70.3 World Championship/Summer Racing Story!

Reach for the Banner!

Fourteen Months ago, my body had no idea what it was in for over the coming months. The reason that time frame was so important: that is when I qualified for Chattanooga, In July of 2016. Long time to get ready, right?!

Two Ironmans and two 70.3 races later, I somehow made it alive to the weekend I had lost focus on so many times. I think when a race is so far off, it can be hard to stay focused on that one goal. It was probably a good thing I had races to keep my motivation high and the work, well, hard.

I'll start off with a few short snippets of a few of my summer races, that did not really meet my expectations.

Branden, Starky and I

That hurt so bad!

Racine 70.3 - I got to race with one of best friends in his first sorta half distance race. Since the swim was cancelled, for the second year in a row, it was basically a time trial. I managed a solid AG placing and Branden is off to Worlds in South Africa next year, awesome man. This run was incredibly painful as I had just started down the road of IT Band issues.

Nothin better than swimming in the lake!

Hoot Lake Sprint - Love this race because its at my cabin. And during vacation. Win-Win. Hard to say this was enjoyable because of my Knee pain, but my Mom, Sis and Branden were all there racing. That made it worth it. They all placed in their AG and that was so cool to see.

Young Life Olympic - Given the status of my knee still at this point, I knew coming into this race I was not going to do the whole thing. I considered it a strong Swim-Bike training day and was pleased with how that went. I was in 2nd place overall through the swim and bike, then I proceeded to run 1 mile out of T2 and turn around and call it. Such a hard thing to do, but there is a bigger picture this year. Props Branden, I think we know your distance.

My name. Exciting I know.

The 70.3 World Championship was going to be an experience. I had never flown with my bike before, never used Uber, and never raced a championship event. The trip down went pretty smoothly and my bike arrived, I got it built and went to the Athlete Briefing on Thursday night. This is where I truly got a grasp on how big of a deal this race was. There were thousands of people at the briefing

and Mr Paul Kaye was on stage. This was legit. Friday I rode most of the climb up Lookout Mountain just so I knew what I was in for. It was long and steep. Sweet. I still am dealing with my IT band, as it just does not go away! I also swam in the river on friday morning and the water was warm! I could not wait to get in.

Saturday I watched the womens race and saw the pro finish. Also watched my awesome teammates crush. Saw a couple others and cheered them on across the wooden bridge, Paige and Rachael were rocking. It was super cool to be able to watch everyone the day before I had to tackle the same course. I took my bike for one last check over and took my bags and bike to transition. Since my AG was second to last in the water, we were right next to the bike out/in. 

Race day got up at 5 a.m because my hotel was only a mile away and I did not start until 9 anyways! Got down to transition and watched the male pros take off and come out of the water, KA-NEW-TAY was flying. So glad I got to meet him after the race! 

Into the sun, rad.

I started at 9:15 and dove off the start dock and began the upstream swim. It was noticeable that the current was effecting every part of the swim. I exited the water slower than I would have liked, but I think everyone felt that way today! T1 was up a seriously steep bridge and my bike was all the way at the exit, so I had some work to do.

I am visible.

Rolling through town for about 5 miles was just to prepare you for the major climbing we had in front of us. I hit the bottom of lookout mountain and just sat in and started spinning, did my best to keep a steady rhythm and not get too over worked. I was not able to shift into the easiest gear in the back because on my ride up on friday I kept dropping my chain off the front chainring when I was in the easy gears. So I had to climb in the second easiest gear, which was noticeably more strenuous and my cadence was not super high. At least I was not on an 11-23 in the back! I crested the main climb and began the rolling section on Lookout. This was already quite the effort, and we still had 1k or so until we descended down. At the aid stations I grabbed gatorade and a bottle of water, there is something amazing about ice cold gatorade on the bike, I don't know why this makes me happy, ha but it does! 

The descent was radical, weaving in and out of cars whilst going 45 mph is crazy. All I could do was hope I did not get schlapped and end up a pancake. Well, I survived and was happy to be on a more steady pace when I hit the bottom. The last part of the ride was extremely familiar as it was the same roads we used in May when I raced the 70.3 here. Still swerving through cars coming back into town, which I don't understand with a CHAMPIONSHIP event, whatevs. Legs felt pretty toasted as I came back into transition, but alas, there was work to be done!

Here I go again on my own.

This dude was unreal.

Now was the time to see how my knee was going to hold up. I had done my best to tape it up and use "good form". I knew this was not going to be the fastest race of my life to begin with and I could not be upset on this day no matter what. Mom and dad were right there as I started the run and gave me the encouragement to do my best and run my own race. Most of this run course was similar to the race in May, so I knew what to expect for hills and what not. The first mile of mostly uphill wasn't too bad and the next mile out on the highway and then onto the riverwalk was solid, but then my IT band said nuh-uh. We stopping now. I was carrying a wrap that if this happened, I would tighten it around my leg and see how that helped. My pace slowed after I put it on, but I did not stop. It is very frustrating when you know the fitness is there, but you can not tap into it, no matter how much you want to. This pain was just too overpowering for that. The first lap went by and we went up hills then down them, over and over. Going across that wooden pedestrian bridge and seeing the parents gave me a boost for the next lap. I wish I could say I saw a lot of people that I knew on the sides, but I felt like I saw more of them the day prior than today. Lap two was more of the same, do my best not to break something and just keep chugging along no matter how many people ran by. I was moving the strap up and down every mile or so to try and find the right spot, and just as I passed mile 12 I found it. It was like I could run for real. So that is what I did the last mile. I made it look like I was actually racing coming in, even though the previous miles were not optimal. 

Finish chute and crossing that line was relieving and exciting. I wish I could have performed to my standards but I felt as though I had more to give and I just could not do it. It sucks dealing with something like this, especially at such a critical time in the season. Mom and Dad, thank you for being there on the course and at the finish line, since you know what I am going through and how much it effects my motivation and moral. 

These last races have been hard, physically and emotionally. Once you race at your best, it is not the same racing sub-par. I still love this sport so much and know that I will recover and come back stronger than ever! Having one month to go until KONA really puts the pressure on to get this IT issue worked out and have enough strength to not only get through 26.2 miles but race my best possible Ironman. 

Hawaii, I am coming for you! I am scared? Yes. Am I ready? Totally. Is it going to be one heck of an experience? UH You betcha. See you in 30 days.

Thank you Heather, Wattie and Flanny for the sweet kit and for all you have done for our team this year.All of my team mates know how awesome it is to be part of this squad. Mom and Dad, I super appreciate you coming down to watch me race and be behind me no matter what. Mads, I know you were watching in ND too, you rock !

Good looking crew.