Things have been a little hectic lately so I have some catching up to do. I wanted to start by sharing my report from the Columbia Triathlon on May 18. A long story short, I had an unbelievable day. The rain held off and we had perfect conditions to race in. Columbia is probably the most difficult Olympic distance course around and also has one of the deepest and most talented athletes in the mid-atlantic region competing in it. It's a great gauge to see how you stack up against some strong triathletes.
Since Columbia Maryland is only about a 50 minute drive from home, I headed out shortly after 4:30 a.m. Igda decided to pass on going. Zack wasn't able to make it either since he was able to hook up with one of his college friend's for a night on the town in DC on Saturday. And honestly, Igda knows by now that I'm not that much fun to be around for the big races anyhow. I tend to get a little edgy and cranky.
I went through my usual pre-race routine and before you know it we were ready to start the race at 7:15 a.m. The swim was fairly ordinary. I got out unscathed and in average time. I hustled out of transition with my bike and proceeded to go just about as hard as I could go. My coach advised me on some power #'s to target in order to help me pace my effort and they were spot on. I had the ride of my life finishing with the 16th fastest bike split of the out of 1,120 males and the 2nd fastest in my Age Group. It's so exciting to see the huge improvement I've made this year on the bike.
After starting the bike leg in 32nd, I moved into 5th position by the start of the run. Now this is where the fun ends and the pain begins. The 6.2 mile run course is really challenging with some pretty good climbs in the first mile and between miles 3 and 5. In my previous 2 attempts at this race, I completely blew up and had to walk portions. Not this time though. I've been putting in some serious weekly run volume (30+ mile weeks for about 3 months) and it's totally paid off. I ran hard and steady for the duration and was only passed by one guy who eventually finished 2nd.
I kept thinking that my good friend's, Sean or Kyle, were going to catch me on the run since they are strong runners, so I was running scared the whole time. To my surprise they never caught me. I was able to finish strong and finished 6th in my Age Group out of 216 men and 52nd overall male out of 1,120. I missed getting an award by 1 place, but I was totally stoked about my race.
All in all, things are looking right on track for a great year of racing.
I don't have any photos but here's a link to race photos (just click on PHOTOS):
PHOTOS
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