St. George 70.3

This past weekend, I traveled to St. George, Utah to race in the US Pro championships. Overall, it was a challenging, fun race.


After Oceanside, Mace and I discussed the pros and cons of racing Wildflower vs St. George. Both are tough courses. Ultimately, we decided to race St. George because the main goal of the season is to gain experience while racing against the best athletes. What better place to do this than at the “Pro Championships”. A large contingent of athletes from Fort Collins were also traveling to St. George which made simple travel logistics.

The week of the race was similar to a usual training week. I sent off a draft of my thesis in effort to keep the school pressure off of myself. After an early swim Thursday morning, we hit the road with Mace and Frosty. The 10 hour drive went by quickly.

St. George is beautiful. The landscape is unique and inspiring.

The day before the race was busy. Elise and I rode the run course first thing. After breakfast, we drove the Snow Canyon loop of the bike course. I was excited to see all of the hills on the bike course. Around midday, we checked in and went to the pro meeting. Once again, I nearly started asking for autographs.

The bike course had a few cattle guards. To keep bikers safe, plywood had been placed over 8' sections. Supposedly, if you put bright strips of tape on the boards, to replicate the normal slots, the cows still think it's a cattle guard and stay away! #smart

Next, we went to check out the swim course and drop off our bikes. The wind made it seem like a hurricane was brewing! When I was racking Bae, I was happy to not have a disc wheel. I saw someone’s disc-loaded bike actually fly away. The water was cold, but after a few minutes, it wasn’t too bad. I flailed my way back into the wind and eventually made my way back onto firm land.

Heading back to the boat landing, it felt like I was back playing in the wave pool as a kid, purposely jumping face first into the waves to practice my “body checking” for hockey.

#hockey

That evening, we had a large group dinner at a local restaurant. It was awesome to see everyone from town and catch up with other MP athletes. Everyone was excited.


I slept well the night before the race and was up early for breakfast. While some people are meticulous about their pre-race meal, it’s common for me to change things up. For breakfast race morning, I had 2 rice cakes. One with sunflower butter, and topped with banana and raisins.

After breakfast, Elise and I dropped off our run gear and jumped on a bus to the swim start. I sipped some Red Bull on the way.

After loading my bike bottles and stuffing Shot Bloks into my food box, I realized that my bike was literally the closest to the mount line. Since I’ve had a few mishaps with shoe-on flying mounts, I left my shoes on the ground. I know, #notpro. I knew, I’d be able to mash as soon as I got on my bike instead of fumbling around.

Half the time, one shoe comes out and ends up in my hand and I have to use my incredible (incredibly limited) flexibility to get my shoe actually onto my foot while riding.

With the “Rocky” theme mentally playing, I got a run warmup in jogging circles around the parking lot. After going over my bike, I tugged on my Roka wetsuit and headed to the swim start while chatting with a few other pros. I was in the water for about 15 minutes before our start. With the cold water, I knew I’d need a good 10 minutes of swimming before I’d feel ready. Soon, the national anthem played and we were lined up for the in-water start. We inched forward, the canon boomed, and we were off.

The swim course was a large triangle along a picturesque island in the middle of the Sand Hollow reservoir. The longest leg of the triangle is the second leg.

SWIM
Just before the start, a spot opened up on the line in front of me. I’m smart enough to know I should not be in the front only to get clobbered. I put my head down and swam hard. My clean water lasted about three seconds. After 20 strokes, it seemed like I was still part of the first group. “Duh Steve, is just 30 seconds.” The first turn was 400 meters out and I planned to give my best effort until then.

I felt fairly controlled as we reached the first turn and didn’t get smacked too bad. I noticed my swimming buddy from Oceanside, Kienle, on my right. After turning, I immediately put in a few hard strokes to stay on feet. Our group was swimming in two lines and I was on the left towards the front. I thought I recognized Cody Beals’s wetsuit and figured I’d be coming out with some strong bikers again. Staying focused on the present, I tried to swim efficiently in the group. After swallowing some water, I dropped back to burp. Turning for the last length of the triangle, I picked up my pace to work my way towards the front.

Knowing that strong riders were in our group, I kicked a bit more the last 30 seconds of the swim to shift from horizontal to vertical exercising, preparing for my heart to feel like it was exploding. We exited the water and I ran hard to Bae, looking for extra seconds. Mace yelled at me that we were about two minutes down from the leaders, but I was in good company.

Calming myself, I stomped into my shoes, and threw on the bat helmet. Before the race, I was scared of possible rain and cold but didn’t notice any cold. Mace and I had approached the bike with a strategy similar to Oceanside; be aggressive. I haven’t had time to install my Stages power meter on Bae. I like racing without holding myself to a power range, but it would be nice to have data to look back at.

