Augusta 70.3

Well I can't believe it is fall.  On my way down to Augusta this past weekend I noticed the leaves were changing and the mornings are definitely cooler- this is one, if not my favorite time of the year. With fall comes the end of the season and the drive south to reach weather that allows you to still race. Last year at this time I had raced Pocono 70.3 up in Pennsylvania (was a WTC race and has since switched to Rev3 for 2014). That race was pretty chilly at the start as it was low 40s...but nothing like IM Lake Tahoe was 2 weeks ago! The race in Augusta I knew would be much warmer and as I checked the forcast leading up to race day it was turning out to be perfect.

I was excited to be doing this race as I knew it was a point to point river swim in the Savannah River, a flatter bike in the country and a very spectator friendly run through downtown Augusta. I had never been to Augusta before and really only knew it for the famed Augusta National Golf course where The Master's are held each and every year.

After working all day the Friday before at Crozet Eye Care, Chelsea and I drove to Charlotte, NC for the evening and stayed with friends Josh and Kristen- great to see them and thanks for their wonderful southern hospitality! We also ended up having our first crepes for breakfast!

After leaving Charlotte, NC we made it into Augusta just in time to check in and get to the Pro meeting. I was pretty surprised to see such a deep pro field for a race with the lowest prize purse and lowest 70.3 points for world championship qualifying. Even the 2013 70.3 champ Melissa Hauschildt was in the women's field. 


I knew this was going to be a tough race but was happy to have the support of Chelsea as well as my Dad- he drove all the way from Rochester, NY for the race! I also was able to catch up with two friends I hadn't seen in a while : Ben Hall and Nathan Davis- I had first met them back at the 2009 Age Group Championships as part of the USAT Collegiate Recruitment Program where we took part in a clinic the day after the race.  They both drove from Louisiana together but only Ben was racing- Ben is one of those uber bikers and at the age of 23 has a very bright future in the sport!

Race Day:
We woke up to a beautiful morning with nice temperatures. And it was especially nice to be able to sleep in a little bit as the hotel, transition and swim start were all within a mile- combined with a 7:30 start time. Right before the start of the race the National Guard had 3 servicemen jump out of a plane and parachute in! It was pretty cool especially since one had an American flag with him. They all made a perfect landing right at the swim start! While warming up in the water I knew it was going to be a fast swim as the current was pretty strong....you had to be careful not to swim too far downstream on warm up because then you might not be able to swim back;)

As the gun went off we all dove into the river and the race started. I wanted to do everything I could to stay on the feet of the other guys....I was pretty happy to see all my swimming has been paying off as I got out of the water with people around me....for the 2nd straight race I am coming out of the water with people instead of off the back and around the corner. I know I still have a long way to go with my swimming (which is great to know there is so much to be gained!) but at least I am narrowing the gap! I finished the swim 21:52 and 18th place.

The bike started off rather slowly for me....I just could not get moving. My HR was high and my power was low. I kept at it and tried to get moving....after about 50 mins I finally started to get my biking legs back and I started to roll. It seemed like the further I rode the stronger my legs felt and the higher the power numbers were climbing. I soon began catching others and with 10 miles to go I came to a group of 5. One by one I passed them and continued to ride hard into T2; I wanted to get as big a gap out of T2 as I could. I ended up biking 2:15:01(~25mph) putting myself into 10th place! I was super happy at how I stayed focused and biked myself back into the race.

Now onto the run..... After leaving T2 I saw Chelsea waiting for me Camera in hand. She let me know I was in 10th but also said that the next guy was a ways up. When I next came up to my dad about half mile in he told me I was about 5 mins back from 9th but that he was hurting. I told myself to stay controlled and try to run 5:50-5:55 miles. It was pretty tough mentally to know you have so much time to make up but hey I was going to try! Right about going thru the mile I could feel my right foot throbbing--it felt as though I had a massive blood blister. It continued to get worse to the point that I wasn't paying as much attention to the pain of the pace as I was my foot. Around mile 3 I almost stopped to adjust my shoe and sock but I feared cramping if I would have stopped. A few mins later the pain stopped almost instantaneously and I noticed a pool of blood at the front of my right shoe. At that point I was happy to be running relatively pain free(at the end of my race I took off my shoe and found that the toenail of my middle right toe had ripped completely off- doing fine now thank goodness!). I was fortunate this race to have Chelsea, my Dad and Nathan telling me splits and letting me know how much time I was making up. I was cutting time down to 9th place and still felt good. Finally 9th place at the time, my friend Ben was in sight. I patiently kept pushing forward and finally caught him at mile 9. I was continuing to push and was widening the gap every minute. At the last turn around I saw I had about a 90 second gap now with about 1.5 miles left. I knew barring disaster I would get 9th so I tried to stay relaxed and just get to the line. After crossing the line in sub 4 hours, I was relieved to be done. I finished in 9th place overall, 1st American and a time of 3:59:20.

Looking at the race, I am pretty happy overall.  I stayed tough on the bike and did what I needed to do to move up on the run. Thanks to the City of Augusta for putting on a great event and for all the volunteers! A huge thanks for all the support from Chelsea, my family (my Dad especially for driving down!) and friends- without you as my support network I would not be able to be where I am. In addition to all the people in my lives who have helped me in one way or another, I want to thank all my sponsors.  They truly have helped make this year a very successful one as my first full year as a pro.  Next up is the last race of the season for me...Miami 70.3 the last weekend in October.  It is usually a loaded race(Confirmed Pros) so I know Coach Doug Bush will make sure I am primed and ready to finish the season on a high note!