Age Group Nationals

Last Saturday, Tuscaloosa, AL hosted the USAT Age Group Nationals. This was the national championship triathlon for age group athletes that had qualified (based on the qualification standards provided by USAT). Overall, the event was good, but not every part of it. Here we go...

On Friday, my brother-in-law and I took off of work to go down to Tuscaloosa and pick up my packet, drive the race course (both bike and run), and to drop off my bike for the night---this was hard to do knowing it would rain overnight. I had a rules meeting just after the packet pickup that I had to attend. The officials really make you nervous talking about all the things you can't do, even though you don't normally do them anyway. Needless to say, it was an interesting experience.

On Saturday, the transition area was to be closed by 7:00 so the waves of racers could start. I arrived at 6:00 or so that morning, and I was nervous!!! I felt like the Hickory High basketball team from Hoosiers when they went up to the big gym to play the high school championship. Everyone looked in great shape, focused, and somewhat intimidating. I layed out my transition area, then headed for the usual bathroom stop(s) and I wanted to get my sunscreen on as well. My family arrived about this time which included my family, Rachel's family, and one of our friends. That was a reassuring sight seeing all them. They were all trying to pump me up and remind me that I DID belong here. I ended up getting everything ready and warming up a bit before heading down to the swim start.

7:51 the gun went off, and my wave of Men 25-29 took off (1500m swim). The next 41 minutes would be one of the most awful athletic experiences I've ever had. I seemed to stay with the group for the first part, but once we made the turn for the long 1000m straightaway, I lost them. Also, I didn't feel like I was moving, and the sun was HORRIBLE. I couldn't see a thing in front of me, and it took forever to see the first buoy. On a side note, I had started a 10 minute timer just prior to the swim as a reminder to drink on the bike. I expected to hear the timer two times during the swim which would mean that I swam betweeen 20 and 30 minutes (which was my expectation). I heard the timer go off for the second time just past the first buoy on the long straightaway. This was a BAD sign. I ended up getting passed by the faster swimmers from the next two waves after mine--including one swimmer who must have thought I was a stick in the water because he swam right over the top of me. Yes, OVER THE TOP OF ME!! When I finally exited the swim, I looked down and saw 41 minutes on my stopwatch and my heart sank. I knew I had no chance of placing in the top 10, 20, or 50 for that matter in my age group.

I got to the transition area with my family cheering me the whole way, I got ready and took off for my bike ride (40k). The bike went fairly well. I kept a close watch on my power meter and kept my wattage fairly regulated. Every time my timer went off, I drank or consumed gel. I passed a ton of people on the bike ride, but I was passed by two guys as well. I did everything in my power to stay away from other riders so as not to get penalized by the officials. I ended up riding in just under an hour which was a 25 mph average. That was more like it now!

I again returned to the transition with my family in the background (less of them now). I had opted to not wear socks on the 10k run which I would later learn was a mistake. I took off and for about 4 minutes I felt good. After that first 4 minutes, I started to feel hungry, thirsty, and I had a horrible side stitch. I had set a goal to run around 6:00-6:10 pace for the entire run and see if I could go faster towards the end. Just after the first mile mark there was a significant hill that really compounded my side stitch problem. However, I did have two family members in the middle of the hill cheering me on, and to my surprise, my dad was at the top of the hill. He was being calm trying to talk me through my side stitch (which I think was caused by being in the TT position on the bike for longer than usual). Two more hills were on the course, and each one was extremely tough (although the second hill had my wife and my brother cheering for me). By this time, I had readjusted my goal to be 7:00 pace for the run. I was drinking gatorade and water at every aid station, and I poured water on me to keep me cool because the humidity was MUCH worse than the weatherman said it would be. Also, as previously mentioned, I didn't wear socks, and by mile three, I could feel a blister coming on. Within the final mile, I knew I was bleeding because it had passed the blister pain and was going numb which meant I'd broke through the skin. I finally got rid of the side stitch by mile 4, but by then I could not get out of 7:00 pace. I crossed the line, and I was not very happy. I was hot, my feet were hurting, and there was a strong smell of mexican food under the tent I had to pass through. I LOVE mexican food, but after racing for 2 hours and 27 minutes, I didn't want anything to do with mexican food.

I found my family after the race, and I was SO glad they came. I needed someone to vent to and obtain reassurance from. I HAD only decided to do this race two months before, but I just felt that I had put in a lot of work and the swim killed it all. I just assumed I was a terrible swimmer. I later found out (that night) that the Tuscaloosa dam had been opened on Saturday morning two different times to allow some of the rain water from the night before to escape. So that means I was swimming AGAINST THE CURRENT for 1000m. That was a PERFECT explanation for why I was so slow. It helped me to let up on myself some, but I'm still not a good swimmer. The real good swimmers only lost 5 minutes or so, but those of us mediocre swimmers lost 15-20 minutes.

I ended up 56th in my age group which was a long way from my original goal. If I have the chance to do the race next year, I will check on the swim before signing up. If USAT hasn't made a correction to the course, I may not do it again. There you have it, me at Nationals getting my butt kicked!!