Competing in a National Championship for your country is an incredible experience and I feel very fortunate to have raced in three events this past weekend: the USAT Standard, Sprint, and Draft-Legal Sprint Duathlons. In total there were 800 competitors this year, with only 22 competing in all three events. These races weren’t originally on my calendar but with the easing of COVID restrictions and some personal schedule changes I was able to register about ten days out. Given the short notice, I hadn’t done any race-specific training but I was confident I could compete in all three events. My goals were to finish in the Top Ten for my Age Group in each race. That would earn USAT “All-American” recognition and qualify for Team USA in both the Standard and Draft-Legal World Championships in the Netherlands (Sep 2021) and Australia (Aug 2022).
I arrived in Tuscaloosa Friday afternoon to pick up my race packets. The city is well-known for hosting high-level events including the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for triathlon and numerous other championship races. The 2021 USAT National races were all centered around the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater which had plenty of space for packet pickup, race expo, bike transition area, and awards ceremony. There are also several hotels within walking distance of the race venue which made race day logistics easy.
Saturday started for me at 4:15 am. As a general rule, I don’t eat three hours prior to exercise. This gave me 20 minutes to eat and an hour to finish my race preps which included mixing my nutrition, checking over my gear, changing into my Team RWB kit, Salming Enroute 3 running shoes, and applying four race number tattoos to my arms and legs. I checked-in for the Standard Duathlon at 5:30 and set up my transition area. For all three races I used one water bottle for my bike and one small 6 ounce bottle for the second run. Both had a mixture of Hammer Nutrition Heed and Endurolytes Extreme. I laid out my transition mat, helmet, and clipped my bike shoes onto the pedals for a flying bike mount out of transition.
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| Standard Duathlon |
The first race started at 7:30 and my wave crossed the starting line at 7:35. Temps were already in the 70’s and would climb well into the 80’s before the race was over. Race day excitement got the best of me and I ran that first mile in 6:26. While it felt good, the run-walk shuffle I experienced a few weeks ago in Seabring was still fresh in my mind and I dialed it back and finished the first 10K with a somewhat conservative average pace of 6:51. That was fast enough to be in sixth place for my age group headed into the bike transition. The bike course was a two loop 12.2 mile route with rolling hills. I inserted a few sprint efforts to pass some riders and take advantage of tailwinds, but otherwise it was a relatively smooth and consistent 213 watt effort to stay well within the top ten. The second run, and final portion of the race was a 5K. I could begin to feel a few tight spots developing in my legs and I took this run relatively easy. I was confident at this point of qualifying and needed to leave enough in the tank for the next race. I ended up finishing with a total race time of 2 hours, 20 min. Good enough for a sixth place age group finish, All-American recognition, and qualify for Team USA! The podium runs five deep at Nationals. Fifth finished about 2.5 minutes ahead of me. I may have been able to catch him, but I probably would’ve paid for it exponentially in later races. Given where I placed in races 2 and 3, I think I made the right decision.
Upon finishing I headed directly back to my hotel room, arriving at 10:30 or about 2.5 hours before the start of the Sprint race. The first thing I did was mix a Hammer Nutrition Vegan Recoverite shake, eat a small lunch, and hydrate. Yes, this was violating my rule of not eating three hours before a race, but there really wasn’t anything I could do about it. I had to replenish what I could. According to my Garmin watch I just burned 2,100 calories in the first race! Next I used my Normatech compression boots for 35 minutes to enhance blood flow in my legs and speed recovery. That left me just enough time to change into my Team M.O.B. kit, lace up a fresh pair of Salming Enroute 3s, scrub off and apply new race tattoos, mix some fresh nutrition bottles, and head back to the race venue.
I returned to the transition area and moved my bike into my assigned spot, applied two new race stickers to my helmet and one to my bike, refilled my water bottles and replenished my top tube bag with Hammer Gels and Endurolytes. I had about thirty minutes to rest in the shade before my Sprint race. wave began at 1:05 pm.
