Having warmed up with the Drake Relays on the Roads 8K run Saturday morning, at noon I headed north to Nevada, Iowa for the first annual Kyrsilis Biathlon.

Leaving aside the fact that the term "biathlon" usually denotes an event with some element of riflery [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biathlon ], I'd noticed this event on the Fitness Sports race calendar earlier in the week and assumed it involved some mix of biking and running. Thinking it'd be a good smaller event at which a person might knock the winter rust off his TT skills, yet not knowing what to expect in terms of an event, I made the trip.

Arriving at the race site, I was encouraged to see a makeshift transition area. I'd seen course markings and police along the route, too— both good signs. Once registered, I geared up and spent the remaining time talking my legs into racing for a second time that day.

Surveying the 50 or so in the field, it looked like some cyclists and some runners, but I won't b.s. you-- perhaps not many triathletes/duathletes. That it appeared to be more of an event and less a highly competitive race was fine; I'd still treat it as such and make the most of race-atmosphere training. The distances would be a 15-mile bike followed by a 5k run.

As with what our DS5K road team dealt with at the Iowa City road race, the wind in Nevada was nothing short of howling. The bike course was 3 laps of a north/south out-and-back 5-mile loop. The straight-line express was straight out of the west, with virtually no landmark slowing it down. As we all know from Elkhart experience, this is rural Iowa.

After a brief course talk by the race director, we rolled to the start line. (Thankfully Ben Garrett wasn't there to jedi mind-trick me onto the pavement.) I'd asked the race director during the course talk if drafting would be allowed, and she answered that it would be. Given that 100% of my multisport events this year won't be, I decided I'd stick with a non-drafting mindset. The start command was given, and we were off.

Heading out, I rolled to the front. My plan was to ride steady on laps 1 and 3, and go hard on lap 2. Riding Zipp 808s with an aero frame, allow me to say that the gigantic crosswind was making things "interesting." I'm not sure I've encountered handling issues of that magnitude before, but it certainly gave me something to keep my mind off the mileage.

At the first turnaround at mile 2.5, I found myself with a 30-second gap on a pack of five. The benefit of frequent turnarounds (every 2.5 miles), of course, is being able to monitor what's happening behind you. Eventually the chase packs broke into smaller factions, and by the end of the windy 15 miles, I had what I estimated to be five minutes plus on second place.

The 5k run was an out-and-back on the same road as the bike course, and the opening was flat, thankfully, as once out on the run I was reminded of the 8k already in the legs from that morning (though the first mile of running off the bike never feels too swell, regardless). I got into a rhythm and concentrated on keeping the pace high with a quick and light turnover.

There were a couple decent rollers in miles 2 and 3 to make it a true workout, and I felt better as the run went on. A quarter mile from the finish, the second place finisher was heading out on the 5k. Because the Death Squad is a squad with a human heart, I high-fived him and offered wholesome words of encouragement. I rolled to the finish line and notched a win for the Rassy's triathlon team.

--Patrick

PS A member of the Rassy's mountain bike team was out there tearing it up, as well, though I can't recall his name. Good to see the orange cammo mixing it up in a multisport setting.

PPS Word to the wise: keep an eye on tri team member Louis DeWild, who is setting PRs left and right, including a scorching 1:17:07 (5:56 pace) half marathon at the Drake Half on Saturday. And after he dragged me around for two hours on TT bikes yesterday, I can confirm that this dude has wheels-a-plenty.

What would Iowa City be without crazy wind? Today it came from the west at 25mph making for a nasty section between turns 4 and 1. The race is 5 laps - 65 miles which is just perfect and the course is set on beautiful rolling hills in Ahmesh country. In fact, Iowa city and Altoona are very similar.

Today's field was stacked with large teams from Grand Performance, ISCorp, Trek Midwest, All Nine Yards, Mercy Specialized, Bike 2 You, and a few other miscellaneous "onezy, twozy's", including 3 very attractive rockstars wearing all black (Cam Kirkpatrick, Tony Nichols and Yours Truly). I'd guess around 60-80 in all. A nice P12 field.

