I have just completed my first season as a pro triathlete. It's been a goal of mine for a very long time to say that, and for this I am proud. When I was a young kid, I always wanted to be a professional baseball player. That didn't quite work out, so I took a consolation prize of being a triathlete instead.
Short summary of this season: I had my last race as an amateur, I started racing as a pro, it was fun and I can't wait to do it again. I made the right choice.
Longer summary: After an unexpectedly successful 2012 season, I made it a goal of mine to earn a pro card in 2013 and to start racing in 2014 after going to the 2013 IM World Champs/Kona. I broke my foot on a training run in July of 2013 and was not able to race and try to qualify at IM Louisville of that year because of it. I signed up for (and raced) four full Ironman distance races in 2014 with hopes of qualifying last year. I didn't do it and was close to giving up the sport. I was thinking it wouldn't happen and I would put the dream to rest.
Then, this past February or March, I signed up for New Orleans 70.3 as a warmup race for the season and qualified for my pro license there. I was not expecting that at all. I was expecting to use NOLA as a season starter, then go to one or two of the Challenge North America races and qualify at one of those. Looking back, I realize this whole thing would probably not have happened if I didn't race NOLA. Challenge North America cancelled their pro prize purses which, in turn, would have caused me to not even attempt going to those races. I would have done IM Boulder, then Kona, then I may have been done with triathlon.
Right after finishing NOLA 70.3 - waiting to see if my second overall AG status was real - Did I just earn the right to get my USAT elite license?
How I got the "pro card" - There are six ways that an athlete can qualify for a license from USA Triathlon. I qualified under criteria "F." Below is the details from USAT's website. Essentially, I had to go to a big race (2,500 plus people/20,000 dollar prize purse) and place top 3 overall. I had to be (one of) the best age group athletes in a really big field.
After New Orleans 70.3 I sat and thought about racing as an amateur for the rest of the season, then going pro in 2016. I was signed up for Ironman Boulder and was going to race that, then go race Kona for a fourth time in October. I thought about it for a few weeks, but couldn't wait to get some experience in the pro field, so I mailed in my application and went pro in May.
The paper application to be mailed in to USA Triathlon
My first race with the big dudes was Boulder 70.3 in June. I was super lucky to have this option. A race that was very close to home that let me "break the ice" and try out a race in a low stress environment. Win, win. It was a fine event... I felt like crap the whole time, but I got some needed experience out of it. Lesson number one - swim is really important. The pro race is much tighter and smaller - if you do not get out of the water in one of the front packs, you ride and run alone. I was not (and am still not) a strong swimmer and came out a fair amount back in that race. I rode the 56 miles alone, then ran the 13.1 the same way.
Aiden went to pick up my first bib with a really low number.
My next race was Racine 70.3 - Wisconsin in mid July after a short week vacation with Beth and her family Back east. I had started to swim/train/be coached by Grant Holicky and the Apex group and was hoping to see some improvement in the swim here. I did, but not much and I knew that I could not rely on my past as a swimmer to get my swim up to speed as quickly as I thought. It was a good race, but still nothing great. Bad swim, good power on the bike, and a mediocre run. It was another start/finish as a pro though. That was worth a lot, and I got to see lots of family while I was out there. Great time indeed.
My Aunt, Cousin, and Sister before the Racine 70.3 start
I then was faced with the whole Ironman Boulder thing. It was an age group only race. I signed up when I was racing as an amateur in January (and thought I may not race pro in 2015), and was faced with a decision on whether or not to even start the race. I decided to give it a go and just try and sneak under 9 hours in the Ironman distance for the first time.
IM Boulder swim start - I am on the far right looking left
I started that race with about 25% of the motivation and drive that it takes to finish an Ironman. Not good. I called it quits about 15 minutes into the swim. I just wasn't feeling it. There was no reward for finishing on that day, but there was some risk. If I finished, I would be the pro that took a higher finishing place from an age group athlete in an age group only race - that didn't seem right and I didn't look forward to any backlash that came with it. Anyways, I kept going and finished the swim in craptastic fashion and got into T1 saying that I was done. I thought for another minute while sitting in T1 and said to myself that I would at least go out on the bike and get a workout in. I got on the bike and just kept going, going, and going.
