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.

Ironman Boulder 2017 - Race Story!

All I can say is: WHAT. A. SPORT.

Driving from Minnesota to Boulder, Co with my sister this weekend to race 140.6 miles, was a trip I will never forget. It would be the chance to see if the months of preparation and training would pay off. 1,000 miles of driving later we arrive at our home stay for the weekend, which was fantastic. Thank you Brad and Kayde for allowing us to stay in your home for the weekend, so grateful for your hospitality. We stayed about 20 miles from the race venue, which is a solid distance to cover, especially when it takes an hour to travel that far here! Being here 10 months ago, I sort of remembered how to get around... Sort of.

PRE RACE:

WTF are u guys doing here

every squirrel has their tree.

The days leading up to the biggest race of my life were perfect. 90 degrees and sunny, just how I like it. Friday I picked up my packet and the oh so coveted race bag (see above). Solid bag this year. We sat and listened to the athlete briefing, watched the pro panel, and walked around the Pearl Street Mall. Called it a day after that and ate Qdoba, (monster burrito), and finally made it to the house. It was so nice to be able to relax and have what feels like family now, making you as comfortable as possible. Saturday I got a short ride and run in, which is more difficult to do around Denver than I thought, and headed to the Boulder Res to say goodbye to my steed and drop the gear bag. We hung out a bit by the water and my god it was windy. Really hoped it calmed down. Next stop was to the high school, dropped the run bag and perused Pearl Street again. It was HOT, perfect. Chilled by the ripping boulder creek and enjoyed the sun and the farmers market. Decided to head back and I ate at Noodles. Made a stop at Lifetime and my sister and I got a quick swim in, we were amazed by the size of the place! Got back to the house and relaxed to get ready for the morning!


RACE DAY:
Just like that, it is 3 am and you are ready to go. If only it was that easy. I think I ate a picky bar and a banana? Maddie and I drove to the car to the high school, we parked on the same street every time, how lucky. Got on the buses and were shuttled to the res. Got to my bike and put my concoction of Herbalife Prolong/Drive and Powerade in a cage and put some clif bloks in the box. (that rhymed) And now the hurrying was done now it was the waiting part. Standing and watching everyone, knowing exactly what they are thinking, probs freaking out about something. Along comes Jerry Bartolome, first time meeting him and his contagious attitude. Oh about an Hour later, I was finally able to head to the swim start. Saying siyanara to mads and getting the good luck from her is all I needed to get into that water.

Calm before the storm

SWIM:

mads made me smile every time i saw her

Cannon goes off and we start rolling into the water, I can't wait for a mass start swim. The water was perfect for a wetsuit and I never felt uncomfortable. Having the times split up a few seconds was smart I think. They sent the sub 60 min swimmers first then my group, the 1-1:15 peeps. I new I would be at the front of this group, but not yet to under an hour. I'll get there! Walked into the water, I didn't roll, and just like that the day had begun.  I had only swam in ope water once this year before an that was in Chattanooga. Did not seem to make to huge a difference. Rounding the first turn buoy seemed like forever, haha buddy, you've got a long ways to go. Maybe that was just the warm up, because I felt pretty good he rest of the way. No weeds out at the far end of the swim this year, so I did not have a wrestling match in the water, at least not with plants. Could not really find any feet this time around and swam solo the whole swim. Came around the second turn and picked it up a tad; I headed straight for the exit and managed a respectable 1:03:09
Good enough to be first out of the water for the 18-24ers this year.

Bike:

