MonticelloMan is a young race in the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains just east of Charlottesville Virginia. In only its 4th year, the race production team of Charlottesville Multisports and race director Kate Lucas put on a really great event last weekend. I would recommend this tough but enjoyable olympic distance race to anyone.
This would be my multisport season opener for 2014 and was a last minute addition to the calendar as I am preparing for the Rev3 Championship race in Knoxville in just 2 weeks. I felt I needed a practice run and damn was I right. I came into the race with good fitness, some quality results from single sport efforts I put out in the months leading up (a 1:18 half marathon in March and PB 20k TT of 26 minutes with an all time high average power). Notice I mentioned nothing about any good swims. Yeah.....that would come into play at this race.
The days leading up to the race I realized I had not done an olympic distance race since 2009. I am not one who like to race too often but little did I know that all I had been doing was long course racing for the past 4 years. I don't care what anyone tells you...short course racing is brutal. Before you go and want to jump up to that Ironman distance ask yourself if you have truly learned how to "RACE" the olympic distance. The answer will most likely be No.
The race was a beach start into the beautiful (and chilly) Lake Monticello for the 1500m swim. I got in a quick warm up and briefly chatted with some friends at the swim start. The countdown 3,2,1....GO and it was on. I got out to a good start in my blue seventy Helix which is such an amazing wetsuit. The only problem with my swim was that I was in Long Course swimming mode and was comfortable the entire way. As a reflected back and thought about the swim I never was uncomfortable for a second. No excuses, no issues, not a damn thing done wrong except that I was comfortable and that can't be done in any race let alone a short course race. I exited the water in 26:xx and got quickly into transition. I had no idea how many people were ahead of me or how far ahead they were but I knew I had dug myself a hole. Now I had to get to work.
I was really looking forward to getting out and giving my new Reynolds Cycling race wheels (Aero 72/90 Combo)on my Cannondale Slice RS (Thanks Carytown Bikes) a true test. The course was talked up as a tough one by all of the athletes I knew that had raced it before. I tend to take that with a grain of salt as everyones last race was the hilliest, hardest, most epic course ever. There was no doubt that this was not a flat course but it wasn't a brutal course either. The best way to describe this course if "not flat". You were either going up or going down for the entire 40k but none of the climbs were that hard (got out of aero one time) and none of the decants that fast or long. Right out of transition I made a wrong turn.....thankfully the volunteers saw it and corrected me quickly so I only lost about 10 seconds or so. Once on the course I got to the business of the day...Passing People. One by one I went after each carrot that dangled in front of me tucked in a tight position feeling the air slide across my Rudy Project Wingspan as I turned into a headwind about half way. It was important to stay tucked and unexposed to the wind as I was in hot pursuit of the guys in front of me. I had to break my position very rarely as my Speedfil Z4 kept my Powerbar Sports Drink right in-between my arms. The only issue I had during this ride was my inability to hit the race wattage I was targeting. In fact I was about 20 watts lower than expected due to the fact that I just couldn't get there.
No excuses, no issues, not a damn thing wrong.....just couldn't do it. I finished up the ride in 59:xx which I am pleased with this day.
Quick T2 was not so quick as I took the time to put on socks (which I normally don't do in shorter races) because with Knoxville only 2 weeks away the last thing I wanted to deal with was a blister. On with the new Adidas Adios Boost racing flats from our friends at Road Runner Sports and then out on the course.
The run course was just like the bike course "not flat". Damn....my legs were still in half ironman mode but thats what I had that day. Time to try and pull back as many people as I could. Nothing hurt, nothing was uncomfortable, but all I could do was muster up 6 flat miles. 4 passes later and 38:xx I was done and across the finish line in 9th overall in 2:07:xx.
It was great to be out there with 5 other Wattie Ink Elite Team members (all of which podiumed #rocktheW) and other Black Dragon Racing / CVE athletes.
I want to thank Wattie Ink, Powerbar, blueseventy, Reynolds, Speedfil, ISM, Herbalife, Spidertech, 454 Tattoo, 10 Barrel Brewing, Central Virginia Endurance, and Black Dragon Racing for making the 1st race of this 2014 campaign happen. Here is to the rest of the season.
REV3 Championship in Knoxville in just a few weeks.
