As I mentioned in last week's post about the Chicago triathlon, I only recently found out that I would be getting a spot in Hy-Vee. After asking around at the pool where I swim in the summer (Scott Carpenter; 50LCM), I found out that the reason I was given a spot was that Tim O'Donnell had decided not to race and instead to focus on 70.3 worlds (which is this coming weekend) and then Kona which is in about 5 weeks. So, going into the race, I was the 30th qualifier... 30th of 30.
I flew in Friday with a whole posse of pro triathletes. Seems we all had the same idea for flights--the Bennetts, Bevan Docherty, Matt Reed, Leanda Cave, Damian Hill, Michael Fox, Lisa Marangon, Jeannie Seymour, and a bevy of others who I dont even know their names (but who looked really fit and hipster at the same time coupled with foreign accents = dead giveaway).
We got to Des Moines uneventfully and packed a shuttle bus full to get to the race hotel. I must say, Hy-Vee does a fantastic job putting on a professional race. Each pro was given a suite in the downtown convention hotel, the Embassy Suites for 3 nights. I walked into my room to a gift basket full of random goodies and a greater Des Moines gift certificate to spend wherever I wanted. After a quick run and shower I was off to the pro meeting at 5pm.
Again, it was a pretty cool thing to head into the pro meeting and see just about every famous pro triathlete who ever existed. Even some of the legends of triathlon were there (I guess to watch?). I sat behind Lisa Norden, and obviously everyone was scouting out Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez. I wanted to ask for autographs, but figured I better race them first.
Later my parents arrived and we went out for some mexican food for dinner followed by an early night to bed. Saturday was the usual drill with a 30min run and a 30min bike ride to check out the course. With school starting this week, I have been swamped with work for the class I am TAing for as well as reading for this awesome law class (Energy Law and Regulation) that I am taking just for fun. On top of that my research is going really well, and I am trying to keep it rolling along too! SO, I spent most of the rest of the day Saturday working hard to get as much work finished as I could.
While I worked my parents rented some bikes and spent the day exploring Des Moines! That night, we went out for some pasta and ran into Adam Webber (the amateur who beat me by about 10 seconds in the elite wave in 2011) and chatted for a bit about the race and his chances of taking home another Mini. After that it was another night of about 9-10 hrs sleep. I must say, with these late races, you really can get a lot of sleep in on the weekends. Its been great for catching up. I set my alarm for 8:30 so I could walk downstairs to the front of our hotel and watch the Elite Amateur go by at mile 5.5 to the finish. Dan Hedgecock was crushing the field with Adam webber in Second and my boy Drew Scott in 3rd--the AG nats winner Brian Duffy was in 6th. Its always a tough race and I know the boys duked it out hard on the bike. It was pretty thrilling to watch the race that I would have been in only a year ago. It got my HR pumping.
Now, the pro race wasnt until 4:30pm so I had quite some time to waste (not to mention eating right!). I went to breakfast and had some oatmeal and toast while my friend Travis Johnston (also in the pro field) cranked down an omelet! Whatever works.
Getting eating right for a normal morning race isnt too tough, you just wake up and eat the standard PB banana and bread and are good to go. But when you have to make it to dinner time to race (yes I sometimes eat the geriatrics dinner at 4:30) it can be a bit tough. Fortunately, I was tapered well enough that I wasnt really to hungry and made it through the day ok.
I watched a bit of the womens race to get an idea of the course and then set off to T1. It was a scorcher for sure. It had been overcast all morning for the amateur race, but the sun came out at about 11am and it heated up quickly! The race was done so professionally--all the ITU setup with carpets and barriers. I went into T1 to rack my bike between (who else) Alistair Brownlee and Bevan Docherty. Javier Gomez was close by as well. Whew, what a day in store...
I did a short run warm up (not that I needed warming) and then hopped in the water with the others to feel out the course. At 4:10 we needed to be back in the athlete tent for the special introductions. It was quite a sight looking around at all of the best triathletes on the olympic distance circuit all in one tent. I didnt really feel intimidated; honestly, it was like I was only there to spectate. Sort of a metaphysical out of body experience--like I was a random water bottle that had been placed in the tent equipped with only a preschool level of rational: "huh. this is cool. how did I get in here again?" "Oh, it was nice of them to supply gatorade for everyone" "wow, is that Alistair Brownlee right there?" "hmm, that lake was rather slimy" "I wonder why that table is designed that way, it would be sturdier this way" --that was what was basically going through my mind.
