Ending My 2016 Triathlon Season with a Bang (Literally!)

Vineman 70.3

I entered Vineman 8 months ago, in November, 2015. As much as I hate committing to races this far in advance, the allure of racing through California wine country alongside so many of my Every Man Jack teammates won me over. Leading up to Vineman, my training had been going very well. All of the pieces fell into place at Grand Rapids 70.3, and I finish just under 4:05. Two weeks out from Vineman I had the best bike workout of my life (strava file here; 3x20’ followed with a 1 hour easy run). My foot however was less than agreeable (plantar fasciitis arose). This is where having Zach Ruble as a coach paid off. We dialed back the running (I did not run for a week before the race), relying on the many months of solid base I had been building.

For the first time in my life, my airplane to California went 100% smoothly, and a big thanks is owed to my buddy John Savage for having my bike put together by the time I got there. The day before the race, John and I did an easy ride of the run course with the rest of the team before dinner at Bear Republic Brewing Company with fellow team member Adam Carlson (good luck to him at Vineman full this weekend!). After dinner, John and I retreated to our queen size bed, where we devoured two enormous chocolate chip cookies, and he kindly entertained my bulls**t, as I obsessed over splits and race strategy for the next day.

John and I's second race going head to head. The first of which was 5 years ago. You can say there was some (mostly) friendly competition.

Race morning went smoothly thanks to wives and friends of team members who drove us to transition (Vineman has two transitions, we left our cars at T2/Finish and were driven to T1). After ensuring my bike was ready to race and getting my swim stuff out of my bag, I began looking for John so we could load our bags on the truck to be driven back to the finish. Nowhere to be seen, I eventually found him behind the porta-potty, snaring a Diglett (Pokemon). Our wave (20-29 y) would be one of the last to go, and by the time we got into the Russian River, the sun was already beating down overhead. Although previously I had decided I would try to swim with John for as long as I could, I made a game-time decision that that was a bad idea. Instead I lined myself up next to teammate Brian O’Neil, who I knew was a strong swimmer and would be easy to spot with his blue jersey sleeves coming out of his sleeveless Roka wetsuit. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before Brian was out of sight. Having to abandon my front pack swim plan, I put my head down and swam hard but controlled. At the turnaround it was apparent that I was in no-mans-land, but right next to another athlete in a HUUB wetsuit (Tim Rea). Although we came out of the water together, he escaped me in transition, and it would be many hours before I would see him again.

Swim time: 26:04

Russian River: calm before the storm.

Running out of transition I decided to run up what was a fairly steep hill (or what may be considered a Muncie mountain) before mounting my bike. As I pedaled off I heard the voices of my buddy Dan Farrell and his fiancé Nora, who had driven from Sacramento to cheer us on! Their encouragement motivated me to put some power into the pedals and I surged forward. Having driven the course the day before, I was a little concerned about its “somewhat technical nature” but thankfully my days as a road racer paid off. Navigating through hundreds of age groupers I tried my hardest to enjoy the beautiful scenery and keep my power constant. I could tell pretty early on that my bike legs were not having their best day, but I focused on staying positive and picking people off 1-by-1. A little over an hour in I spotted the distant but distinct backside of Savage. The day before I had joking asked him what he wanted me to say when I went by him on the bike. Politely, he told me to “go f**k myself.” Deciding not to say that, I instead began singing lyrics from a Twenty-one Pilots song (“Holding On ToYou”) we had listened to the day before “lean with it rock with it.” He seemed about as amused as anyone in the middle of a 4-hour suffer-fest could be. The end of the bike was 1 mile no passing zone, which slowed me down and messed up power average a bit. All in all, a good ride.

Bike: 2:16:48 (Strava file here)

Cruising by a vineyard on my Felt IA4 and Enve Composites!

                          

As I racked my bike I exchanged pleasantries with former EMJ teammate Brett King. Only one guy ahead of us he told me. Leaving transition I was pretty nervous, as this was the first run I had done for 7 days. Fortunately, the foot tightness was all but gone. I looked down at my watch half a mile in and realized I was running under 6 minute pace. Dialing it back I went through the first mile in just under 6:10, and about half a mile later caught up with Brett. Brett and I ran side-by-side for the next mile or two, both agreeing that we would be happy with anything around 1:25. He also told me that the next guy up the road has a solid 2+ minutes on us. It was at this point I realized this was the same guy I had done battle with in the swim. When I asked whether the dude could run he looked at me and said “not as well as he can bike.” It was at this point that a guy we passed jokingly told us to “shut up because we were running way too fast to be talking.” Heeding his advice, we kept quiet and pressed on.

