After having raced on four different continents for the beginning of my 2010 season, last weekend was a real change of scenery as I traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the Hy-Vee Triathlon. Offering the largest prize purse in the sport of triathlon ($200,000 to the winner of both the men's and women's race!), Hy-Vee attracts the absolute best in the world for a shot at the big prize. All active Olympic medalists, a host of world champions, and every big name in the sport showed up in Des Moines on Sunday for a day of fast racing. In addition, NBC was filming a full-length segment about the race so the course was littered with TV cameras, camera-laden motorcycles, and helicopters catching the action as it unfolded--this race was certainly the big stage!
The morning before the race was plagued with the threat of thunderstorms and rumors of possible delays, cancellations, and "sprint-ification" of the course. Fortunately as race time neared the clouds lifted, the temperatures rose, and the race was on.
When the gun went off, over 70 men (well over the ITU World Cup limit) dove into the murky waters for a raging fast swim. The swim was made even faster by a huge bonus waiting for the first man out of the water. The large group and fast pace made for a particularly violent swim with lots of contact--kicking, punching, pulling, and fighting the whole way. After a solid first lap of the swim, the group accelerated and I lost a little bit of contact. Going into the bike, I had a few other athletes around me, but I had a small gap to make up.
After riding hard for about five miles, I was able to bridge the gap up to the main group of roughly 65 on the tight and twisty course. Once I joined the group, I knew I had to move to the front--difficult because of the huge group and tight roads--so I took the only open route and rode the gravel shoulder on the side of the road! After getting some surprised looks from the other guys, I took a little time to relax and set a slightly faster pace in order to catch another rider who had gone 30 seconds off the front. While on the front, I did my best to soften the legs of the weaker riders in the back, all the while securing a little bit of TV time for myself and sponsors...haha! The pace continued to quicken as people took turns trying to attack off the front. However, none of the attacks stuck, and we came flying into transition as one giant group.
I was positioned well near the front of the group, and as we racked our bikes and put on our shoes, everyone took off almost sprinting. I found out later that our first kilometer was run in 2:40 (around 4:19 per mile pace!!). Unfortunately this crazy pace took its toll on everyone pretty quickly and guys began to fade halfway through the run. I did my best to hang on for dear life, and still have a respectable run and a good overall result.
I finished 19th overall, and 2nd American in the field--beating some big names in the sport such as Matt Reed, Brad Kahlefeldt, Stuart Hayes, and others. I was also able to beat many of the guys who had been ahead of me earlier in the season at WCS races in Sydney and Seoul. My ranking has also moved up to 31st in the world on the ITU Points List and third American!
I am very happy with my overall performance given the stellar and highly motivated ($$) field in Hy-Vee. Everyone who showed up was rested, ready to race, and gunning for the big prize. At the same time, I am proving that I can be a consistent performer for the US team, which will help my chances to make the Olympic Team in 2012. While many are starting to level off in their racing, I am still improving, and I know my best races are still to come.
Thanks, as always, for everyone's support through these busy (and expensive!) seasons. My sponsors, family, friends, and fans really help me through all of these tough high-profile races. I have always made it my goal to race the absolute best, and I am now starting to get my chance. I am confident that as my experience grows at this level, my performances will continue an upward path.
As a final note, mark the calendar for Sunday, July 4 at 2pm (time zone unknown...) immediately following the Wimbeldon men's final--NBC will be broadcasting a full-length show about the Hy-Vee Triathlon with extra footage and better commentating than the live internet show. I'll try to send out another e-mail as the date gets closer, but it should be a great program!