September 2025 Race Recaps + Bonus 2026 Preview

September brought a lot of changes to life as school is in full swing for both girls and Erin. With school comes more activities for both kids which in turn limits the time I have to commit to training. Abigail needs to be at school at 6:45am for marching band. To give myself enough time to fit in training before work, I've been getting up between 4:30-4:45am each day. Losing those 15-30 minutes of sleep has been having an impact and I'm still working to adjust. Both girls are in several evening activities as well, Abigail is helping with the fall musical and has off season strength training after school a couple of days. Bridget has joined Mock Trial, with 2 evening practices, and still has her youth chorus practice each Monday. Both girls have class at church on Wednesday evenings. I've gotten really good at fitting quick workouts around their activities but it has limited my ability to get to the pool or outside on the bike. 

Even with the busy schedules, I was able to race 3 times in September and it is clear that my fitness continues to improve. I feel that my success demonstrates 2 things really well:

1. The time is there if you look for it, even when life gets really busy
2. Being consistent over a long period of time will eventually lead to results if you are patient

Black Hawk County YMCA Triathlon

On September 6th I competed in a sprint triathlon at George Wyth State Park in Waterloo. The race consisted of a 500 meter swim, 16.5 mile bike, and 5k run. While not exactly the same, the route was very similar to the Accel Triathlon that I raced there in 2017. I came into the race with a lot of confidence after racing well at the Hero Hustle Triathlon 2 weeks prior. 

I arrived on Friday afternoon to pick up my packet and have dinner with my parents. They were camping for the weekend but I stayed at their house and got a great night of sleep. It was already light out as I headed for the park. It was a late start time of 9:00am and I was one of the first into transition. It was a cool morning with temperatures starting below 50 degrees and a WNW wind around 10mph. I took my time getting transition ready and did some walking to keep warm before the race. With unseasonably cold temperatures leading up to the race and the cold air on race morning, I opted to wear my wetsuit for the first time this year. It felt like I waited around for an eternity, but finally we were lined up, the national anthem played, and the race started with a time trial start. 

Even with the time trial start, they got everyone into the water very quickly, which was much appreciated due to the cold. I didn't really have a goal for the swim, but I swam hard from the start. I quickly remembered how restrictive my wetsuit is across my chest so I had to work hard to slow my breathing. I made it out of the water and into transition in 13:51 (57/100). I was very please with my 2:16 time in T1, especially with having to get out of my wetsuit.

For the first time this year, I decided to race with my QR PR3 time trial bike. I've spent a lot of time with the bike this year on the trainer in the basement so I was very confident as I headed out on the bike course. Once on the bike, I absolutely flew through the bike course. The course ended up being a little short, at just over 16 miles but it was very flat and even the wind didn't seem to slow me down. I finished the bike course in 49:02, a 19.7mph average which ties for my fastest pace ever on the bike during a triathlon. That time was also the 11th fastest of everyone racing that day. 

Unclipping at the turn around

As I arrived back at transition, for a split second, something didn't seem right as there was less than 20 bikes back in transition before me. I had passed 42 people on the bike course, of course there wouldn't be many bikes yet, they were all behind me still. I quickly racked my bike, changed my shoes, and headed out on the bike course. I got through T2 in 1:10, a very solid time. As I headed out on the run course, I prepared myself to be passed back by a lot of those racers that I had passed on the bike, but the miles started passing and it never happened. I was only passed by a few people and was keeping a very consistent pace throughout the entire run. I finished the run in 31:25 (10:08/mi).

I placed 31/100 overall, one of my best triathlon finishes ever and one of my best all around performances ever. What an amazing way to close out my 2025 multisport season. 

John Deere Des Moines Area Employee 5k

September 20 brought another opportunity to race a 5k on my journey to a new 5k PR. This was my 3rd year racing in this United Way fundraiser held at John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny. I caught a ride with Adam on race morning and we got there plenty early to pick up our packets and get warmed up. After an easy 1 mile warm up, I put on my carbon plated race shoes and did some strides. After cheering on the kids races, it was our time to run. 

My legs were feeling  a bit tired after coming off a great, but full, week of training. With 2 weeks remaining in my current training block, this wasn't a target race but I was still planning to run hard. I pushed from the start and never let up. The race took us through one of the factory buildings before looping around the entire campus and returning back to where we started. I came through mile 1 in 9:17 and mile 2 in 9:18. I was trying to hang on to an older gentleman in front of me but both of us slowed down a bit on mile 3 as I came through in 9:31. I kicked hard for the finish and ran the 3.14 mile course in 29:17 (9:19/mi). and was extremely happy with that performance. This was my 3rd fastest 5k since I started racing back in 2014. My goal for the Spooky Sprint 5k on October 4 is 9:15/mi, and that seems very attainable at this point. 

I really like the photo above. It is unquestionable that my fitness has been improving, but I struggle a lot with self image and I feel that this photo has captured my slimmed down appearance well. 

Iowa Trail Run Series - Jester Park 5k

This morning I raced my 3rd trail race of the year. This time I was back at Jester Park, and although the course was not identical to the Beer & Bagel Trail Run course, it overlapped quite a bit. It was nice to go into a race with 0 expectations and just focus on having fun and running hard. 

I picked up Adam around 7:30 and we headed to the park for packet pickup and to warm up. Temperatures were forecast to climb into the 80s, but at race time it was sunny and pleasant in the upper 50s. Due to the natural of having to run on narrow trails, they start us in waves of ~20 people. I went in the 4th wave and quickly fell to the back before slowly moving up and passing people. The first mile included a fairly steep switchback hill. After the hill, the course took us in and out of the woods with both rolling hills and flat sections. I did well keeping my legs driving forward on the up hill sections and impressed myself a bit with how well I ran the more technical down hill sections. 

I finished the race in 29:40, which seems extremely impressive, but the course was a little short. In reality, I averaged 10:27/mi for the 2.84 mile course which may be less impressive than originally presented but is head and shoulders better than the 13:12/mi pace that I managed for the Beer & Bagel Run back in April. 

Looking Ahead

Currently I have 2 races on the calendar in October. The Spooky Sprint 5k on October 4 and the IMT Des Moines Marathon 5k on October 19. With the remainder of the season, I will be shifting 100% of my focus towards accomplishing my goal to set a new 5k PR. I've been racing well and training even better throughout the last month and I'm excited to see what I can do. 

2026 Preview

I officially announced earlier this month my big plans for 2026 when I shared with the world my intentions to race my first full Ironman Triathlon in Madison, WI on September 13, 2026. My official 30 week training block will begin in February 2026, but preparations are starting already as I plan out my offseason focus. I will share my full 2026 schedule in a future post, there are a few high level details that I'm prepared to share now. 

As part of the preparation for the Ironman race I have a series of other triathlons already circled on the calendar. 

• Kansas City Triathlon - May 17
• Omaha Ironman 70.3 - June 7
• Door County Triathlon - July 12
• Ironman Wisconsin - September 13

I'm also looking to add 1 more Olympic distance triathlon to my schedule but will make the decision on when race dates are announced. I am also pondering some late season ideas to leverage the fitness I gain from Ironman training in some other races. More to come!