Next, the race introduced each of us behind a local kid who carried our country flag. It was pretty awesome getting announced and walking down the gangplank. The race directors were playing music that made it sound like a march to the guillotine. I waved high to everyone and chatted with my flag carrier dude. I was really just thinking about what a nice job Hy-Vee did with all the festivities. I wasnt really nervous at all. "This is what it looks like on TV, cool." "This blue matting stuff is really squishy!"
The swim started pretty normally and I must say, what I like about racing in the pro field is that everyone knows what they are doing. Theres no overzealous idiot who pushes his way to the front sprints a 100 and then tanks like an anvil right in front of you. Everyone knows their pace and if they go out hard its because they can hold it. I dove in and just felt out my Jane Scott pace. (for those of you who know Jane, she is one of the main swim coaches at Scott Carpenter pool; all of her sets are basically lactate threshold for 1hr straight...). So, I was comfortably at LT. At the end of lap 1 I was on the back of a group and came out of the water just with them. I sprinted around as fast as I could to stay with and just unloaded on the dive--knocked the wind out of me a bit but I managed to stay with the group (barely tailing off at the end) and go into T1 as the 29th out of 30 swimmer but only 2min down to the leaders. Not too bad really considering how good of swimmers those guys are. My Xterra skinsuit helped too I think, I didnt wear it last week in Chicago but I think it helped. More than anything it pulls me in toight plus it is super water wicking.
I hopped on the bike and already there were guys in front of me scattered over the road. I put down the hammer from the start and thus began the race. I had lots of friends and 2 parents around the bike course which was 4 laps so I got to see them all multiple times. After a lap I had made a few places and after another I had passed a few more. I was crankin hard but it was weird because I was just going passed people pretty consistently. "Wow, I feel like I passed quite a few guys" "Hmm, that is a real nice bike he is riding" "Was that Chris McCormack?"
After 3 laps I had noticed that the lead pack (of about 10 fast swimmers who had stuck in a group for the bike) were not gaining any time on me. "Wow, I guess I am doing ok." I hopped off and immediately I knew it was a hot one. I had cooked it pretty good on that ride and I knew it was going to be a tough run. All I kept thinking about was the Teddy Roosevelt quotation I had put above my desk for the last week--The man in the arena. "Oh well I thought, it is better to have risked all in a worthy cause than to have sat idle." "If I blow up, it will have been worth it." As my Chicago homestay always said "they cant take my birthday away."
As it turns out, I just kept an even pace on the run and no one was passing me. It was brutally hot by now and everyone was suffering from the threshold pacing. I knew my run pace was nothing special, but I also could tell my heart rate was pretty jacked and that to push a little harder would be a bad idea. So, I just cruised along and lap after lap thought about the friends I had on the course, a couple random scenes from James Bond movies and one of the law cases I had just read. There was a huge hill leading up to the finish line which we had to do 4 times (once each lap) and by the last lap still no one had passed me so I pushed a little more to crank it out and crossed the line with a huge smile. I knew it was a good race! I was cooked. I fell to the ground in a heap.
Afterwards I congratulated some of the other pros, said hi to my CU teammates who were there cheering and gathered everything up and headed back to the hotel. I even got asked for a few autographs and pictures! (they must have confused me with someone else).
And in spite of the brutal race it was a beautiful night in Des Moines. Its really a very pretty city. I didnt mention but we took a tour of the capital on Saturday--it is a magnificent building!
Maybe next year they will spell my name right....
It was already 8pm and I packed my bike and as much stuff as I could before heading out to dinner. Talk about gastrointestinal calamity. I was a wreck. It took about 30min and an ice cream sandwich to clear me up enough to get to the restaurant, but it was worth it for a BBQ pizza.
The flight back on Monday was again loaded with superstars and somehow I again lucked into a ride home with the Bennetts. What wonderful people. Again, it is just a pleasure to know them. Triathlon aside, they are just sweet-hearted fun people.
What a whirlwind weekend. Its been a great season so far and I couldnt do it without the support from my team Off The Front Multisport and the title sponsor Chobani Yogurt. Thanks too to Rudy Project, Endurance Shield Sunscreen (which I gobbed on before the race) and Xterra Wetsuits.
I am crushed with school for the next milenium but am racing Galveston 5150 on September 23 and the Los Angeles Triathlon on September 30th. Until then,
Rudy
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