Age Group Nationals

USAT Olympic distance age group nationals was a new experience for me. I'm accustomed to racing for 4 to 10 hours were as this was going to be an intense 2 hour race.

Finding my Why
My goals for 2014 were to qualify for the 2015 ITU World Championships in Chicago and go sub 9 hr with a sub 3 hr run at IM Chattanooga. The goals provided me with motivation, but my level of attachment to these goals created a heavy burden. I took several risks and struggled to find my passion as my early season performance was subpar.

“If you know the why, you can live any how.” - Nietzsche 

Mark Allen was recently interviewed about triathlon and mentoring Peter Reid when he lost his passion for the sport in 2001. Allen encouraged Reid to find new sources to fuel his training. After a difficult year, Peter Reid regained his "why" finishing 2nd in 2002 and 1st in 2003 at the Ironman World Championships. I would also say it's important to remember why we started these journeys in the first place. The year I qualified for Kona, I remember being fed up with all the pressure I placed on myself to be "Elite" and beat other athletes. Shortly before IMLP, I shifted my focus to the personal challenge of testing my limits and soon found peace.

It's funny how I found myself back in the same place, learning the same lesson to once again reorient my focus on the personal challenge. This time I was hearing the "why" of local ultra-marathon runners, which led me to reexamine my reasons for doing triathlons. The idea of running through nature competing only against one's self seemed so peaceful. One of the greatest of all time is Yiannis Kouros, he says he runs these extreme distances to experience a sense of "exceeding." I like the idea of not comparing myself to others or trying to live up to someone else's expectations. Instead make the races about the personal challenge. Now that I am reconnected to the "why," I am hopeful it will help me live with any discomfort whether it be triathlon or other areas of life.

Focus and Perseverance
Although my finish time and place was not what I wanted in Milwaukee, I was really pleased with my performance. I was able to stay focused and relaxed throughout the race. I breathed easy, kept my shoulders loose, and just focused on what was in front of me. When I found myself attempting to predict the future, I shifted my focus to the space in front of me. All in all it was a success and much better than my most recent race, Rev 3 Knoxville.

Volume, Intensity, and Consistency
My initial training plans entailed shorter and faster workouts following Rev3 Knoxville. However, after such a poor performance I decided to re-tailor my training in an attempt to regain my speed. I decided to put in more hours on the bike (my rides went from 3 hrs to 4 hrs) and increased the frequency and duration of my speed sessions. I was drinking the Kool-Aid that long miles, tempo sessions, & speed workouts were the primary factors that make people fast. They're alluring because they make us feel good, like we're accomplished something, but too much can create a lot of Nervous System & tissue damage. In reality, it is the frequent short to medium distance zone 1 & 2 workouts that can be performed day-in and day-out that really build speed. Even 100m sprinters perform 70% of their training at z1 and z2. Triathletes need to spend 90% of their training in those zones. Luckily I have a great wife who constantly challenges my behaviors and I learned my lesson. I'm now doing short two a day bike sessions at an easy to moderate pace while limiting weights, tempo sessions, and speed workouts to once a week.

Carb loading
For age group nationals I decided to try some new carb loading foods. As my wife likes to say, "Bryan loves to tinker." This time I focused on fine tuning the foods I consume on the day before a race. I ate oatmeal with the following ingredients:

3 cups oatmeal
12 cups water

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

3 teaspoons salt

A touch of cinnamon

(For those counting their calories this make 4 servings of 875 calories each)

Before bed I also drank a 32 oz bottle of Kefir. The meal was filling, extremely simple to make, easy to transport, and made eating for the day stress free. I liked it so much that it's become my daily post bike/run meal.

Great City
Tiffany and I both really enjoyed the city of Milwaukee. It was clean, easy to navigate, and offered a variety of things to do and see. The city itself is a collection of Art Deco buildings that are truly a marvel to see. The night life is also quite phenomenal with a plethora of bars that offer both indoor and outdoor seating. We lucked out with a rooftop bar at our hotel that offered a view of the city and lake Michigan.

After the race we grabbed a bite to eat at Smoke Shack, enjoying candied bacon, pulled pork, and sweet potato fries. Best of all, they gave us a free cinnamon roll. Being connoisseurs of local breweries we decided to check out Lakefront Brewery. We were able to enjoy their award winning beer, Eastside Dark while watching people boating and canoeing on the Milwaukee river.