From the starting whistle the peleton blasted, and I mean blasted into the crosswind section. We were railing it while tipped at a 45 degree angle just to stay upright. Just that first effort gapped the field. The we turned east and let the tailwind push us at 46 mph for 5 miles. That's pretty much how every lap went. So it was important while heading west toward the start/finish line to maintain contact with the main group but save enough to redline it as you turn the corned into the crosswinds section.

On lap #2 Brian Stolte and Lee Venteicher got way with a guy from IS Corp and Mercy. That left only GP and us to do the work to pull them back.

Cam and Tony were both feeling fresh and eager to move to the front. We decided to hold off for a lap hoping that someone else would to the work. Plus, with the Iowa Cup in mind it was better to have a breakaway containing non-Iowa folks (excluding Lee and the Mercy guy who are not in the top 5 on points).

On lap 3 one of the WI teams went to the front and started setting tempo so Cam and Tony joined in and did a perfect job in bringing the breakaway back in.

On lap 4, in the wind section, a small gap of 4 guys formed up the road, and then another of 4 including me. As my group rounded the corner into the tailwind section I put the hammer down. The other guys in tow, we rolled at 45-46 until we caught the lead group. Now there were 8 of us and I thought we were the winning break for sure. But after only a few half-hearted rotations, the main peleton caught us and we were all together again. Cam rode at the front with me, but Tony was absent. It was only after the race that we discovery that he had crossed wheels with someone on the hill just as our breakaway had gotten caught, and went down. He said that he got up immediately but could not reattach with the group into the 25 mph winds. He is taking home a big ol' strawberry on his arss as a souvenir. Not a scratch on the bike though. Nice work today Tony! I could tell you were having a blast and riding strong!

Immediately Trek and IS Corp attacked and were gone again. The peleton let them go. Cam and I decided to sit in and hope for help from the larger teams (recurring theme, I know).

On lap 5 the tempo began to be set. First we caught ISCorp then finally Trek. With 4 miles to go on the final approach, were all together and it was up to me to seal the deal.

With the finishing line just over the hill, my strategy was to roll up the inside. Not usually the best line but with the winds pushing the peleton toward the centerline which was being strictly enforced, I hoped that a lane would open up on the inside. With 500 to go I was sitting perfect - 2 trek guys ahead and then clear blue skies. I stood up and shifted down with 300 to go. All of a sudden both of them sat up! WTF? Their boy was off the front. I grabbed a big handful of brakes as I hit wheels with Stolte. I unclip my left foot and slid along to stay upright. Crap! I clipped back in and crossed the line on the back of the main field - 15th or so. I am not sure of the final results but I think I heard that Trek won. Although the rest of us felt like we were in the hunt, those boys in red, even without Steve Tilford, were in control all day long. Sad but true.

BIG bummer. It is so disappointing to work all day, have such good legs, and have my teammates pour our their guts out only to have something unexpected happen. I can't really fault anyone but myself. In the end, my strategy was probably poor. I should have attacked early and hoped to hold it.

But keeping things in perspective: a bad cycling result, while frustrating, is still better then a great day at the office.

I talked to Cam, who had a great time. Tony was walking gingerly from the crash, but I think he had a chance to remember how much fun bike racing is. I thought about Nate Bartels a couple of times today (the 4th member of the Rasmussen's P12 squad) who was traveling on business. I can't wait to get all 4 of us together in a few races this year.

Finally, my traveling partners; Pete Basso, Brent Mitchell and Kris Kunze - all cat 3's. Their report was all good. Despite drawing the short straw when the peleton spit on lap 3 (in the crosswind section of course), they all worked well and finished together.

Loren Storts finished 4th in his first race ever.

As of now I have not gotten a report from the masters.

From a results standpoint, no bragging rights were earned today, yet we all rode respectably. We executed well and collectively had good fitness. As a team, we are young, strong and very positive. In the end, we showed courtesy, perseverance and indomitable spirit. Nobody quit, nobody was seriously injured. Sometimes finishing results aren't the only measure of success. We will keep executing and the results will follow.