The bike course at St. George is notoriously tough with over 3,000' of climbing. There are several sustained climbs throughout the course with the iconic 6-7 mile long Snow Canyon climb starting around mile 40. Strava file here

BIKE
A short hill out of the reservoir and the pressure was on. Kienle was in front of me and both of us went full gas (at least I did), managing to catch on to the tail end of a group led by Ben Hoffman (best calves in the sport), Tyler Butterfield (former Olympian), and Trevor Wurtele (best post-race commentary videos). Cody Beals (aerodynamic expert) merged in front of me as we made our way up the first sustained climb, five miles into the ride. Even though my heart rate was still elevated from the effort of catching the group, the effort up the hill felt relatively easy. I spun out my legs and resisted the urge to go my own pace. I knew this bike course was tough and that this first hill was only the beginning.

As we neared the top of the climb, someone, probably Kienle, upped the pace. I sensed it coming when Trevor pulled out of line. I figured we’d all regroup on the descent. Like in Oceanside, they put the hammer down over the top, took off, and gapped us.

Taylor Reid and I traded a few hard efforts over the next few miles. Kienle, Butterfield, Hoffman, Wurtele, and Bowstead stayed within sight for the next 10 or so miles but gradually pulled away. On the flats and slight downhills, Justin Metzler and Cody Beals came by me. Both had disc wheels, setting sail on the flats.

Mile 17 was another sustained climb. I knew I wanted to be in Hoffman’s group right in front of us. Starting the climb, I was at the back of our group. As the pace dropped, I pulled out, stood on the pedals, and gave a solid effort. About halfway through the climb, I slotted in behind Hoffman, watching his calve muscles do work. I concentrated on riding smooth up the climb. Eventually, we opened up a gap on the group behind us. After a few minutes, I noticed the temperatures were pretty cool. I had been very focused on racing and was forgetting to eat at regular intervals. I got back on track and resumed focus.

Riding with these guys was awesome. We had motor bikes by us taking pictures and shooting video. A draft marshal was also within sight most of the ride. Butterfield and Hoffman kept looking back. I wasn’t quite sure why… Eventually they saw something and the pace dropped. A few seconds later, Lionel Sanders came by. I shook my head; of course. Well, at least we’d lasted this long. Butterfield made an effort to stick with Lionel for a few miles but eventually dropped off. There were a few more climbs through town around mile 30. Feeling good, I filled in a gap that opened up behind Trevor. We continued on to the “flat” out and back section.

Rain began to fall. Through the roundabouts on the out-and-back I was cautious. Soon, we saw Cameron Dye charging back to the Snow Canyon climb. Behind him was Lionel Sanders, gritting his teeth and mashing. Behind Sanders was Kienle, looking aero AF and riding hard. We caught a few riders that had popped off as we approached the climb.

Trevor Wurtele

 As we climbed, I held back, simply matching Trevor’s pace. Trevor is a very smooth rider. I could tell he was riding steady power. I felt calm spinning up the climb. Trevor looked back every now and then. I couldn’t tell if he was looking to see if our group was together or wondering who the kid with the un-matching kit was. A few miles in, I could tell Trevor wouldn’t drop me (on the climb) and looked behind. Nobody was in sight. I knew I was riding hard but felt in control. Groups of volunteers cheered us on. The climb got steeper and eventually we crested. The rain picked up. On the flats and downhills, Trevor rode hard. Between that and his aero-ness, he abandoned me. I kept the pressure on the pedals as much as I could downhill back to town. I got small (#aero), and prepared myself to run.

Nearly to transition, I saw Sanders in first place a quarter mile into the run. I dismounted, put my socks and shoes on, clipped on my Stryd running power meter, and headed out. Uphill.

The run course at St. George is nuts. The first 4 miles are uphill. On top of the bluff, there are two out and back sections, about 0.6 miles each way. Downhill out, uphill back. Stryd running with power file here

Starting the run

RUN
 I relaxed and focused on form. My running legs came around in a few minutes. I tried to be steady, knowing hills lay ahead. 1.5 miles in, I heard footsteps. Cody Beals went by me. Cody is a much faster runner than me. We acknowledged each other, and I aimed to keep him in sight.

This picture is actually pretty cool. I had no idea I was being chased down by all these guys at this point. Ultimately, only Cody and Ben (2 of 4 in this picture) were able to catch  me.

I felt light on my feet running up the bluff, around mile 4. I took in nutrition, and tried to lengthen out my stride for the 0.001 mile of flats on the course. Mace and Frosty were waiting for me at the beginning of the out-and-backs. They told me I was in 11th.

