A day in the Sauna

So I raced in Millington, TN yesterday at the annual Memphis in May triathlon. It just so happened to be the hottest day of the year (for me) and also the hottest day that I've ever raced in. So that made for some fun race reports (from friends and fellow competitors).

Just like last year, we did our usual dinner at Amerigo's the night before the race. We woke up early and I drove Ben and Kevin to the race site and I went back to the hotel to go back to bed. The pros start time was at 10:30 compared to the 7:15 race start for everyone else. I showed up to the race site close to 8:30 and it was already a warm day (only to get hotter). I got my gear ready and tried to stay cool before our race start. I watched Ben, Kevin, Sean, Beth, and Allison all come in off of the bike and take off on their run while I was getting my transition area set up. I started my watch when Ben took off on his run to see his 10k split. Well, after the 40 minute mark passed, I stopped the watch because I had to go get ready for my race. I saw Kevin come in looking pretty bad so I knew it was going to be a long day. Kevin ran under 38 minutes 2 weeks ago at the Knoxville Rev 3 tri and ran 44 minutes yesterday. Ben ran under 37 minutes last year on this very course and ran over 44 minutes yesterday. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to the run.

By the time we started, it was close to 90 degrees and still rising. The ITU race I did in Austin last year was a little warmer but there was no humidity compared to Memphis. Luckily, Millington has comparable weather to KY because the humidity was almost as high as the temperature. I had on my Kiwami speedsuit and was ready to roll. I was the 10th pro into the water. I felt really good in the water, and I got into a pretty good rythym which is wierd, haha. The last 300 - 400 yards I was hurting a little bit, but overall I felt that I had a decent swim. It was my fastest swim split ever at Memphis so that is something to be happy about (18:04). I came out of the water, stripped off my speed suit and grabbed the bike. I have felt really good about my bike workouts lately so I was confident about the bike. It took me a few miles to get warmed up, but once I was, I got around several of the guys that passed me in the water, and the others that started in front of me. After ten miles or so, it was only Andrew Starykowicz and Daniel Bretscher. We rode together (don't worry, it was legal) for the rest of the ride pretty much going into T2 within 15 seconds of each other. I knew that Starykowicz was injured, but it was still a little confidence builder to ride with him considering he is one of the strongest cyclist in the business. My bike split was around 54:45. I had a great T2 and was the 2nd pro overall to start the run.

AND THEN....

It was all down hill from there. I immediately felt the heat and was overwhelmed. I was walking with a 1/2 mile of starting the run. When Daniel came running by me, I started running again and we spoke for a brief second until he dropped me. I walked the first aid station to make sure I got enough fluids over my head and in my system. I ran the whole 2nd mile considering it was shaded. I was running slower than 6:30 pace and I couldn't have cared less. I felt horrible about DNF'ing at St. Anthony's last year and that wasn't happening again. I was determined to finish the race no matter how long it took me to run/walk the 10k. At about 1.5 miles, Zach Winchester came flying by me. Just like Daniel, he had some encouraging words for me to keep going. I hung in there and told myself only to walk when I absolutely needed to. There was no walking if it was shaded or if it was downhill. So I almost ran 2 miles with walking. At the turn around, I stopped and walked a little to get some more ice water over my head. I made it up the hill that is the 4th mile of the course. I felt better and better as the run went on (not that I was really running any faster). I took 2 more short but sweet walk breaks (aid stations) and I managed to run my last 2 miles in under 12:50 (compared to the 6:50 pace I ran for the first 4 miles. I finished the race with 2 competitors within 20 seconds of me (but they started behind me at the start of race so their overall time was faster than mine by more than 20 seconds). My 10k split was 41:39. But considering the fastest professional run split was 39:15, I wasn't too terribly upset about my run. Instead of being a swim/bike/run triathlon, it turned into a swim/bike/"survive the heat the best" triathlon. And apparently I'm not that good at surviving in the heat.