I felt okay on the ride, but still lacked any real motivation. I pulled into the overall lead of Ironman Boulder at about mile 85 and held it until about mile 100. That was fun. I led an Ironman for a little while with some police escorts in front of me and had a 4:27 bike split. I then got to T2 second overall about 30 seconds down from the lead and headed out for the run. I still had NO MOTIVATION at all to do this race. I ran 9 miles of the run laughing and joking the whole way. It was a good workout, and I am VERY glad that I pulled out. It was the right thing to do that day.
Heading into T2 @ IM Boulder (from the Daily Camera Online)
After IM Boulder, my family and I headed up to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming for a week and a half vacation. It was awesome. I kept my training up while there, had a blast, found out that my sister was moving back to Colorado (which happens to be one of the best things to happen this year), and had a fun mental break from racing. Good vacation and good family time = awesome.
My sister, wife, and brother in law up in the Tetons - End of summer vacation
The day after I got back from vacation, Beth and I were back at work. Boo.
The awesome part about being back at work this school year was that I was now working at the same school as my wife. I started working back at Longs Peak Middle in Longmont and it was/is awesome. Working at the same place as Beth has really been great.
Back at work meant that I was back to getting up at 4:01 a.m. every single morning. I like the early workouts, but it really gets tough to manage life when you start doing that. I live in constant exhaustion from it. Another great thing about my training this year is that I now own a treadmill. I have my bike and run ready for me right downstairs every morning of the week. Very convenient and very efficient. It's a huge motivator having my own training space in the house.
My Basement: This is where I do almost all of my training during the winter. That treadmill was the single best personal purchase decision that I made last year. Actually, the best purchase EVER.
I had planned on racing Ironman Chattanooga in late September and stuck to it. We made it a whole family trip down there and was looking forward to doing this as my first full in the new division. My cousin Brian even made the trip up from Atlanta to check out the whole Ironman thing.
Beth, myself, and my cousin Brian the day before IM Chattanooga
It was a non-wetsuit swim that was downstream in a river. Since the swim is where I had been struggling, I saw this as an opportunity to race it and not lose too much time. The actual swim portion ended up being pretty great and this was the first time in a pro race where I was actually able to race the swim in a pack. I swam the whole time with Doug MacLean and Matt Russell. Two dudes that I have looked up to in the sport for a while. It was a plus to feel like I was actually racing the swim instead of just surviving and minimizing my losses.
The bike was uneventful, but nice. I was with a group of other pro men for the whole time and was not riding 116 miles alone. I did notice that my rear break was rubbing after I picked the bike up after the race - I question how much time I may have lost on that leg due to the brake rub.
The marathon was a big question mark because I had trained with lower weekly run milage this year, but it ended up going very well. I ran a 3:08 on a rather challenging run course, and was able to break the nine hour barrier for the first time in an Ironman. It was a big goal of mine going into the season.
The feeling that I got after breaking nine was not a feeling of being done with a goal, but a bigger hunger to be in the money. Great, I went sub-9, how many minutes was I out of a paycheck?
Running the bridge about 13 miles into the IM Chattanooga marathon
Crossing an Ironman finish line with a clock reading under 9 hours. Little Debbie mascot dude to the left was an added bonus.
Finishing thoughts on IM Chattanooga - It was a great race, and a nice substitution for IM Louisville (my personal fav, no pro division there anymore). I will be back at Chattanooga next year for sure - with my family. It was a great family friendly city and an awesome course. Little Debbie also did an absolutely amazing job of being a title sponsor. There were free moon pies every direction you looked.
After Ironman Chattanooga, I was struck with a "what the heck do I do now" moment. Half of me wanted to be DONE for the season, while the other half really wanted to race one more time.
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I had gotten on the start list for Miami 70.3, but decided not to go. It was too far and was just a 70.3. I didn't see myself gaining any valuable experience from being there and would not be in the money. I looked at doing Austin 70.3 or Ironman Arizona to round out the year.
I decided on IMAZ and chose to stick hard to seven weeks of consistent training between Chattanooga and Arizona.
Then...
Two weeks before I was to leave for Arizona, Beth and I found out that she had just had her fourth miscarriage in a row and I gave up even thinking of going to do an Ironman. Racing seemed so trivial and stupid to me at that point. It was the shittiest point of the year personally. Then, after a week or so, Arizona seemed like it would be a nice little distraction for us and a nice getaway. I/we decided to go down and give all the effort I had to finish out the season successfully. I wrote a post about the past few years and the troubles that Beth and I have had with trying for a second child. If you haven't read, feel free to
here.