Downhill

Heading to the out and back

 Downhill on the first out-and-back, I let gravity do the work. Turning around, I felt good and took shorter strides back up the hill. At the top, I immediately started back downhill on the second out-and-back. Hoffman and Mark Bowstead were within 30 seconds of me. Reid, another very fast runner, and Metzler, had also made up time. Uphill, again, was harder.

Raining

 I knew if I was hurting on the uphills, others were too. Somewhere heading back, Hoffman went by me, soon followed by Bowstead. I made it back to Mace and Frosty, hurting at this point.

13% = ouch

Frosty told me “last climb, Steve!” Up ahead, I could see Hoffman and Bowstead working their way uphill. I knew once I reached the top, I’d get four miles downhill. I swear that hill grew. Watching the guys in front of me battle, and getting cheers from people running and biking, I refused to walk. I told myself, “you’re a ‘pro’, no walking. Just suck it up and get up this!” I finished my gel flask and trudged along, telling myself “I love hills”, among other choice words.

I knew it was a good thing I was at my limit

Finally, at the top, I snagged some Red Bull, and felt my legs scream as I forced them to speed up. Then, footsteps. Metzler came by me. I tried to keep the gap small, but his long strides (he’s maybe a little over a foot taller than me) were tough to match downhill. Not wanting to give up, I pushed myself to run hard the last 3 miles. It hurt. My head was still in the game even if my legs weren’t. I grabbed cola for a boost, hoping Reid wasn’t closing in. I leaned forward to keep good form the last few miles. I reached the finish running hard in 14th place. I was spent.

The rest of the afternoon was spent frantically showering and checking out of the hotel, cheering on other athletes, writing postcards, and eating (duh). We stayed through the awards ceremony for Elise before getting some In-and-Out and heading back to Fort Collins.

LOOKING BACK
I had a lot of fun. Only a few miles of the run sucked. Some people might say I biked too hard and paid for it. In my opinion, that’s how I want to race. I know it’s a swim-bike-run event, with one sport influencing the next. Maybe if I had ridden one minute slower, I could have run a few minutes faster. Maybe. But, I believe that on a hard course, we have to use our strengths! I lost track of nutrition the first part of the bike and could have used a bit more. Especially taking in less via drinks due to the colder weather. Ultimately, I know working through these races takes time. I believe in my coach, the people supporting me, and we’re enjoying this process. That’s what matters most!

Massive thank you to MP Coaches Mace and Frosty for making this trip possible. Thank you CSU Tri and NoCo Tri for being the best training partners. Thanks to my family and friends for supporting me in so many different ways. Thanks to Roka (wetsuit was amazing, again), Stryd (learning more about running power!), Stages (Bae can’t wait to have power), Clif Bar (margarita Shot Bloks on Cinco de Mayo), Base Performance (salting ALL my food), Rocky Mountain Multisport (bike is awesome), Windsor Eye Care and Vision Center (congrats on the race!), and NoCo Endurance Center (I like sweating indoors) for helping me enjoy and spread this amazing sport.

Once my legs recover from the self-induce shredding, we’ll resume training for Boulder 70.3. In other news, I’m done with school!! Kinda. Classes are done and we’re just working on finishing up the thesis.

I appreciate everyone following along. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about training or racing or how many rice cakes I eat per week.

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter : @steve_mantell, Instagram : @stevemantell37, Strava, Snapchat: stevemantell37
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Oceanside 70.3

First, I would like to acknowledge that my race’s results have been removed from Ironman’s website due to my disqualification. There is a section of the bike course where a speed limit is enforced for safety. It was made clear that a violation of this would result in disqualification. For that reason, I take complete responsibility. I take rules seriously and any jokes I may make telling this story are simply to add humor. During the race, I was not mentally impacted because I didn’t find out until after. 

This past weekend I raced my second 70.3 of the season in Oceanside, CA. Recovering from Puerto Rico, swimming and biking came around quickly while running took a few more days. In 2015, I was on Team EMJ. We held a training camp in Oceanside, so I was somewhat familiar with the area.

Team EMJ 2015 training camp

Oceanside is often the first race of the season for many stupid-fast pros. Looking at the start list before the race, I saw it was loaded with all of my tri-celebrities/heroes; Andy Potts, Sebastian Kienle, Lionel Sanders, Joe Gambles, Tim Reed, Jordan Rapp, Jesse Thomas… Instead of feeling intimidated by this, I viewed the race as an opportunity to challenge myself.

Mace and I had decided to be more aggressive in preparation for this race. Part of the reason I wanted to race in the professional field was to challenge myself. I wanted to feel the same tenacity I had racing Olympic distance races where I let my competitiveness take over. Essentially for Oceanside, we decided I would go out there and race. That made me excited.

Even though I sat behind Kienle at the pro meeting, the highlight of the meeting was getting to see Bailey again!