--Lou

I was in Indiana for a family wedding, and was lucky enough to find a race that was open on Sunday morning-and got permission on the home front.

This was a very short race as it was a 400 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile swim. Talked with Loran Storts(coach) and he said "let's just see how the training has gone so far this winter- brother let the clutch out." With that input I was off to race.

Sunday morning up at 5:10 grab a quick bite to eat in the hotel lobby and leave for the race a 5:40.

Get to race, I really wasn't sure what to expect from this event. I was amazed to find that this was really starting to look like a real talented pool of triathletes. I came to find out that there was some $$$ and a great set of wheels available for winners-so the big guns come out seeking the goody.

After a nice warm-up in the rain I made my way inside to the pre-race meeting. Normal meeting, but I was a amazed that it looked like there were 300-450 people there(official total I later learned was 492)

The swim was in the Carmel aquatic center's 50 meter pool. It was a staggered(self-seeded) 400 meter "snake" swim. Where you go down one lane then go under the lane line and return in the next lane. I seeded myself in the 1:20-1:35 group and went off with a group of folks setting in the 1:30 range.

Swim starts and I find that I should have seeded myself a bit faster, or the folks ahead of me should have seeded themselves a bit slower. I immediatley close the 4-5 people ahead of me and just basically set in their wake as they were swimming in a pack and didn't want to waste a bunch of juice until they really slowed. Finally passed on flip turn from lap 2-lap 3. Swim felt real solid and I swam right at 1:20(per the race clock) but I think that my Polar was more accurate in saying 1:30.

Transition to bike was a bit slow. But head out on the bike. Lots of comfort on the bike except the two speed bumps that were on the downhill out of T1. Bike was really solid(for me) and pulled a 21.2 mph split and knocked out the bike in 28:34.

Transition to run(my weakest sport it is important to note that in all of my previous races I have never gotten below a 9:00/mile run-in any race.) Out of T2 decide to trust my training this winter and open up the HR into the Z3 range.

Mile 1-7:59 First thought-they must have missed the mile marker placement. Let's see what mile 2 looks like-Nobody passed me in the first mile-weird.

Mile 2-7:54 No kidding? Well this is amazing, let's see what happens here on mile 3. Couple of dudes pass me.

Mile 3+.1-7:42 Wow. Kick into finish line was ok. Crossed finish line and realized that I had just gone 1:01'ish.

Great day for me. Huge PR. Finished in 4th place in my division just outside the "money". Irritated with myself about that as I later learned that 18 secs between me and 3rd-I know now to dig deeper. Overall finished in the top 20% and know that I have a bit more speed in my legs than I ever realized.

Several folks asked me about my Rassy's kit-got to share the story. This was a great race! As I mentioned earlier the race was FAST. First place was a 45 minute total for the entire race-amazing!

I look forward to Race for Sight in two weeks.

Thanks Loran!

--Jeff

At the start of the race, it was sunshine and 38 degrees with 20 mph winds. Bikes 2 You was represented by Bryan Moritz and Will Greenwood. Melon City had three guys, including Chad Bishop, who recently upgraded, making this his first race as a Cat 3. The Rasmussen Death Squad was represented by Pete Basso and myself. Representing A9Y’s was The Robinson Bros and Matt Gumm. They were delayed to the race a little when Gumm’s bike became detached from his roof rack, flipped over and shattered the back window of Scott’s car. I am sure they thought it was the Rasmussen Death Squad shooting at them. Gumm ended up riding Steve’s wife’s bike for the race. He raced one of his better races this week, so maybe Gummi will bring Steve’s wife’s bike the Tuesday Night World Championships??

On lap one of the ten lap, (50 mile race), Will Greenwood (Bikes2you) took a daring attempt (into the high winds) and goes on a solo break. It stuck for over a lap but was eventually reeled back in.

After Will came back to the group, there were a couple more attempts to roll off the front. Scott Robinson takes a solo break as well, however they all proved to be futile. Each one came back Scott was riding very strong today and held the break for over a lap and a half before coming back to the group.