The miscarriage before IM Arizona was a huge emotional, physical, and all around blow, but I knew I had the fitness to capitalize on a good race. We went down on Thursday and enjoyed a few days before the race as a family. My son Aiden's fifth birthday was on the day of the race, and I was able to have some good times with him down there.
Aiden and me two days before the race. The kid is a fish.
IM Arizona Race: This was my final chance to gain some experience in the swim at the top level this year. It was also a race where I would face my biggest fear that I have in triathlon: a cold open-water swim. I have been a notoriously bad swimmer in a wetsuit and have NEVER had a successful swim in a full sleeve wetsuit. This swim was both for me. I was able to get through the swim in a full wetsuit, and for that it was a victory. I have had panic attacks in the past in a full sleeve - not this time though. I used a Roka Maverick Pro full sleeve wetsuit for this one. A full size larger than I have before - sized medium. Richie Cunningham suggested that I get a larger suit and his suggestion was the perfect solution to my issue with feeling constricted, thus panicked.
The swim was just so - so. Not as slow as it could have been, but put me down a whole 10 minutes before the bike ever started. On the bike I felt fine and settled into a groove quickly. I averaged about 240 watts normalized power for the ride. 40w higher average than I was in Kona of 2013 - BIG improvement. It was also my first ride outside since Ironman Chattanooga 7 weeks prior. Nearing the end, it started to rain with 25 - 30 miles left. Other note - It was challenging having a three loop course while trying to maintain speed and power with so many athletes on course of so many different abilities. There was a ton of yelling (politely?) "to your left" and such. I was done with the bike in 4:37 and into transition 2. I really thought I could pull off a sub 4:30, but the rear brake seemed to be rubbing again.
The marathon started out well and continued as such throughout the run. I was easily holding sub 6:45 minute miles for most of it and only faded with 5 - 6 miles to go. The hardest part of the marathon was stopping at the porto-poty six times. I could not stop peeing that whole marathon. I read after that some had similar issues as well. This was my first Ironman (since my first ever) that was in cooler weather. I know that I was sweating way less, but whatever I had to drink (tons of red bull) seemed to want to come out right away. I figure I lost 5 minutes in the bathroom stops - I plan on being at a sub 3 hour IM marathon a few times next season.
Overall, I am VERY happy with the decision to race IM Arizona. Rounding out the year with two sub-9 performances leaves me with confidence as a long course athlete going into next year. I am just over three weeks past that race and my urge to get back out there is big.
Crossing a final finish line of my 2015 season - 8:52:33 - Next year I am more than confident that I will be under 8:40 at the same distance.
Some final points/thoughts about 2015
Overall: I thought I would race pro for fun but now I know that I have more ability than I ever thought. If I can train (properly) and be smart about racing, I can be a successful athlete. I firmly believe that I can be a true professional and not one by name alone.
Experience: Being part of the pro field is much more fun/safer/enjoyable than I have ever had in racing as an amateur. During my first experience at the Boulder 70.3, I remember thinking that the whole experience was drastically different. The swim is IMPORTANT. If I am lucky and able to give the time I want to the sport, the added training will all be in the pool.
Training: I used coaching for the first time in years. I felt that I needed this in order to make changes and learn how to make adjustments in the pro race. I will continue here. I don't train that many hours. That's my limiter. If I can put in the time, I will see some drastic improvement.
Improvement: I continue to improve and grow as an endurance athlete. I felt as though I may have hit some sort of a plateau in the 2014 season and was very bummed out by my performances last year. The sky is the limit now. Again, time for training is my limiter.
Burnout: None - crossing fingers - but none. As I write this, I am itching to race again.
Misc: It's amazing having retired parents who have gotten into spectating/helping with these races. My wife = the reason I can do this. I can see that this is a positive influence on my five year old son and I hope it continues that way. I know that depends on if I can maintain good life balance.
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Final: I can be good. Possibly great at this sport. I'm looking forward to getting back out there and giving 2016 all that I have. My time as an athlete is limited. I am going to make the best of it while it lasts.