Race Day

The pro men were set to go off at 6:40 am. I got up at 3:15, had an Ensure and a banana, then went back to sleep before biking to the start at 5. I had my transition area ready by 5:30 and went for a quick warmup run. A few minutes later I was waiting to use the same porta-potty as Andy Potts! The sun was coming up and the weather was going to be perfect.

We were allowed into the water 10 minutes before our start. There wasn’t much time to warm up, so I did some dryland exercises and put on my Roka wetsuit. After the national anthem, we treaded water for a minute, gradually edging past the start line. 

Roka's Maverick X wetsuit

Both Jesse Thomas and Jordan Rapp had new Roka Maverick X wetsuits. The suit’s red pattern stood out. I chose a spot near Jesse and a few others I thought I could swim with. The start was frantic for the first few minutes. I noticed I was more or less going stroke for stroke with Jesse. 

I told myself to keep going hard, ambitiously hoping to make it into a faster group. Then I recognized Kienle’s Orca wetsuit. Was this seriously happening? I was swimming in a pack with Sebastian Kienle and Jesse Thomas. There were a few others around us, one of which I thought was Jordan Rapp (again, because of the wetsuit). As our group navigated around the buoys, it was not a comfortable effort. Gaps opened up, sighting wasn’t always the best, and we accelerated hard out of turns. Every time I lost feet I’d put my head down and swim 15-20 strokes hard. Yelling in my head “get back here Kienle”. 

Exiting the water behind Kienle. I totally noticed him taking off his swim cap so he could exit with the Red Bull cap!

I tried my best not to get too far ahead of myself, only to be dropped by the group. The last 200 meters or so, I got my kick going to prepare my legs for what I believed would rival a 20 minute all-out effort to start the bike. Jesse and Kienle are two of the best riders in this sport. They would do everything in their power to get to the lead bikers. I decided that if we exited the swim together, I was going to do everything I could to bike with them. 

In transition, I stripped off my wetsuit, threw on my bib and the bat helmet, and dashed to the mount line. I knew I would need every second getting into my shoes before the onslaught of Kienle and Jesse began. The bike course was one big loop with a short section athletes complete at the beginning and end of the ride. The loop has a fair amount of climbing with 3 larger hills in the middle third. 

I got the shoes on and both rockets (Kienle and Jesse) were right with me. Now I just had to keep it that way. We went up a short, punchy hill away from the coast and began heading to Camp Pendleton. They were going full gas. We blew by a few riders in the first couple miles. 

The first 10 miles of the bike have some technical sections. My front bottle ejected on a bump, but thanks to my elementary school football skills I snagged it mid-air.

I had gone into the race wanting to challenge myself and here it was. I knew both Jesse and Kienle were on a mission. They would not let up until the lead group had been caught. I told myself to stick with them no matter what it took. My heart rate was high and even though I wasn’t riding with power, I knew I was over “threshold”. But, I smiled and said “screw it, I’m racing!” And then Jordan Rapp inserted himself into our group. Legend. 

A couple minutes later a green blur (seriously) went by me to the front of our group. Lionel Sanders. That’s about when I started salivating. For over 30 minutes, my legs felt like they were being torn to shreds. But I stayed with them. If I hadn’t been in so much pain, I would have been laughing to myself; how awesome is this? The effort level was way out of my comfort zone for a 56 mile ride. At several points, I started thinking “there is no way I’m running after this...If I stick with these guys, I’d be content walking 13 miles!” 

Picture of how it feels to ride with Sanders, Kienle and Jesse Thomas...

Picture of after riding with Sanders, Kienle and Jesse Thomas - fetal position

My goodness, it hurt. But, in the back of my head, I believed that these guys weren’t going to ride at this intensity for 2+ hours. With hills added in. That would be suicide… your legs might actually die. Instead of thinking about the pain, I accepted it. I drank from my bottles and shoved a few Clif Shot Bloks in my mouth. When I was becoming discouraged that we would never catch the group, a string of riders appeared in the distance. The lead group seemed to be within a few minutes. Lionel and Kienle smelled blood and kicked into another gear. 

On the first hill, we caught a group that had been spit out. I was surprised at how much ground I was able to make up on the hill. Not to say that it didn’t still hurt! And as soon as we got to the top, they put the hammer right back down. No opportunity to recover on the downhill. By the time we got to the 3rd hill, the tail end of main pack was about half way up. This was seriously happening. 

Bike data. Strava 

The hill was steep and had a turn at the top where Sanders, Kienle and Jesse went out of sight. By the time I crested they had a gap on us. Only Jordan Rapp was still close to me. On one of the downhills was the speed trap. Radar speed signs didn’t register anything for me, (I was going that fast). Only two people had been DQ’d last year. I tapped the breaks a few times so I figured I was good to go. 