After controlling the front of the peloton most of the race, Basso faded off the back only to spend a half lap chasing back on. With two laps to go cramps had set in pretty hard causing him fall off the peloton for a final time. Matt Gumm (A9Y) and Chad Bishop (Melon City) went off the front. With those two off the front, and Basso off the back, there was little cooperation from the others to chase this break down since there were only two of us (Dominic and myself) that did not have a teammate in the break. So Chad and Matt, were able to put some distance on the field. Gummi began to show signs of fatigue and faded back to the peloton, Chad stayed strong off the front remaining solo in the break.

With Chad off the front, we were not going to be able to catch him. So it was clearly coming down to a field sprint for 2nd place. On the last 1/3 of the last lap there was some cat and mouse going on to get positioned for the sprint. Nobody wanted to stick their nose out in the wind for the sprint too early. In the last ½ mile, Scott Robinson went to the front. With a little less than 200 yards to go, Dominic comes around Scott for the sprint followed by Steve Robinson, and myself. Steve came around Dominic and with about 50 yards to go, and I was able to come around Steve and clip him at the line by about a foot to take the field sprint for 2nd place.

Hats off to Chad Bishop for being able to stay off the front, and also to Scott Robinson for riding a very strong race. Great racing with Steve Robinson and Matt Gumm.

Results:

1) Chad Bishop (Melon City)

2) Brent Mitchell (Rasmussen Death Squad 5,000)

3) Steve Robinson (All9Yards)

4) Dominic Moraniec (Atlas)

5) Scott Robinson (All9Yards)

6) Matt Gumm (All9Yards)

7) Pete Basso (Rasmussen Death Squad 5,000)

DNF Chris Reed (HBA) DNF Ian Robinson (HBA)

DNF Bryan Moritz (Bikes 2 You)

DNF Will Green Wood (Bikes 2 you)

Also congrats to:

1) Lou Waugaman for a clear win in the field sprint in the Pro 1!2 to take 4th Place.
2) In other Rassy Team news, Reed Rinderknect and Loren Storts were participating in the Iron Man in Tempe on Sunday. With top ten finishes these two could qualify for a spot in the Kona Ironman this fall.
3) PRC Girls - Kellie Mente and Jane Riessen ventured over to Lincoln to participate in their racing this weekend. The woman’s racing was fierce with a couple of Cat 1 racers showing up from out of state. They were not strong enough to break to the deadly combination of the PRC team. On Day 1 Kellie and Jane take 1st and 2nd respectively. This is Kellie's first win in the open category. Nicely done! Day 2: Jane Riessen out lasted the peloton for a 1st place finish with Kelli Mente driving home a 3rd place finish. Great job ladies, keep up the incredible work.

--Brent

As I watched the 10 day forecast, I was laughing at severe warming trend that looked to be peaking the day of Ironman Arizona. Turns out it was the hottest day of the year in Tempe, so far. When Loran Storts and I signed up for the race, I prayed for 2 things: 1. That we would have a decent winter, so I could ride outside some. 2. That it would not be a brutally hot and windy day. Obviously God had another plan as we had the worst winter in recent history and the temps topped out at 96 degrees and 15-20 mph winds on the bike course.

I will start with the thank-you’s. First of all, my wife, Kristin, kids, Josh and Kassy, for their unconditional support and love, it just wouldn’t be possible without them on board 110%. My best pal and training partner, Loran Storts, who is my soul-brother and who pedaled and ran virtually every step with me. My folks and my mother-in-law, brothers, sisters, friends, Foster Group co-workers, all were dream makers. The Rassy Tri Team men and women that wrote me notes and provided feedback and support. Greg Rasmussen, Sterly, DQ, Terry, Jeff….you guys are rockstar…more on this later. Jenny, JJ, Matt from Zoom Performance, friends and partners in this journey. Nicole and Tim DeBoom, 2-time Hawaii Ironman World Champion, friend, and coach this year…..This guy knows what it takes….as does Nicole, Wisconsin IM champ and President of Skirtsports. www.skirtsports.com

My training leading up to the race went as close to perfect as I could ever hope. Despite having to be inside on the Compu-Trainer for many EARLY hours per week, I never went totally mental. Breaking this up with several movies and friends that came over to ride was the key. I was very blessed to make several trips to Arizona (my folks winter down there) and get a lot of riding in while vacationing and working. The 3rd thing that I prayed for was to arrive on race day healthy and injury free. This was in God’s plan.

