Day 23, but who is counting.
I’m living in the moment.
Swimming a bunch, not too far, not too fast, but moving around. In the build to Kona, I lost track of doing the ‘little stuff’ that can make a difference, so I’m back on that train. The Gaiam Train.
The cats, JuJuBee and Sister, love it when I do the BodyBand workout.
It’s great — strength without the bulk.
Thanks to Timex management and Teammates for helping make this season so fun and rewarding. Your support and friendship is amazing. Thank you, thank you.
And now for my my final race report of the 2008 season….
In a race where cheating was embraced by many, I made a personal pact with myself that I was going to hold on to my integrity and race as fairly as I could. The Clearwater 70.3 World Championships has, over the past 3 years of its short history, acquired the reputation of a draft pack opportunity race. It also has the reputation of being a very flat and fast race, the perfect opportunity for a personal PR.
After being frustrated by pack riding in my last event, I knew I could not let this frustration ruin another race. And besides, this was the last race of a very long season and I was ready to end it on a high note.
My wave went off at 7:20am, just 35 minutes after the first Pro wave. I didn’t even warm-up, I just swung my arms around to loosen up the shoulders, splashed my face a minute before the start, and when the gun went off I was on my way. It was a beach start, of which I usually don’t care for as these short legs can’t seem to get over the water very well, but to my surprise, I was out in front after a little running and a few dolphin dives. Where were all the fast swimmers? Probably all in a line right behind me, I assumed. I felt good on the swim, got used to the saltwater taste in my mouth and didn’t see any jellyfish or sharks. A good start to the day. Some waves and current pushed us toward Pier 60 (north) so I was continually correcting and sighting pretty frequently. It was a straight shot out and back, and by the time I was heading back to shore I was mixing in with the stragglers from the waves ahead of me. I swam in like a beached whale and was up, out of the water, and leading my age group. After a quick rinse in the freshwater showers, a strip of my Blueseventy by the wetsuit peelers, and I was into transition. Wow, what service in the changing tents. Thanks volunteer ladies! I grabbed black beauty (my trusty Trek) and we were off on our 56 mile journey.
I didn’t pre-ride the course, but had studied the maps so I knew what directions we were headed. I knew that the race for my age group would be coming behind me and it was only a matter of time. I didn’t get passed by anyone for the first 8 or so miles, and then was passed by three girls over the next few miles. They were riding strong and this early in the race, I would have been stupid to try to hang with them, so they rode off out of sight. I went through 25 miles in possibly my fastest 40K pace and then just hoping that I hadn’t gone out too hard. Shortly after mile 25 a pack of maybe 20 riders started coming by me one by one. After the first 5 wheel to wheel, I looked back to find a whole train of men and women and I realized that this was my race, these are the girls that will be winning awards in my age group… and I let them go. This was the first of probably 5 or 6 packs of riders that would pass me over the next 30 miles and each time they would start coming by, I would sit up, stop pedaling, hear my free wheel spin, and wait till they all went by before resuming my own race. I started to get frustrated several times, and each time, I reminded myself that I was going to have a PR here today and I wasn’t going to have an * next to my time saying “ *note: cheated”. So, as much as I could, I rode my own race and am proud of that.
Throughout the ride I got to see several of my Timex teammates and other triathlon friends as they zoomed by. That always helped keep me motivated and focused. By 45 miles I was getting pretty tired of being in the saddle and took every little incline as an opportunity to stand. Training in Wisconsin, in the hills of the countryside, I rarely stay in my aero position for more than a few miles at a time. So asking my body to settle in for 55 of the 56 miles was a lot to ask. I climbed over the final bridge and the crowds of spectators reappeared. It was great to be done and looking forward to a solid run.
I was off the bike, handed it over to the volunteers (such service!) grabbed my gear bag and into the women’s changing tent. Again, the ladies there were great and put sunscreen on my shoulders as I slipped into my running shoes and I was off. I felt surprisingly good and was running solid, clicking the lap split on my Timex to check my pace. Right on target. I took water and a sponge at every aid station to stay hydrated and cool, it was working. I rounded the 180 after my first lap and headed back out for round two. Checking my overall time, I knew that I was having a great day and could certainly post a PR, even if I didn’t maintain my pace. I took a gel at 8 miles, felt like mile 9 lasted forever until realizing that I just missed the 10mile sign, and then checked my time again at the 11 mile mark. I was doing the math, and if I could hang on, I could not only meet my goal of going in the 4:40s, but in fact, I could break 4:40. Holy crap! Those last 2 miles hurt pretty bad and I was pushing as hard as I could. As I passed mile 12 I said a prayer, thanking God for the opportunity to be out there, competing with the best in such a beautiful place, and for the ability to push my body to the limit. I came through the final stretch, checked my watch one more time and knew that I would make it under 4:40, I still couldn’t believe it. I smiled at the line, then nearly collapsed. I had just put forth one of my best competitive efforts, the perfect culmination to a long and fulfilling triathlon season.
