A Tale of Two Races

Wow, so many things to catch up on here.  Last month I was lucky to take a huuuge road trip, covering 3,120 miles, 5 state parks, 4 breweries, 17 whale-sightings, and an embarrassing number of TRS Triathlon podcasts over the course of 12 days.  The trip was a smashing success, as I was able to tow the line at back-to-back races, but also get in some epic camping, eating, sleeping, cooking, sight-seeing, and all-around good clean living on the road.  Since that time it has been crazy here in Portland.  A couple weekend trips and some kick-ass elective time at a hospital here in town - on top of a pretty substantial training block leading up to 70.3 Victoria - kept the nose to the grindstone.  I actually started this post a few weeks back, when I had a "quiet" Saturday in town.  I was brewing beer, and trying to get some thoughts down between the mash in and batch sparge, but ultimately had to give up when things got real in the kitchen.

So thanks everyone for being patient.  Finally getting these race reports up.  Since it was a two-for-one sort of trip, you’re gonna get the same deal here.

Race #1 - Wildflower Long Course

I suppose Wildflower doesn’t really need an introduction on this blog.  It was my first pro race back in 2012, and I have been lucky to get there 4 of the last 5 years.  It is hands-down my favorite race in all the land.  But what made it beyond special this year was the company: 9 of my med school classmates make it down for the event.  For many of them it was their first half-iron distance race, which blows my mind.  True to form, Tri California hooked us up with their awesome hospitality and a great group campsite.

Would you believe all these fools are soon-to-be doctors?

The race itself went pretty well.  I had my usual “I’ve already been dropped, maybe I should just quit” moment about 300 meters into the swim.  But there was a group of maybe 4-6 dudes about 10 meters ahead of me.  I put in 20 hard strokes to try and make contact.  I looked up again and they were still 9 meters out.  So I put in another move and sighted again.  Still 10ish meters.  Damn.  I regrouped for a few strokes, then made another move.  Then another.  Then another.  I basically swam my little heart out, moving exactly the same speed as the second pack, which remained just out of my reach.  When we hit the first turn buoy - roughly half way through the swim - I had to reconcile that I wasn’t going to catch them, and back off to a more sustainable pace.  It was particularly disappointing, because I knew if I could just catch them I'd be able to back off considerably and maintain the same speed.  Need to be more attentive in the first few hundred meters.  So it goes.

Men's swim start.  I'm the tall gangly one in the center.
Photo props to Kaori Photo

I went hard on the 2 mile run over to the bikes.  Clipping on my helmet, I heard the announcer calling out Chris Bagg and Matt Lieto as they headed out on to the bike course, and was happy to be less than a minute down on those guys, who typically swim pretty well.

It was a particularly windy day in the saddle, but I was holding my own, and made up a few places before we hit the nasty grade climb.  I ended up converging with friend and fellow up-and-comer Yu Hsiao midway up the climb, and the two of us reeled in another guy up the road.  We were joined by Andrew Drobeck near the summit, and the four of us started the descent in close succession.  I was in second position behind Yu - who is a more fearless descender than I - and he began to pull away as we navigated the curling S-bends and cracked pavement.  The wind was still howling, and I was doing my best not to die.  I was relieved when the road bottomed out, but to my great surprise, a moto carrying one of the race officials slowly came abreast of me, signaling I needed to pull over…

Failure to stagger!?  Are you f***ing kidding me?  On that descent?  With those road and wind conditions?  I could not believe it.  I unclipped and stood there like a big idiot on the side of the road, watching in despair while the 3 guys I’d climbed with rode away from me.  My first penalty as a pro triathlete.  2 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

Little did Andrew know, that just 30 minutes down the road,
a terrible penalty awaited him.
Kaori Photo, killing it again.

I rode with renewed energy for the 10 remaining miles into T2.  Could have been the sense of injustice, or the two minutes of unwanted recovery time, but I felt strong coming off the bike, having made up a couple more positions since the penalty.  I proceeded to unleash the best run of my career.  It all just came together, and it was an absolute blast.  The first 6 miles of the run are pretty beastly, but I regulated my effort and felt better and better as things progressed.  Miles 6-9 through the campground I felt like I was flying.  I was seeing a lot of 5:30-5:40 pace on my Garmin, and the effort felt very sustainable.  I started to run out of steam by mile 10, but then it was just a quick kick down the final hill and I hit the tape in 14th position.  Give me back those 2 minutes and I move up a few more places, knocking at the top 10 in arguably the strongest field I’ve seen at Wildflower during my tenure there.

With Coach Bagg after the race.  Don't know why I was hiding my face.
Kaori Photo, doing what they do.

The med school crew all killed it.  The feeling of accomplishment after finishing this race is something you carry with you for the rest of your life.  Special thanks to Elena, Steve, Nate, Brook, Maura, Mari, Heidi, Steph and Will for making this a great trip.

Race #2 - 70.3 St. George

St. George has been a bucket list race for a lot of years.  I remember it’s debut year - when it was a full distance Ironman - and the characteristically unpredictable spring weather in southern Utah had half the field dropping out.  I wanted in on that deal.  The treacherous weather, unsurpassed natural beauty, and notoriety of this race keep the fastest people in the world coming back.  This event has served as the North American Pro Champs for awhile now, and recent winners include Jan Frodeno and Tim Don (neither of whom are North American, ha!)  Trouble is, it has always coincided with the Wildflower weekend, which as previously discussed, is the best race in all the land.  So when I discovered that the two events were going to be on consecutive weekends this year, it was a no-brainer.  Plus, racing back-to-back… yeah, deal me in.  I want in.