The day before I had identified this as the hilliest 13 miles I had run in the past 3 years. In fact, this 13 mile run probably had more elevation change than my “relatively hilly 40 mile rides” in Indiana. At mile 7 I caught and passed Tim, and was feeling great. A mile later that feeling was replaced with hamstrings tighter than rubber bands. This is where having such a big team came in clutch. I couldn’t run a mile without seeing another teammate. The energy and motivation pushed me on as I tried to keep my miles around 7-min, with intermittent stops to stretch the hamstrings. After what seemed like an eternity, I made my way through the finishing shoot where the announcer mentioned something about me traveling from Muncie to “get to the real competition.”

Run: 1:27:40

Race time: 4:14:05

Vineman 70.3 Shrine.

Summary: Won my age group and finished 4^th overall amateur, punching my ticket for the 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga in 2017. I could write so much more about this trip and how awesome it was, but for the sake of brevity I have to neglect the finer details. As we drove back I remember John looking at me and saying something like “It’s a good thing you beat me by 10 minutes, I would have been pissed if you had come out here and squeaked one out on me.” John, you are the man. Last summer he was my best man, and this summer my host for a week. His blog can be found here.

Defiance Sprint

I decided to do this race for two reasons:

1.    My family (Mom and Step-dad) would be in town and were interested in doing the relay

2.    Big cash payout (relatively)

Race morning my buddy and fellow lab member Adam Voss arrived at my house at 4:30am, and my mom, step-dad, Bri, and I loaded our bags into his car and we set out for Defiance, OH. 

The swim took place in the bathtub that was the Defiance reservoir. A big thanks to Jason Tucker who let me borrow his swim skin the day before the race. Although the race was small, the swim was competitive. Immediately, pro-triathlete and ex-collegiate swimmer Kevin Ryan moved to the front of the race, setting a stout pace. I was able to hang on maybe 150 meters before he and Adam (a collegiate swimmer at Brown) escaped me. Swimming as hard as I could, I managed only to lose 45 seconds (and my timing chip) in the water.

Swim: 10:20 (0.5 miles + long run to timing mat)

Neat picture taken by Mark!

The bike at the Defiance sprint is flat and fast. Like super flat. Like, 11 feet of elevation change in 12 miles flat. The day before the race I texted Savage something foolish about trying to average 30mph. It quickly became apparent that was not going to happen. My legs were lead weights and amusingly, I think it may have been from sprinting as hard as I could down a very steep hill before getting onto the bike (the post race muscle soreness from which lasted 3-4 days!). The bike ended up a stalemate between the leader and I.

Bike: ~27 minutes (26.5ish mph) but who knows after I lost my chip…

At least I looked fast.

The run kindly started back up the very steep hill that I had run down to get to transition. Totally out of breath, I was reminded this was no 4-hour race. I could see Kevin, about 40 seconds up on me and I began trying to reel him in. By this point the sun was literally baking me and the humidity was unbelievable. Although I was able to put some time into him on the run, he ran strong and held on for a 29 second win.

Run: Probably around 18:15

Can you see the heat?

Importantly the family (Mom swum, Mark biked, and Bri ran) all made it through their respective legs with a smile on their face and a 3^rd place in the relay. After collecting our hardware, Adam drove us back to Muncie before a night of beers and music! Not a bad weekend!

Blues Musician Tab Benoit in Muncie, IN!

Alabama Sidewalk 

Being that I am on summer break, I decided to accompany Bri on a 2 week southern road trip (Muncie à Nashville à Mobile à New Orleans à Charlotte à Virginia à Philadelphia). Being that I am Greg Grosicki, I of course brought all of the necessary training equipment along (bike, trainer, swim gear, running shoes, nutrition, etc.) to continue my preparation for my last race of the season, Steelhead 70.3 (August 14^th). While not Boulder, Colorado, I figured I could at least get in some good workouts during the day, followed by some relaxation and recovery in our AirBnB as Bri attended her conference in Mobile, Alabama.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure to travel to Mobile in July, I invite you to imagine a 24h sauna. The silver lining being that the sidewalks are often sheltered by large, branchy trees. Unfortunately, however, these large trees often wreak Pompeii-like havoc on the sidewalks. Turning your 45 minute easy run into a ninja warrior like experience.

Standard Alabama sidewalk.