food goes in mouth right

Time for the real work to begin. T1 I took my time and made sure I had everything, slapped my shoes on my feet and awkwardly ran to the mount line with two mini clif bars in my teeth. The plan was to get progressively quicker over the three lap course. Two solid climbs that if you had not done them before would get you seriously frustrated. Damn you false flats. On the first lap, my legs felt like tight rubber bands or something like that. This was usually how my rides went, I always felt bad for the first hour or so, then loosened up. Such was the case today, the first lap was hard and then the following got easier. It was cool to come past all the spectators at the res three different times, getting a good boost each time I heard mads cheering.
On to lap two where things were quite a bit different that lap one. I'd say it was about 50 miles where the proverbial wheel fell off. I got a flat, rear. The biggest day for me and this gets thrown in. I had a replacement tube and co2 and I believe, this was the fastest I have every changed a flat in my life. I lost about 5 minutes total here which over the iron distance is less of an issue in my AG. OK, whew now that's out of the way. But after something like that I always get super paranoid. And keep checking my rear tire to makes sure its still inflated. fast forward 13 or so miles and things slow down again. The tiniest piece of metal has punctured my dreams yet again. This time I have no replacement, only the feeling of my hard work, out the window. I literally wanted to cry. The only good part of this was I was at an aid station where one volunteer radioed the sag vehicle to come save my life. He was only like 4 minutes away. I watched as the athletes flew by me, standing still. I have never felt this bad in a race. I hope nobody ever has to go through this. When he showed up, I had removed that damn piece of metal and was bleeding from it everywhere. He was like an angel that has been sent from heaven it seemed. He tried to make light of the situation as he changed the tube, joking about my wheels, which I probably tried to joke back. Now I was not even paranoid anymore, I was on a mission, to make back the time I had lost. Feeling like my race had already slipped away, I had nothing to lose. I came through lap two and heard maddie yelling again and that's what I needed to let it freakin rip on lap three.

getting down to bidness after two flats

I did my best to make time up on this lap and focused on staying aero. I saw lots of peeps out there and hearing their support was so cool. Rachael, Ernie, Steve, Aaron thanks! I caught a few of the people who passed me while I was at my funeral. And made it certain I was on a mission. The last little part of the bike was through a path and down through the city, the path was impossible to hold speed on so I just ate some stuff. Then I got to the bike dismount, thank god. That was over; every triathletes nightmare. My time was 5:27:34 which translates to 20.5 mph. Because of those two flats, I lost 16 minutes. My garmin shows 5:11:00 which is an average of 21.9 mph. I lost 16 flipping minutes.

sickk kit wattie

RUN:
Got off the bike with  one thing on my mind, time to make that time up. The volunteer in the change tent helped get all my stuff out and ready. I used the bathroom, smart to do this before I got out running. I made it a plan to walk at least a little bit in every aid station, and I stuck to it. The first few miles went by fast, and I was keeping my pace consistent around 8:30. Through the whole marathon my pace did not deviate from the 8:30 - 9:30 mark. With a few outliers near the end. I never truly felt bad on the run until later on. The cheering was awesome, every time I saw someone I knew it gave me extra motivation. I saw maddie along the creek path right away. Then it was two out and back sections and back uphill towards the halfway turn. I knew this would hurt when I came back around the second time. Every time I passed a mile marker, made sure my legs were still attached. The first half went by smoothly and sucking down gatorade, redbull, water, sometimes cola at aid stations. I carried a salt tube with me and took a lick every mile before I reached the aid station. I kept it mostly liquid on the run other than a few clif bloks. Oh and some grapes around mile 23 or something, barely even remember that. Back for lap two and still managing a respectable pace I got to see team mate Matt Britton, hand slap and keep it up. He crushed it. By the time I got to the 19 mile mark it was all about beating the next mile, the next mile, one at a time. That would get me to the finish. Truly, seeing my sister cheering every time I ran by just as loud as she had the first time I saw her in the morning out on the bike, made all the difference. She said see you at the finish, and those words stuck with my the last 3 miles. Hearing all the go Wattie cheers was awesome too.

wattie love is real

Obviously the final miles are the hardest, but my hamstrings wanted nothing to do with running anymore and felt like now was the best time to make their thoughts known. I had to stop to stretch them out a few times, each time it was harder to get the struggle bus moving again.
This race though, it does something to you. I was not about to give up, fighting the legs every step. To finally run back down hill towards the finish was amazing. Thanks Kenny Withrow for pushing me down that last mile.

