Okay, I have to start this post by noting that the smacktalk that led up to this race was great fun. I started it, and (spoiler alert) by getting beaten, will be paying for it for a while. Mike and I went head to head for bragging rights and double-or-nothing on the burrito he owes me from Loveland last season. Now we're even.
We raced the sprint tri--500m swim in Lake Havasu, 20k bike, and 5k run. For a lot of reasons, this race favors Mike: he'd raced here twice before (to great results), the swim (my specialty) is shorter than the normal 750m, the run (his specialty) is unusual including up and down about 50 stairs and about 200 meters of running in soft sand each direction, and there is a long, uneven barefoot run on rocky dirt out of T1 and back into T2. Despite these challenges, I was persistent in baiting Mike into a bunch of facebook smacktalk which was fun, but left a few folks wondering about the status of our relationship. Let it be known that I love Mike like a brother--the talk was never personal even though he sometimes gets it (seriously funny stuff like "With 4 weeks to go, you might want to start going to church. That's going to be the best use of your time at this point."). Sometimes he swings and misses ("Quitters don't win.") but it's always interesting.
My race plan was simple and not a secret--drill it from the start and build as big a lead as possible in the water. Hold or possibly extend the lead on the bike, then hang on for dear life on the run and hope he runs out of road. I knew transitions would be key--Mike and I are usually pretty close here, but he's often a few seconds faster.
I warmed up well and was ready for a fast start. At the gun I blasted out to the front and was gasping for air and wondering if I'd made a mistake by 100 meters but held form and found myself out front with one other guy next to me and a gap already starting to form. We swam side-by-side for a short while and I decided to drop in behind him at the first of two buoys. Halfway to the second buoy, he simply swam away from me. I came around the turn a few seconds behind and took a breath to my left to see what was going on behind us. There was a nice gap, but Mike was the next swimmer. I pushed hard to the beach and came out several seconds behind the leader. He made a wrong turn into transition and had to come back so I was down by 2 seconds on the lead with the second fastest swim of the day.
I was fast and focused through transition in 31 seconds--the fastest T1 split of the day (out of all 500 racers). As I was running out, I saw Mike running in. I knew the math was no good--I guessed I was 30 seconds ahead and there wasn't much chance of holding that lead to the end. That notwithstanding, I set out confident I could extend my lead on the bike. You never know what can happen. I didn't know it at the time, but my swim split was 39 seconds faster and he had trouble with his wetsuit, turning in a fast, but slower than usual transition. Out of T1, I was ahead by 52 seconds.
The run to the bike mount line included about 100 yards across a rocky dirt field. I went as fast as I could, but it definitely hurt. I was running alongside the guy who came out of the water ahead of me. He looked at me and asked, "Are you 19 and under?" (The wave that started ahead of us.) I answered "No." "Are you a relay?" "No." In a deep, raspy voice he yelled, "Then let's do this thing!" Cracked me up and I was game. I had a terrible mount--took me three tries to get my foot on my shoe and was sitting on my top tube at one point, but kept it together and probably only cost myself a few seconds. Slipped quickly into my shoes and set off in pursuit.
We passed the 19 and unders that were out in front of us along the slightly rolling straightaway with a tailwind pushing us along. I never looked back--just stayed focused on the guy ahead of me. He was pulling away slightly but I was going as hard as I could sustain. At the first corner, we headed to what I thought was a quick turnaround but ended up snaking up and down through a neighborhood for several miles. (Thanks Mike for conveniently "forgetting" those few difficult and technical miles when we previewed the course the day before...) At a u-turn at the top of the neighborhood, Mike was coming in as I was going out. I estimated I was ahead by 15 seconds or so. He looked calm and strong--I tried to mirror that confidence, but the idea that he would catch me on the bike, this early in the bike, hadn't occurred to me as a possibility. He was now really in my head and I decided to take some chances to stay ahead.
My energy source was fear at this point--fear of embarrassment. I'd never live it down if he caught me this early. I took a quick peak behind me a little later as I exited the neighborhood and didn't see him. Back out onto the straightaway with the tailwind again (after a close call with a collegiate who had overshot her corner and came by me head-on to my right!). At the final u-turn, Mike and I passed again--I had a little more lead this time but again, he looked strong and controlled. The whole way back to transition with the headwind, I never looked back--just drilled it as hard as I could manage without destroying my legs for the run. We passed the front of the collegiate men's race on their way out and CU was at the front in large numbers. Cracked a quick smile and then came back to the task at hand.
Good dismount and a painful run in the dirt and rocks back to transition. Again, moved quickly and had one very minor fumble but cleared T2 in 33 seconds. Very happy with my transitions--a definite bright spot on the day. I didn't see Mike during my transition or running out but I knew he must have been close. Turns out he outrode me (including the runs out and into transition) by 22 seconds. My transition was a little better than his so coming out of T2, I was leading by 34 seconds. No way that would be enough but again, you never know what can happen so I wasn't conceding.
The run started with about 100 meters of dirt followed by 200 or so meters of soft sand as we dropped down by the canal. I kept my stride short and quick--trying to maintain speed, but especially conscious of not getting sand in my shoes. Mission accomplished as I strode onto the concrete of the river walk and fell into a fast pace to the bridge. Up the 50 or so stairs and I peeked down as I made the u-turn at the top to see Mike at the bottom. How long could I hold out? Not much longer. Across the bridge and onto the bike path at the mile mark. I could hear the volunteers cheering Mike as he came through the aid station behind me--I didn't look but guessed 10 seconds at the most. Closing in on the turnaround, the leader came by the other way (out of reach and looking strong) around the same time Mike pulled up next to me.
We exchanged a quick hand slap and then I fell in behind him, matching his stride and cadence step for step for the last few meters to the turnaround. I knew he'd try to drill it as soon as we turned so I dug in and pushed but couldn't stay with him when he went. He quickly had 5 seconds on me but I was still moving well and he didn't pull away. Back over the bridge and down the stairs--our positions were now almost exactly the same as on the way out. I was at the top and he was at the bottom, but he was now in the lead. At the bottom with about a half mile to the finish, I could see Mike moving strongly ahead and tried to pick up my pace to shut down any gap at all to no avail. Onto the soft sand and up the hill--even if I could have gone faster, I was simply out of road. Downhill on the dirt as I saw him make the turn down the finishing chute. I kept pressing and came in 20 seconds behind--he outran me by 54 seconds.
A great race and a fun rivalry that I know makes me better. I hope it pushes him as well. We'll probably race 3 more times head to head this summer. I hope our friends can live with the smacktalk because this should be fun. I know Mike could have gone faster if he had needed to so maybe it wasn't as close as it seemed, but 20 seconds isn't much (especially when you consider the short swim). We'll both be faster by the start of the "regular" season. I love the process of working hard, learning, and getting better and it's fun to have a friend/rival who you know is out there doing the same. I'm a better triathlete because of it. Thanks Mike--the Summer Open is next.