In the end, it didn’t matter what place I took. As a competitor, we always care about our place to some extent, however, today, it was about personal achievement and I far exceeded my personal goals. So really, I could have come in 10th or 30th and I would still feel like I had won… because, in my mind, I did.
Total time: 4:39:12, 10th 30-34 age group
On behalf of the entire Timex Team, I want to thank Tristan, Doug, Keith and everyone at Timex Corporate and Team Sports for an amazing 2008 season. None of us would have been able to accomplish the things we did without all your hard work and support. We know that you have to deal with our insane amounts of emails, our silly bike specifications, the oddballs of the team (Bruce, Sharpie, Ross, Tingle, hmmm…everyone) and we truly do appreciate all of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You guys seriously are the BEST :)
I would like to start by thanking the Timex team, our multisport sponsors and my family for another exceptionally fun year. It is truly a privilege to be able to participate in this sport.
Race Report:
Alarm goes off at 5am and Timex Teammates Bruce, Ian, and I are down in the kitchen preparing our morning meals. I always try to keep it simple race morning. I have a bagel with peanut butter and banana with a cup of coffee. I digest a bit and follow it up with another bagel and egg sandwich. We all head down to transition @ 5.50am as transition is due to close @ 6.30. My wave does not go off until 7.30 and Bruce has us staying in a sweet condo 5 minutes from transition, so I walk back to the condo and try to relax for a bit. At 6.45 I start getting a little nervous and decide to get the wetsuit on and walk over to the race start. As I hit the beach, I hear the announcer stating that Andy Potts is in the lead coming out of the water and it looks like a record, nice. I head towards the starting corral and watch a couple of waves go off. The water is calm and the 5 minute wave starts appear to have people pretty spread out on the swim course.
My wave is brought down to the start line a couple of minutes early and I try to get a good spot in the middle with my own space. Moments later the gun goes off and I find my dolphin dives a little inadequate as my goggles start to fill with water. I flick them open and readjust quickly, then it’s time to start swimming and I find myself in 2nd place in my wave. It’s a pleasant surprise. The lead guy pulls away pretty convincingly, so I focus on my stroke and rhythm. Someone is right on my feet and I spend the rest of the swim getting my feet slapped, oh well that’s racing. As I close in on the swim exit, I do a quick mental recap of what I want my T2 to be like. I’m out of the water and I hit my split in 26.51, a new PR. The wetsuit strippers have me out of my Blueseventy in no time. The rest of my transition is quick and steady and I’m out onto the bike.
> Once I start the bike, I focus on trying to settle in and try not to go out to hard. My Timex heart rate monitor and my CycleOps power tap are so useful in helping me to dial in. I cannot emphasize enough how these tools help to hold the adrenaline back during the early miles, when I feel really good. I spend the first 26 miles riding steady and passing the occasional athlete. The spacing of waves appears to have broken things up well. Then a group of 6 rides up along side. I go thru a process of riding away, only to get swallowed up again for the next 5 miles, which gets a bit frustrating. As we approach mile 31, I see teammate Cindi Bannick and have a quick couple of exchanges about my frustrating experience and she tells me a group of girls just rolled past her. Right after that there’s an aid station. As we get past the aid station, an official rolls up and nails one of the guys, yes. I’m able to get open road and ride by myself until mile 46, when 3 guys come rolling by. One of them is pretty strong and he rides thru and away, the other two drop off the pace pretty quickly and I’m fortunate enough to be able to roll the rest of the way and into T2, solo. As I finish the bike, I feel pretty strong and I’m psyched that I’ve been able to consume almost all of my calories on the bike. My bike split: 2.11.34
> I’m definitely looking forward to the run and after almost running back to my bike spot (oops), I adjust to move through the tent and out onto the run. I hit mile 1 in 5.44, probably a bit to fast, but I feel good and I’m not working too hard, yet. I see my coach on the side of the road and he yells a couple of queues to focus on, head down, arms pumping, and quick cadence. The causeway comes during mile 2 and is the only hill on the course. With an out and back two loops run, we get the causeway four times, not bad until #4. I try to stay steady while moving over it. My main focus is not to redline. I manage a decent pace over the top and let gravity take me down the other side and through aid station #2. About 100 meters later a guy in blue goes bombing by me like I’m standing still. At first I tell myself it must be a pro, but then I notice that there’s no bike with him. I can’t figure out what age group he’s in, as they only numbered our arms and his bib is on his front. So I settle in and try to hold a 20-meter gap behind, without pushing into the