I was complaining to Coach Tim about the heat and a few other things and his response was simple. “You better just ready to suck it up! Start worrying about things that are in your control, not the things that are out of your control.” O.k, I thought, he should know. So, I quit checking the weather and focused on my preparations. Flew down to Phoenix on Wednesday with the kids, got in late, but made it safely. Put the bike together that night and got some sleep.

Thursday, Kristin, the kids, and I went up to Tempe and Ironman Village….the energy was already building. Wanted to get in a short swim, but they only had open swim times from 8-10 am in Tempe Town Lake. We got there at 10:01am. Went and got registered and stopped by the merchandise tent. My weight was a concern and focus this year. I have been racing at 193-195 and although around 10-11% body fat, I knew losing a few pounds would help my running a ton. Weight at check-in….183…perfect.

Took an easy spin Thursday with Dad for 45 minutes and relaxed. Got up Friday and Kristin and I went back up to Tempe for a swim in the Lake….(more like a drainage ditch) water temp was a cool 65 degrees, but felt great after a few minutes. Tried out the new 2008 Blue Seventy Helix long sleeve wetsuit. It was absolutely the best fit I’ve ever had.

Saturday, I did my normal pre-race. 10 minute swim, 20 minute bike, 10 minute run. All week, I was feeling just o.k. Not until race day did I really feel good. I told DeBoom about this and his advice was this: “by the way, you are very ready for this. it doesn't matter one bit how you feel this week. good, bad, great...nothing matter till race day. it will be there. don't do anything stupid this week to derail yourself.” Again, very wise advice from a pro….i trusted him and my fitness and said, o.k., let’s do it.

Stortsy and I were able to go together to Transition and get all of our stuff done…special needs bags, swim to bike and bike to run bags. Pump the tires, fill the water bottles, final checks, etc…that makes it very relaxed when you have a pal alongside. We got a few pictures and then I headed to the Porta-John for one last break.

TJ and the Pros went off at 6:45. I entered the water immediately afterwards. Got a very short warm up in, should have done more, but wanted to get my spot in front of the starting line. Was able to get 2/3 to the right and front row. Canon went off and we were stroking. I swam in pretty clear water and after 200-300 yards, looked for a draft. The water was so dirty, you couldn’t see straight and we were swimming into the sun. I felt just o.k., and swam off to the right about 15 times and worked to get back into the draft. Started to finally settle in at the turnaround and then got very concerned. Both calves started to cramp up. Had to stop several times and grab my toes to relieve the cramp. Not sure of the reasoning, but I decided to just do what I could to make it to the end….even if I had to slow down and give up a few minutes.

I was relieved to exit in 59 minutes…a bit slower than I expected, but tried not to be too concerned, I knew it was a long day and 2-3 minutes would be easily gained or lost on the run. A quick transition and I was on the 2008 Rassy Orbea Ordu. If you haven’t seen this thing, it is super stealthy with matching Zipp 999’s (black/silver) DQ did a great job getting me the bike and getting me fit. Greg, Sterly, jeff, and Terry spent 4 hours getting a cable thing taken care of 2 days earlier. Thanks guys! It proved to be worth the time and effort. Bike was 5:04:57, I had the 9th fastest amateur bike split…less than a minute from 5th, I believe. The fastest amateur was only 5 minutes in front of me and the only guy that outsplit me in my age group blew up and ran a 4:46 marathon.

