Rio Salado Race Report

Some ONE boys heading out for some fun!

 After seeing what happened in St George and also sharing the weekend with IM Australia and Wildflower, I hardly feel like what happened here in Tempe this past Saturday was a "race."  But it was, so here's my race report for this local Olympic Triathlon...swam in a man made lake without a ripple, a bike course that's largest hill is an overpass, and a run that is fairly pancake flat as well.  Ho-hum to the 40 mph winds in St George (not to mention the climbs...), and the challenge that Wildflower presents to the competitor--"Mr Toad's Wild Ride"-as I have nicknamed that course for years (I did the long course 6 times, but haven't been out there since 1997).  I am humbled by my 40-44 stud friends.... Bryan Dunn's AG win at St George, and Ritch Viola's AG win at Wildflower....I need to find some slower 40-44 friends to make me feel faster.  Add coach Chris into this mix (along with all you other guys....you know who you are ;)   So...on to the RR, I have to give Rio Salado Olympic some justice!!!

With 2 weeks to go to IM Texas, I was happy to have this race fall onto the calendar more or less as a test and a chance to blow off some steam before the Texas race completely takes over every thought in my head.  It almost is a nice distraction, maybe even a psychological stimulant, to have this "in the way" of the race I've been focused on for 14+ weeks.  The week prior to this race was anything but normal...the monday prior I was visited by "Mr Cold," not to mention the allergies that were kicked into full gear due to the Palo Verde trees dropping millions of little yellow flowers all over the valley.  Claritin D and Mucinex were both called upon to alleviate the symptoms, but the damage was done, and I was put on a "48 hour hold" from training.  24 hours in, I felt fat, out of shape, and thought I had lost all of my fitness (of course all not true ;-)...I did get to watch "We Bought a Zoo" with the family---such a great night to let me know what life will be like post-IM, not to mention that movie is one of the best I have seen in a LONG time...I even got a little teary!  So the week went on, Chris gave me the "go"  to race on friday, so I registered last minute...but I was excited to race finally!

I had a great dinner friday night with the Dean's at Gordon Biersch (yes, I even ate the garlic fries...I needed as much salt as possible!), then it was home to get the gear in order.  This "test run" for IM Texas had a few new toys in the game...a new aero helmet from Airpark (Bell Javelin Helmet), new race kit from TYR (TYR Carbon Line), and new running shoes from Nike (Nike Zoom Elites).  To review these all together:  they are all amazing products---the helmet is very aero, and very comfortable (the shield is the way to go on an aero helmet, and theres is perfect).  I can't quite say why I like the TYR kit so much---the material is truly space age, comfortable, and does everything it should do and nothing it shouldn't.  The Nike's were better than I thought they would be as well----better for me compared to the Lunaracer+'s I wore last year (a bit more of a shoe, well worth the ounce or two as I approach 40 ;-)  I'm not one to just say "everything is great," but with these 3 changes, I will not be going back to something I liked more, because, well, I like these more ;-)

For breakfast race morning, I had my usual...oats, flax seed, scoop of Ultragen, almond milk.  Took my Optygen HP, MultiV, Salt Stick Tab (just one).   I slept great (I sleep in Fia's bed on race nights...kind of a good ritual for sleep if you know what I mean when you have 2 little ones at home ;-)  Off to TTL, I sipped on a 24oz bottle of EFS...I wanted to make sure all systems were topped off as I knew it would be hot.  I hit transition, said hi to my racing buddy for the day (Stephen Stromberg---racked together, rode together, ran together ;-).   Then it was off to my warm up routine, which serves the purpose to simply let key heart know what I am going to put it through on race day.  I head up to the bridge, do pickups across and back, and I'm ready to go.  A few swigs of Liquid Shot Kona Mocha (there is NOT a better tasting gel out there...well, maybe Peanut Butter GU...okay, it's a tie!)(EFS by First Endurance), half a Clif Bar--I felt well fueled with 30 minutes to "go" time.  Also, in went the 3 Pre-Race Capsules---yup, the First Endurance products are all over the place in my triathlon life ;-) Surprisingly, they announced that the race was WETSUIT LEGAL...I dunno about that, but I went with it, but should have gone speedsuit--it was warm.  Went through a good warmup for the swim muscles, and I felt pretty decent about racing while being sick all week. After a slight delay for race course issues, it was time to jump in...

My race strategy was to use the Wave Start to my advantage.  0-39 were in Wave 1, starting 3 minutes in front of my wave (40+).  My goal was to hammer the swim to close their 3 minute "lead" and allowing me to see the cushion versus having to run from behind.  Luckily, it worked, and I felt like I had a good feeling about where I was placed the entire race, and could gauge my effort somewhat to work with the gap and hold my position.  BUT it would be nicer if we had an Elite wave where we would all be on the same time...just my honest opinion.  At Nathan's Olympic in the fall they reverse it...35+ is wave #1...I can't have that working for me all the time I guess..

I'm trying to cheat...I'm the front most guy on the right side, white goggles.

yup, must have cheated...I'm in the lead 5 yards in.  I'm glad I didn't line up in the
middle, but look at the chaos in the back!!!

