Age Group National Championship – Olympic Triathlon August 2015

Leading up to the nationals I did everything I was supposed to do for nutrition and practice.  Having the information that DNA fit provided really narrows down nutrition needs and how hard I can train.  So I had pretty high expectations of improving my time in overall finishing position from last year.  And the race was held at the same venue in Milwaukee as last year so I knew the course and what to expect.  Unfortunately what I did not plan on was the water temperature and how long it took me to get acclimated to it, which cost me dearly!

So I was already and set to go by doing a little bit of warm up on land and then doing a short swim in the practice area.  I thought I had reserved enough time to practice in the swimming area but I made the mistake of not getting use to the cold water by letting a little bit into my wet suit which always makes for a very awakening moment when 60° water touches your skin!  So I was not properly prepared when the siren went off and within 100 yards my heart rate shot through the roof and I had to slow way down to catch my breath before I could resume my swim.  And that was a crucial failure at a race of this magnitude and the level of competition!  So I did the best I could for the remaining swim section and focused on doing well on the bicycle and run.

Getting onto the bike I felt really good and focused on my nutrition plan better this year making sure I consumed all of my fluids and gels.  On a street course with so many people I’m always very conscious of rule infractions, but that did not seem to bother other people as several competitors grouped together and drafted which is illegal in triathlon racing.  This frustrated me because every time I tried to get away from the group they were able to re-catch me which following the rules I have to slow down and be at least 3 bike lengths behind them and wait until I can try to remake a pass.  So this cost me precious minutes I was trying to make up from my swim deficit and there is very little rule enforcement from the sanctioning body!  I even had one person pass me on the right which is very dangerous because it is explicitly stated that you’re not supposed to do that.  But again I ran my own race and know that I followed the rules!  So I can hold my head high even with my finishing time knowing that I did the right thing.

So once I got to the run I felt a whole lot better than the previous year and was able to maintain a decent pace but not quite as fast as I would have liked.  Unfortunately my disposable timing chip that we were issued did not catch all of my times so I cannot really compare anything to what I did last year.  I only know that my swim was significantly slower and that’s where most of my time was lost.  I had a finishing time of 2:31 and a final position of 138 out of 180 within my age group.  This finishing position and time is much slower than last year which was very discouraging.  But again all considering, I follow the rules and made a big mistake, it’s not a bad time.  One of these days I will put it all together at a major race!  But being at the nationals is what it’s all about.  I got to share information about DNAFit, Hammer nutrition and pass out some Zola to vendors and fans.  Plus talk to other triathletes about all my great sponsors that help me be fast and stay healthy.

I’m hoping by the end of this year I can come very close to being at least in the teens for an Olympic distance.  But my overall goal will be to complete a full distance Ironman race in September.  So I will keep training and looking forward to the next race, which will be a Sprint in my local hometown!  The first time ever the city has done an adult triathlon.

Thanks to all the sponsors and everyone who came out to cheer on all the triathletes!

Hammer referral program 15% discount code: use 221216 when ordering. Plus get a bunch of free samples!

RIM Racing’s Mike Morgan is sponsored by World Wide Bearings, DNAFit, Polydyn, Timex, Hammer Nutrition, Zola acai drinks, McCabe’s Granola, Bont Shoes, HED Wheels, SRP Graphics.  NE Designs provides webpage support and layout.

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