One last cramp in the hammys to make sure I did not forget, and I got across the finish. WOW. Gave everything I could. I squeaked in under 4 hours at 3:59:36




10:39:29





To say I went through all the emotions in one race is fair. It was all worth it in the end. I did not know my placing until about 3 hours later when my sister told me, she knows I don't like to know right away. How was that possible? With everything that happened and to win my AG? Never in a million years. I was so happy, pretty much speechless. All the hard work paid off and I could not believe it.

top 3

We are going to the place everyone dreams of. I know I do. KONA. The World Championship, I will be there along side the best in the sport. How unbelievable. I am so so so grateful.

To say the support everyone has given me is amazing, is not enough.

Maddie was there the whole race, cheering, motivating and getting me to the finish. I 100% hope to make you proud and we get to go to freakin Hawaii!!

she took all the pictures and she is the best sister in the world. love you mads!

Mom and Dad and family always give their support in loads, thank you so much for everything. I know you couldn't be at this race but mads made sure to make up for it. You are always proud of me and that makes me keep going.

Team Wattie Ink Has transformed me into a mismatched un-represented athlete to one that is lucky to wear the coolest stuff around and be supported by some amazing sponsors. Racing on course with a team is so cool.

Jerry, Matt and Becky. It was so cool to meet everyone and finally find out what this Jerry guy is all about, we are lucky to have his enthusiasm and love on the team. Matt, congratulations on making it back, can't wait to suffer out there with you.

Everyone who cheered out on course or from home, I heard every one of you. Thank you!

4 Months to become a stronger and faster athlete. ALOHA KONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

watching the finish

breakfast burritos and
Jerry are the bomb

badlands

awesome crew

rock the W

Chattanooga 70.3 Race Story!

All I can say about this place is WOW. It was a spectacular venue for a race and since I love the heat, the days leading up to the race were absolutely perfect. Chattanooga did not disappoint!

But before I go into the details about that race, I had a short sprint a couple weeks ago that kicked off my season and boy was it fast. Like under an hour fast. I got to test the legs and see how my new bike performed at maximum effort. Pretty happy with that day and 3rd OA isn't too shabby i'd say. Oh and the fact I forgot my goggles and a buddy had a second pair was so clutch. I couldn't imagine that swimming with 2 others in your lane is easy without goggles. Nice way to start the season and make adjustments for TN.

Ross's Landing. made for tri

On to the main event! So my cousin Blake and I drove down from St. Paul, MN. A nice 1,200 mile trek to get to Chatty. The drive was pretty uneventful until we got into Kentucky and Tennessee, then bam, it changed into these huge rolling hills and beautiful landscapes. What a way to be welcomed into the city. Stayed about a mile from the race venue which wasn't too bad of a walk at all even at 4:30 a.m. Fast forward to saturday and Blake and I went to watch the pro panel. Mainly to see and meet Heather Jackson, (who is amazing by the way). Got my cheesy selfie with her and wished her luck for the race! We chilled a while down by the river and watched how fast the current was moving, like this'll be fun to swim against. Later that night we walked to this Pasta Place called Tony's. Homemade stuff that was some serious good eating. I'd recommend. In bed by 9 pm and the wake up call was 4 bells.

Heather!!

Race morning comes along and I ate a pretty random breakfast; a banana, a picky bar and this tiny smoothie thing. Better than nothing! We chatted and walked down to transition and saw my bike was still in one piece from the wicked storms the night before. Now i am very grateful these storms happened the night before, given I wasn't exactly keen to the idea of driving this far and not being able to race. Thank the heavens they passed and allowed for one spectacular day of racing. After i set up the bike, we took the bus across the bridge to the swim start. I sat and talked with Blake for awhile before the pros took off and then he took the bus back to transition. I was with a couple teammates, Chris and Joe, getting all pumped up for the day ahead. We were all funneled in to the water like livestock and we were underway!

(the pros swam the whole course, we swam like straight downstream and maybe 1500 yards. I Guess only professionals and salmon swim upstream.)

Needless to say the swim was blazing fast, like 1:09 pace fast. Thanks current for that. And although I would have rather swam upstream and the whole swim course, it was probably a good idea, you know so nobody drowned. Coming out of the water some dude yanked me up the steps and then the strippers rid me of my clothes er. wetsuit. T1 was purdy quick and then it was time to turn up the heat, figuratively not literally. (65 degrees)

She did well.

