Eagleman 70.3 BUST

I came into Sunday's race feeling really good.. besides a lingering calf pull. I was well rested and knew I was at a high fitness level. I was ready to put down a super fast bike time and a solid run.

Temps race day were in the mid 90s. Although I read it hit over 100 later in the day. It was a non wetsuit swim. I've never swam 1.2 miles in open water without a wetsuit. So it was sure to be interesting. The swim coarse was either too long or they messed everyone times up but I came out in 38 minutes, which would of put me at a 30-31 minute 1.2 mile swim. I heard the swim coarse was over 1.5 miles due to the bouys drifting out. I came out of the water feeling very fresh and not tired from swimming. I zoomed through transition and immediately hit my pace on the bike.


CAUTION this is where everything goes wrong...

I was about 3 miles in on the bike coarse before an age-grouper swerved in to me as I was traveling about 28 mph. I couldn't recover from the hit and I ended up flipping over my bike and went sliding down the pavement. With a nice road rash along my entire right side, uniform ripped, blood gushing from my elbow and hip I tried to get back to my bike and see if I could continue. It was not to be. The front tubular ripped out completely taking the stem with it. My new carbon wheel is a little cut up on the edge, but I think it is still usable. I'll need to get my brakes fixed and a new tape job. The girl who hit me felt really sorry and was crying.


It is a very difficult situation. I know what I am getting into when I race an event like this. I can only control so much, the rest is left up to the triathlon gods. I made no secret that I was using this race to qualify for 70.3 Championships in Clearwater or even earn a Kona slot. I think most people knew how important this race was for me. All I can say is that it wasn't meant to be.


Although, I really think accidents like this can be avoided if they allow the faster athletes to go first so we don't have to run the gauntlet of slower racers. Even in the swim it was a gauntlet of slow swimmers I kept getting stuck behind. For those that don't know, they start the race in age-group waves. The pro men and women go first, then the waves go from the older ages down to the youngest ages. Why they do it this way I have no idea. The race event races I do in VA start the younger athletes first.


On a lighter note I decided to go out and run the 13.1 mile coarse after I cleaned up my injuries. My injuries were not serious enough for me not to run. My apologies to the athletes who thought I was ahead that far. I tapered all week for this race so my body wanted to run. I started just behind the last pro female. This means nothing considering I didn't bike 56 miles, but I ran pass many of the pro women who I leave un-mentioned. I ran okay considering the extreme temps. I will never run 13.1 miles in my Zoot Speed shoes ever again though. My calves and knees took a pounding. I'll leave those shoes for 10k and under.


So now I am asking myself what do I do now. I can sign up for another 70.3 Ironman race and get my Clearwater qualifying spot or I can scrap the whole Clearwater event this year and just do a bunch of local races. It will most likely come down to money.


I just signed up to race the Colonial Beach Olympic Triathlon on July 11^th and will probably accept the invitation to race the Halfmax Half Ironman event in Myrtle Beach.

Right now I am going take a couple days off to get my mind out of race mode and to let my injuries heal before I get back to training.


I need to thank my mom and sister for traveling out to the middle of no where to support me. It was not the most convenient location and I appreciate them being there.


The day before the race I went to my cousin Ryan, who accepted a full ride to VA Tech from the Navy, High School graduation party out in Warrenton, VA. It was a fun time. We have an awesome family so it's always great to get together. I could hardly party however and had to rest up for race day.

These Pictures Are From April During The Portion Of Du Nationals I Completed Before My Race Ended.