very strong and kept pacing well until mile 8. At this point the heat definitely started getting to me. Most the training runs I had done were all in freezing temperatures, and I realized I was now in survival mode trying to keep the fluids in check. I had gotten ahead of myself, surging too early. The eventual winner soon passed and it started to become a real struggle as my hamstring issue from a few weeks back reappeared keeping my pace to a speedy 7:30 pace shuffle. I continued to push but eventually got picked off at mile 12 and mile 13 ending with a 1:32:12 half Marathon off the bike.

I crossed the line knowing I had given it my all on the run and excited to have finished in 4:34:51 just 3min behind the leader in 4th Place and 1st in Age Group . I was very pleased with my fitness in the early season effort and know that the tri season hasn’t even started in the Mid-Atlantic and North East where I will be doing most of my racing this year. Tori, Matt and Kristen were at the finish as we waited for awards and Matt and I talked about his first experience. Matt had a great time and is definitely ready for another tri this season, glad I was able to be there for his first one!
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4:34:51 (S: 30:40 T1: 2:34B: 2:27:58 T2: 1:29 R: 1:32.12)