Flat

Congrats to Beno for taking home the bling in Dallas. This week went a bit up and down for me, training hard for Clearwater 70.3 and traveling back to Canada where i think i picked up some sort of flu virus, i spent the few days before the race just basically resting as much as i can. Getting a last minute spot in to one of the biggest races in the US this year was exciting but at the same time a bit scary knowing that i would be racing the best in the world, while trying to battle the muscle and mental fatigued i experienced from the last big block of training. The beginning of the swim, i got murdered lining beside some of the fastest swimmers. As we were paused at the line because of everyone creeping forward, finally we move back and the gun goes off by surprise. Well the swim felt relatively easy and i kept hitting peoples feet so i knew i was where i had to be, unfortunately i swam in the chase pack, who was not doing a good job of trying to keep in touch with the leaders and it was my own fault for making this mistake. i couldn't see anything in the sun another mistake or i would have tried to serge on my own. So the whole swim felt like a walk in the park not the way a swim should feel, but i wasn't sure since it was non-draft legal. Getting out of the water i realized i was coming out with a pack that i didn't want to see to later in the bike course, containing Greg Remaly, Micheal Simpson, my Brit mate James Hadley, Richie Cunningham, and a few others. For some reason i felt really flat on the bike and couldn't get moving. I only caught one person on the bike and that was the speed demon from France who lead the swim. All of a sudden i was in no mans land and wishing i wasn't so dang tired. I just didn't have the push i needed to get out of the comfort zone i was in. Not too long into the bike super biker David Thompson went ripping by me, and i kept a group of riders in site, just wasn't turning it over in the wind and hilly course to Dallas.
Getting off the bike i felt fine, except running by myself, i ran a good solid first loop and couldn't not come in touch with any of the runners in front of me and i got discouraged. I crossed the line knowing it wasn't the effort i wanted, i wanted to Berry myself, but my fatigue wasn't letting me. I ran 34mins off the bike and it felt very easy,i wish i didnt mentally give up on the last 5k loop because i would have ran a pb off the bike, so i am excited for when i am rested in Clearwater after a taper. It was fun racing the best in the world, however i made a few rookie mistakes that cost me some time, the biggest lesson of the day was not to set your helmet on your bars in transition on a windy day because when you come out of the water it may be missing, which it was and loosing that group on the bike cost me, it wasn't draft legal, but just having people to ride behind helps. It was a fun training race, and i like these non-draft legal type races, but with such an elite field, i needed to treat the swim more like a draft legal race. After the race it was an easy 5k to cheer on some friends i had racing, and then it was off to watch the boys play the patriots, the boys were looking good and then it was over. Oh well early to bed last night and i swam 6k this morning with F.A.S.T it was a pretty recovery type workout lots of distance and drill. Once the thunderstorms end later i will be out on the bike, to spin the legs out. I have a couple more big weeks before i taper for 70.3 Worldchampionships in Clearwater. Any way i will post about my adventures over the next month. Cheers