Capital Pursuit 2023

It was a quick turn around from the Gateway Challenge Triathlon last weekend to the Capital Pursuit this weekend, but I was ready to go. The Capital Pursuit is one of the oldest races in the Des Moines metro and is put on by the Capital Striders running club. There was a 10 mile and 5k option for the race and I opted for the 10 mile as it fit nicely in my half marathon training program. 

I set my alarm for 6:30am, which is really late for me, but was awake before it even went off. After getting changed I headed out on a half mile walk to wake myself up and then enjoyed a banana and bagel as a prerace breakfast. Traffic was light as I headed for downtown, and since it was a small race, there was plenty of parking near by so I got a spot just 3 blocks from the starting line. 

I quickly found my friend, Adam, and we hung out until it was time to line up. I had taken time to review the race results from the past several years and knew that I would be one of the last finishers, so I lined up at the back of the pack. After the national anthem played, we were off!

At the 1 mile mark, I was indeed in last place as the sweeper was hanging out just behind me. As happens in most races, everyone went out really fast but I tried to hold back a bit. I managed to pass a few people during mile 2 as we went through Grey's Lake Park. The park was super busy for a Sunday morning. We entered Water Works Park just before mile 3 and the crossed the pedestrian bridge over the river for a run through the woods. With so few racers around me and a lot of other people using the trails, it often felt more like a training run then a race. 

I kept a really good pace through the first 5 miles. My target pace was 12:30, which would give me a finish time of 2:05. I ran 10 miles in 2:07 last weekend so I felt that I may be able to go even faster. My 5 mile time was 58:17 so I was well ahead of pace and feeling pretty good. It is at mile 5 that I decided to see if I could push and beat 2 hours. Mile 6 began just south of Greenwood-Ashworth Park and was almost entirely up hill. It slowed me down a bit but I felt really strong the whole way. 

I've done so many races that the miles spent on Park and Kingman I already know like the back of my hand. The hills heading south on 28th to Grand were a little unexpected but I executed well on them also. As I turned onto Grand, I had just 1 mile remaining and shortly I found Adam who had circled back after finishing to find me. He ran the last 3/4 mile with me and I was grateful to have the company because my legs were really starting to feel it. As the clock at the finish line came into view I got excited to see it just crossing the 1:59 mark. I stepped on the gas for the last 100 yards and crossed with an official time of 1:59:23!

Adam running with me to the finish line

Finishing sub-2 hours

Garmin provided me all the data I could ever want

I was a little disappointed when I crossed the finish line and was told they had just run out of finisher medals. Lucky for them, even though I really like collecting medals for the memories, I'm in it for a lot more than that. Erin and the girls had come downtown after church to see me finish and it was great to see them. I quickly helped myself to Abigail's chair in the shade for a few minutes before taking some pictures and heading for home. 

Trying my hardest to get up

Adam makes me a better runner

My biggest cheerleaders

What a confidence builder this race was going into the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon in a few weeks. I was originally hesitant to sign up but am sure glad that I did. The race was both a physical and mental challenge and I can say that I raced harder than I have all year. My legs had very little left to give after crossing the finish line (I'm sort of dreading my run tomorrow morning). The best part though, I'm starting to see glimmers of my previous self except even better. 

Next up, the John Deere 5k next Saturday at Des Moines Works in Ankeny!

Gateway Challenge Sprint Triathlon 2023

 After work on September 15th, I loaded up the truck and headed for Marengo. I worked hard all summer to get comfortable on my PR3 with the hope that I could ride it in this race. The weather forecast was calling for rain and I wasn't so sure I wanted to risk the time trial bike on wet roads, so I took both bikes with me. Traffic on Interstate 80 was awful so the trip took an extra 15 minutes. Once I arrived I drove downtown to pick up my packet. I then proceeded to drive the bike course and discovered that it was extremely flat which got me even more excited for the race. 

When I signed up for the race, I envisioned having to get a hotel room nearby or staying with friends or family in Cedar Rapids or Iowa City then making the early morning trip back to Marengo. As it turned out, my friends Maureen and Nick lived just a few miles north of town and offered to give me a place to stay. I enjoyed the evening at their house playing with their dogs and children before getting a good nights sleep. 

