Kiwanis: The Other Sprint Nationals

August 3rd may be the day of Troika, but to me its all about Sprint Nationals. Unfortunately it’s in New York. For the first time in five years, I’m just too worn out from work, house/yard work and training to want to take a trip anywhere other than to my bed. Although it’s not the same, I chose Kiwanis on the 2nd as my substitute. My simple goal was to race it like it were Sprint Nationals.
While Matt and Jessie aren't looking, I pour some nitro into my Podium Quest water bottle. It has two compartments, which allows me to have both nitro and water.

Judging from the responses this year, people seem to be interested in stories of humor, suffering and great battles. Last week was nothing like that and its entertainment value seemed to go over like a lead balloon. Although the race may not have been interesting, it was a very rare breakthrough for me. I suppose I can understand the lack of excitement over the success of someone who’s had his fair share of it, but it was more than just another win. To me, it was stunning. Fortunately, in terms of athletic performance, Kiwanis was very much the same. Unfortunately, the story is pretty much the same as well. My apparent lack of passion for telling this story belies just how awesome it feels to finally have a major breakthrough.

Look closely and you can see the zippers go down the side to the ankles. It's the not-so-popular Piel. I've got gear for most occasions and the Piel is perfect for this one. It's faster than going without a wetsuit and transitions much faster than any other wetsuit in the world. Every second counts.

I swam 240m (instead of what I measured at 247m) according to where I was standing when they started so unexpectedly. My time was 2:55.1, which left me rather breathless. I lead from the start and had no idea when the next person came out, but with the swim being so short, we had at least three people in T1 before I left. For the first time in years, I wore the Piel, which has breakaway zippers from shoulder to ankles that can come completely off in six seconds while running. It's perfect for a super short swim. My shoes were already on the bike, so I was in and out in a flash. Rather than taking my split right out of the transition area, I took it when I got to the road (I know the precise bike distances from there). My split for the extra long T1 was a smokin’ 1:10.5.

One of my goals was to avoid the chaos that normally comes at a buoy. With this swim being so short, that turn can be especially bad at just 120m in. Last time I was third out of the water, but avoided getting beat up. Although it would be nice to have feet to follow, being untouched for an entire swim is pretty nice. I have home court advantage. My house is 1200m away (almost directly behind me).
If it weren't for pictures, I'd have no idea how this swim ended up. I normally take a look back from time to time, but was too focused. I'm guessing I have about a :15 lead. Look at the mob near the buoy! That's too much for this hydrophobic to endure. Avoiding that mess is what motivates me in swim training even more than my desire to be competitive.

Although I’m riding a lot faster these days, it feels a lot the same. It all goes back to my line about how we all feel pain, but it happens at a different pace. Despite not feeling very good out there, my times left me pretty happy. I set a PR around Clear Lake and managed to do the entire 10.04M bike in 23:27.9 (25.67 MPH). Coming into T2, I was ready to blaze through as fast as I could. My goal was 30 seconds from the turn off Salnave to the start of the run. It seemed unreasonable, but I almost made it with a 30.9.

For now, I think it's a race against the clock. I always need goals to strive for so I don't get lazy. I don't have anyone to race through T2, unless you count that 30 second goal.
Just as I look up the driveway to Salnave to see if someone is hot on my heels, Roger tells me I have a 5 second lead. I thought it would be a rerun of Snake River Sprint when I thought I was completely alone until Ben ran past as I synched my shoes. I took a quick look at the turn, but with so many people in the park, I couldn't tell if anyone was there or not. Rather than continuing to look, I just judged from the actions of the aid station volunteers. If I got caught, I've always got the afterburners ready for the sprint to the finish.

Starting the run, my cumulative race time was 28:04.4. Roger told me I had a 5 second lead. I have to admit that I hadn’t been looking, so I was surprised. I think he was just trying to fool me. It worked. I thought someone was chasing me for nearly two miles! I was running hard enough that I wouldn't change my pace until passed anyway, so I never took a good look. My run goal was sub 17, so I pushed hard to stay on pace, but knew that could put me in under 45:00. I ran a 16:44.3 for the 2.89M (5:47.51/M). I was pleased with the run considering how hard I rode, but normally expect to run faster. My finish time was 44:48.7. Allegedly the CR was 48:18, set by yours truly. The swim was shorter than the listed 400 yards by 124m (I prefer meters to yards, so I convert), which saved me 90 seconds of the 3:30 under the CR. We’re talking a shorter sprint, not an Olympic or Half Iron. Where did the other 2 minutes come from? How is that possible on such a short race? This race has been done on more than one occasion by a few fast athletes. I can’t find my journal (must be in boxes from moving) from my two previous tries to compare splits. I know I saved a lot by nailing the transitions and biking faster, but this just doesn’t add up. Of course, it didn’t add up last week either, but the Clear Lake bike and run course is exactly the same every year, just like Kiwanis bike and run is exactly the same.
I'm polite, but I find it annoying that people think sprints are easy or think it's a walk in the park for me. At best, sprints have the most potential to be easy because they're shorter. However, everything you experience in a longer race is amplified by the greater intensity. More pain, less air, cramps, dizziness, higher heart rate, blood in your lactic acid, etc. You can work your way through problems when going at a slower pace, but you can't fake your way past the cramps, injuries, side aches, which means you have to slow down and watch the parade go by. To do well at sprints, you have to avoid all mistakes, know your limits, be willing to suffer a lot and hang on tight.

After racing triathlons since 1992, not much comes as a surprise these days. It doesn’t seem possible that I could be that much faster. I’m having trouble believing it and feel pretty uneasy about it too. On the other hand, I’m pretty good with numbers, so I’m left feeling one thing and knowing another. In this case, that’s not such a bad thing, but where was this speed six weeks ago in Estonia when I needed it most? Moreover, it's a shame I can't do Coeur d'Alene next week to go head-to-head with Seeley and Thompson (we're all in the same age group) and so many other great athletes to see how I actually stack up. I have a pretty good idea from how the race looks on paper, but races aren't done on paper.Roger and I talking tri. He's so fast on a bike that I'd need a motorcycle to keep up. We've both been racing really well this year, but unlike me, he gets to test himself against Matt Seeley next week. Can you tell I'm a bit jealous? At least I had Seeley for a house guest and got to pick his brain about training and racing. The next day, he was clearly comfortable in route to destroying everyone in Troika with a 4:02:47! His regret was not pushing the run so he could go under four hours. I'd have to tag Ryan Hall for the run to go sub 4.