Matt West and I drove down Saturday to check in, scout the course and watch the pro race. On Sunday morning, we saddled up and got to the transition (too) early, giving us plenty of time to relax and focus before the start of the race. After a warm-up and a last-minute equipment check, we lined up and took off.
Through the first mile, it was already evident that this year was going much better than last year. As people sorted themselves out on the 5k loop, I found myself running in seventh place in my wave (males 18-34). A few guys had really charged hard, but I kept my cool and stayed at a reasonable pace, not wanting to expend too much energy before getting on the bike.
I got through the first 10k in 34:30, right about where I had hoped to be. After a quick transition, I was out on the bike and cruising into the countryside. The Mason course is difficult, and I was suffering because of poor bike training all winter, as well as residing in a very flat area. The multitude of rollers and hills wore me down faster than I had hoped they would. However, I managed to catch two in my wave and I only got passed by one person from the second wave, so I got off the bike in 6th place in 1:05:09. (The bike course measured about 25.5 miles, all told, so my 40k time was really a bit over 1:03.)
One of the guys I passed on the bike was Sean Ion, the winner of my age group last year. I knew that he could run me down if I was not careful, so I tried to put as much time on him in the last part of the bike as I could. I also made up some time on the guys ahead of me by transitioning very quickly, giving me a mental boost. My feet felt pretty cold, but my legs were doing ok, so I pushed the pace as much as I could on the downhill start to the loop.
About halfway through the loop, I heard Sean approaching me from behind. Determined to have a solid run after the bike and to prove to myself that I could run well off the bike, I hit the gas and charged through the wooded park section of the course. Upon hitting the double hairpins that led up to the road, I knew we had about 800 meters to go, so I really poured on the speed, trying to hold the two guys behind me off as long as possible. The only thing going through my mind was, "This is a national championship race, so race like a champion."
My mantra worked; I started my kick about 400 meters out, and crossed the line ahead of my pursuers. My final 5k was 17:31, the fastest I have run off the bike in my career so far, and that netted me 6th place overall. My time was 1:58:13, more than four minutes faster than last year. My age group, male 25-29, was extremely competitive this year: the top 5 placed 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th overall, so I didn't break into the top three. I am still satisfied with the result - top ten in the nation is not too shabby! Matt finished 41st overall, very impressive for him considering the factors he was contending with on the day.