Luckily, speed wasn't enforced like this...

I caught back up to Rapp. We rode the remaining 10-15 miles together on military roads. Kienle had gotten a flat and by the time we passed him he had the tube out so I estimated they were about a minute or so in front of us. For the last 8 or so miles I went by Rapp, trying to let him know that I could take over pacing duties for a while. On our way through the transition parking lot, we saw the leaders starting their run.

Oceanside run course map

In transition, I put on socks and shoes, snapped on my Stryd device and headed out. The run course at Oceanside is a mostly flat, two loop, out and back run. The course goes along a road near the beach called the “strand”. The streets were lined with people cheering. The first few minutes I didn’t push and built into my pace. I had to pee so I stopped at a porta-potty to get the flow started after the first mile. My legs began to come around. Two miles in, Rapp was still in sight. I tried to soak in the atmosphere. Spectators lined the ramps up and down the roads we ran on. 

The last few 70.3s I’ve done, I’ve faded in the last few miles of the run. Looking back, I took in less than half a gel (<100 calories) for the entire run. This time, I was going to make sure I took sips from my gel flask every 2 miles. After a few miles on the strand we ran through a residential section. Soon, I saw the leaders coming back the other way. 

Staring the run!

I felt strong. I focused on my form and looking down a few meters in front of me. After the first turn around, I saw I had a minute or so gap to Joe Gambles. I couldn’t tell if he was coming strong or not, so I focused on my own run and made sure I was running hard but not too hard for the remaining 9 miles. At each aid station I’d take some water and at least swish it around my mouth. I stuck with my plan of sipping from the flask. A few times, I felt a bit bloated and so I’d skip swallowing anything for a mile or so and would feel better. My nutrition seemed to be working and I didn’t feel any weaker starting the second lap. 

My goal was to get to mile 10 still feeling strong. The crowd gave me good energy and I passed Maik Twelsiek heading up a ramp. The small hills in the neighborhood felt fine and I started to believe I’d figured out the nutrition my body needed. Lionel, as usual, looked ready to die as he went by on to the finish. I made my last turn around a little over a minute behind Rapp and saw a hard-charging Matt Hanson. 

Matt is an incredible runner. He ran something like a 2:4x marathon at IM Texas (aka, the sauna) in 2015

I told myself to give it everything the last two miles. A few EMJ guys were out on the course and we gave each other encouragement. I made it back to the strand and could see the finish line. I focused on my forward lean and glanced back to see no one as I entered the finish shoot. Zipping up my top, I saw a 4:01:5x as I crossed the line with a smile. I was so pumped to have put together a solid half-marathon. At the time, I'd gotten 11th! 

Deciding I should run faster to the finish!

I walked my way through the finishing shoot, savoring the feeling of accomplishment. Eventually, I worked my way over to pick up my morning-clothes bag with my backpack and phone. During a race, I will think about those following along on-line. The first text I saw from my brother read: “please tell me you’re biking with Jesse and Kienle right now!” If you know Ernie, there were a few expletives in there. Then there were two missed calls and a third message asking if I had gotten DQ’d because there weren’t any more splits. 

Immediately, the speed limit came to mind. It was possible, but I was skeptical that there weren’t other technical problems. Jimmy Riccitello, the head referee and University of Arizona coach, came over to congratulate me and asked how I finished. He said it was great to see me up there with the big guns. I said thanks and asked if he could check on the DQ. A few minutes later, it was confirmed that I had gone 39 mph in the section limited to 35 mph. 

I was sad but I immediately knew that the DQ didn’t matter to me as much as the race experience. I’d “raced” again. I’d pushed myself on the bike, past my comfort zone, and proved something to myself. I was more disappointed that those following along weren’t able to see live splits. Without an official result, to an outsider it’s as if the race never happened. But, it is out of my control. There is nothing I can do about the outcome other than learn from my mistake and move on.

A massive thank you to Windsor Eye Care and Vison Center and BASE Performance. Without these guys this trip would not have been possible. Thank you to Patrick Ray and Rocky Mountain Multisport/Runners Roost Fort Collins. The Cervelo P5 is incredible. Stiff on the climbs and doesn’t like being held back! I can only ride that thing one speed: fast. Thank you to coach Mace for the guidance and to the CSU triathlon team for being the best training partners. Thank you to the fam, and the friends who follow along… your messages of support are much appreciated and make this journey fun! 

Up next is a bit of recovery time before building again to the next race, either Wildflower or St. George. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions about the race/triathlon/speed limits/peanut butter… 

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter : @steve_mantell, Instagram : @stevemantell37, Strava, Snapchat: stevemantell37 

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Puerto Rico 70.3

Three things are necessary for survival: clothing, shelter and food. Five days before leaving for Puerto Rico for my first triathlon of 2016, my probability for survival was 33%. And that was based on my willingness to live off of Clif Bars. 

