Friday, August 30, 2013

2013 USAT Age Group Nations by Christopher Clements

I guess the best place to start is always the beginning.  I found out I had qualified for both the sprint and Olympic distance races on New Years Day and finally decided to focus on the Olympic distance.
 
As the race drew near I began toying with the idea of doing both and finally decided too. Unfortunately an easy trail run brought an end to that when I badly rolled my left ankle.  After that my training came to a halt for nearly a week before I started to ease back into everything but the running.  The only time I ran was to compete at Wet Dog which I planned to use as my dress rehearsal.  I took four weeks off from running before I began testing the water so to speak, the only problem was I had about 10 days till Nationals.  I used that time to focus on my bike and swim but this was when I decided to only race the Sprint (really my doctors suggestion).
 
We arrived in Milwaukee about 1 in the morning the Friday before the race.  After roughly 6 hours of sleep we went down and got the full breakfast the hotel provided; amazing food and kudos to the chef for being able to remember everyone’s order.  After breakfast I picked up both of my packets (we weren’t able to cancel my Olympic distance registration) and then hopped in the water for a quick swim.
 
It didn’t seem like it would be all that cold and wasn’t but the chill I received after jumping in the water reminded me how much I dreaded cold water.  I managed to brave the cold water without a wet suit  and jogged an easy mile before attending the rules briefing and checking out the expo. Chrissie Wellington was at the expo signing autographs and selling her book but I decided food was a necessity and would try to make it back in time for a picture, I unfortunately ended up about 30 minutes late.
 
Milwaukee is a very beautiful city, but the people there must not get very hungry because we spent about an hour and a half trying to find food, finally settling for a sketchy Wendy’s. After dinner we went back to the venue to relax and study the race set up.
 
The next day I watched the Olympic distance race and cheered on Evan Pardi whom I raced at Heel and Crank last year and who now races for the University of Oregon.
 
Then I checked out the Discovery World Museum which was a great experience.  After a light lunch we made some last minute checks to my bike and then I checked it into transition for the night, only after memorizing the exact latitude and longitude of my spot (I sort of lost my stuff at Wet Dog in T2).
 
Race morning I awoke at 5:30, grabbed a yogurt and watermelon and set up my transition at 6:15.  Because I didn’t race until 9:30 I went back to the hotel and ate a PB&J and some more yogurt. By 8:50 I had my skin suite on and ready to rock and roll, only a racer disappeared in the water and everything was shut down for 45 minutes, it turned out the he had crawled out onto the bank. During this time Evan (placed 19th in his AG the day before and was doubling up) and I talked.  After about 15 minutes I couldn’t help but be a little envious of his long sleeved wet suit because a storm was starting to roll in, complete with cold wind.
 
We finally got in the water and lined up on the front. Having never been in a crowded mass open water start I was pretty calm. The horn sounded, I started my watch like I always do only to find a wall of kicking feet. I then took a nice constant barrage of hand, feet, and elbows to my head for about 5 minutes.  Someone kicked as I was breathing near the end of that 5 minutes and I unfortunately took 85% of the splash down my throat and calming spent the next 30 seconds attempting not to puke to much as I swam.  I finally hit calmer waters, regained my form and took off but the damage was done.  I came out of the water and saw I was about 3 minutes slower than I had planed to swim.
 
As soon as I got my feet in my bike shoes I new I had a ton of time to make up and was not in the slightest bit happy so I threw all my rage into the bike.  The bike had two turn arounds and three massive climbs.  I hit the first climb, shifted to heavier gear and stood up pounding all the way to the top.   Having worked on likes lately I gave it my all to the top, made the turn around and pounded it out back down making gravity my new best friend.  The course backtracked be transition staying flat as we went by some large estates on the right and beach to our left.  As soon as we passed transition we started the long climb onto the interstate and across the bridge which was close to a mile up overlooking the city and unfortunately for me and my disc wheel, Lake Michigan.
 
I again stood up but had to really work to keep my bike in line.  Had one near mishap where the wind made me bump shoulder with another racer as I passed, thankfully there weren’t any refs watching me at the time.  There were some photographers near the top of the climb so I made sure to really put the hammer down there hoping for some epic photos (still haven’t seen them yet, I’m kind of depressed).  I started to feel the climb some on the decent but it ended up being a little more of a case of watching for bumps in the road and keeping the wind in check.  By the turn around I had fought my way back into 18th place in my age group and Team USA and didn’t plan to loose it easily.  Once we started back up and over the bridge (the back side was slightly steeper) it was straight into a strong head and crosswind. That climb consisted of me keeping the bike in a straight line and not think of the increased burning in my quads.  So I did what I’m best at on climbs, I put my head down and stood back up.  Once I reached the top it was straight down, around a blind curve with a bush and into transition, because of the bush I didn’t push the pace very much.  I got toT2 in between groups so I didn’t have to fight anyone for the line and managed to switch shoes and get out in under a minute. 
 
I left T2 in 18th place still with my Team USA slot, still not letting you pass me! I managed to hold a solid pace and avoid getting overtaken until the first aid station, then I started to feel the ride.  By mile two I was really feeling it and lost two places but they were not in my age group so I let them go.  Plus my feet were still numb from the cold, not my favorite way to run but it happens.  With a mile to go I picked up the pace some but my quads weren’t too pleased with the idea, a couple people got by me but I didn’t notice their age.  Then with 3/10ths of a mile to go I saw my sister yelling something about pick it up at the road, I really didn’t feel like asking for specifics at that time.  Then with 2/10ths to go I saw my mom saying, “better go now!”.  I summoned all my will and picked up some ,hearing breathing behind me.  I though it was the older guy that had been on my shoulder since I caught him at mile 2.  As I made the right turn onto the road I let up just a bit and  this junior from Tennessee I talked to before the race flew by me, I tried to come back by him but my body had just about had it and I started dry heaving with 1/10th to go and lost him.  He would beat me by 14 seconds.  As I approached the red carpet I saw the guy that had been on my shoulder make a move and I just managed to pull out enough of a sprint to edge him out at the line.
 
My watch said 56 minutes and I was sure I made the team.
  
As it started to rain I hobbled over to my dad  ( I’ve finally shaken the quad soreness and can walk and all now that its been a week) and talked to him about the race while it was still fresh on my mind to help determine my future training.  Then I flipped through my watch to learn that 56 was my bike run time, with my swim I did over 1 hour 8 minutes and I new I had missed the team.  I didn’t yet know by how much or if I actually had but it was looking doubtful.  Once I got a pork wrap and some Doritos in me I felt somewhat better but by then I knew I hadn’t made the team and it was a little harder to swallow than the chips.  Looking back I realized my mistake had been starting my watch in the water which caused me to fall behind and get stuck in the chaos of my first mass open water swim start.  I enjoy learning from each race and improving but this was one I wish I didn’t have to learn.  I will not be racing with a watch for a long time now.  Final results were 22nd in my age group and 133rd overall, I was in the company of the best of the best in the nation so I can’t complain.
 
I had one of my best races, left it all out on the course and had an amazing time! I will defiantly be back again next year if I qualify.  I would like to say thank you to everyone who believed in me these past 8 months and encouraged me: my family, friends, team members and training partners.  Next up: Frantic Frog!!!!