Ironman Chattanooga

Wow...what a year!  I need to break this down into a couple sections.  First let me start with the lead up to Choo.

The Lead Up

This year has been a tough one for my wife and I.  We have been trying to have children for over a year and a half.  The frustration and stress that is involved in something out of your control can be intense.  We all like control.  Living this has taught us both just how much we do.  Most people do not understand the stress of living this day in and day out.  The lows are low.  It is not something we talk about much at all.  I cannot count the times we are asked "When are you having kids?  Those moments you want to punch someone in the face.  I only preface the race report with this to explain how amazing my wife is. Triathlon is my escape.  It is my stress relief and reality escape.  While going through this, my wife managed to go above and beyond daily to support my "escape".  She is the most amazing, Grace centered, women in the world.  SHE IS RIDICULOUS!   Now that the weird, uncomfortable part is over, on to the triathlon talk.....

I came into this year with 7 years in the sport but no formal training.  I was to the point where I was no longer worried about finishing an Ironman or even having a descent time.  I wanted something more.  I had 5 under my belt but was stuck.  After a chat with my amazingly supportive wife, I began the process of finding a coach.  After many conversations and interviews, I found what I felt was the perfect match.  Matthew Rose at Dynamo Multisport was it.  His coaching philosophy and values seemed to mesh with me well.  I started with him January 1 and so it began.....

It was a whole new world.  I quickly realized that I knew absolutely nothing about the sport of Triathlon....NOTHING!  I followed the plan and trusted his knowledge.  It was amazing the growth I had in such a short period of time.  I am the least athletic person around the sport!  There are some amazing people in this crazy sport.  Many of these crazies are coached by Dynamo Multisport and/or are on the All3Sports team with me.  I am willing to work though and that is something I did this year.  I managed to complete 100% of the workouts given to me by Matthew from January 1 to Race-day.  It was good for me to have a formal plan daily!  My wife, friends, and family put up with a lot to make this happen!

Throughout the year, I did a good amount of races varying in distance.  I did 3 Sprints, 1 Olympic, and 2 70.3s.  I had some consistent races in the shorter distances during the Tri the Park Series.  I was surprised considering my focus on distance, but the knowledge I was gaining from Matthew was carrying over.  I managed to win the overall series for Tri the Parks.  I had a tough race at the Rev3 Knoxville Half. My bike was off and the run was horrible.  It was again a nutrition issue and I really began to work to dial that in.  I dialed in the nutrition and had a good test run at Lake Logan Half.  That was my best race execution in triathlon ever and I pulled out 2nd overall behind the one and only George Darden.  This gave me some confidence as the main event approached.

The last few weeks before taper included a training camp on course and some long long Saturdays.  I learned a lot from the coaches and other athletes in these sessions.  Taper came and went and before I knew it, I was headed up to Chattanooga to do the thing.

THE WEEKEND

I got up to Chattanooga on Thursday afternoon to avoid the congestion.  I got checked in nice and early and did a lot of laying around.  Friday was more of the same.  I had some great dinners with friends and  got to see some familiar faces that I had not seen in years!  Each day I had some light workouts to keep things moving.  Saturday I got everything checked in early and spent the entire day watching football.  I was surprisingly calm.  The race was different than any other full I had done.  I had a very specific plan and had done the work.  Now all I had to do was execute.  That should be the easy part....

RACE DAY

I was up early, 3am, and made my normal breakfast.  I made it down to transition at 4:30am with a ride from my Dynamo Crew!  After loading my bike and bags with nutrition, I was off to the swim start.  During the transition drop off we were told it was NON-Wetsuit!  Wahoo!  I was happy about this.  It was a time trial start and I was up near the front with a friend Katrina.  Almost go time!