I did my best to not panic. I finished off a draft for a research paper and continued to train…somehow everything was pieced together and I was off to Puerto Rico for my first race as a “pro”.

Bike packing

The main goal of the race was to gain experience and to feel as if I belonged in the “pro” field. I chose Puerto Rico because I had the urge to relearn Spanish after 8 years. Everyone always says to follow your dreams…

After a long day of travel, I finished assembling my bike by 12:30 am Puerto Rico time. Another athlete of Mace’s (Javier), local to San Juan, had found me a place to stay and helped me get around for the weekend.

Good messages in the apartment

Run path in Puerto Rico

The bike course was scattered with dead iguanas. Tons of them. They enjoy soaking up the sun on a high-traffic road… I only saw part of the run course, but understood the main point. It would be hot and hilly. Before the race, I spent a lot of time reading. The apartment didn’t have internet which I, actually, enjoyed. When I needed to get my social media fix, I simply walked across the street to the Ritz to use their free internet :) At the pro meeting, there were some serious triathlon celebrities. Athletes I’ve been following for a long time and will always look up to.

Beach views 

Race Day
I had an early wake up to make a shake for breakfast. I’d found an older “silver bullet” blender that, despite emitting a smell when turned on, seemed to work. So with a vanilla Ensure and some frozen banana, I made breakfast to the smell of burned rubber.

After telling the taxi driver “Ironman” and “triathlon” a few times I conveyed that I wanted to go to the race venue. While setting up my life’s belongings, I noticed a referee using a smartphone app to run over our bikes checking for motors! After a short run, I grabbed my Roka swim skin and headed to the start, applying sunscreen as I walked.

Having experienced neck chafing from my swimskin before, TO let me borrow some Vaseline. No. Big. Deal. He even said “No worries”. Then I headed into the water to warm up and conceal peeing myself.

TO!

I did my swim warm up and felt good to go. The national anthem was played and we were lined up in the water. A drone flew overhead. Age groupers and their families had their phones out, pushed up against barricades to take pictures. Someone with a microphone said a phrase in Spanish with “profesionales” in it and the crowd went nuts. 

Swim

Lining up, I chose a spot behind Cam Dye and other fast swimmers. My graceful stroke needs its space! The cannon boomed and we were off. I put my head down and took a few hard strokes. I was a little scared the other pros might have coordinated some kind of “initiation” where I’d get smacked a few times but there was only contact for the first 45 seconds or so. Fairly quickly, everyone’s place was sorted out. 

Swim Venue

Eventually I was towards the back of a big group and recognized Thomas Gerlach swimming next to me. Things were strung out and after the first turn (700-800 meters) three of us got spit out the back. I couldn’t tell who was leading, but I was still with Gerlach. A few times I checked our pace by popping out but always moved back to draft. Eventually we crossed under a bridge and hit the stairs to the swim exit. 

Going up the stairs, I noticed the first guy in our 3-man group was Chris Leiferman. Chris and I first met on the triathlon team at CSU. He was (and is) an incredible athlete. Seeing Chris just ahead of me after the swim was awesome. 

Collegiate nationals 2013

Chris wasted no time and took off on the long run to transition. I got to my bike, stripped off my swim gear,  and threw on the “bat helmet” before grabbing my bike and running to the mount line. 

Bat helmet

Bike

Chris and Gerlach were on a mission. Starting out, I felt that I could have put the pedal to the medal for 5-10 minutes and caught up to Chris and Gerlach…then try to work with them to catch the front group. Knowing how tough the Puerto Rico run course would be, Mace and I decided to be more conservative. I also saw my heart rate was at 175. I decided to stick to our power zone and ride strong on my own, hoping people would come back to me.

Bike route! (file)

The first half hour, I focused on a higher cadence. Shifting from swim mentality to bike mentality. The first section of the course was on a highway with overpasses as the biggest inclines. On long stretches I could still see Gerlach, but I stuck with my plan. I hydrated and took in some shot bloks with BASE salt on them. My power was good and felt comfortable. 

Eventually, I got to the section of the course along the coast for the 2 loop out-and-back. Other than looking out for iguanas, I put my head down and transitioned into a lower cadence. Patrick Evoe came by me and after a while, I realized we were more or less riding the same speed. I gave him a 50 ft gap and then paced with him. It was great to have someone to ride with. We picked off another guy who tried to stay with Pat for a while…but too many watts.