I finished the race with a smile on my face and was happy that I had gutted it out. I had a blast racing which is THE goal of the year. I want to have fun which I did (the pic at the top proves it because that is 100 meters from the finish line). It was fun to go fast on the bike. It wasn't as much fun to battle the heat like that on the run, but I dug deep and managed a 5th place amongst a solid professional field and a little pay day. Only 13 pro men and 9 pro women ended up finishing the race considered 30+ started the race.

We stuck around for the awards ceremony, then we hit the long road back to Lexington. By the time Kevin and I made it back, we had some techno music jamming in the minivan trying to keep us awake. We had a fun trip, and we're looking forward to another road trip to Lawrence, Kansas in 2 weeks for the Kansas 70.3 race. Hopefully it won't be as hot, ha.

Tony

Memphis in May Weekend

So I am in Millington, TN for the annual Memphis in May triathlon. I have done this race for 6 years in a row (including this yr) and I absolutely love this race. This was my first ever Olympic distance race and also the first race that I won some money at as a professional. It is always ran well and just a fun weekend overall. We came down from Lexington yesterday and got here late in the afternoon. We went for a little swim once we got here to cool off (the AC went out in our van on the way down) and then went to the hotel to check in. We kept it low key last night by just hanging in the hotel and watching "I love you, Man." We did stop at Wal Mart which I happened to find my new favorite candy: Pretzel M&M's.

This morning we woke up and went down to the race site to watch some of the Mideast Multisport athletes compete in the sprint distance race. Beth and Allison had great races by placing 10th and 11th overall on the female side while Sean also put up a pretty solid performance (not sure of his placing overall).

Kevin, Ben, and myself all went for a little spin on the bike to loosen up the legs, got in a short run and the hopped in the lake to cool off. Once we were finished, we left and grabbed some lunch at McAllister's. I always love me some sweet tea.

Now I'm off to the pro meeting and then some dinner at Amerigo's. I really pumped about the race tomorrow as it is my first "bigger" race of the year. My training has been pretty solid, and I've backed off a little this week for a little rest. I'm also excited about trying out the new gear. I'm rocking the Zipp 1080 rear wheel and the Zipp 808 front wheel. I also have some EFS to drink and a new Salt Stick dispenser to help me keep my electrolytes up during the race. I'm definitely going to need those tomorrow when the temperature hits close to 95 degrees.

I'll have a Race report by Monday evening, but I'm sure I'll "tweet" a brief summary of my result.

Tony

Mother's Day Weekend

I spent the weekend in Bowling Green with most of my family and had a great time. I left Saturday afternoon after work and came back late last night. I was able to squeeze in my longest run of the year with my brother and eat lots of amazing food. We had a huge lunch at my Aunt Jill and Uncle Brent's house. They cooked up some amazing burgers, grilled chicken, asparagus, strawberry pretzel salad, and some other amazing sides. And to top it off, we had some Coconut cake (which I love). I ate until I couldn't eat anymore. I guess that is one of the bonuses of running 15+ miles in the morning.

It was really nice to catch up with the extended family and to see my mom on Mother's day.

Last week may have been my biggest (hardest) week of the year and I'm happy about it. I have been having a lot of fun with training and haven't really dreaded a single workout yet. Getting out of bed for the early morning workouts haven't been as hard as usual. I have had some swimming partners, biking partners, and running partners, which I'm not used to having for all 3 sports. I have had 2 great weeks of cycling and hope to continue this training. I'm taking today easy as it was nice to sleep in this morning.

And it was cool to check out the results of Rev3 in Knoxville and it really made me wish that I had raced (excluding the cold temps). It is rare to have such a big event so close to home, and unfortunately I didn't put in the training this off season to want to race this early in the year. But I hope the race had great success and they return to Knoxville next year. Congrats to Kevin Ryan on his solid performance in the Elite Male category there. He dominated the swim and held on for a 10th place finish.

Until next time.

Tony

Picture Time

Here are just a few photos from the past 2 weeks or so. I have a few from my first Tri of the year, a few from Keeneland and then one from the WA swim banquet last week.

Enjoy.