redone. About a mile later, I run by a friend of mine from Florida and he yells at me that there’s one guy from my age group in front of me and it’s the guy in blue. I ask him the guy’s name and I could’ve sworn it started with a B. I’m thinking ok, last names A-L (numbers 654-754) started 5 minutes in front, so I should be good. As I run a little further, it starts to set in that my buddy could have said the last name with a V not a B. We hit a short out and back turnaround at mile 3.5 where the first timing mats are. As the guy in blue is running by, I realize it must have been a V as his number is 830sh. Oh boy. So I keep my pace up and tell myself anything can happen during a race. I’ve managed to stay about 20-30 meters behind up until this point. About a half-mile later, all of a sudden the guy stops and stretches in the middle of the road. My eyes light up. I close the gap as he starts running again and I’m on his shoulder as we start the climb back over the causeway (#2). I feel good, but I decide to try and pace up to the top. I sit on his shoulder (huffing and puffing) until we get to the top. Then he pulls off to the side (probably sick of hearing me breathe). I put in a little surge and take the lead, but it’s a be careful what you wish for scenario, because now I’m in the lead and running scared. The rest of the run is a mental struggle and I just try to keep some form and stay positive thru the low moments. At the 10 mile point I see the guy in blue, still relatively close. Then about 100 meters behind him I see Dave Slavinski, who I know can run 5.30-5.45 pace. I think about how much that last 5k is going to hurt and just try to keep the cadence high. I manage to hold it to the line, but it hurt REALLY badly. I crossed the line with a 1.20.04 run split, which was a very hard PR and an overall time of 4.02.48.
> Results: 1st M35-39/14th amateur/47th overall
> P.S. One year ago, at the post race party in Clearwater, my friend and teammate Rachel Ross introduced me to coach and partner of Lifesport Coaching. I had self-coached for 5 years and I was looking for a coach that could deal with my limited training time (12 hours weekly average) and could help to push me to another level. One year later, I am absolutely thrilled that Paul Regensburg agreed to coach me. I have learned a ton and have stayed relatively fresh throughout the year. Thank you Paul.
With absolutely no preparation for this race, the only thing I could do on race day was go into it with a positive attitude and do the best I could …with a smile of course. I did just that and couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome.
The Swim – Sub 30min…whoooaaaaa! I have been swimming like a fish in the pool recently and just haven’t been able to translate it to open water, but after Maui and this race, I’m pretty sure it’s finally starting to click. I know I am capable of producing an even faster time (as I already have in the pool), but this is a great starting point.
The Bike – Considering this was the first time I had been on this thing since July, I really couldn’t have any expectations. I tried to convince Timex to let me race the mountain bike with slicks, but that just wasn’t going to cut it! The TT bike is a 100% different setup than my mountain bike and uses completely different muscles. It was quite awkward at first, but I finally started getting the hang of it about 10 miles in and feeling really fast and strong. Well that was until a pack of about 45 people came zipping by me going 30mph with about half my competition sitting in. Hmmmm…yeah, thought about jumping in, but honestly, that’s not my style and I’d rather not play that game. After getting settled back into my position and watching the group in front disappear like I was standing still, another giant pack came buzzing by me almost running me off the road. Seriously, they came right through and split on my right and left then pretty much just cut me off when they got in front of me. Yes, another group of girls were nicely tucked in there too. I’m really not bitter, just annoyed…I promise. My bike split was a good 10-15min off all the girls who were in front of me, but I’m totally cool with that.
The Run – 13.1 miles off the bike? Are you serious? I can’t even tell you the last time I ran 90min, much less off the bike! Anyway, I surprisingly felt amazing and was able to click off the miles effortlessly and almost felt like I was floating. At about mile 10 I was ready for it to be over as I was getting really hungry so I just went faster and actually negative split the last 5K and was able to easily sprint to the finish with the same smile that I started the race with :) I threw in the pic above because it shows my girl Jax killing it out there and the guy (in black) who I ran with the entire time.
The Finish – Again, smiles all around. I was so excited to be done with the race and start partying. This was finally the end of an amazing season of racing, learning and kicking butt and even though I didn’t have the race I was capable of in Clearwater, I am learning that not every race can be that perfect race. I’m really glad I decided to stick it out and go out there, not only to see all of my amazing teammates, but to be there for JZ (the big sis I never had) to win the entire event!
