After 6 weeks off, I started my training for the 2012 season refreshed and fully recovered. My training started off slow, with base building being the key focus for quite a while. Long slow rides and long slow runs were served up in large doses, and I trudged through them knowing that they were the cornerstone to a successful 2012 season. Slowly Brian started to work in some speed and intensity into my workouts, with the longer/slower sessions still being the mainstay. All of this training and hard work would be tested for the first time on March 10th, 2012, at the Trisports.com Desert Classic Duathlon. The same as last year, I would race the offroad version, and attempt the repeat win.
The night before the race was the usual sleepless-fest, the butterflies building the entire week before the race. I've competed in enough races that the butterflies usually don't make an appearance until the morning of the race. But after a successful 2011 season and some self-imposed expectations for the 2012 season, I was both nervous and anxious to get the first race underway. The alarm went off at 3:15am, and I popped out of bed surprisingly alert. Coffee and breakfast were consumed, my race gear was loaded into my truck, and the trek from Tucson to Fountain Hills, AZ, begun. Arriving at McDowell Mountain Park at 6:30am, I quickly found a parking spot close to the transition area, grabbed my bike, and headed for transition to secure a good spot on the racks. After depositing my bike on my chosen spot, I strolled over to packet pick-up to grab my race packet and see what lucky number I had been alloted for the day. Number 234, just waiting for a 1 to be placed at the front with a win. I made my way back into transition to strap my race number to my bike and look around for any familiar faces. In some ways I wanted to see other racers I knew and would compete against throughout the year, and in others I was hoping that I had the race all to myself and could simply use this race as a litmus test to see where I stood in my training. Immediately I recognized a few competitors, one of them being one of the toughest competitors I faced throughout the 2011 season. This wouldn't be an easy race, and I'd have to "put the gas pedal on the floor" the entire race if I wanted to repeat the win from last year.
I finished prepping my transition area, chatting with several of the competitors about their offseason, and then headed to my truck to finish preparing myself for the race. This year I was lucky enough to be chosen to race on the Trisports.com Triathlon Team, and was given a nice surprise the day before the race; an awesome new Trisports Team race suit. The weather was perfect to don the new suit, and I relished the opportunity to race in the red, white & blue of Trisports.com.
The starting gun for the pro race went off, meaning I had 13 minutes to finish my race prep and get warmed up for my race. I would be in the second wave of amateurs, the 35+ men's group. The 34 and under men's group was starting 3 minutes ahead, and it contained the competitors I viewed as my toughest competition. I had hoped we'd all start together, so I'd know exactly where I stood throughout the race. No such luck, I'd be racing blind and playing catch-up ... if I could.
The starting gun went off for the 34 and under racers, and the 3-minute warning was given for my group. I came to the starting line and continued to run up the road and back, keeping my heart rate elevated prior to the start. I'd be starting in the same group as Trisports.com's Founder & CEO Seton Clagget. Seton had relayed to me the night before the race that he planned to take off sprinting for the first 200yds, just to see if people would panic. We were given the 10 seconds to go command, and Seton dropped into a track start stance. The countdown began ... 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... BANG!
The race was on, and true to his word Seton went sprinting off the front. About 100yds up the road Seton looked over his shoulder and yelled, "I don't know where I'm going!" If I hadn't been struggling to suck enough oxygen into my lungs I would have laughed. Instead I quickly yelled, "Keep going straight!" About 3 seconds later Seton pulled the plug and the lead pack went running on past him.
In 2011 I took the offroad race wire-to-wire, and that was my plan for this race too. As soon as the starting gun went off I set an aggressive pace, immediately putting myself in the lead (except for the 200yd sprint by Seton). Immediately I had a target painted on my back, with 5-6 guys matching my pace. I continued to pour on the speed, and by the 1-mile mark the lead group was down to 2. The first run started on pavement for the first 1/2 mile before transitioning to a fantastic rolling trail run. Knowing that I had 19 miles on the bike and another trail run to finish the race, I pushed as hard as I dared without going too deep. My pace was continually matched by my chaser the entire first run. Coming into the finishing straight on the first run the guy matching my pace attempted to outrun me. I put the hammer down and stayed in the lead, making sure to put the red, white & blue of Trisports.com up front for any photo-ops that came along; there was no way I was gonna relinquish the top spot after leading the entire run.