The Past Few Days

So I am trying to get my butt in gear and get in a consistent training block before some of my bigger races come up. I know that I'm nowhere near my fitness last year, but psychologically, I feel much healthier. I know what to expect when I compete against some of the best athletes in the world and I know that I have a long way to go this season before I would consider myself "in shape." haha. But I don't know if I really consider myself "in shape" most of the time. I have a warped opinion and have probably only been in peak physical condition a few times in my life.

I have had a great time with training and work lately. Its fun to go out for a bike ride with a few other guys, or even a large group. Its fun to meet up with guys for an easy run or a to swim with the kids that I coach just a few months ago. Even though I am working more, and forcing myself to workout at hours that I'm not used to, I am having fun which is the key for 2010. I have Memphis in May next on my schedule which is somewhere around the 23rd of May.

I spent last Friday in the UK dental school for about 7 hours. My old roommate is graduating from dental school and he needed a patient that had a cavity and I ended up having a cavity (actually about 4). He gave me 2 fillings on Friday, and then his good friend gave me another on Saturday morning. And since I qualified to be his patient, I got paid. It was nice to have a few cavities filled and to be paid to do so. But it made for a long weekend. And my good friend Tyson married his sweet heart Amy Saturday evening. That was a great wedding and a great reception. We had a lot of fun.

After a long weekend, it was great to have a little fun Monday night by going to The Catspy's. My girlfriend finished up her 4th year of elgibility for the UK swim team and was invited to the "Catspy's Awards." I was lucky enough to be her date. This is just a little awards banquet for all UK athletes and they really do put on a good show. It was cool to see guys like Randall Cobb, John Conner, Pattrick Patterson, and of course John Wall. But also the athletes that don't get as much publicity that compete for "the love of the game."

That about it for now.

T-Bird

Happy Birthday Bethany

Today is my sister's 19th bday. Happy Birthday Bethany.

This past Saturday after the race, Bethany, my brother Ben, Casey, and myself all went to Keeneland to celebrate the wonderful weather and my sister's birthday (a little early). It was as crowded as I have ever seen it, but it was still fun. And it was the first time in a LONG time that I have left Keeneland after MAKING money instead of losing money. Of my last 5 bets, I made money on 3 of them. So after betting almost 30 dollars for the day, I left with about 40 dollars. I know, I dropped some big money, haha. And we ended the day by eating some Pazzo's, which is always one of my favorite places to eat.

Heart and Sole Triathlon RR

Well this is my first race report in a long time. I haven't been working near as hard as I did last off-season and yesterday gave me a good idea of how far behind I am.

The few days before the race, the weather was predicted to be cold and rainy. Saturday was supposed to have a low temperature of around 38, which is really cold for a triathlon. What I found out Friday night, is that low temp was for Saturday night, going into Sunday morning. And the rain came a little early by hitting us Friday night. So the roads were dry, and it was only in the low 50's race morning. That is still a little chilly, but it wasn't terrible, I've raced in worse.

I was the #1 seeded person again this year, so I didn't have to worry about fighting with people in the pool as I try and snake my way through the pool for the 400 yard swim. The swim was about normal, and without any highlight. I came out feeling pretty comfortable and took off on the bike. I pushed hard on the bike, but I didn't want to go all out because of my lack of fitness. Well, that plan didn't work because I found myself really hammering the hills and then asking myself why I was pushing so hard. My legs haven't felt pain like that this year so it tells me there is a lot of work to be done. Because I was the first cyclist coming through the bike course, all of the cops that were directing traffic were still in their cars so I had to stop at a stop light, but got lucky with the other intersections since I hit a few green lights. I came off of the bike and my legs felt like jello. My feet were numb from the cold wind on the bike and I just felt like I have never ran off of the bike in my life. It was pretty rough for about 7 - 9 minutes, but I loosened up and probably ran faster for the second half of the 5k. I forgot how nasty and hard that XC course was. I crossed the finish line in 59:57. Which to my surprise was less than a minute slower than last year, so I was pretty happy with my performance. I was hoping to run a little faster, but I haven't done any speed work so I feel that will come fast.

Thanks for reading.