Even more unfortunately, yesterday this did not bode well for my fairly clumsy stride, my left toe catching a piece of the sidewalk, sending me sprawling to the cement. Feeling like an idiot, I picked myself up and inspected the damage: toe hurts like hell, palms and knee scraped up. At the time, I was more worried about how stupid I would look loping home with blood running down my leg than my toe, but by the time I made it the half mile back to the house, I realized I had bigger problems than blood stains on my fresh sockguy socks. As the day progressed, so did the swelling and discoloration of my toe, eventually forcing a trip to Urgent Care. On the bright side, Springhill Urgent Care in Mobile totally kicked ass. I was out in an hour, with my broken toe suspicion confirmed.

Aleve, its whats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

While I am pretty bummed about missing Steelhead, and my chance at a sub 2:10 bike split, this season has been filled by some remarkable success:

1.    Four races (1xsprint, 1xolympic, 2xhalf-ironman)

2.    Personal records in three races: sprint, olympic, and half distance

3.    1^st place OA, 2^nd place OA, 3^rd place OA, 4^th place OA (amateur)

4.    Qualified for 70.3 worlds

If you had told me at the beginning of the season that I was going to have a season like that, I would have happily accepted. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to race for Team Every Man Jack and all of our FANTASTIC sponsors Felt Bicycles / Roka sports / Garneau / Garmin Fitness / SockGuy / Enve Composites / lululemonmen / rudyproject / Gu Energy / BOCOGear this year. Thanks also to my coach Zach Ruble, for taking me on as an athlete, believing in my ability, encouraging me, and accommodating my schedule. And last but certainly not least, a thanks to my two biggest fans, my wife Briana and our “child/puppy” Ellie Mae. I wouldn’t be able to pursue this crazy dream without you.

Redeeming quality of Alabama = fresh seafood.

Time for some rest and recovery before beginning my final year of school! Can’t wait to see what the future has in store!

Grand Rapids 70.3 2016: You get out what you put in.

           There are many things that draw me to triathlon but I think what I like most about it is simple: “you get out what you put in.” To me, this is the great appeal of all endurance sports. There is no hiding behind others and no blame to be cast on anyone else. It is you, against you. You against a 2-hour interval session on the trainer, and in the end, the numbers don’t lie. I think the chorus in this song nails it:

“This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill

Fifteen percent concentrated power of will

Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain

And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!”

In fact, triathlon training is probably a lot more than fifty percent pain, but you get the picture. I am fortunate that both my greatest strength and biggest weakness is my ability to go “all-in.” In February I made a decision to go “all-in” on triathlon. Ok, that may be a little heavy, I am still writing a dissertation, trying to be a husband, and caring for a puppy, but you get the picture. What happened at Grand Rapids last weekend validated this decision.

            Last year Grand Rapids did not disappoint. The course was absolute fantastic, and the race seems to bring out some of the fastest racers not only in the Midwest, but in the country. While I was able to squeeze out a pretty solid swim/bike last year, I fell apart pretty bad in the run. As Bri and I made our way north on Saturday morning, flashbacks to those last few miles set-in. Dear god, not again. We arrived early afternoon on Saturday, perfect time to pick up our packet and make a trip to Vivant brewery before grabbing dinner with some teammates. A day before the race beer seems to be customary with me, but they always say not to do make any drastic changes the night of the race.... At dinner teammates Ryan Linden, Zachary Carr and I discussed all-things triathlon. The highlight of the conversation was probably our appreciation for our new ENVE 7.8 wheels, and about how our arms are too small to get the tires on them without throwing them in the dryer first.

Brews at Vivant. I drove Bri to dinner.

            Race morning wake-up was 4am. Of course Ellie being the anxious dog she is, refused to take a poop the entirety of the trip, which meant she spent a good portion of the night wandering around the room crying, not the best night of sleep. We were lucky to score a mini-kitchenette where I prepared my standard bialetti (stove top espresso) and put it in a mason jar to be consumed 1 hour before the race. Arriving to the course well before the start I was able to get set up in transition without stress which was very nice! As we waited for the swim start I followed my nose to the scent of monster energy, being consumed by coach Zach Ruble. We chatted a bit and all of a sudden I realized I still had my wedding ring on (it certainly would have gone flying off first couple of strokes). Fortunately I was able to pass it off to teammate Mark Beckwith’s father who was standing nearby. Crisis averted, it would not have been the best to lose it after less than a year!

My blood type = caffeine.

