Indian Summer Distance Classic 10 Miler: Alex's Amazing Thought Process

Some of the thoughts that run through my head just don't make sense.  After a little while I'll look back and ask myself what on earth I was thinking?! During races I typically talk myself out of a race and try to convince myself to quit quite a bit.  Hopefully this will give you an insight at just the ludicrous thoughts I think about.

The very large medals given out at the race.

Leading into this race things didn't go as I had hoped.  The past Sunday, my right shoe seemed a little too tight around the ankle but I was determined to get my long run in so I ran.......22.4 miles......with a throbbing ankle.  By the time I got done my ankle was swollen and a bruise was now forming.  Walking for the week was quite an event.  I put some ice on it, took ibuprofen to reduce the swelling, and I took a day off of running to allow the pain to go away.  Well one day led to two, which led to three, which lead to all week of no running due to the pain.  By Friday, I put on my running shoes and since there was still a little pain I decided I wouldn't run and instead wait until the race.

Somehow I got this BRILLIANT idea that it was the fact that my quick laces were too tight and constricting the tendon on the top of my foot.  It also was about the time I needed to get new shoes so I figured I'd knock two birds out with one stone.  I stopped at Running Wild to get a new pair of shoes but they were out of my size........so I just got a pair of shoelaces.  I can just imagine the discussion after I left: "Yeah he wanted shoes but instead just go shoelaces?!" Anyways, I swapped out the laces and went to bed to get ready for my Saturday race.

My preparation for this race wasn't amazing by any means.  Our Wednesday night swim practice had us doing lunges around the entire pool which left me sore all the way to race day.  I probably should have not done that on a race week and rested instead. I tried some foam rolling to loosen everything up but wasn't too successful.

Race morning came and my alarm went off at 6:30am but I was in no hurry so I hit the snooze until 7:00am.  Being as you don't need to set up transition at a running race I didn't need to show up hours before the race.  I got up and got on the road about 7:40.  For some reason, I felt it was necessary for me to use GPS to find the race, which required three turns......total.  Turns out that the address was NOT where the race was actually at so I drove around in the park lost for a good ten minutes until I found the race.

Yes I did use GPS to find a race in the town over from where I live.

I did some light jogging for a warm-up along with some dynamic stretching.  I could feel my ankle, even with the loosened shoelaces (failed plan), especially on the downhills.  After a little bit I went to the start line and just sat on the ground and waited for the race to start.

This is what happens when I have no spectators to take pictures for me: Seflies. 

When the race started I got into a good group of about ten guys as we made our way out to the road.  We had a good downhill before we hit the trails.  I was not expecting such steep grades of downhill to start the race as the group really found out quick who knew how to run on gravel.  Luckily, I was able to work my way up to third place as we made our way out to about a mile.  For the next mile another runner came up next to me and started chatting with me, hoping the runners ahead were doing the 4-mile race.  When we hit the 2-mile turn around spot nobody turned.  I asked the runner what our time was and he said 11:30......that's a 5:45/mile pace.  I was aiming for sub 1:05:00 which is below 6:30/mile so we were WAY up on my pace.

I got comfortable as the runner took off and two more guys moved past me.  I knew what my pace was and there was no need to kill it any more on the first half than I already did.  For the next three miles to the turn around I was in no man's land, running by myself and just waiting to get to the turn.  I thought about making sure to take the inside lane of each corner so as not to run further than I have to during the race.  

The engineer inside of me came out when I started to consider: "Am I using too much energy running on loose gravel instead of compacted gravel?  Would I be able to run just as fast taking the outside corner on packed gravel than taking the inside lane on loose gravel?  How much extra energy am I expending due to the loose gravel?" 

There were a lot of points that I thought to myself, "Nobody is around you right now; you can walk and nobody will know." and it took a lot of mental talking to keep moving forward.

As we hit the turn around I was in 6th place.  I saw that there was a runner about 15 seconds back on me.  I tried to keep my pace up as the fear of getting caught started to sink in.  When we took corners I would try to get around tight ones quickly so he couldn't see me up ahead but the longer ones there was no point in doing so.  I continued to panic that he was catching me and I was fading.  All I really wanted was him to just pass me so I wouldn't have to keep worrying about him.

The night before the race I went to go watch my friend, Nicole, race in a XC race.  She didn't know I, or my friend Ashley, were coming so when we started screaming at her along the course she worked harder.  After the race Nicole told me that she wanted to quit until she saw me cheering for her along the course.  With two miles left, I tried to harness that same attitude to keep the runner at bay.

Ashley, Nicole, and I at Nicole's race.  Nicole has the third fastest freshman time at St. Ambrose of all time after only three races.  I'm so proud of how hard she works even when she doesn't feel like going hard.

