Kansas 70.3 2014

With my buddy Mike the day before we both dominated the course

It amazing how fast the years go by, I still remember 2011 driving to Kansas with my  new awesome training partner Wes Anderson a  Fast forward  to 2014, this was my 4th year racing in Lawrence KS,  I drove from Chicago with my good buddy Mike Eaton who was racing his first 70.3. We chatted each others ears off for 8-9 hours on the drive while his girl chilled in the back. 

I have a special connection with this race as my buddies company Silverback is the team that runs the show here for WTC.  This race and the city of Lawrence is a gem and should be on everyones radar to race or visit sometime. 

Before  I get to the race details I what to quote a famous Ireland George Bernard Shaw  "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will." 

This is very true to anything in life and I encourage all my friends and family to create  what you desire and turn your dreams into reality.  Don’t settle for the comfort zone ! It will be a roller coaster of a ride but well worth the Journey. 

On Sunday I put together my best effort in this funny sport we call Triathlon. I'm typically not one to talk about goals/times and places etc. But deep down  I knew I could put myself in the mix.  From the moment I zipped up my Zone3 Victory wetsuit ( 3 time award winning !) and dived in Clinton lake I could tell from the first stroke it was going to be a good swim. I’ve had some issues at the start of races this year with getting a little panic attack with the jockeying for position early on. Talking with my swim Coach Susan Ingram,  I chose to start a little off to the side and make up ground when the pace settles down. I now have a few gears that I can use as a swimmer instead of just ‘steady slow”  off the back! I ended up leading the 2nd main pack for the majority of the swim and in the last 200m I slotted back to save some energy for up hill run in T1. I ended up having a great transition, dropping all the guys in my swim pack and then caught 2 guys in the first mile on the bike who were swimming in between groups.      

On the bike I  have never felt so relaxed and  controlled. I’ve been riding my Quintana Roo Illicito  for 4 months now  and it feels part of my body when I'm riding it. The connection comes also from my Cobb SHC saddle which keep me in the 'sweet spot" for riding.  As we headed up the hills, out of the park I pressed the guys I was riding with to make sure we had a “select chase group” and that we did after the pace settled down. Then I dropped back the legal distance and let some of the others do some work to set up for the chase. We have a solid group and everyone was working well together and staying legal. (We did have a ref with us for the majority of the race, so that was great)  We picked off some guys before the first turn around and got to do the good old count the fella off the front to see were you are at. There was a group of four up front and David Khan off the back. So  I knew  we would have to work hard to catch up time on the front pack. I went back to the front every time we had hills to drive the chase.   At the 2nd turn around TJ Tollakson  had a clear lead and the chasers were down to two. With our pack gaining on 4rd.

By the end of the bike Blake Becker and I had dropped the others and caught 4th place as we hit T2. I said to myself “time to make it happen”   I knew all I had to do was be patience on the run and stay in it mentally.  To be honest I was aiming for the podium and knew the shape I was in would get me there or there about.  So I expected to be in this position, now its was time to create what I imagined.  Out of T2 Joe Umphenour and I were out the gates  at 5:30 pace and dropped Blake.  Then Joe dropped me right before the 2nd mile and I spend the next 11 miles chasing his tail at 10- 11 secs of a gap all the way  around the rolling course. I did make up nearly 7mins on TJ who was hurting bad from his efforts of the bike.  As I hit the finishing straight I saw 3:55 on the clock and realized I was on for a new PR and a 4th place finish. That puts me 17th-11th-6th-4th the last 4 years at Kansas 70.3.  I just set myself a goal, and have starting imagining 

With William from Cobb Cycling.

for 2015 in Kansas. 

My day ended by getting to cheer Mike to a great 70.3 debut first. He know has the Tri bug. 

For the record my splits were

Overall 3:55;44

Swim: 26:13 (11th fastest)

Bike: 2:13:15 (4th fastest)

Run: 1:13:59 (3rd fastest)

Lastly, I want to thank all my friends, family  and great sponsors (Revolution Race Team, Cobb Cycling Quintana Roo, Zone3 wetsuits, The Fitness Kitchen, Juicer Heroes)   for the kind words and support to get me across the line.

Up Next is Boulder 70.3 this Sunday.