Heading up to the first turn around, I expected to see Andrew Starykowicz with a huge gap, however, we got closer to the turn around, and I still hadn’t seen the lead moto. This made me happy and I realized we must be biking somewhat fast. Eventually the leaders came the other way. It looked like we were riding just outside the top 10, about 3-4 minutes behind. Heading back, there was a bit of a head/cross wind. As I came around Pat to take my turn, I wasn’t really sure what the etiquette was for teaming up in a race. I went with saying “I’ll work with you”. No swearing was returned, so I took that as a good sign. 

Checking in with my body, I felt like I could be riding harder but decided to be patient. I picked up a few extra water bottles, finally getting my handoff and trash can three-pointer skills back. Side note: they should give us small time bonuses if we drain a shot while moving 25+ mph. 

Draining a 3

Heading back out for the second loop, Pat and I swapped positions. As he went by he said “we can catch that front group!” I was working with Patrick Evoe! Positions hadn’t changed much with the other pros as we flew back towards the far turnaround. Starky was doing his thing and the group right in front of us hadn’t gained much! Heading back to town for the last time, I came by Pat. The headwind split Pat and I up a bit. Coming off the bike, I was looking forward to the run. My legs still had some power in them at the end of the bike. I had hydrated, taken in some calories and my stomach felt good. 

In transition I felt like I had to pee, but for some reason didn’t want to get it over with in transition. I couldn’t find the small pockets on my top or shorts, so I ended up stuffing my BASE salt vials down my shorts while I sorted out my race belt, watch and Stryd device. 

Run

The goal for the run was to not have the first 2 miles be the fastest 2 miles. I focused on my form and transitioning from biking to running the first couple miles. Nobody was in sight. Up the first steep hill towards old San Juan, I took it slow and my legs felt good. I lengthened my stride a bit and headed out towards the wall. At each aid station, the volunteers were going crazy cheering us on. I grabbed lots of ice and water. I still had to pee pretty badly, but first wanted to figure out where I stood in terms of placement. I knew I could suffer for a while. 

Eventually we saw TO was heading back. After him, everyone was spread out. Someone told me I was in 11th. In my head, I made it a goal to try and get into the top 10. I felt good and it was hard to hold back from trying to make up time right away. With such a tough run, I knew the second loop would be hard when the heat and hills would catch up to us. At the turn around, Gerlach was in front of me by less than a minute. I thought I was slowly making up ground. Everything still felt pretty good heading back up a hill to the start. The views of the ocean were spectacular and there was a section of the road with cobbles. Unofficial aid stations were set up, offering cheering instead of water. The path to the turnaround was lined with people to send us on our second loop. 

I hadn’t taken in much nutrition that first loop. My stomach felt good but I really had to pee now. Still, I knew I would never let myself live with my decision to stop and pee if I fell just a bit short of catching one more person. I worked my way up to Gerlach. Heading up a hill I got a bit of a gap on him. Still, I wouldn’t let myself pee because I wasn’t sure how far back he was. I was starting to hurt. Suddenly, two more people came into sight just as I was heading back down into the park. Eventually, I went by both of them. One was Frederik van Lierde. In my head, I was screaming “dude, you just passed Frederik van f*&$ing Lierde!”. Half a mile from the turn around, I saw the familiar running form of Andrew Starkyowitz. A couple minutes later, he started walking and I went by him. 

Soon after, Gerlach put in a big effort and worked his way back up to me. It was disheartening. I was fading and didn’t have energy to fight with a big hill and 3 miles still to go. He got a gap on me going up the hill while I granny-jogged, refusing to walk or look behind to see if anyone else was coming. Finally, at the top of the hill, I glanced back and didn’t see anyone and I really had to pee. I ducked into a porta potty just to get the flow started.

I forced myself to lengthen my stride and run as hard as I could on the flats and downhills. I tried to take in some fluids and ice to cool down, but I still started getting chills. I kept telling myself only two miles left, you can suffer. I could hear the crowd. Then I could see them. At a turn with a half-mile left, I glanced back and didn’t see anyone. Relieved, I focused on pushing hard to the finish, for pride. Just before the finish, I saw Javier heading out to start the run. I had enough whereabouts to yell and high five him. I tried to muster a smile as I crossed the finish. 

Immediately I felt dizzy and had to hold onto a few volunteers for support. I knew I would be fine, I just needed shade and water. After a quick massage, I zombie walked around to pick up my morning clothes bag. 

No post-race ice bath. Volunteer let Sam hold the ice bag for a bit instead...

Picture with TO, Javier and friends!

The rest of the day, I hung out with Javier and his parents and ate some solid food. Eventually, I went back to the Ritz to steal more internet and write a few postcards. 

This trip would not have been possible without several people. Javier was incredibly accommodating; finding me a place to crash, driving me to and from the venue and previewing the bike course with me. Patrick Ray worked some wonders on my bike to get it ready in two days while Chris Howard at Sport About saved the day by putting some logos on my tri top. Massive thank you to Coach Mace for the training plan and guidance throughout this spring. It’s been challenging fitting things in with school, but I’m happy with the consistency and progression we’ve had the past few months. Thank you to my family and close friends for the encouragement and support, I appreciate all of you. 