As a quick aside, the week in between these two events was an absolute blast.  I won’t go into too much detail, but highlights included chasing whales around Santa Cruz harbor in a sailboat, camping in the Valley of Fire State Park, and hitting it big on the Strip in Vegas.  Included a few pictures below.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any more beautiful, we rolled into St. George the morning before race day, and set up shop in one of the “primitive” campsites on the south shore of the swim venue.  

"Primitive" = no tap water, which seems like a small price to pay

Some hellacious wind the evening before gave everyone a scare during bike check-in, but things quieted down and there were high hopes for a clear race day.  I executed on my pre-race routine, feeling relaxed and reasonably recovered.  I was excited to race again, on this spectacular new course, against the best in the world.  Unfortunately, my tummy had other plans.  In the cold and blustery pre-dawn aura, I took my first gel 15 minutes before the swim start... and felt my stomach cringe.

This was a trip of “firsts” for me.  First time seeing a whale.  First time making it to the Firestone Walker Brewery.  First bike penalty at Wildflower.  Here’s another one - for the first time ever, the swim was actually the best part of the race for me.  I lined up far left, got off strong, found a great rhythm, and before long was swimming comfortably in a nice little pack.  As we approached the swim exit, I actually thought “Damn, I wish I could keep swimming for a bit.”  I braced myself for a chilly bike ride.  I was pretty happy to exit the water in a pack with Nicholas Chase, Dylan Gleeson, Jeff Manson and eventual winner Lionel Sanders (more on him later).

Doing a reasonable job in T1.

Even though it boasts 3300 ft of climbing, the bike course at St. George feels waaaay easier than Wildflower.  Much of that climbing comes in the form of short little rollers, most of which you can carry speed into and is very big-ringable.  The hardest climb, in my opinion, is a steep little effort that comes in the first few miles and takes about 5 minutes.  The one everyone talks about is a sustained, cat 3 climb through Snow Canyon State Park that averages 4% and gains about 800 feet over 4 miles.  Then it’s a bomber 10 miles and 1400 ft back down to T2, where you hardly need to pedal to carry 30 mph.

My legs actually felt surprisingly great.  The cooler temps weren’t a problem at first, and I was cruising along in my target zone, making up a few places here and there.  Sadly, my stomach wasn’t fully cooperating.  I knew I wasn’t getting the necessary calories in, and things were slowly progressing from “hmmm, I’m not really hungry” to “I couldn’t possibly eat that.”  I was less and less able to eat and drink, feeling like if I forced things down they’d just come right back up.  I told myself just to get to T2, then I could use the port-a-john and that would sort things out.

Suddenly it was raining.  Then it was a downpour.  Then the rain turned to sleet.  I have the courage to admit that I don't race well in the cold.  The first thing that seems to go is my vision; I get all cross-eyed and have trouble focusing.  So the second half of the bike became a bit of a blur.  I do remember looking sideways at one point, to stretch out my neck, and catching a break in the clouds and fog, through which I glimpsed one the most dramatic, towering red cliff bands I’d ever seen.  I just had to forget about the weather, and my tummy, and the daunting run course ahead, and laugh at the privilege of racing on this ridiculous day in this spectacular place.

Not a joke: this is actually where the bike course goes.

I made it up the Snow Canyon climb in pretty good shape.  I resolved to chug a bottle of fluids on the descent and get myself ready to run.  But what actually happened is I basically froze to death, and mentally quit on the race.  Sad.  I made a real mess of things in T2.  I had a lot of trouble getting my helmet off and socks on.  Never a good sign when you have to actually sit down.  This picture pretty much sums up how things were going for me.

I seem to be scolding my sock.

I did some quick mental massage: At least I was off my bike, and I hadn't actually frozen to death.  Plus, this was a new run venue for me, which are always fun to explore.  And at the very least, it would be a well-catered affair.  So I set out on the run course... half-heartedly.  Hanging in the back of my mind was the knowledge that I had only gotten about half my calories in on the bike, and it was only a matter of time until things went south.  I was being realistic about the whole thing.  I set a pace I thought would be sustainable.

Long story short: it wasn't.  The wheels came off around mile 7, at which point I straight up suffered my way to the finish.  It was good for me, though.  Good to have gained the experience, to have seen that run course, to have swallowed my pride when I got passed by the the first place female, to have earned every mile on the road to the finish.

Suffering in a beautiful place.

Last comment: Lionel Sanders is the real deal.  Was pretty humbling to come out of the water with him, get beaten by 20 seconds coming through T1, and then watch him ride away.  The guy out-biked me by a solid 20 minutes.  That's more than Lance Armstrong did when I raced him down in Florida.  And I'm a better cyclist now than I was then.  I saw him dominate the field at Oceanside as well.  He seems pretty much unbeatable this year, and I won't be surprised if he wins 70.3 Worlds.  Great story though, and his write-up on his win here at St. George is worth a read.

Next Steps

I’m currently riding a BC ferry from Vancouver to Victoria for tomorrow’s 70.3 (at least I was when I wrote most of this post).  I haven’t raced in 5 weeks and I’m eager to get back out there.  I'm working through a bit of a nagging knee issue though, so unclear how the run is going to play out.  But I'm going to give it a go and see how things hold up.  I've gained some great fitness this spring, and am building towards IM Whistler at the end end of July.  Hoping to peak for that race, then am going to need to take a few weeks off and focus on school for a bit.

Thanks for following along!

-Andrew