It was still dark when I woke up the next morning, after putting on my tri suit and filling my water bottles I headed for Gateway park. I was greeted by thick fog with limited visibility and wondered what would happen if the fog didn't lift by race time. I arrived at the park about 5 minutes after transition opened. Even with the fog, the roads were dry and there wasn't any rain on the radar, so I unloaded the PR3 and got it ready to go. I dropped my things off in transition then headed to get marked. After getting things set up I checked out the transition area and swim course before grabbing a banana and waiting for the pre-race meeting. 

You can see the fog in the background

PR3 racked and ready to roll!

During the pre-race meeting the covered the usual stuff, an overview of the course, general rule reminders, etc. but also mentioned that they were going to start the race on time in spite of the fog hoping it would lift quickly once we were underway. As we lined up for the swim start, the fog was still thick enough that I could only see the first 2 sighting buoys. I started out pretty well on the swim and things went pretty well. It was a steep climb up out of the water to transition but I made it without issue. I didn't bother looking at my watch when I hit the button for T1 but didn't much care how long the swim took. 

I had been lined up at the back of the line for the swim so very few bikes were left in transition. Things went so smooth in transition. I used the same method as my last race and instantly sat down to get my socks and shoes on instead of trying to do it standing up. In no time at all my helmet was on and I was running for the bike out. A quick glance at my watch showed a T1 time of 1:26 which is an all time PR for me. 

Here is where the tricky part of the course came in. Transition was setup right along the lake in the grass and the parking area and road into the park was all gravel (and not in the best shape either). The mount line was out on the hard surface road just outside the park entrance. This meant that we had to push our bikes almost 200 yards from transition to the road and this time would count against our bike time. To make things more difficult, I had to do this wearing my cycling shoes (technically I could have done it with bare feet and put my cycling shoes on at the road as well but this seemed even more unpleasant). After making it to the road, I struggled to get clipped in before finally getting on my way. 

The 200 yard push at the start and end of the
bike really cut into my time

The bike course was a big loop that headed north out of town, east to West Amana, south to South Amana, and then back west to Marengo. As mentioned earlier the course was very flat and pretty open. The course was open to traffic but all of the vehicles that past were very kind to give us plenty of space Once out of town I got to work quickly. I had a goal to average > 19mph on the bike and I knew that I was already behind due to the rough start. I managed to track down 18 riders on the bike course and was extremely happy with my 5-10 and 10-15 mile splits. As I made my way through town and back to the park I was feeling pretty good but was also a little disappointed because my bike time wasn't going to be what I had hoped for. I dismounted at the park entrance and pushed the 200 yards back to transition very carefully.

Middle 2 bike splits were fantastic

After a very speedy T2, I was out on the run course. The run was an out and back along a fine crushed gravel path that looped around the lake and headed into town. I somehow managed to get out of transition before the race leader crossed the finish line which is very rare to me. The out and back course resulted in a lot of encouragement from all of the other racers on the course. This is one of my favorite parts of triathlon, the support that everyone has for each other.

My legs felt great but I didn't really push it very hard on the run. I opted to not take my GU gel like I had at the Hero Hustle. Even though it had made a huge difference there I really just felt like I had enough left to push through to the end of the race without it. I quickly drank a cup of Gatorade at the turn around water station and headed back towards the finish line. I pushed hard for the last half mile and felt fantastic as I finished. After receiving my medal, I had 2 other racers track me down to compliment me on how well I had done on the bike. The bike is my strength, and I know that, but all that I could think is how much better I could have and should have done. I probably just need to be better at accepting compliments. 

I quickly packed up in transition and headed for my truck to get home. Overall, it was a great race. While I'm not thrilled with the start and end of the bike, the rest of the course was fantastic and the triathlon was well run. With an open offer from Maureen to stay at their house anytime, I'm guessing that I will be back for this one in future years. 

Proud finisher!

Race Highlights

• 1:26 T1 is an all time PR
• 1:02 T2 is a SB
• 34:50 is my 2nd fastest 5k of the season, only 6 seconds slower than the Hero Hustle
• 38th fastest bike split out of 98 finishers

It is hard to believe it, but my 2023 triathlon season has officially come to an end. In a season that started with an indoor triathlon back in January, and no plans to sign up for another one, I ended racing in 6. I am extremely proud of how far I've come this year and really had a lot of fun along the way. I still have a few road races left for the year but it was very sad washing and packing away all of my triathlon gear this week. I've got a lot of work to do this winter in all 3 disciplines but I think I'm up for the challenge. I'm still not sure what next year will hold, but whatever it is, I'm certain that it will be absolutely epic. 

