Tri the Worx Triathlon

Hey guys,

 

So, yesterday I raced the Tri the Worx triathlon. This was a very sprint-distance race, a 350 yard swim, 11.4 mile bike, and 5k run. This is a type of home court race for me, because I used to go to this gym and know the area round it very well. I really just wanted to have a race where I could feel out how my body is after the wreck, and this seemed like a good race to do so at.

 

 





Swim:

 

So, this was a quick 350 swim. I had a few minutes to stretch out before the start, but I didn't want to get in the water for as long as possible, because it was very cold outside. The water was somewhat chilly, enough to numb my quads and thighs, which worried me some, but didn't stop me from going hard. I believe my 100yard average came out to somewhere between a 1:02 and 1:05, due to a long run to T1.

 

 

T1:

 

My T1 was really great, I opted not to put on my race belt until the second transition, which turned out to be a fantastic decision, and helped keep my T1 under 30 seconds, which I'm happy about.

 

Bike:

 

My bike was good, but somewhat disappointing to me. It was a moderately hilly course, with a few serious climbs in them. I was running an ENVE wheelset, which I'm sure helped on the hills due to the less weight of a disc and 808, and really handled well. But I feel like I went out too hard and so my time suffered coming back into the transition area, but I was still able to average 23.1mph, something I can be content with on this course. I had a good flying mount and a fantastic flying dismount, and just felt really cool.

 

T2:

 

My T2 was my absolute best EVER. I used baby powder in my flats, something I read about from Hunter Kemper, and my shoes slid on faster than they ever have. I had the fastest T2 by over 15 seconds, which is HUGE for T2, something I was very excited about!

 

 

Run:

 

My run was something I wanted to do well on. The previous day I had run a 17:40 5k, so I knew I could run quick, but I wasn't sure about my speed coming off the bike. However, this was a course I knew well, and I wore a watch for pacing purposes. I hit my marks, and was able to finish much faster than expected! It was a great overall finish, and I was very excited to have come back and raced.

 

 

Overall, I liked this race. I had a lot of support from the volunteers and race directors I knew personally, and was cheered on through every turn of the course, something I am very blessed to have and grateful for. I had an amazing day, met some amazing people, and began to tell my story to other triathletes. So, all in all, I am returning to the sport I love. And I'm glad I am alive to do so.

 

350 Swim: 4:37

T1: 0:23

11.4 Mile Bike: 29:47

T2: 0:19

5k Run(short): 16:24

Finish: 0:51:28

 

 

Happy training guys!

High School, More Problems

Hey guys,

Wow, how long has it been? It's been literally MONTHS. I actually feel bad that I haven't posted anything for a while, I apologize, everyone.

There's so much to catch up on! But, for the sake of reading less, I'll sum up the big thing up in short:

So, basically, I returned to Middle Creek High School as a junior this year, and I was prepared to put this deadlyish summer behind me and get some good grades and have good sports on the side of tri training. So, bottom line, when I got to the first day of school, I realized something was wrong. I wasn't feeling like myself, and when I got to AP English three, I looked at the word verb and had no memory of what it meant or what it was. This wasn't good. So, we went to some neurologists, and they diagnosed me with a traumatic brain injury, note, it's worse than a concussion, and is a result from the impact of my crash back in July. Anyway, this presented a HUGE struggle for school, like, a MASSIVE struggle. My first test in AP English resulted in a score of TWELVE percent. That's 12%. Guys, that's so rough, for real, I'm in trouble. But my school is really great with counselors, and I've been able to talk with them about my options, and they've been helping me through this. I'm having MRI's and EEG's scheduled, and getting evaluated by neurophysiologists, and so we'll see where this whole brain injury goes. But other than that, I'm doing fantastic!

The other day, I ran a 5k PR of 17:40, and then the following day won my first triathlon overall following my crash, something I was very happy about! I feel like I may be coming close to mounting a comeback, but not yet. I'm excited for next year, how about you guys? It's going to be a great winter!

I'll do my best to get this updated more in the future, as things calm down.

Happy training!