Ready to Withdraw...Race Time

Following 22 weeks of training it is finally time to make a withdrawal and let the races begin.  I've raced twice so far but the schedule really heats up now with competitive races the next three weekends.  This upcoming weekend I'll be racing in the Pigman Sprint triathlon thanks to Andrew Lestor.  Andrew saw on my blog that I was on the wait list and he was registered.  He could not make the race due to a wedding and graciously contacted the race director and transferred his entry to me.  I'll be racing on Sunday in the VERY competitive sprint.  This is not a race I've had much success in previously.  I raced it in 2009 and finished 11th and last year tried my hand again and placed 6th.  It is a race that pays 5 deep with the winner earning $600.00 guaranteed with the possibility of a $750.00 bonus payout.  The race is unique because they do a gender equalizing start between the women and men and the overall first person to cross the finish line earns a $750.00 bonus so someone is going to net $1,350.00 which is enough to bring in a number of pros.  The past two times I've raced this I have gone in thinking I could win the race and it has led to a lot of frustration so this year I'm going in with a goal of placing in the top 3 and knocking 90 seconds off my best Pigman sprint time.  This would give me a goal time of right around 1 hour, 3 minutes.  I'll have 6 days to recover and get a little training in and then I'll be on the start line next Sunday, June 10th for my first pro race of the year in Lawrence, Kansas.  It is Kansas 70.3.  The start list has been posted and the field has some of the top triathletes in the US entered.  I will go to this race with no pressure because the expectations won't be on me.  With names like Ben Hoffman, Chris Lieto, and Matty Reed (all winners of multiple Ironman 70.3 and full IM races) I will be out of the spotlight and looking for a chance to see how my off-season training has paid off.  After the 70.3 race in Kansas I'll have 5 days to recover before racing my hometown sprint triathlon on June 16th, a race I would love to win.  My biggest focus in the week before that one will be getting recovered so I'm able to take my place on the start line.  3 races in 3 weeks is something I've never done before.  It means I'll be relying on the fitness I've gained over the past 22 weeks hoping to make a big withdrawal.  I've always thought that fitness is built up over time and stored much like an individuals personal finances are stored in a savings account.  If the work has been done the money will be there when a withdrawal is needed.  I'll be making the withdrawals the next three weekends.  I'm excited about the challenges.  I haven't felt particularly good over the past month.  I've been sick the past week and a half and that really seemed to drain my energy levels.  Thankfully the last couple days I have felt like my energy is returning and I've been able to put out much better power numbers on the bike.  I had two great bike interval workouts last week to go along with a tough group ride on Wednesday and my longest ride of the year on Sunday.  I had a great 80 mile ride with Matt Davison and Jessica Imm as they prepare for Ironman Wisconsin.  It was windy out but having the company for the ride made it go by quickly.  I also had a good running interval session and followed it up with a tempo run so I had a pretty solid week of training although my volume wasn't quite as high as I had hoped because I opted to sleep a little extra rather than do some of my usual late night base mileage rides on the trainer.  I think it was worth it as my body is starting to feel stronger. 
I was inspired on Monday watching the QC Criterium bike race.  Local rider Jeff Bradley placed 16th of over 80 riders who began the pro race.  Jeff has really helped my biking the past few years with indoor workouts, hills repeats, and group rides.  Jeff is a former Tour de France rider and Seven Eleven pro who was an alternate on the 84' Olympic team.  Even at age 51 he was still able to compete with kids half his age in a stacked field.  It was awesome to see him race so well and it inspired me to believe that anything is possible...at any age. 
This past week I've been riding my 1998 LeMond Alpe D'huez road bike because the crank on my Shiv broke and it was sent off to Zipp for a replacement.  I'm not sure if the replacement will arrive in time for the Pigman Sprint but I know the guys at Healthy Habits will have something for me to make the race happen because as much as I've enjoyed riding the 98' LeMond it isn't a bike I want to race on.  I plan to see Dr. Kaminski for some ART work this week and also get in for a massage to get my legs race ready.  The key for me this weekend is how my legs are feeling coming off the bike.  They haven't felt particularly good running for nearly a month since I did the 1/2 marathon in Des Moines.  I need them to be there on Sunday or it will be another disappointing finish for me in Cedar Rapids.  If the legs are where they should be I should be in the mix for a top 3 finish. 
GU Energy has been a sponsor of mine for the past 3 years and they have really allowed me to get nutrition to make it through all these workouts and races.  I've been blessed to have their support.  They put together short bios on all their pro athletes.  Mine can be found by clicking here.  Thanks for reading.  Enjoy the summer...school is out and now I can train like most other pro triathletes and even better is that I can now recover like a pro triathlete should.  DREAM BIG!!