            The swim start was sort of sudden, which kind of lowered the stress. I put myself at the front of the group and immediately began swimming HARD towards the first buoy. Looking around I immediately realized this field was much stronger than the one at Terre Haute, as there were still at least 10 other swimmers around me. I decided to kick it up another gear until I reached the next buoy, in an attempt to create some separation. It worked! By the next buoy I could see two swimmers a good 20m in front of me (this is what I refer to in my head during the race as “the guys who swam in college”) and one swimmer to my right. Deciding to dial it back, I followed his feet until the turn-around at which point I figured I would do my share of leading. Interestingly, he wanted no part of this. As he saw me coming up he put in a few hard kicks, surging in front of me again. “Whatever” I thought to myself, Ill just ride him all the way-in and save my legs. The sun was totally blinding on our return trip but my Roka R1 goggles gave me just enough tint to see the shore! We both got out of the water just over 27 minutes (1.5 minutes faster than last year), with a solid gap on everyone else.

Swim time: 27:17

Roka = speed.

            Transition at Grand Rapids is LONG. The street is narrow and there are racks of 8 bikes on either side in a big race (~2000 people). Getting to my bike I threw on my new Rudy Project Wing 57 aero helmet and headed out with my Felt IA4, leaving two of the people who beat me in the swim behind. Thanks to my cylcocross skills my mount was a total success and I began hunting the rider in front of me who was in hot pursuit of the lead moto. The first few miles he seemed to maintain a good gap but his cadence was really high. When he glanced back I knew it was over, putting in a solid 5’ at 280-90 I made the pass and gave him little hope of coming with. The rest of the bike I really focused on staying as low as possible and riding smooth. At the turn around I was starting to hurt a bit, but my power had been high and I knew the way back I would have a tailwind. I was ecstatic to see I had an estimated 2-3’ gap on the next rider. This motivated me and forgetting about the pain I dug deeper. The last few miles I found my mind drifting to the run. Would my training this winter and spring pay off? Or had I overcooked it on the bike and was about to repeat 2015? Here is the strava file, Im ecstatic I was able to push 20 more watts than last year.

Bike time: 2:12:13 (fastest of the day)

               As I ran through transition, my legs didn’t feel too bad, but I had no idea how fast I was running. Grabbing my BOCO hat and race belt I set out on the two-loop run course. Glancing down at my watch I saw 6:25 for mile 1 and I felt totally in-control. Trying to keep myself calm I hit the next miles in nearly the exact same time. At mile 4 I saw second place (Ryan Guliano), who I knew is a heck of a runner and was just coming off a huge OA amateur win at Texas. At the turn-around I was joined for a minute by Bri and Ellie who ran next to me. Unfortunately Ellie didn’t attack Ryan who by now was in hot pursuit, and he caught me not long after, immediately putting a sizeable gap in me. Trying to not let this phase me I proceeded onward to a 607 mile, at which point he already had 30 seconds on me. At mile 10 I estimated I had 3ish minutes on the next guy, Guliano’s teammate. Just keep your shit together and you can beat him I told myself. By the last couple of miles I was hurting bad. My legs were not used to the relative hilliness of the GR run course. With a mile to go the emotions were flowing: pleasure, pain, excitement, fatigue. As I rounded the corner I saw the race clock: 4:04:XX. Giving it everything I had I crossed the finish line in 4:04:50.

Run time: 1:22:03

Happy Greg, Happy Ellie.

            While I knew I had finished second in the under 40 age group, I still had to wait for the 40+ guys to come in, which meant waiting on first American at Kona, Dan Stubleski. Sure enough, Dan was able to pull off a blazing fast run and beat me by a minute and a half for second overall. It didn’t matter, I was still absolutely stoked with my third OA. This had been something I had been dreaming about since February, although didn’t even think it was realistic. Teammates Zachary Carry, Ryan Linden, and Mark Beckwith were close on my heels brining home two first place age group finishes. After the race we got to make a number of new friends, many of which were familiar with the team! On the way home I reflected on my race, truly everything went as planned. I could not have asked for a better day. I am so lucky to have a team of such motivated and like-minded individuals. Huge thanks to Bri and Ellie for accompanying me and being my crew, I wouldn’t be able to do it without you two!!!!

Left to right: Carr, Beckwith, Linden, Grosicki

Three weeks from now I will travel to California for Vineman 70.3. Cant wait to meet some of the west coast team and smash some California climbs!

Like a kid on Christmas: Thunder in the Valley.