 

I got my clear water, but a bumpy road was ahead..

Swim:  I could tell on the jump-in that Speed Suit was the right call...oh well, too late now.  I decided to line up inside front versus my normal outside front spot---mistake number one.  The gun goes off, it's clear sailing, but only for what seems like 200 yards.  I had another "blue cap" to my right (must have started outside!!!), and we were pacing together well, but all of the sudden I was in a traffic jam, and watched the blue cap head outside along the shoulder of the jam into clear water while I proceeded to "bob and weave" the wave that started 3 minutes prior.  As I hit the traffic, I watched that blue cap head off into the Wave 2 swim lead...arg!!! Back to my bad choice, it wasn't without incident, but I managed to find a way through the maze relatively untouched (but had to use my head up drill to find a route every third stroke), except for the one poor guy that got my hand crunched onto the top of his head at the turn (sorry buddy...there was room for 2 swimmers but there was 3 of us...).  The buoys were flying by, but at the turnaround I started to get overheated---the lats were melting!   I learned my lesson and stayed wide after the turn, got to the final turn buoy, and started my "land prep" kicking harder to get some blood into my legs...I couldn't wait to get my wetsuit off.

                                       

Out of the water---reaching for the zipper pull when it's
right there in front of me ;-)

Brian, eventual winner, and me 5 seconds back in the red...
almost caught him from 3 minutes back on the swim

I look pissed ;-)

T1:  I think I've simplified my transitions over the years to the point that, well it is this:  wetsuit off, helmet on, grab bike, and GO!  The built in visor saves a second or two, and everything else I have accounted for in various ways...like tying rubber bands to the straps on my shoes for a flying mount...works like a charm for these short races.

The new helmet and kit are sweet!

Bike:  Chris didn't need to tell me much for this race:  it is simply "hammer the entire race."  So, I hammered the entire race, but maybe minus 5% for self preservation.  I just kept looking at the watts, and they were high, but it felt good.  If you don't know this bike course (I think I could do it in my sleep now), it is full of turns (its 2 loops), including 4 u-turns.  Not exactly a course that lets you settle in and create a good rhythm.  It felt a bit forced the first loop, but I was having fun seeing that I was in perfect, if not better than perfect position.  I had passed most of the only wave that started before me in the water, and I was happy to see that I was ahead of those I considered race favorites, although I needed maybe 100 more yards to catch Brian Folts, as I exited the water 5 seconds behind him.  Once on the bike, he was gone---but Josh Terwoord (who I thought was the guy to beat along with Folts) to my surprise, was behind me, so I had 3+ minutes of cushion if I could just stay near him on the bike.  Josh and Stephen caught me midway through the 2nd lap, and I just hung off the back of this group ...which gave me a chance to back off maybe 1-2%, and re-passing was just the stupidest thing I could have done.   We hit T2 lined up and now it was time to simply control the damage that Josh could do on the run, knowing that he is a superb runner (a sub 3 marathon at IMAZ in your first IM kind of gets everyones attention).   Nutrition/hydration wise, I tried something new, and it was perfect as well..I had one bottle of VitaCoco Coconut Water (diluted a bit with water and ice) on the bike....quenched my thirst, and kept me feeling hydrated.  I also took in a GU at the beginning of the second lap, and that was it for calories all race.

T2:  I fumbled at bit, bit again kept it simple:  helmet was off while running to the rack (and flying dismount = no shoes).  Shoes on, grab number belt, visor, glasses, and a 10 oz water bottle (which was key on this hot day!).

Run:  We kept our lineup intact, with Josh in front, Stephen in the middle, and me in the rear heading out onto the run.  Josh started to pull away, and I used just about everything I had to stay with Stephen.   That 10 oz water bottle allowed me to drink without slowing at all, and the cold water over the head at every aid station seemed to be the perfect plan.  Maybe I could have used a GU (I had one in my back pocket), but I was just too lazy to reach for it.  Onto lap 2, and I managed to catch up to Stephen, and that was all I had, so I ran with him.  at mile 4 I did a time check on Josh, who was 2 minutes ahead (did I already say he is a speedster???).  So I had 2.2 miles to go, and had 1 minute of cushion before Josh would pass me in the standings...but it was no time to let up.  I stuck with Stephen to the bridge, and then fell off his pace as we crossed the bridge---there was no way Josh was running :30/mile faster, and if he was, he earned it.  I was on fumes coming into the finish...I guess a good sign that I had left it all out there.  I was hoping for 2nd overall amateur, and I did it!  I was very stoked to have beaten a guy I feel is an amazing athlete, and is just the feeling I needed coming out of this IM "test" race.  I had no shot at the overall win, but I'm happy with my result and my approach more importantly---I'm not in my 20's anymore, using my wisdom is hopefully becoming my trump card ;-)

The Finish Chute..that flask was a GOOD call!  If I held it for 6.2 miles, it was treasured...

Me 2nd, Brian 1st, Josh 3rd...yeah they are youngins ;-)