The bike was pretty freakin sweet. It was rolling, no super huge hills and at least i could not feel any wind? A teammate, Chris and I were pretty much within 100 yards of each other the whole ride. Lets see, I ate 2 small clif bars, a clif gel and a package of clif blocks on the bike, along with 1 bottle of Gatorade and a few bottles of water, mostly got emptied over me. I'm digging my new bike setup/ position and I've gotta say the Wattie team kit looks so wicked. The miles were just flying by, and I felt in control the whole ride. I am sure the dudes in big groups were all just passing each other right? No illegal stuff going on there.... My power meter broke earlier in the week so this ride was all by feel and staying in the flow. I've gotta say that when you are not looking at numbers and just riding, it is a whole different ball game. The closer I got back to transition, the field seemed to be really spread out and that was good, it made for less congestion, besides those big ol groups. I would like to think I paced my own race and rode as steady as I could. I definitely hit a PR for my bike split.

To da run! I grabbed my visor, and my Base Salt, lets see what this course is all about. As I got going, I wanted to make sure I stayed within my limits, at least for the first lap. I guess my limits were a lot higher than I thought. The pace was steady and my body felt good. I was awfully worried about the run because I had been dealing with some ankle stuff.Turns out new shoes really do make a difference. This run course was pretty sweet. Only a couple major hills, otherwise it was flat. There were aid stations about every mile, and you bet I took advantage of them. LOVE getting ice cold sponges. I took salt licks before I reached each aid and then would throw down some water over me, grab red bull or Gatorade and then keep on trucking. I tried to keep everything liquid on the run this time and it worked out well. No cramping and no loss in breath because of chew time! Always good when you can breathe. The hardest part of the run for me at least was going up this steep hill with about 2.5 miles to go, because that is when the real pain set in and it was either face the pain or walk. Yeah, we ain't walkin.

Picture break. Breakfast on Saturday, where I was introduced to grits. Not sure how I feel about them. I had pancakes and coffee, Blake had the other stuff, who TF puts ketchup on eggs.

You da man Balake.

After that, mountain, there was a short u turn incline and then back down until we ran across the wooden pedestrian bridge which sapped all the legs I had left. At least it was downhill to the finish line, I passed the only dude in front of me to get to the line and near fell over after that. Gained my composure and Blake was there, what an awesome friend! I am never really sure as to what place I am in during the race, so it was all about doing my best and hoping it was enough. Turns out this time around it was good enough to squeak on the podium in 3rd in my age group. Totally happy about that. Also ran a half PR,  And better yet, a teammate was 1st in our AG and it is pretty sweet to share the stage with a fellow Wattie.

This race really helped boost my confidence in all three disciplines (even if the swim was a breeze) knowing I am developing as a runner is something that proves hard work does pay dividends. I plan on taking this fitness with me to Ironman Boulder in two weeks to really put myself to the ultimate test again! Wow, only two weeks away. Time to get it!


(ok kids, a short side story from this weekend. as i mentioned earlier, my power meter broke earlier in the week, which is not exactly ideal before a big race. so needless to say i was kind of flipping out because this is also my crank and my only back up was the original spec, which was kind of sub par. so in my haste i asked the team if anyone had an extra crank i could use for the race. turns out i am on the right team. coach flanny and Joe stepped up and helped me out big time. so thankful for them and the support of this team. this means i had to install the crank two days before the race and get one little ride on it and hope it did not explode on my ride. it did not explode and it worked fantastic. turning my worries into a pretty darn good race. thank you guys, i am so appreciative for everything.)

Thanks a ton Blake for coming with and experiencing a real road trip for your first time! I hope it makes you want to do it again. This trip would not have been as funny/great without ya. Thanks to everyone who followed me and their continued support. Meeting HJ and Wattie was so cool and to all my teammates that raced, you guys crushed it!

See you in Boulder in 2 weeks time for twice the distance!

who knew TN had volcanoes?

bridges, yo

cooling off on a hot day