Rev3 Knoxville - Race Report

Rev3 Knoxville was almost a week ago now, and I figured it was time to give my thoughts on the race. The race was extremely well run by the Rev3 crew, and even with a few hiccups everything was amazing. The city of Knoxville is an amazing city with an amazing bike course, a nice run, and well a river.

I traveled down to Knoxville on Thursday to allow my legs to recover from the 9 hour drive and give myself plenty of time to relax. Friday I biked the course to see if anything had changed and was confident I would have a good bike come Sunday. Saturday went for a little run and swim but was not feeling as good as Friday. I figured it was better to be tired the day before the race then the day of the race so I just shook it off and moved on. Saturday afternoon was the first big hit of nerves. I was sitting in the Pro tent for out meeting and when I looked around and saw all the talent there I was like HOLY F@*! I have to race these guys.

Race Day!!
Woke up nice and early Sunday, and I was feeling ready to go. Arrived at transition around 5:20; I like being early to races as it settles my nerves. Once I start warming up I forget about everything else and get into my zone.

The Swim.
This was the next and last time the nerves would kick. Sitting on the start line I look to my left and right. I tell myself I belong here, and if I get dropped on the swim I will catch some guys later. Sure enough I was only in the pack for about 50m. Josh estimated they went through the first 200m in about 2:10!!!!!. I still managed to swim 4 minutes faster than last year and was close enough I actually passed 2 guys in transition.

The Bike.
The Knoxville bike course is amazing. There is not really a flat spot on the course, but not to hilly, with some awesome descents. I was able to keep another guy in site until the final climb, and once again caught him in transition again.

The Run.
This is where I was really hoping to make my move. Even though I was injured a bit during the winter I had some excellent workouts leading up and ran a 25s pb in the 5k in one of my tune up races. Knoxville has a tough run course as it is slightly down hill on the way out and then up hill on the way back with a net elevation gain. I came out of transition with one other guy, who I raced last year here, with a couple guys slightly ahead. About 100m into the run my calves started to tighten up, but with a couple guys up the road I tried to push through. We caught our first guy about a kilometer in as he started to walk and was hunched over as we passed. Did I mention it was in the mid 80s and super humid? The heat definitely took some victims on this day. I know I could feel it as I have maybe only trained in warmish conditions a handful of times. About 2k in I caught Josh. He was having a rough day but watch out for him in his upcoming 70.3s. From then on the run was pretty boring. My calves were in balls and I wanted to walk so bad.

In the end this was a big eye opener for me, and it is time to get back to training so next time I will be more competitive. I did manage to finish about 4:30 faster than I did last year so I am moving in the right direction. Next up is the Woodstock Triathlon.

I have to thank all my sponsors, MultiSport-Zone, Franklin Terrazzo, Terrazzo Marble Supply, and coaches, Cliff from Transition Point Training and Ken Fitzpatrick of the London Silver Dolphins.