Swim

Within 10 minutes of the gun, I was jumping off the dock into the Tennessee river!  Go time!  I usually did no swimming leading up to race day and took advantage of my swimming background.  This year I had swam 2 days a week and had a good feel for the water.  THE SWIM WAS CRAZY FAST!  Before I knew it, I was catching and passing some of the pro field.  The plan was to push my pace and catching people pushed me to push even harder.  Before I knew it, I was done!  43:25!  I did not waste much time in T1 and rushed onto the bike.                                                                                                                        

Katrina and I at the Swim Start

Headed into T1

Bike

The bike was interesting.  I knew the course well and knew it would be quick even though it was 116 miles.  The plan was steady.  It was full of rollers and there were plenty of chances to spike my power.  I wanted to avoid this!  It was a lonely ride for me.  Because of my swim, I was way ahead of the age groupers but behind the fast pros....no mans land.  I hardly saw another rider for the first 50 miles.  The second loop there were more people.  I was rounded up by a few large groups halfway through the second loop.  Penalties were being given to many of these guys drafting like crazy.  I settled in behind them and controlled my power.  I maintained proper distance and kept my power even.  Sometimes this meant I passed the group and then got passed right back.  My nutrition went pretty well.  The weather was about perfect and I was very hydrated.  I wanted to get another 200 calories in than I did but all was good.  The bike portion went by very quick.  Looking back, I should have started in the back of the swim and taken advantage of working my way to the front.  The lonely first 50 miles was the difference in my bike split in comparison to others, I think.  Still, the bike was steady and I came off feeling fresh and ready to run!  Time in the bike - 5:23:12

Bike Start

Biking through Chickamauga

Saying Hi to the Wife :)

                                 

Run

Getting in the run zone

Starting Lap 2

Steady is the name of the game!  This was the portion that I usually had issues with.  Especially GI issues!  I had worked on this a lot over the year and was ready to go!  The miles clicked off and I was holding myself back.  Seeing Matthew on course around mile 3 and having him say, "BE PATIENT", "STEADY", was good for me.  I settled!  After making the first turn around mile 4.5 or so, I made my one and only bathroom stop.  It wasn't GI.  I just had to go.  I still managed a 8:30 that mile including the stop.  I settled back in and was passing people.  Through mile 12, all was to plan!  I was sipping 1/3 a Huma gel every mile and drinking water steadily.  As I started the second loop, the gels were not going well.  Dangit I thought!  I tried to get them down and it was not happening.  It was frustrating!  During training, I had handled them great!  Without calories, my HR dropped significantly and the pace followed.  I switch to coke to get something but could only ride that sugar wave so long.  Mile 21 was about as long as I could ride it!  The last 5.2 miles were rough.  I pushed though it and refused to walk. As I turned to head to the finishers shoot, Chris Nasser, a ridiculously good athlete in my age group, ran by.  He had started behind me and made up about 5 minutes.  I crossed the line in a daze.  3:40:47 Marathon and a total time of 9:53:07.  This was good enough for a 4th place in my age group.  I was about 11.5 minutes and 2 slots away from getting a slot to KONA.  I ended up in medical for awhile after pushing out the last 5 miles with no nutrition.

Lindsey, Me, and Katrina on the Podium

TOP 4 Males 25-29

I knew so many people doing this race!  I cannot name them all but everyone completed it and everyone had tremendous performances!  I love the triathlon family!

Reflections

I am extremely happy and frustrated with the results.  I got a PR my 55 minutes!  I had a goal to be under 10 hours and met it.  I know I had the training and ability to be a lot quicker.  This was a great learning experience.  A couple of major things I learned:
1) Start in the back/middle of a time trial swim.  Being in the front hurt my bike a lot more than it helped my swim.
2) Work on my run nutrition more.  I have got to get this dialed in to get to the next level.
3) I have a lot to work on in terms of technique.  I need to work on my bike and run form.  There is so much to learn.  That is why I love this sport!  There is always so much to learn and I have an amazing coach to help make that happen.
4) The amount of support I have is ridiculous.  My wife blows my mind daily with her constant sacrifice.  Seeing her on course in all my races is what it is all about.  My parents are amazing.  The spent all day on course cheering and then had to drive all the way back to make it to work.  My friends are amazing!  I had many on site that day and hundreds following me.  Thinking of all of you guys and gals is what pushed me through those last 5 miles.

The woman of my dreams and biggest supporter 

I am doing Beach 2 Battleship Full October 25th and will use it as an opportunity to work on nutrition again!  Next big race is in July, at Ironman Lake Placid with the BIG BOYS in 30-34!