The first race of a new triathlon season is kind of like opening a present as a little kid on Christmas day. You spend all year trying to be good, with the hope that Father Christmas will deliver. 2015 was a big year for me, as it was my first year getting to race for Team Every Man Jack, and although I set a new PR at the 70.3 distance, between overcoming an injury, taking comprehensive exams, and getting married, I wasn’t able to train as much as I’d have liked. 2016, however, has been a different story. This winter I hired a coach, Zach Ruble, and have been consistently nailing 12-15h training weeks, featuring workouts I could have never dreamed of completing. This year, I have been extra good, and I couldn’t wait to see what my season opener, Thunder in the Valley Olympic in Terre Haute had in store for me.

Friday afternoon myself, two of my fellow graduate students (Adam and Kevin), and my advisor, Scott, loaded up the car and drove down south to Terre Haute. The sun was shining and the weather was a warm 70 degrees, perfect for a race. Unfortunately, Saturday the weather had different plans, with a high of 54, 25mph winds, and to put the icing on the cake, a chance of rain. Race morning it was 44 degrees. With the recent memories of my teamates freezing the week before at St George, I immediately began strategizing how to stay warm. My strategy was 2 fold: to wear as many clothes as possible, for as long as possible before the start, and to slip on a long sleeve tight-fitting shirt on the bike. While this may compromise my goal of going sub-2 (PR 2:01), better to finish on foot than in an ambulance.

After slipping on my Roka wetsuit and new never before worn R1 goggles (yes, it may be stupid to race in goggles you have never worn before, unless they happen to be Roka R1’s, then you are stupid not to race in them) I headed down to the water. I saw people warming-up, but decided against putting my head in the cool 60 degree water to avoid getting cold before the race. At the sound of the gun we began our two-loop 750m swim. Starting at the front, I could see swimmers on either side of me pulling away when something Adam said went through my head “you have to swim hard the first 200m to avoid the congestion.” With a few hard strokes I found myself on the feet of the swimmer that had been to the right of me, and had mentioned something before the race about just having finished collegiate swimming. “Perfect,” I thought to myself “he has been partying his b***s off the past couple of weeks, and I have been swimming more than I ever have in my life, maybe I can hold his feet.” Surprisingly towards the end of the first lap he began to fade and I made the pass into second. The next lap proceeded uneventfully, and I focused on keeping my stroke “long and strong,” pretending to be John Savage, swim god. Exiting the water, I could not believe what I heard, 18 minutes? Are you kidding me?!? Maybe all those damn 5000y swims I have spent cursing Zach really are paying off!

Swim: 18:55

Making my way into transition I decided that with a swim like that, this was as good a chance as any to break 2. Throwing caution to the wind (no pun intended) I grabbed my new Rudy Project helmet and my Felt bicycles IA4 with new ENVEwheels and headed for the bike course. The lead vehicle in sight reminded me that this was my race to lose. The way out, tailwinds were STRONG but a gusty crosswind (up to 35mph) made the aero bars dangerous. I did my best to stay aero while focusing on keeping my power as steady as possible. At the 180-turnaround I got my first chance to assess the competition. With no one in sight I tried to accelerate back up to speed, when I saw 15mph and 300 W I knew the ride back would be challenging. By now the winds had increased even more. Abandoning the aero bars, I focused on my power and holding steady. Soon two riders came into view, and I estimated them to be 2-3 minutes back. Fortunately, on the way back my legs seemed to come alive as I battled the fierce headwind to T2.

Bike: 59:31; 275W Avg, 285 NP

Dismounting my bike, I paid the price for no socks in such cold weather. My feet were totally numb. I did my best to jam them in my shoes, snagged my BocoGear race belt and was off on the run. Doing the math, I estimated myself to be about 1:20 into my race, all I had to do now was run a 40min 10k, and after 8 years of triathlon, I would cross the finish line for my first time under 2h! Half a mile in I glanced down at my watch to see 6:45. “Was this some kind of cruel joke?!? I run 620 for a marathon and cant even run a single mile at 620 in this dire time of need?!?!” The first mile passed and my watch beeps, I glance down in fear to read 628. Ok, time to pick up the pace. As I warmed up I saw my pace slowly descend, THANK GOD, my effort remaining constant, 610, 605, 600, 555. With 2 miles to go I saw second place, nearly a mile behind me. Settling in I focused on keeping the effort hard but manageable. Don’t blow up now I thought to myself. Approaching the finish line I saw the clock “1:56:XX”. I had done it. This offseason I have been extra good, and it’s now time to reap the rewards of my labor.

