A few weekends ago, I raced a TT and road race in New Mexico
with the ASU Cycling Team.
The time trial was one of the coolest things I have ever
done. Sure, I didn’t get to roll down a ramp with fans cheering me on while I
sprint up to speed, but someone was holding my back wheel so I could have both
feet clipped in when I started, which was pretty sweet.
It was my first time using heart rate during a race. It kept
me in check and forced me to keep pushing hard the whole time. I did a quick
run after, and then went into full on recovery aka feast mode after the TT in
order to be ready for the road race tomorrow. By not racing the crit I was able
to save some extra energy for the road race the next day. Our team did awesome
in the C crit, with Alan and Gabe going 1-2 overall.
The road race was about an hour away from our hotel, so
after a quick breakfast and checkout we were on our way to the Small town of
Hillsburo. It was in the middle of nowhere, but there was some beautiful
scenery. My goal was to follow Alan and Gabe’s crit strategy of staying in the front
5 or so at all times. I was able to position myself well for the climb at the
end of the race.
I ended up coming in 3rd Collegiate C and 7th
overall for the combined field. It was a great learning experience and I had a ton of fun racing with
the team over the weekend. Watching our teams hard work pay off was cool.
I spent spring break in San Diego. My friends from Ultimate
Frisbee last year lured me out by saying I could bring my bike. I remembered a
huge hill really close to their house from when I stayed there last year, and
figured “why not, there’s gotta be some good riding”.
The riding was amazing. All of the big hills, scenery, and
smooth roads where great: especially when you’re used to looking at cactus
while riding. I was able to practice some open water swimming at the beach, and tried to body board for a while too. Every ride had some great climbing involved. Even
the runs had spectacular views.
On the last Sunday of spring break, my Mom came down and
visited. She helped me clean up my apartment; bought me food, and we even went
on a bike ride in north Scottsdale. It was great seeing family after all of the
time spent away from home.
Riding with Mom |
Then, the Havasu tri happened this past weekend (3/21). It
was the first race my brother Steve and I got to race together, which allowed
for a sweet pre-race photo op (thanks Geneva). I was seeded in the first wave,
which put me in a great position for the bike.
THE SWIM:
I was pleasantly surprised by the swim – I started out
pretty far off to the right with the plan of holding my own pace instead of
sprinting for the first 200. Apparently one group sighted incorrectly, and they
ended up doing a lot of extra swimming. I sighted for myself, swam alone, and made it out in front of a lot of people I thought I was going to have to
chase down on the bike. During T1 I ended up getting my arm stuck in my
wetsuit, dropping my goggles, and almost falling several times. It was pretty
funny.
THE BIKE:
Right away I struggled getting my shoes on (the flying mount went brutal). I knew all the people who had a bad swim would take it out on the
bike, so I needed to go fast to stay away. Having a road bike was nice on the rolling hills, and when I saw Steve in the lead it gave me a little more push on the
hills to try and catch some people towards the front. Coming into transition I
was a little scared that my legs were blown.
THE RUN:
The first mile of the run was tough because we were running
through some sand then up some stairs. I caught a BYU guy, and we ran together
for a while. Eventually I was able to catch a few people who passed me on the
bike. I held on for the last couple miles, finishing just behind David from
CSU.
OVERALL:
Seeing progress on your goals is a great feeling. This race was a big test for me to see where I was at and what I need to
work on in the short period of time before nationals. I didn’t post the top
splits for any of the sports, and my transition times were all sub-par, which
means that there is a lot of room to get better between now and April 25th. Click here to see the official results for all collegiate participants.
THE HIGHLIGHT:
At around the 2-mile mark into the run I saw Steve flying in
the other direction. I say flying and not running because it looked like he was
in an all out sprint. He gave me a grunt, and then won the race.
It was great bonding with all the other teams at the
campground, and the trip was a ton of fun. I will be racing the Duncan Road
Race this weekend, then Lifetime Marquee on April 12. Collegiate Nationals is
on April 24/25th in Clemson, SC. I am still fundraising for
Nationals, so feel free to donate here.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
PS: Paul, if you’re reading this 6:12 < 6:15.