Congrats to my brother on his awesome race at Havasu this weekend. It’s scary how fast he’s gotten in just over a year. 

Up next for me is 70.3 California (Oceanside) in about two weeks. The start list is ridiculous.

I’m looking forward to a not-so-flat bike course. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions about this race or if you want to learn more about my (lack of) Spanish speaking skills. Strava, FB, snapchat: stevemantell37, twitter: @steve_mantell

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Valentine's Day: Running and Chocolate

Valentine’s Day. When I think of Valentine’s Day I think of the traditions involving pink and chocolate. I like chocolate. Green Events’s “Catch me if you Can” run this past weekend had chocolate and offered a new Valentine’s Day tradition for many Northern Coloradoans. 

The final event of the Front Range Freeze series was held at the Anheuser-Busch Biergarten. Before the race started, the large indoor space provided a warm place to pin on race numbers and catch up with friends. 

Green Events offered two distances; there were four mile and 10k run/walk options for us to earn our hot chocolate, pancakes and beer. The four mile run followed the same relatively flat course as the Sweaty Sweater race (back in December) while the 10k option started and finished on the same route but added a “detour” in the middle. I had decided to do the 10k option.

The Stryd running power meter!

After picking up my race number, chatting with a few friends and eyeing the hot chocolate, which I decided to save until after, I got in a quick warm-up. The 12+ inches of snow from last week’s blizzard had melted. The sun was coming out, layers were coming off and runners were excited and smiling.

Women's race start

To add a twist to the race and match the Valentine’s Day theme, Green Events decided all girls would get a three minute head start before the hounds (guys) were released. With everyone milling around the start, the girls took to the line and dashed off. It was almost as if they were eager to get away from us… Three minutes later and after a few instructions, the guys were off. 

Lead bikers from Northern Colorado Grassroots

The first mile took us out of the venue’s parking lot and headed west on a flat stretch towards a beautiful view of the foothills. A few guys must have been very antsy to catch their Valentine quickly because the first mile was ridiculously fast. My lungs hurt from the shock of running nearly all-out to keep the love-struck guys in sight. Soon after the first mile, the 10k route began its “detour”. 

A variety of athletes at Green Events's races...

Without the four-milers, things got lonely for us. Thankfully we had some great bike escorts from Northern Colorado Grass Roots to lead the way. We continued west, towards the mountains and through a neighborhood. The course was well-marked with orange cones and marshals directing us. A slight uphill wasn’t too bad as it was still early on in the race. 

One of the lead bikers took this picture just before Josh decided to dust us

We ran along the boundaries of the neighborhood and turned south. Volunteers stationed at cross streets gave us some cowbell and shouted encouragement. After going through the halfway point, I noticed my lungs had stopped hurting. My feet decided they would fill in for a bit. Mile four seemed to take forever. But soon enough we were headed back east towards the venue. A slight downhill was much appreciated at this point and we could start to see the four mile course rejoining ours. 

As courses merged, inspiration came from other runners and the Biergarten beckoned to us from the distance. The last few miles went by quickly as it was easy to focus on the people running in front of us. The atmosphere was encouraging. Eventually the turn to the parking lot was in sight. Patrick Ray himself standing at the turn, directing us to the finish. After the relief of finishing sank in, a few of us ran back out to the course, cheering on runners while trying to “cool down” our legs. 

Running data from Stryd for the 10k run (link)

We thanked the awesome team of bike escorts and headed inside for the real reason we race, post-race food. The Biergarten had indoor and outdoor seating. Along with a few CSU Triathlon and NoCo Tri members, I enjoyed some beautiful mountain views near the warmth of a fire ring. We ate, drank and told new four-mile and 10k battle stories.

In line for post-race food

The outdoor seating area

Fire ring in the outdoor area

Once again, Green Events stressed the importance of their zero-waste initiative, even going as far as to cover up all normal trash cans. Signs directed us to dispose of used plates and cups in the appropriate recycling and compost bins. 

Zero waste? Yes please.

Eventually, Green Events started announcing awards and raffling away prizes. Once again, fantastic local businesses offered some great rewards, just in case the burning lungs, tired legs and a sweet long-sleeved T-shirt weren’t enough. Gift cards and other services were provided by Raintree Athletic Club, Runners Roost and Altitude Running. 

A great place to run

Though the Front Range Freeze series has finished, Green Events's next event will be the Spring Equinox on March 20th. There are 5 mile and half-marathon options with your best interests in mind; Colorado views, zero waste and beer.

Until then, thanks for reading and have a great day!