My trip through transition was quick, swapping my visor and running shoes for my helmet and mtb shoes, and out the other end of transition I ran. The first 1/2 mile of the bike was slightly downhill and fast, followed by some short steep climbs that really made the legs suffer. I was able to quickly catch three guys from the 34 and under group and make some clean passes. Once I hit the doubletrack section of the course it was a smashfest. I caught another rider and made the pass, hoping to continue pulling away from my competition. Unfortunately I had pushed my legs a little too hard and had to dial back the speed a bit, allowing the guy I had just passed to come back around. It only took about 5 minutes for my legs to recover and I was ready to start hammering again. I caught back up to the rider and stayed on his wheel for about 1/2 mile, enjoying the super fast ride. On a slight hill I put the hammer down and made the pass. He jumped on my wheel and matched my pace for several miles until we hit the singletrack of the Pemberton course. The singletrack of the Pemberton trail system is epic; incredibly fast and smooth with sweeping corners and tons of grip, allowing for some very fast riding. I began to slowly pull away from my chaser, carving the sweeping corners and hanging it all out. Eventually I came around a corner and caught a glimpe of a familiar jersey, which gave me a huge boost of energy. I was catching the person I viewed as my main competition! I put my head down and kept pushing, catching glimpses of his jersey and watching it get closer with each corner we rounded. Eventually the trail dumped out onto doubletrack, and I was pulling up beside my competition after about 100 yds. As I went past I yelled, "Great job!" Just as I got past, we hit a sandy corner and I was carrying too much speed. As I blew the corner and ended up off the road in a bush my competition went blowing right past me ... laughing. I rode straight through the bush and steered back on course, only losing about 15 bike lengths. At that point my legs were suffering and my competition had decided to crank up the speed another notch. I stayed about 10 bike lengths behind him, watching his line and matching his speed. Eventually the doubletrack dumped out onto the paved road for the last mile of the bike course. As we hit the pavement I passed my competition. He immediately jumped on my wheel and caught a ride in the draft for a while. Being a true sportsman, he pulled around me and allowed me to sit-in for a while. After a little recovery I pulled out and went around to take another turn at the front. As we cruised down the road we caught Pro Xterra triathlete Suzie Snyder. She jumped on the train and caught a ride too. Coming down the road toward transition my competition and I were riding side-by-side, both wanting to be the first to dismount our bike and hit transition first. We dismounted at the same time and both went blazing through transition, swapping our riding gear back into our running gear for the second run.
The start of the run was downhill, and my legs felt much better than I expected. My competition and I ran stride for stride for the first 1/4 mile before settling into a more reasonable pace. Thankfully my legs had a little more in the tank and I was able to start pulling away. The second run was grueling and much more difficult than the first run. The downhill section only lasted for about 1/2 mile before hitting some steep uphill sections followed by some rolling hills that were a net elevation gain. The hills really started to take a toll on my legs and I could feel the fatigue and lactic acid building. I hadn't pre-run the course, so I wasn't quite sure how the run would end, but I had been warned about a monster climb in the last mile. I knew I was getting close to the final climb, but hadn't been able to see it until turning a corner and staring it straight in the face. Difficult and steep didn't even begin to describe the climb, it was absolutely brutal. I hit the base of the climb and immediately recognized that running up was not an option. I started walking up, using my hands on my knees to help make the ascent. Thankfully the steep section was fairly short, but it transitioned into a more shallow climb that wound it's way to the top, wreaking havoc on my legs the entire time. The descent down the other side was steep and loose, and made for a tough downhill run on tired legs. The last section just before transition held a few short, steep climbs that really hurt. I pushed through the pain, knowing that I was within 1/4 mile of the finishline. Cresting the last climb and hitting the finishing chute was a great feeling. I was completely out of energy, but I had done it, hung it all out and walked away with the repeat win and it felt awesome!
This race was a great season opener for me. My training leading up to the race felt further ahead than last year's, and this race validated that feeling. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to hold the pace that I wanted throughout the first run, that my legs would explode on the ride and I'd have to back off, or that I just wouldn't have enough energy to make it through the second run. None of that was the case, and my race came together as well as I could have hoped for. I had done it, taken the race wire-to-wire (except the first 200 yds ... thanks Seton!) and came out on top.
My race by the numbers:
| Overall Place | 1 / 66 |
| Gender Place | 1 / 49 |
| Division Place | 1 / 15 |
| Run1Time | 20:46 |
| Run1Pace | 5:42 |
| Tran1Time | 0:52 |
| Biketime | 1:06:08 |
| Bikemph | 17.2 |
| Tran2Time | 0:30 |
| Run2Time | 26:57 |
| Run2Pace | 7:12 |
Huge Thanks to Brian Grasky of Grasky Endurance Coaching for setting me up for a great 2012 season, and a monster THANK YOU to Trisports.com, for sponsoring the race and sponsoring me for the 2012 triathlon season.
Exciting things to come, stay tuned!
