Its always strange when your first race of the season is a race in which you really want to do well. That was the case last weekend as I headed down to Tuscaloosa, AL with 7 others from the University of Virginia for USAT’s Collegiate National Championship.

The few days prior to the race were rather uneventful and the morning of I was feeling pretty good. After waking up at 4AM for the 7AM start time, I had my usual peanut butter and banana bagel with honey and had some coffee. We made our way to the race site without incident and warmup was rather uneventful. Pretty soon, I was in the water awaiting the start, ready to rock and roll.

The start was strange as no one in the pack really heard the gun go off but all of the sudden a couple people on kayaks shouted, “GO” and we were off. As you can imagine, starting with 140 other testosterone laden college aged males is not the most serene thing in the world. Luckily though I had spent a winter working on my swimming so I was only in the washing machine for a few minutes. Once I broke free of the whirlpool, I was right on someone’s feet, feeling good. Its hard to tell where you are in the swim, but about halfway through I realized I was in the first group which I was stoked about since a number of the competitors race ITU and are therefore fast swimmers. A little later I noticed someone moving to my right and I jumped on his feet, still keeping it under control. Pretty soon, I was coming out of the water in 17:11 and was informed I was in 5th place which was awesome. This was my first swim in my new Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit and I have to say I was very impressed. It felt awesome to have a second skin as opposed to having to pull some rubber around in the water. It was definitely a “breakthrough” swim and at this point I was feeling great about the race, as I was right up front and in position to contend for the victory.

After a mediocre transition, it was off on the bike. At the start of the bike though, my fortunes changed as I just didn’t have it. I knew the guys I was coming out of the water with and I thought I should’ve been able to stay with them but for whatever reason it just wasn’t happening. A couple other people came by me who I also thought I should’ve been able to stay with but once again, no dice. Finally I settled in a bit and stopped the bleeding, letting only one other guy pass me. Note to self: spend more than a week and a half on a new bike before using it in an ‘A’ race. Coming into the finish of the bike I was a bit disappointed but happy to be off the bike and onto the run.
Starting the run, I was informed I was in 11th at which point I decided I should still be able to pass enough people to finish in the top 5 and earn an award (they were given 5 deep). I felt fine except for the fact that I couldn’t feel my feet! The air temperature wasn’t that bad but the cold water combined with biking led to the numbness. Regardless of that, I got into a good rhythm, running around 5:18s, and started picking people off. Even with a couple of big hills I maintained a good grove and finished up with a 5:09 last mile which brought me to the line at 1:53:26, good enough for 5th place.

Overall it was bittersweet. It was my highest finish at Collegiate Nationals and I had a great swim and run. However, I was only 1 min 20 sec off first place and I really felt that I could’ve had a better bike. Oh well, that’s racing.

Who cares about the race though when the awards banquet and after party are tons of fun. In fact, I even wore a bowtie for the occasion as a tribute the undergraduates here at UVa who feel the need to dress inappropriately for football games.