2009 Triathlon Season in Review

Final Kick group at Eagleman

Running into 3rd at Patriot's Olympic

About to take the win at Sandman

2nd lap at 70.3 World Championship

Here are some pictures from the 2009 triathlon season. I thought I'd do a little wrap up of the year now that '09 is done and we are into the new year. 2009 was definitely another step in the right direction. I really didn't have any major goals besides just continuing to improve in each of the 3 disciplines and whatever came of that was good with me. Sure doing well at different races was important to me, but usually if I take care of the main goal, constant improvement, doing pretty well follows close behind. I started off the year with some really good training. We took a bit of a different approach in the winter, as training was really the focus and I didn't race at all until the end of March. I did the Virginia Duathlon and took 5th against 4 guys who have placed in their age groups at Duathlon Worlds. The first race of the year is always kind of tough, but it was nice getting the race cobwebs out.

Next was Duathlon Nationals the end of April. I was looking to have a good showing here as last year I was in the top 20. Well, the result was my first ever and hopefully last ever DNF in a race. It was a very hot day for April (90+) and I just had one of those days where you feel awful from the first step. I got through the first run and bike, but called it a day in t2. Talk about a wake up call. That race did a lot for me as I took a step back and thought about what went wrong and why I love multisport. I placed a lot of pressure on myself for this race, and for what? I kind of took a different perspective after that and sure I was going to give every race my very best effort, but at the end of the day even though triathlon is very important to me and my life often times revolves around it, it's only a sport and is meant to be FUN.

I jumped right into a sprint tri the next weekend to get my head right and I was feeling back to normal. I took 3rd at the Kinetic Sprint at Lake Anna. After that it was right into some specific training for Eagleman. I was training the best I had in my life and two weeks before Eagleman I raced a local sprint...Breezy Point. It's always a great time racing alongside so many of your friends and local competitors. I was able to take 4th place, but was a bit disappointed as I was right there and lost to all 3 that finished ahead of me by less than a minute. Oh well, I had just finished a big block of training for Eagleman and that was the first big race of the year so I quickly turned my focus towards that.

Eagleman is a great race and one that is a must for any triathlete to compete in at least once. I was very much looking forward to this race and thought I could possibly grab a Kona slot if I had a good day. Well, I did have a pretty good day...but was beat by one guy in my age group by a couple of minutes. I hadn't really planned on going to Kona, but if I had gotten the slot I would not have been turning it down. This will be the goal for 2010 and I am already excited for June 13th to get here. A lot of people from Hampton Roads always do this race and it kind of feels like a local race because of it.

Next up was Colonial Beach. I really haven't done many olympic distance tri's so I was anxious to see what I could do. In years past this race had been a 1k swim, 24 mile bike, and 6 mile run and I was able to take 2nd here last year. In '09 it was a full Olympic distance. I felt decent...considering the day before I was in bed until about 2PM as one of my good friends had their bachelor party the night before and drank a bit too much...haha. I ended up 4th overall in 2:02, but the competition was very good and I beat the guy who beat me in '08 so I was pleased with that. This is one I like to do every year as well. The race takes place in a small town and has that grassroots triathlon feel.

Steelhead 70.3 takes place along Lake Michigan. I love this race as it's not very often my family gets to come watch me race. That weekend was crazy as I drove to Michigan, did the race, drove straight to Chicago for a wedding that night, and then the next day drove with Rachel up to northern Michigan where we are from. I was very close to knocking this race out of the park. Had I run what I thought I could I would have been right there for the overall age group win. My bike split matched quite a few of the pros on a day that got a lot windier as the morning went on and my wave started last. I ended up 3rd in my age group and missed 2nd by a lousy few seconds b/c the guy started in the wave before me and I never saw him. This race is a lot of fun and you won't find a much better swim anywhere. Bike and run are both nice and challenging. Perfect temps up there that time of year.

When we got back from Michigan I started a block of a lot of intensity to get ready for Sandman and Patriot's Olympic. We also did this as we've found it works pretty well to go into a 70.3 specific period after doing a period of a lot of intensity. It tends to make that half ironman pace seem a lot more tolerable. Both races went well. I took 3rd at Patriot's and really enjoyed their new course. Sandman was the next weekend and during the week I knew something good was coming. The engine was hot and I was able to rip off a couple of nasty workouts that week. Sandman was a race I had looked forward to all year after coming 2nd last year...not to mention it's our only triathlon in Virginia Beach. The ocean was pretty rough and I knew it was going to be a challenging day when I first get in to warm up and get annihilated by a huge wave. The swim actually went pretty well as I took a wide path outside the buoys as it tends to calm down out there a bit. I steadily made my way back to shore as I approached the last couple of buoys and I was surprised to come out right behind the leader. A quick transition and I had the motorcycle with me from the start of the bike. This is the first time I have been in this position and it was a blast. I can't wait to hopefully experience this again in 2010. I rode very well...probably my best power file to date and came off the bike with a couple minute cushion. I ran hard until the turn around and then put it on cruise control a bit as I wanted to enjoy it. It was great seeing my friend and training partner Joel right there in the mix too as he was close behind.

Clearwater was the last multisport event of the year and I was looking forward to getting down there and improving upon my race from the previous year. Rachel and I had a lot of fun traveling with Joel and Stephanie and we were ready to roll come race morning. Janda was there to watch us and his other small army of athletes so that was a bit of extra motivation. I won't go into detail much here as I think I already posted a bit of a race report , but after dragging a group of 10+ athletes around for over half the bike I was pretty worn out by the time I got to the run. I was disappointed in my run, but they can't all go to plan and a PR is a PR (although on that course it's tough for many to claim it as so).

So that's about it...the 2009 multisport year in a nutshell. I took a lot of positives away from the year...I really do love to train and race, I was able to stay healthy pretty much the entire season, I improved in all 3 disciplines, I learned a ton, and met a lot of good people. I have a lot to work on this off season, but cannot wait for racing to start up again as I am confident this year will be another good one.

God continues to bless us a ton and has is hands on everything we do. I know that's a tough concept for some to grasp, but being that it's a start to a new year and you find yourself unhappy or searching for contentment...I challenge you to seek out this relationship.

Thanks for reading...the couple who do...haha.