Hero Hustle Sprint Triathlon 2023

This morning I competed in the Hero Hustle Sprint Triathlon in Manchester, IA. Last night I stayed at my parents house to cut 2 hours off the drive this morning. I got a good nights sleep which was even able to sleep a little extra since the race didn't start until 9:00. the Hero Hustle Triathlon is in its 8th year and raises money for the Firefighters, EMS, and Police Officers in Delaware County. Some of my favorite races are those found in small town Iowa put on by the communities. Just like so many other races I've done, the town showed up to volunteer, race, and cheer on the athletes all morning. It was amazing!

With the later race start, I was very happy that the hot and humid weather of last week was behind us. We were greeted with temperatures in the mid-50s, very little humidity, and light winds out of the NE. Parking was right next to registration and transition which made setup a breeze. A short walk to the beach for the pre-race meeting, the national anthem, and we were off. There were about 180 athletes total between the triathlon and duathlon but the time trial/rolling start went very quickly. 

The water was quite warm (81 degrees) and I felt pretty good on the swim. I was a little disappointed when I got out of the water to see 10:40 on my watch and still had to run up the hill to transition. My official time in the swim was 11:40 which is pretty darn bad. I really need to spend time working on my swim this off season. 

Once I got into transition I took a play from my last race and sat down to get my socks and shoes on. Once again it paid off as I got out of T1 in a time of 1:35 which is a season best and one of my best all time. I got out onto the bike course quickly. The course headed South with a partial tail wind. It was an out-and-back course with a turnaround at 8 miles and some rolling hills with no big climbs. I pushed hard from the start as I wanted to take advantage of the 6 miles with a partial tail wind. At the 5 mile mark I was averaging > 19mph which made me very happy. I lost some time once I was headed back into the wind but still was able to finish the 16 mile course in 51:52 which was an 18.5mph average. Another season best time. 

I thought I had used my legs a little too much on the bike as I had caught myself mashing the pedals several times on the bike, but it turned out I was wrong. I got through T2 in 1:07, another season best. There was a water station about 1/4 mile into the run course and they were handing out small water bottles that were being kept cold in a cooler. I was overjoyed. I kept the bottle with me and decided to take the GU gel I had thrown in my tri suit. I don't normally take in nutrition during a sprint triathlon but I was feeling low on energy and knew it would give me some extra pep for the last 2.5 miles. As I hit the turnaround at about 1.25 miles I really pushed hard down the hill. My 2nd mile came in at 11:09 which is my fastest mile of the year. As I got into the park, the run finished with a lap around the lake on a gravel trail. The gravel did slow me down a little bit but I ended up finishing with a time of 34:44 (11:11/mi average). This marked my fastest 5k of the year, beating out the Rexy Run 5k last weekend by 11 minutes!

Very happy with how I raced today!

Transition all set up nice and early

Spacious transition meant everyone had plenty of space

Beautiful view of the swim course

After the race I got everything loaded up and made the 2 hour and 45 minute trip home. I stiffened up a little bit on the drive so after a quick shower Bridget helped me out with some PT. 

"Don't worry daddy. I've got this!"

I know that I still have a lot to work on, but everything really came together today and I am extremely pleased with my performance. My next race will be the Gateway Challenge Sprint Triathlon in Marengo, IA on September 16th. I'm really excited to see what improvements I can make in the next 3 weeks. 

Weight Loss Milestone

Let me be real for a moment. After so many years of hard work and success from 2014 - 2019 it sucks that I am once again be on a weigh loss journey. I have done a lot of deep thinking and soul searching this year and the reality is that my weight is always going to be a struggle. There may be a day where I am living at a more comfortable and healthy weight but the journey and struggles will never end. 

Now, onto the great news and progress update. I've written a lot in past posts about my run streak that started in February 2022 and more recently about all of the training and races that I've been competing in. So far, I have purposely not spent much time writing about weight loss. There are a couple of reasons for this, but the primary one is that until recently it really hasn't been something I've focused on. 

At the beginning of February this year I stepped on the scale for the first time in a LONG time. The number that I saw, 324.4 lbs, made me sad. The silver lining in that number is that it is 25 lbs lighter than I was at my heaviest in 2014. As I set out on the journey to return to racing I focused more on the training than I did the weight loss but would still step on the scale every once in awhile. I was consistently losing a few pounds each month and was happy enough with that progress because I was feeling better, getting fitter, and having fun.

