I added the Black Squirrel Triathlon (BST) (1000 yard swim, 21 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) to my race schedule a month or so ago to cap of my multisport season. The BST was held at Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs Iowa, just across the Missouri River. There are very few legitimate triathlons in the Omaha area and I wanted to support this first year event. My brother Dave and I just competed in a 1/2 Ironman on 8/20 just one week prior to this event and I was literally doing the race for the love of the game. Don't get me wrong, when I go do a race, I go race hard and have fun at the same time. I realized the night before the event that the bike portion of the race was going to be held on a running / cycling path and not on the road. I was a bit nervous about this because the path is not very wide and it was an out and back course. On the bright side I was very familiar with the path and course as I have done multiple long training runs in the area.
The race was directed by a volunteer of the Council Bluffs YMCA. I went to pick up my packet the night before the race and there was a mix up with my packet and my brother Daves. Basically, Dave received my packet not his and they didn't even have Dave as registered. The staff at the Y felt awful about the situation and just told them we could work it out in the morning. Just more confirmation that I was just going to have fun at this event.
Race day turned out to be cool for late August, and the sky was showing some signs of possible rain. I arrived an hour and a half before the race was to start, got my missing packet and set up my transision spot. I noticed a few local triathletes that I usually race against and was looking forward to some fun. I started my warmup about 45 mins before the race was to start. For sprint races like this I like to do a 5 - 10 min warm-up in each sport (run, then bike, then swim) before the race starts. During my bike portion of the warm-up I realized how technical the bike was going to be because of the trail. I road the first couple miles and was glad I did as there were a few turns I missed and had to back track. Once back to my transisiton spot, I readied my equipment and made my way down to the water for the start. The water was warm but I decided to wear my wetsuit as I feel it gives me a competitive advantage. There were a total of 130 athletes racing in the event (78 individuals). I did my warm-up in the water and talked with a few local tri-geeks that I know. I was excited to race, but was just goofing around.
The race started a 7:30am. We started (mass start - all at once) from the beach and ran into the water. The water was shallow for ways out into the lake. I ran until it got difficult and then did a series of dolphin (shallow dives) until it was deep enough for me to take a stroke with out touching bottom. I headed out very hard and could feel the fingers of another triathlete on my feet. I later found out that it was Gerald K, a fellow tri-geek. It is always hard to tell where you stand during the swim. I thought I was in the top 3 - 5 but wasn't sure. I do remember a female swimmer blowing by me on the way back (out and back swim). The swim was good, felt like I usually do, taxed and ready for the ride. I remember hearing I was in 5th place coming out of the water. Coming out of the water I always remove my top of the wetsuit. It is a two piece style that is supposed to come off quicker, but I think it is the same as other suits. I passed two athletes in transision. All those years of experience is paying off. Once on the bike I caught one rider with in the first mile then the lead rider with in the first 3 miles. I don't think it really registered with me that I was in the lead on the bike until the turn around (about 10.5 miles into the ride). I kept thinking, man the guy leading the race must be stinking fast, and I worked a bit harder each time I thought this!! Once I got to the turn around and realized that I was the leader, I picked up the pace. We had the wind at our back on the way back. At the turn around I had a about a 30 sec - 1 min lead on the second place rider. With 1 mile to go on the bike I came up on a pack of 10 wild turkeys that were scattered on the path. As soon as I saw them (I was going about 24 mph) I started yelling to get there attention. At first they could careless, then they started to run, walk and fly out of my path. I caught a wing on my helmet as I blew through the pack. That was my first encounter with Wild Turkeys during a triathlon :-)
I returned to the transistion area to a cheering crowd! That was way cool and headed out for the 6.2 mile run. This was going to be the test. I am a solid runner, but there were other athletes at this race that were faster. I had about 1 min on the second place athlete as I started my run. Running off the bike is always a challenge, but even more so with 80 athletes chasing you. My plan was to try to establish a rhythm early in the run. As I stared my run I just asked God to give me strength and focus. This is when a motorcycle cop got in front of me and paced me. I was running on the side of traffic and he was my personal escort. Probably the coolest moment of my triathlon career. Leading a race and my own escort. I used the motorcycle to focus on and pace and I settled into a 10 mph (6min/mile) pace. *I found this out after the race when I talked to the motorcycle cop. At about the 2 mile mark he peeled off as I started to run on a trail. I was feeling pretty good, just enjoying the run and asking God to help me dig deep. If they were going to catch me they were going to have to hurt just as much as me :-) When I am racing I make a habit of never looking behind me, I like keeping the race mine. I kept thinking "Holy Cow, I am leading the race", then I would just have this peace come over me and a big smile and savored the moments. At the ~4 mile mark with 2.2 miles to go I was back on the road and the motorcycle cop comes up next to me and says "Great work runner - you have a runner :30 back!" Now it was crunch time. I still never looked back, but I knew if the athlete was :30 back after 4 miles they were most likely a strong runner, so I dug deep thinking about all my conversations with my 2 children Megan and Cameron, about how life is full of challenges and sometimes you have to work harder than the next person to get the same results. So I ran those last couple of miles for my kids and for my God. I still can't really believe it is true. But as I turned to come down the finishers chute the cop in front of me sires and lights flashing, I crossed the finish line in 1st Place overall. The first time in my Triathlon Career, heck sporting career. 1st place out of everyone there!!! I beat the second place finisher by 40 seconds, putting 10 seconds on him in the last 2.2 miles. The second place finisher paid me a huge compliment after the race when he said that he just could not catch me after I upped the pace those last couple of miles. This is from an athlete I really respect and admire!! Thanks Gerald!!!
As I was talking with people and athletes after the race, people where coming up to me and saying "Great Job" or saying "How do you do it?" As I reflect on it and process the whole experience it really comes down to this - my relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the one that gets all the glory for this. He has gifted me in ways that enable me to stay focused, work hard, train consistently, provides a huge support network of my wife Cindy and children Megan and Cameron not to mention my greater family of parents and brothers Dave, Jason, Luke and friends like Gavin and JD. I accepted the trophy for 1st place very humbly but with some pride and warriors heart. As I was driving home I started to cry, you see God granted a wish of mine that I have had since I was a young boy. I was never really that good at sports or anything else. I was told when I was 12 that I should not run because of a hip injury. I was told as a young man that I didn't have the competitive spirit that athletes needed to succeed. God allowed me to win that race because he knew that I could appreciate it for what it is. Yes - it was an accomplishment in athletics, but it was more of a right of passage for me. Those tears of joy felt so good. I really felt so humble in the presence of God and could feel him embrace me!
That is my wish for each of you that has read this posting! That you would dream big dreams and that you would desire to feel God's presence in your life no matter where you are at in your Spiritual Formation!
Life's a Journey - Enjoy the surprises each day brings!
In His Grip -
Kevin
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