Run: 37:09, 5:58 min/mile

Overall: 1:57:01, 1^st OA (PR by 4+ min)

I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. This week I look to rest up and recover before joining a few EMJ team members in Michigan for a training weekend in preparation for Grand Rapids 70.3, followed by a trip to California to do battle with the swim god himself! Can't wait for the rest of the season. Big shout out to Team EMJ for their support and all of our sponsors. Most importantly, thanks to my beautiful wife for putting up with my ridiculous hobby, and not being too grouchy when I wake her up at 4am to ride the trainer! 

Thanks for reading!

Muncie 70.3 2015: swim, bike, and try to run

Coming off Grand Rapids 70.3, my legs and particularly lower back were quite sore. After taking a few days off I started up an easy week of training before traveling to Boulder, CO for what was an epic bachelor party with my best friends. As an added benefit, John Savage and I were able to get in some runs at altitude, in hopes of enhancing our oxygen carrying capacity for our upcoming races (Muncie & Vineman 70.3). The next week I ramped up my training and even did a track workout (8x800, my first in a year, sure enough, I still hate the track) in an attempt to improve my run split at Muncie. After a week of some solid efforts, I began a two week taper and focused on chowing down on some carbohydrates 2-3 days before the race (10-12 g/kg of body weight). To do so, I ate 2 loaves of french bread in a little over 48 hours. Only time would tell if such a nutritional strategy would bring success.

The day before the race, Team Every Man Jack teammate Mike Vulanich and I met up for a short bike-course preview and shake-out jog. We rode pretty easy except for one short interval to escape a large and fast on-coming pitbull, and chatted about racing/training/etc. Mike also did a fantastic job of making me super jealous of his ENVE wheels! Now I know what to do with any wedding cash Bri and I may receive ;). Unfortunately Mike was having some trouble with his rear derailleur, and being typical triathletes we could not fix it, so I sent him to Mike at the Greenway 500 for some last minute adjustments. I headed back to work for a few more hours and that evening went out to prairie creek to pick up my race packet.

Race morning I set the alarm for 4:30 (it's so nice having the race in your backyard) early enough to wake up and get some food in (a blueberry bagel, banana) and sip on GU Roctane Tropical Punch while I loaded up the car. We ended up leaving the house just before 5:15, and I'm glad we did because there was a fair amount of traffic. Muncie streets werent designed to accomodate such a mass of people. In transition, I ran into teammate Mark Graham, who had traveled from Las Vegas to race and we talked race strategy and goals!

Amazingly, before the race I managed to stay pretty calm. This is atypical for me and perhaps a result of this being the 4th triathlon I have done this year (I think the most I had done until this season was 3 in a year). After slipping on my Roka wetsuit, Mike and I made our way down to the water to warm-up. Unfortunately our wave would be the last to go off. At the start I positioned myself in the second row, right behind the tallest/longest arm guy I could find. By the time we hit the first buoy, myself and two other athletes in my age group had already put a pretty gap on the rest of the age-group and already caught the group who left four minutes before us. The rest of the swim I spent weaving in and out of the age-groups who went before us, sticking with one other athlete in my age-group. I got out of the water and took a glance down at my watch to see 28:XX. I really can't express how happy I am to be swimming at the front of the pack this year. No doubt a product of my efforts in the water this winter and the assistance of my Roka suit!

Swim time: 28:29

T1 was long and uphill. I ran uphill and into transition to my Felt IA4 bicycle and Rudy Project helmet. The bike has been my strength now for the past two years, and I was excited to see what I could do on this notoriously fast course. The first 6 miles were laden with potholes. Fortunately for me, these are streets I ride daily, and could ride them with my eyes shut. Weaving in and out of athletes in front of me, I made it to route 35 (where we would do 2 loops) a wide and open course. By the time I made it to 35, my heart rate and steadied and I was ready to lay it down. The first loop was pretty uneventful. My watts began to climb and my heart rate appeared to stay steady. After the first loop I checked my garmin: 255 watts and 25.4 mph. The bike course was quite crowded but fortunately I didn't appear to pick up any wheel suckers along the way. With about 10 miles to go I began feeling a bit tired, so I decided to back off the workload and try to get a couple of gu's in before the run. Here is the strava file from my ride. Watts were high, but I felt pretty good and decided to go by feel.

