Laughing It Up In Tucson!!

What a weekend! Between the laughs and even more laughs the crew from El Paso showed that we went to Tucson for more than just good times, we came to qualify for the World Championships later this year in Nancy, France and qualify we did! 

Where to begin? I guess the drive up to Tucson from El Paso is as good a place to start as any. Bobby Gonzalez, Gretchen McElroy, and I all piled into Bobby’s truck and left early Friday morning. Ruben Rosales and Laura Bernal followed us in Ruben’s truck and together we arrived in Tucson sometime around noon. I love driving in the same vehicle as Bobby and Gretchen, because not only do they make me laugh, we talk non-stop triathlon. I get to pick up useful racing tips just being around them. We stopped by TriSports and did some shopping and picked up a few last minute nutrition items. If you have never been to the TriSports store in Tucson it is a must for all triathletes. They have everything and the staff was very helpful in getting us what we needed. 

Once we checked into the hotel we went to the host hotel to pick-up our race packets. The race packet had everything we needed for the next day as well as a nice race shirt, fuel belt, water bottle, and other odds and ends. We put our race numbers on our bikes and went to the race site to check-in our bikes. I had never had to check-in my bike the night before, but apparently at bigger races it is the norm. I found out the next day that by checking in our bikes the night before, race day is much less stressful. After we checked in our bikes, Bobby drove us around the course. The run looked to have a slight incline for the first mile and then you turn around and have a slight decline for a mile. The third mile is the one that is interesting. For the first part of the third mile you go down a pretty steep decline, but what goes down must come up and the last half of the third mile looked really steep.

The bike course was a two loop course that was very similar to what racers in the El Paso area consider freeway rollers. The only difference was that at about the two mile mark you have a mile and a half of a slow steady climb. 

The night of the race I was miserable. I had the worst headache and of course race jitters. I woke around 5:00 am and started to get ready. My headache had gone away and I felt as ready as ever. We made our way to the race site and were happy that the morning weather was nice and cool. Unfortunately, the cool weather did not last and once the race started it began to get a little warm. Francois Modave, another racer from El Paso, met us at the race site and we all began are warm-ups. 

Bike Transition

At 8:15 my wave was ready to begin. From my coach (Francois) to Bobby and Gretchen, everyone had told me to believe in my training and make sure not to go too fast during the first 5k. As the race horn sounded I heeded those words and my race began. The pace for the first 5k was incredible! Racers were doing 5:10-5:30 minute miles and I had to really make an effort to slow down. As other racers were pulling away, I just stuck to my game plan and let them build a lead on me. I was a little frustrated because I knew I could be running faster, but was worried about fading badly during the last 5k. I ended up running a 6:35 pace and entered transition feeling good. 

For those of you that know me, biking and I have a love hate relationship. I don’t particularly like the bike portion, but I can do well enough to hold my own. I’m certainly not the guy who is going to make-up anytime on the bike, but I usually don’t lose too much time on other riders. I felt good throughout the bike and felt like I was keeping a pretty good pace. I didn’t finish even close to the main group during the run so I was hoping to maybe catch a rider or two on the bike, but that really didn’t happen. I managed not to get passed by anyone else in my age group, but I believe I only caught one rider. I ended up averaging 22.1 mph on the bike and so far was a little bit faster overall than I expected.

The final run did not disappoint. I had never run a full duathlon before so I was nervous as to how my body would handle the second run. As most of you know once you get off the bike and start to run, you really can’t feel your legs for the first half mile. I was no exception. I wanted to run under a 7:00 pace for the first mile and was lucky enough to hit 6:50. The second mile was just as fast, but then we came to the dreaded third mile and the hill of agony! I lowered my head and grinded out the final mile and finished the second 5k with a 7:12 pace. I had made it to the finish line in 1:43:39, but had a done enough to qualify? 

I went to the results tent and received a print-out of my results and right there in black and white it showed that I had finished 18^th in my age group! The first 18 places in each age group qualify for TEAM USA and the World Championships! Yes! I was very happy and relieved that months of hard work had paid off. Now it was off to cheer for the rest of my friends. 

Bobby Gonzalez finished 5^th in AG, Gretchen McElroy finished 3^rd in AG, Ruben Rosales finished 21^st in AG (But because of roll downs I believe qualified for Worlds), Laura Bernal finished 17^th in AG, and Francois Modave finished 10^th in his AG.

Ruben, Laura, Bobby, Gretchen, and Me

 Overall a very successful day for El Paso!