Background

“Wait didn’t you race in the World Championship a few weeks ago? And wasn’t it in Austria?”

The majority people don’t spend most of their weekends in spandex talking about aerodynamics, so I got this question a lot before leaving for Chicago. The answer: Yes. But I also raced in the ITU Standard Triathlon World Championship this past weekend in Chicago. So read along to see how it went and check out the pictures at the end.

For starters, here is how the two Championship races are different:

The ITU Grand Final weekend has an “Olympic” feel to it. In part because there are, in fact, athletes vying for Olympic spots. But the whole city is abuzz with folks from different places and team sweats qualify as legitimate evening wear. Additionally, the type of racing is very different from Ironman racing. If Ironman and 70.3 racing is about grinding it out, Olympic style racing is redlining for two hours thinking about nothing except the word, “GO!”

The Setup

Like Austria, the race started at a civil 10:45 a.m. I could get used to this! I traveled with my close bud Vince D’Onofrio and come race morning, we were amped and ready for one of our epic throwdowns in what has been a back-and-forth history racing against one another. My parents were in town for the race as well, which makes consecutive ITU Worlds cheering on the Stars and Stripes! Sadly, I picked up the cold that was going around SF a few days before the race, so I pumped myself full of caffeine, Ibuprofen and electrolytes and reminded myself that I only had to feel like sh!t for 2 hours.

The Swim – 0.9mi (00:24:37)

This swim went almost exactly the way that each fast and furious Olympic distance swim has gone for me:

• In the cold waters looking at the Chicago skyline, pumping myself up before the gun
• Gun goes off, and I commit to swimming hard to stay with the pack
• Settle into rhythm, find myself falling off main group into second group
• Half way through, second group looking thinner…
• Begin hating my lack of swim skills and asking myself why I do Olympic races
• Have a HTFU moment, fight the chop of Lake Michigan alone and bring it in for a strong bike and run

One day I’ll write a different race report, but with the setbacks I’ve had this year, I don’t believe that will be in 2015. I didn’t give it a second thought and focused on sprinting the quarter-mile to my bike.

The Bike – 24.9mi (00:55:17)

 The crowds were great and as I got on my bike I immediately went to business in the midst of USA chants. Per usual, the legs were a little heavy to start, but I pushed as damn hard as I could until they woke up. The course was crazy as two-thirds of it was in a tunnel. So while that was very fast (sadly not fast enough as discs were not allowed allowed at the last-minute, preventing me from putting my aero jacket back on), it was actually a bit sketchy because bumps and holes in the road were tough to see in the dark on the windy road.

Vince had swum almost two minutes into me, and I used him as my benchmark on the out and back. On the second loop, I had put no time into him – crap, he was riding hard! I kicked it into my highest gear and passed EMJ teammate Kyle Fox as he yelled at me to go get ’em. I knew Kyle was a strong rider, and that this meant he was coming with me. I went through the many turns like a crit racer and brought it home.

The run – 6.7mi (00:36:21 – 10K route was 1/2mi long)

Not having caught Vince on the bike, I knew I was in trouble and had to run hard. Though I thought I was transitioning well, Kyle ran by me and put about ten seconds into me as we headed out. Like the other two legs of this race, the only thought in your head is “go as hard as you can.”

Unfortunately for me, my hardest on Saturday was good, but not great, compared to runs I’ve done in the past. I knew this meant keeping a steady, controlled burn instead of going through matches with gutsy moves. In addition to going back and forth with Kyle, I saw teammate Sean Cooley and his girlfriend Hanna cheering at the perfect spot to keep me pumped up.

I looked down at my watch and saw 6.2mi (10K), but knew we had a good deal of running left. This course was officially marked long! But I used it to my advantage and turned up the heat passing a bunch of folks on the way in.

As I circled around Buckingham Fountain (which was pretty rad, by the way), I was going deep for sure, as my “pain face” finisher photos confirm. I was up on the toes, going down the blue carpet, knowing my parents were in the stands and that I’d done the best I could. All you can ever ask for!

Result – 2:01:56; Division 20th OA, 8th American

Closing Thoughts

At the end of the day, this is a really fun way to race on one of triathlon’s biggest stages while representing your country. I’m honored to have been there again and so fortunate to have had my folks and buddies there to share this (and the deep dish pizza) with. For the record, Vince took this round by 48sec – the saga continues!

Thanks

Thanks as always to my friends and family for supporting – to those of you who send kind notes, to the ones who help me pack my bike up before I leave, I’m so very grateful! To the Team USA staff who did an awesome job organizing the team, information and accommodations like mechanics, masseuses, chiropractors, etc. Thanks to the Team Every Man Jack guys at the race and sending support over the interwebs, and all of the sponsors that legitimately make me go faster – special shout out to ROKA Sports who hooked me up with an insane Maverick Pro wetsuit as mine was full of holes!

Next Up

– Oct 4: Ironman 70.3 Silverman – Las Vegas/Henderson

Final race of the year in less than two weeks and I can’t wait to get back to Henderson and throw down!

Pictures