One mile left and I had a ten second lead.  This is the thought process that went through my head: "Could I hold on to the gap or was he going to pass me?  Was he saving for a kick at the finish?  Have I saved enough for the hills come back to the finish? Hills, HILLS! Alex, you train on the worst hill in the city.  You pass every runner up that hill, any cyclist that rides up it you pass, and last week you passed cars up it.  If anybody can run hills, you can!"

When we hit the first of the hills I did what I knew how to do, I climbed, hard.  The hill was steep but I've ran on steeper.  As I got up the short hill I looked back and the runner was just starting it.  I made my way onto the road and the long gradual hill was ahead of me.  I'm not sure exactly how it worked but my legs felt better going up that hill than any portion of the course.  I caught my stride and ran up that hill with a purpose.  As I crested the top I turned to look back and the 7th place runner was gone.

Probably should take a normal picture near the finish.

The last quarter mile had a slight hill but nothing compared to what I just hit and I cruised over the top of it.  I came across the line in 1:02:03, very much ahead of my goal time. Crossing the line I was tired but had plenty left in the tank to keep going, which is exactly what I need for my last race of the year.  I ended up placing 6th overall and 2nd in my age group.

My medal that I give to my mom while saying, "Congratulations mom!" She has become very decorated in the men's field of local triathlon/running races.

Race Results posted.

U.S. 5150 National Championships: A Neverending Battle

Every race I do I have regrets.  There are things that don't go the way I want.  Afterwards I'll look back and wish I could have given a little more instead of saving it for the finish.  From my race experiences I've grown to know that I have more regret on not pushing hard on the run more than anything else.  I hold back because I fear what is going to happen as the race goes longer and I get more tired. Heading into the US 5150 National Championships I didn't want any of that to happen.

Training was great the week out from the race.  I put in a lot of hard efforts really focusing on the run and finished my training week pretty sore.  Taper week was challenging with the heat wave that struck us with heat indexes over 100 the whole week but as long as I played it smart when I wasn't working out I would be rested for a great race.

Race morning came as usual and I stepped outside the hotel to a surprise rainstorm and wind.  I was not prepared for this?!  Jessie and I headed to the race site and arrived around 4:45am but with all the storming there was no point going to transition so we just stayed inside and waited.  I finally went over to figure out what was going on and by 6:00am I was able to make my way back with my stuff to get set up for a delayed race start. My warm-up felt really good on the run and I wanted to tear into it.

Warming up and getting ready for a fast swim start.

A few weeks before the race I did some research to get an idea of what I was to expect.  Based on other qualifiers times, I was likely to finish about 9th in my age group at the national championships.  Prize money was given to the top 10 places so I was in a good spot to win some money.  If I executed I could move further up in the field but everybody else was likely thinking the same thing.  Basically, it was going to be a battle to move up.

I got over to the swim start and got ready for what I knew was to come.  The second half of my season took a bit of a change when I didn't qualify for World's due to my injury and this was my last 'A race' of the year.  I remembered all my times from last year on this course and wanted to PR every one of them.  I had put in so much hard work leading up to this race that I knew I could have a great race if I let myself.  More than anything else, I couldn't be taken out of the mental game.  My head needed to stay on and fight for every second. The run was going to be the toughest effort I've ever put in.

Preparing for a tough two hours requires a good game face.

The gun went off and I stormed the water.  I got right into the mix and prepared for a physical swim; something I hadn't had for a while.  We were in a tight group all fighting for position and within about 150 yards I got on some feet and settled in, perfect. 

When we made our way past the first turn buoy I got a look ahead and realized there was a group ahead of us by a few yards that was slowly pulling away.  Knowing my race mentality and all the work I put in on the swim this year I refused to let them get away without an effort.  I dug my face into the water and surged ahead.  It took a good 50 yard all out sprint but I moved up the field and onto the feet of the other pack, perfect.

 For the rest of the swim I sat right on those feet and felt really comfortable.  I remember last year the last 500 yards of the swim my head lost focus and I wanted out of the water bad.  This year my mind was right where it needed to be and I kept my mind on staying in the moment.  We rounded the last buoy and I got up and on my feet heading towards transition.  My legs got under me and I passed quite a few guys heading into transition, perfect.

Exiting the swim and beginning to move up the field.

In transition I made a quick note of how many bikes were gone.  There were some but not too many to worry about.  I was likely already in the top 12 guys as I grabbed my shades and helmet and blasted out of transition.  There was a long run to the mount line but I was efficient and executed one of my best flying mounts I've ever done.

It took me about 200 yards to find my cycling legs.  I have never felt this ready to tear into a bike course more in my life.  This was going to be GOOD!  I wasn't allowed to pass the cyclist infront of me as we moved through the park due to ruling of the race so I stayed right on his heels.  Another cyclist moved past us which was a little frustrating so once we exited the park I moved on up past both of them.