Bike time: 2:13, 254 watts

Dismount went flawlessly and I found my bike spot quickly. Throwing my bike on the rack I quickly slipped on some socks (learning a lesson from GR 70.3) and my adidas adi0s shoes. Setting out on the run I could feel the bike in my quads but my engine felt good. I decided to make sure to keep the first mile smooth and under control. Crossing the first mile in 6:15 I felt pretty solid. The second mile I kept the effort constant and ran a 6:30. Alright I told myself, keep this up and I'll be under 4:15 overall. Unfortunately the third mile did not go as smoothly. I kept the effort constant, but the time was not. I ran a 6:50 and most of it was downhill. Miles 4 & 5 were around 7 minutes. It was somewhere in mile 5 that I passed friend and Muncie resident Mark Stagge! Mark and I shared our grievances with one another "its hot and hilly, what is this?" By the turn around I had slowed down to over 7 minute miles and nearly tripped Mike as he came flying by me. The last 6.6 miles I redefined riding the struggle bus and seriously began wondering if I was going to be able to cross the finish line. Stopping at the mile 7 aid station, I attempted to drink 2 gatorades, water, and a some red bull. It was shortly after this that I developed a wicked cramp in my right hamstring, the rest of the run I would spend trying to fend-off hamstring seizures. Mile times were slowing to 8 minute miles, and every time I tried to run faster my heart rate sky rocketed. Around mile 9, a bee decided my gatorade-filled socks seemed tasty, flying into my shoe and stinging me, rubbing salt in the wounds. At this point I just decided to make the best of what I had left. I started encouraging the athletes around me as they flew by me doing 8 minute miles. Their supportive words encouraged me and at last the finish line was in sight. My last mile was something close to a 9 minute mile. Crossing the finish line I stumbled around, congratulating teammates Mike and Mark. Mike handed me some pretzels which I began to try to consume while I sipped on a sprite. Ouch.

Run time: 1:36

Race time: 4:22, 4th AG and 14th OA

I have spent this past week reflecting back on my race. Although my run time was disappointing, the 2015 triathlon season has been good to me. I have raced more already this season than I ever have in my life. I have also now completed two 70.3 events in one season, something I had never done before. I had a fantastic swim and bike, both of which I am very happy about. As for my run? the wheels came off, what more can be said. Unfortunately I wasn't even able to start running this season until April due to a plantar fasciitis flare-up. Furthermore, I have only done two runs in 2015 over 10 miles (a hard 12 miler and my run at Grand Rapids 70.3). Once a runner (this book is fantastic, and anyone who hasnt read it needs to), always a runner. While my running might be my biggest weakness now, it will come back.

This Saturday I am excited to get married to the love of my life, Briana Paxton. After our wedding we will be going to the Dominican Republic for a week-long honeymoon before returning to Muncie for 2 more years of school. As far as my racing goes for the rest of the season. I will probably race Tri Indy when we get back and try to go under the 2-hour mark for the first time in an olympic distance triathlon. I am also toying with the idea of racing Chellenge Cedar Point in September, but we'll see how my body feels.

Thanks for reading!

Greg

Grand Rapids Half-Iron Race Report

Summer of 2015, one that will not be forgotten. Last week began a 6 week whirlwind that will include: taking of my written comprehensive exams, 2 half-ironmans, a bachelor party in Boulder, a trip to North Carolina, and finally getting married followed by a honeymoon in Punta Cana. My life is busy, and I couldn’t be happier.

After completing and hopefully passing (fingers crossed) my comprehensive exams (a 4-day block spent answering essay questions pertaining to everything you have ever learned, or haven’t learned, to this point in your educational career) on Thursday of last week the idea of racing for 4+ hours 3 days later sounded nearly suicidal. After indulging in a few adult beverages Thursday evening, I awoke Friday feeling fairly refreshed, enjoying the shift of attention from epigenetic modification to the simplicity of racing.

Saturday morning Briana and I packed up the car and headed to Grand Rapids, MI, just a little under a 4-hour drive from Muncie. We arrived just as packet pick-up began and after obtaining race numbers and directions, headed to the course for a light shake-out. The race was held in Ada, a small suburb just outside of Grand Rapids. Ada was a welcome change from Muncie, with lots of small coffee shops and a fantastic bike shop. The temperature was in the low 60’s, a bit cooler than I had anticipated. After kitting up I headed out on the bike for a preview of the run course. The streets were well paved with wide shoulders and it wasn’t long before I started to contemplate how I was going to land a job in a place like this. Looking down at my garmin I realized I was doing 35 mph at < 200 W, dreams do come true, there are hills here (in Muncie we have 1 hill, the overpass)! After a short ~30min ride with some 1min up-tempo intervals I laced up the shoes and headed out for a 10 min jog. The legs felt good and I was ready to race. I was slightly concerned however about my lack of hill training.