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| Sprint Duathlon |
The Sprint race was along the same course as the Standard, but half the distance. I had planned on going out easy, settling in to the race, and then speeding up as necessary to finish in the top ten. The race announcer was all fired up, the music was blasting, and the crowd support was strong, so of course I went out faster than intended. My legs felt okay, but after about 1/2 mile, my side started to ache and I backed off slightly. Fortunately a lot of racers were slowing as well. It was in the high 90’s with the heat index and many were taking a conservative approach to that first run. I finished the first run in sixth place (again) and I was relieved to get back on the bike course. After jumping on the bike, pedaling up to speed and fastening my shoes, I tucked into aero position and hammered on the pedals. Unfortunately I began to hear a loud creaking and crunching sound from my bottom bracket. I eased up but the sound was still there. Nothing I could do in the middle of a race, so I tuned it out of my mind and just pedaled on. Although I was very familiar with the course at this point, the winds had increased and changed direction from earlier in the day. What used to be a crosswind going out was now almost a direct headwind. With the changing winds and the heat, the first half of the ride felt like a different course, and slow. On the flip side, the return trip was a blast. With a good descent and a tailwind, my max speed hit 40 mph. I finished the bike segment in fifth place, moved through transition quickly, and got back to running. It was incredibly hot and I grabbed two water bottles at every aid station - one to sip from, one to pour over my head to cool off. The run was only 1.8 miles and I couldn’t see anyone from my age group around. I settled into a somewhat uncomfortable pace and finished the race with a total time of 1:19, good enough for fifth place and a podium finish! Fourth was three minutes ahead of me and sixth was three minutes behind me. I was thrilled to finish in fifth! With multiple races to manage and a very competitive field, I didn’t think a podium finish was possible at Nationals.
Once I could retrieve my bike from transition, I headed back to the hotel for a couple hours before the awards ceremony. Same race recovery routine as before... Hammer Nutrition Vegan Recoverite shake, another meal, and quality time in my compression boots.
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| Sprint Duathlon Awards Ceremony |
The awards ceremony was well organized and the announcer and crowd brought a lot of energy. Overall winners were recognized first and then the age groups from oldest to youngest. While the finishing times and associated efforts of the overall race winners was very impressive, the most inspirational for me was watching the winners of the 80-84 year old categories claim their prizes. They were out there on the same course as the rest of us, giving it their absolute best. Their relative effort was probably just as great or greater than those half their age. Slower finishing times doesn’t mean a lesser effort. It meant they endured the heat and gave it their all longer than most of us had to. I want to be like them when I grow up.
I spent the evening after the ceremony getting my Bianchi Infinito road bike ready for the Draft-Legal Sprint on Sunday morning. This would be my first draft-legal race. The biggest difference is the bike portion which is done on a road bike with no aerobars and drafting is allowed. For standard duathlon, there are drafting penalties if you ride within 3 to 5 bike lengths of another competitor. It is very much meant to be an individual sport with no one benefiting from another’s draft. In draft-legal, not only is it allowed, but to do well it’s the only way to compete. Riding in a pack and rotating off the front saves significant energy for the entire group. I’ve rode in many group rides but this would be my first in a race format.
Sunday morning race prep was a repeat of Saturday. Up at 4:15 for breakfast, changed into my Hammer Nutrition race kit, laced up my Salming running shoes, applied another set of race number body markings, and walked my bike to the race venue.
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| Draft-Legal Sprint Duathlon |
The race started at 7:30. I was positioned toward the back of wave 1 with 5 runners starting every 5 seconds. While I did a small warmup, I wasn’t really sure how my legs would hold up for the first 5K. Fortunately my legs were feeling strong and I ran the same pace I did on Saturday for the Standard distance race. My initial plan was to finish the run with a group of others so we could quickly build a pack for the bike portion. As it turned out, runners spread out far on the course over the 3.1 miles and I went through bike transition with nobody around me. Once I got comfortable in the saddle, I saw a few cyclists ahead so I sprinted up to join them. Our group started off small, only 3-4 riders. We all took turns working together and pulling up front. It didn’t take long for the group to grow. For every rider who dropped off the back, we’d catch two to three more who were in front of us. In total, we probably grew to about 25-30 riders. This is when you can really experience the benefits of drafting. Of the three races, this was my fastest average pace at 22.5 mph yet my average power was 13% lower than the other two races. My legs (and my mind) really appreciated the fast but easier effort which allowed me to run hard off the bike. I wasn't sure what place he was in at the time, but I noticed someone in my age group who wasn't far ahead of me and I made it my goal to catch him. With nothing to lose, I emptied the tank and that last run was the best I felt all weekend. As it turns out, he was in fifth place and passing him clinched another podium finish! My finish time for the draft-legal race was 1:09, exactly ten minutes faster than yesterday!
I headed back to the hotel immediately after the race to clean up, pack up all my gear and check out of my room. After one more recovery shake and a short session with my compression boots I headed back to the race venue for the awards ceremony. It was another fun, energetic, and inspiring awards ceremony, but at this point in the day it was very hot and sitting in the uncovered seats at the amphitheater ultimately zapped whatever energy I had left. After receiving my 5th place medal and hobbling around the finish line for a few more photos, it was time to head home. Looking back, I'm not sure what was worse on my legs, three races in 24 hours or sitting in the car for the 8 hour drive home.
Thank you to Hammer Nutrition and Salming Running North America for the continued support. And as always, a big thank you to my family for supporting my multi-sport way of life.