Starting the bike with my cheering section right there.

There was definitely some wind on the course this year.  I was fighting to hold a good pace as a rider came past me about mile 2.  As he pulled away I again reminded myself that I wasn't going down without a fight and picked up the pace.  As we made our way through the park in the next section of the course I moved on up and tried to get a gap.  We were moving on to the second of four portions of the bike: Hills.

The first portion of hills we had a good tailwind as I worked quickly up the hills trying to drop this rider behind me.  No matter what I seemed to do I couldn't shake him and he stayed with me until the turn around. As we approached the turn around I noticed the other riders were not happy coming back and I knew that the wind was going to break apart the pack.  At the turn a strong rider passed me down the hill and I focused on keeping him insight.  The wind was big and the legs took a lot of strength to fight.  During this portion of the bike, I spent a good amount of time talking to my bike, Allison, reminding the both of us of all the work we've put in (yeah......I talk to my bike).

As I turned back off the hills I took one last look back for my other rider; he got dropped hard on the hills.  My confidence shot up and I was killing the back portion flying down the road at 30 mph.  Heading into the park I was passing elite women and men who started 6 and 9 minutes up on me respectively.

I dismounted the bike and was at almost an all-out sprint right away heading to transition.  I had to get over to the right side as other racers were coming out on their bikes.  I made a quick count of the other bikes in my age group back and I estimated I was in about 7th place at the start of the run. Time to let the legs fly.

When I turned the corner out of transition there was a mob of people down the exit chute and my game face was on!  This was going to be my run and my mantra was clearer than ever, "Set the pace." I wasn't going to wait around for my legs; it was go time.  As I headed out I quickly saw Steph come across with two guys and realized that Tom and Cole were able to make it to the race.  I didn't even take a second to acknowledge them as I was pushing about a 5:20/mile pace as I started the run.

As we got out to the open road the sun was coming out.  Although it wasn't extremely hot, you could still feel it bearing down on you.  I set my eyes on the runners in front of me and refused to let up. All year I've wanted to break 37:00 on the run and run a sub 6:00/mile pace and haven't gotten it.  I was not going to let this race be the same.  Luckily, the aid stations had sponges and I took one as often as I could.  One runner came blazing by me but other than him I was easily progressing the field. When I hit the turn around of the run I decided to fight even more.  I picked up the pace and dug down to close in on more runners.

Late in the run.  The end of my game face before I began digging deep.

When I came by about the 4.5 mile mark I saw my support team yelling for me.  I passed a runner who told me to keep up the pace but I was working so hard that I turned to him and yelled, "We got a mile left, you come with me right now!" Sadly, he didn't want to run.  As I crossed the corner the only audible person I heard was Jessie who yelled, "What quarter are you in?! Let's go!"

And with that, I was gone.  I passed the last age group elite lady which meant I was 6 minutes ahead of the fastest female and my game face was gone.  For the last mile of the run my breathing got heavy and I dug even deeper.  My game face was quickly replaced with a face of pain.  I kept passing more and more people until I hit the final road.  Up ahead was one more runner who felt out of reach yet I told myself there was no promises of what was to come, just go for it. I picked it up even more, likely dropping to about a 5:15/mile pace coming down that final stretch.  I was so far gone that one of the arches had a picture of aperson on the side and I actually thought there was a spectator standing there.

I came through the finish chute and took all my strength to stay standing. There was no volunteers to catch me or take my chip so I had to keep moving.  I got two bottles of water and dumped one of them right on my head.  I fought for every second of the race and came away with the best effort I had ever given from start to finish. 

My support team who all came to cheer for me. Cole, Tom, Jessie, my mom, my dad, and Steph. They really helped me dig when I didn't want to fight anymore.

Afterwards I got my results and saw that I PR'd on all my times from last year.  My swim dropped by 40 seconds, my bike by two minutes, and my run by another 45 seconds!  I finally broke 37:00 on the run and my unofficial final time was a 2:05:15.  At the awards ceremony I was given 6th place which we found out was due to the fact that I received a penalty somewhere on the course. This was likely during the first mile of the bike in the park when I was unable to pass leaving my official time at 2:07:15.

Got to love getting prize money.  Going to be getting some swim gear now.

 Looking at the results of my last triathlon of the year, I've come a long way. My comfort on the swim is a lot better and I'm able to get out on a hard start and settle in. My bike is stronger than ever and continues to put pressure on being my best sport. My run has been a struggle, I started the year with a lot of promise but a midseason injury left a log of question as to whether I'd be able to come back.  With this performance it is safe to say my running is back on top.


Myself, overall female pro winner, Emma Moffatt, and my teammate, Brad.


For now, it is time to get off the bike for a few months and focus on some running races to finish off the year!