With a respectable 3rd place finish at the Highiline hustle sprint triathlon, I entered this race with a lot of expectations that I would win. Only because the two studs of the Valley (Kevin Koch and Marty Wacker) were not attending the race due to injury and travel. So about 3 weeks out I started hearing this talk of winning. I was flattered by the comments but I knew it wouldn't come that easy. Last year I was hurt all year but I was just getting back to health around this time. I finished 27 OA in a time 2:33:56. So I was just ready to tackle this time and improve.
****On an Important side note, in this race I was just not going up against the rest of the field but I was competing against a relay team. That's right, a relay team by the name of "We killed Kenny". This team was made up of Corey Riedel (Swimmer), Conor Mullervy (Bike), Kevin Mullervy (Run). I guess you could call them my friends...good enough friends to make a team against me. These guys have never done triathlons but do have a back round in endurance sports.Corey was collegiate cyclist for CSU as well as a high school varsity swimmer and diver. The Gingers (Kevin and Conor) are Division II Time Trial Collegiate National Champions...so ya....there good athletes!!!******
The swim was a two lap counter-clockwise loop. What was unique about this swim was after the first lap you exited the water and had a 30 yard beach run before entering for your 2nd lap. At the swim start I planted myself right in the middle of the circus, many people avoid the middle but I knew I could get out front before all hell breaks loose. The gun fired and we were off, I hammered it for the first 300m then found a good rhythm out front about 75m behind the 2 leaders. For most of the swim I was breaking my own water which I didn't mind.....entering T1
Swim: 27:24
"We Killed Kenny" Swim: 36:49
Out of T1 I exited with eventual winner Brendan Claflin, At this time I wasn't worried about "we killed Kenny", I knew in order to compete at this race I had to stick with Brendan, which didn't last long. Onto the bike my legs felt like they were in 4th gear the whole ride, I knew in order to shake them out I would have to slow down, something I couldn't afford. At around mile 5 I could see I was losing more and more ground to Brendan. I then shifted gears to just hang on as much as possible and give everything I got for today, and try to keep my lead on Conor who was making ground on me FAST!!!!
Coming into T2 I was sitting in 3rd place.
Bike:1:03:13
"We Killed Kenny" Bike: 56:17
Into the first 200m of the run I knew I was in for a battle...the famous side stitch. Something I still am trying to figure out why I get. I know it has to do with breathing but give me a break, this sucks!!! I was in so much pain I was grunting on the run course, I'm sure the first aid station I went by might of thought I was a water buffalo stumbling through bushes. I slowed my pace down until I saw the "WKK" team coming and looking fresh.... as he should be. With disbelief and frustration I pushed on, by mile 3 I had made a pass into 2nd place, but very close behind was Kevin. He did shout a few encouraging words for me, but I couldn't return the favor for that I was a suffer-fest.
About .5 mile from the finish, Kevin caught me and was looking very strong. Not giving in I pushed the pace with him. Coming into the finish I knew it would be a close one, but not this close. We crossed the finish line in a full sprint as well as a photo finish. I crossed the line first but Kevin's timing chip crossed before mine which is what counts....On paper I lost by .3 of a second. Nice work WKK
Run:46:55
"We Killed Kenny" Run: 44:25
Overall I was happy with the race, everything worked out besides one of the toughest runs of the year. After every race I am always eager to get back to training to improve on all three disciplines. Right now I am gearing up for Clearwater 70.3 World championship, I qualified for this race at Boulder 70.3...thanks to roll-down. But I am looking forward to the opportunity and experience that this will bring.
Finish: 2:17:33.3
"We Killed Kenny" Finish: 2:17:33.0