After dropping our stuff off at an AirBnB found by my soon to be wife (she is awesome and planned almost the entire trip), Bri and I headed out to see what Grand Rapids had to offer. Not being able to pass up a visit to Founders, we sat outside on the patio drinking a beer before venturing to a small Italian restaurant for dinner. That night we watched “Clean Spirit,” a documentary about the shimano-airgas cycling team before passing out.

The next morning we arose at 4:30. As we prepared to load up the car it became quickly apparent that it was raining, HARD. Not exactly ideal, but at this point I was committed. Arriving at the race site I racked my bike, put on my Roka wetsuit, which kept me warm on a chilly, rainy morning, and headed down to the swim start. In the water I positioned myself just behind the first row, not sure about the quality of swimmers in the race. When the gun went off I put in a good 30 second effort before dialing it back and letting myself follow someone’s feet. My stroke felt strong and smooth, but I was a bit concerned by the number of people who appeared to be in front of me. The foggy and rainy conditions made visibility less than ideal so I made a point of siting the buoys instead of the swimmers ahead of me. As the swim went on I slided by another 10-15 guys, getting stronger as the race progressed. Coming out of the water after what felt like an eternity I glanced at my watch to see just over 28 minutes (15^th swim split). I am ecstatic with the improvements I have made in the water this past year and happy to be wearing a Roka wetsuit, which is without a doubt the fastest in the game.

Swim: 28:28 (2 minute PR)

T1 went extremely well for me and setting out on the bike I was unknowingly in 4^th place. I settled into my pace on my new Felt IA4 TT rig and passed 2 people within the first 5 miles. Before long I could see the rider currently in 1^st place and the motorcycle/pace truck in front of him. Suddenly, out of nowhere came the speedy Mark Beckwith (EMJ team member).  After allowing him to pass me, I decided I would stay with him for as long as I could. Unfortunately to do so I would have to increase my power from 245 to 265-280 W. Although my legs felt good, at about mile 30 I made the decision to let Mark go, and settle back into a pace that I felt more comfortable with. The rest of the bike transpired pretty uneventfully and in the last couple miles I got caught by age-group world champion and previous year Grand Rapids Half champion, Daniel Stubleski. Coming into T2 with Stubleski, I was feeling pretty good.

Bike: 2:15 (5 minute PR @ 245 Watts) http://www.strava.com/activities/325632406

Coming off the bike my legs felt pretty heavy. I was most concerned about the run because of the lack of running I have been doing as I am still in recovery from what has been a wicked battle with plantar fasciitis! As I set out on the run course I was looking for Stubleski and race leader Beckwith but neither one was in sight. As I hit the first mile I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a 6:07. It felt like I was crawling! Before mile 2, Stubleski came by me. I gave some thought about trying to go with him but decided to pace myself. The next couple of miles clicked by 6:13, 6:17, 6:20. Feeling pretty good I continued on my first loop of the two-loop run course. Slowly I began to feel myself fatigue. As I headed out on the second loop, I felt my blood sugar falling. 2 years before at Muncie 70.3 I had stopped and walked at this point due to a side stitch. I promised myself that no matter what, I would not walk! The remainder of the run turned into a game. Calculate my finishing time assuming 8 minute miles for the rest of the run (thankfully, they were all faster than this, although my last mile, a 7:38 was one of the most painful of my life). At every aid station I took in either Gatorade or coke. Leaving the aid station I felt slightly refreshed, but the feeling would not last. With 2 miles to go I calculated that 8 minute miles (16 minutes of running) would allow me to tie my previous 70.3 PR (4:17). With a mile left, I put all my focus into maintaining a straight line and putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, the finish line came into view. Crossing in 4 hours 15 minutes, I bonged a mountain dew and plopped myself in a chair.

Run: 1:29

Race time: 4:15 (6th place overall, 2nd AG)

Exhausted and happy I conversed with my new teammates, Mark Beckwith (5^th), Ryan Linden (8^th), and Zachary Carr (flatted and still finished < 4:20!). Three days later and my legs still ache, but nothing feels injured and my desire to resume training is returning again. I have done some reading on carbohydrate consumption pre-race (recommended 10-12g/kg, or 2400 calories of carbohydrate!) and I am pretty certain that inadequate carbohydrate loading and subsequently lower than idea pre-race glyocen stores are largely to blame for my slow death march of a run. Next time I race this distance, I will be sure to remedy this issue. This weekend will involve a bachelor party in Boulder, followed by a week of ramping up training for Muncie 70.3.

Huge thanks to my new team Every Man Jack and our fantastic sponsors Felt, Roka, Rudy Project, Sports Basement, Louis Garneau, GU energy, Boco Gear, and Normatec recovery!

Thanks for reading.