After the Quad Cities Triathlon in June I couldn't stand to see myself in the race photos. The combination of wanting to continue improving my speed and wanting to look better forced me to shift my focus to weight loss and my diet. I've made some incremental changes throughout the summer and it has made such a huge difference. Not only is the number on the scale dropping, but my energy levels, mood, and fitness have all seen monumental improvements. 

When I stepped on the scale the morning of Friday, August 25th I saw the number 274.4 lbs. This means that I have managed to lose 50 lbs since the beginning of February. This downward trend mimics the gradual weight loss that I had from 2015 - 2016. It has been a slow journey but everything that I have been doing is 100% sustainable long-term. I sure do have a long way to go and have set some big goals for myself but with time I think I can get there. The hardest part for me is the patience. I am not naturally a patient person so it is a big struggle to see such slow progress BUT I am very grateful to come this far. 

Numbers on a scale really only mean so much, so I thought I would look back at pictures to see what the difference over that period of time looks like. I really haven't had many people comment on my weight loss so I wasn't sure how noticeable it has been. I dug up some pictures that Erin took of me during a basketball game last February and then put on the same clothes for some comparison pictures today. I am very pleased with the difference that I can see. 

Slow and steady

While you should absolutely be impressed and amazed by my progress, the real reason that I wanted to share this with you is for everyone out there who is like me and lacks patience. Everyone is on a journey of some kind and the truth is, for most things, it just takes a long time of being consistent to get there. It isn't always easy to wait or keep going but if I can do it, so can you. Whether it is weight loss or something else entirely, find ways to measure your progress and celebrate milestones along the way. 

Rexy Run 5k

Time continues to fly by as tomorrow marks the end of summer vacation and the start of a new school year for my girls. This past weekend we were invited to Kansas City for an Engelmann family gathering so we decided to turn it into a long weekend to enjoy some extra family time before the school year officially started. 

My uncle, Mike, also lives in the KC area and runs A LOT of races each year so I reached out to him to find out what races were going on in the area this weekend. I ended up signing up with him to run the Rexy Run 5k in Lawrence on Saturday. After getting an early morning 4.5 mile run in on Friday and a long day that included a lot of walking around the zoo and art museum, I managed to get a good nights rest before the race. Uncle Mike picked me up at 6:10am on Saturday to head for Lawrence. With temperatures already in the upper 70s and high humidity I was very thankful for the early 7:30 start time. 

I'm not much for warm ups, but walking to packet pickup and back to the car gave my legs a chance to stretch out. After waiting in line for the bathroom it was time to line up for the race to start. There was a 5k and 8k option and the field was relatively small with less than 300 total racers. 

Lining up at the start line

Before I knew it, the horn sounded and the race was underway. I pushed hard from the start as we followed the road through the park, along the road, and out into the wetlands. There was a slight uphill climb to end mile 1 and begin mile 2 before heading back down hill and onto about a 1 mile stretch of gravel trail. Running on gravel brought back some not-so-great memories of the last time I raced in Lawrence at the Legend Ad-Adstra 70.3 triathlon in 2017. My mile 1 and mile 2 splits were 11:26 and 11:22 respectively. I was relieved to finally get back on the paved trail with about 3/4 of a mile to go. As we got back into the park I really put the hammer down and finished very strong with an 11:15 split for mile 3. Mike had crossed the finish line a few minutes before I did and came back to cheer me on and run the last 1/10 with me. 

I was relieved to be done and absolutely dripping with sweat. After I finally caught my breath, I took a look at my watch and was instantly overcome with joy. Not much to even nit pick on t54.6his race. My best 5k of the year and it isn't even close. My official time was 34:54.6 and I finished 65/174. I've questioned my true effort after nearly every race this year, but not this one. I gave it everything I had and the results spoke for themselves. 

Official Results

Super proud of myself

Quick picture with Uncle Mike after the race

I love having the opportunity to race with family and friends and this was the 2nd time I was lucky enough to join my uncle for a race (and hopefully not the last). It's also a lot of fun incorporating races like this into a vacation weekend as it is an opportunity to run in a new a new location. 

I have a quick turnaround as my next race is this coming Sunday. I will be racing in the Hero Hustle sprint triathlon in Manchester. I'm looking forward to another opportunity to race in a triathlon this year but hoping the forecast holds and the temperatures drop for the weekend.