The bike was 3 loops. 18.5 miles into the wind and then back with the wind. The first loop everyone was excited, as usual, and many pushed the pace. I settled in and watched for people to self-destruct. Relax, stay aero, hydrate, food, stretch, enjoy the moment. As we hit the turn-around, it was like Christmas. I was 53-11 almost the whole way back to town. The wubba, wubba, wubba of the Zipp disk was saweet. My plan was to really relax on the second loop, as it was getting HOT, and conserving energy would pay huge dividends. I had to pee and couldn’t get it rolling on the bike, so I decided to hold it until mile 62 went I stopped to get the Special Needs Bag. Got my refills of Clif Bars, and Carbo-Pro (frozen the night before and put in my special needs bag) ahh, a nice cold shot of Carbo pro mixed with Crystal light…, took a 2 minute pee and hopped back on. A great stretch break and although I gave up 1 ½ to 2 minutes…I enjoyed every second and felt refreshed on the bike. My plan was to make my serious move on the 3rd loop into the wind and then relax and cruise the last 20 miles of the bike with the wind and get hydrated and fed. It worked perfectly. Being a 3 loop ride, the bike course was a mine field of people that had blown up and others that were in process. I tried to springboard past everyone, but quite honestly, most were not going fast enough to get any kind of boost as you go by. One rider almost took me out as I came up to pass, note to self, don’t get too close to inexperienced riders.

I don’t remember ever feeling a lot more joy than hitting that final turnaround and heading for T2. As I jumped off the bike, I looked at the bike transition area. Other than pros, I could only see 5-6 bikes in the whole field. I had a quick T2, ice in the hat, sponge on the back, gel in the fuel belt. I ran out onto the run course and immediately get passed by TJ Tollakson who was starting his 2nd loop…cool! The next person I see was Ashley Tousely, TJ’s girlfriend. She yelled, great job, Reed, you’re in 7th! I’m thinking, cool…7th place in my age group, 10-11 spots for Kona…I can give up a net 3 and still be in the running. I didn’t find out later that she mean’t 7th OVERALL, 2nd in my age group! A Good thing, because about mile 4, 2 guys in my age group go clipping by me at warp speed, they ran 3:15 marathons…mile 6, another 38 year old who ran 3:16.

My plan was to run the first loop easy, pick it up slightly on the second loop and lay it out there on the third and see what happens. I think I was too excited to see TJ, because I kept him in sight the first 3 miles…ran 7:20 and 7:35, then forced myself to slow down to 8…the rest of the day, I stayed mellow and ran 8:15- 8:30 minute miles with a 20-30 second walk through each water stop to keep hydrated and cool. Ice in the hat, down the shorts, cold sponge on the back/neck. Refill every mile. I switched to Coca-Cola at mile 9. this was somewhat of a gamble this early, but I thought I could make it work. Despite a 90 second stop to pee about mile 16, I still kept on pace. As I passed my family at the end of the second loop, I yelled “One more!” my wife, Kristin, who said she only cried 3 or 4 times during the day, yelled to me, “Nicole DeBoom said run with ice in your hands to keep cool!” I must have looked worse than I felt, because I didn’t think I was deaf, just tired! I was laughing because she yelled it loud enough that it wasn’t a secret any longer. I was calculating my time and was on track to finish around 10 hours, which I thought would be enough on a day that topped out at 96 degrees. The last 5.7 miles I was able to pick it up and run 8’s + 30 seconds for water stops. My last 2 miles were 7:45 and 7:15. Arizona is awesome because I could see my family and friends about 10-12 times during the day. This is critical when racing an Ironman….you look forward to seeing them each time. Kristin, Josh, Kassidy, Mom, Dad, Tom Hamilton, Marc Gillotti, Jenny Weber, Michelle Ennis, Jan Mohs, Amy Hanrahan, Jenny Storts, Julie V, Ashley Tousley. The more the better, for sure.

Turning the corner to the finish line, I spied my son, Josh, age 9, crouched like he was ready to receive the baton. He grabbed my hand and we sprinted to the finish line. 9:58:08. A 53 minute improvement on my time from IM Wisconsin 18 months earlier. The finish line is the best….hugs, tears, high 5’s, laughing, crying, yelling…it is surreal. I just thanked God for getting me across the line. I felt fine for about 10 minutes, but then things went south and I was wheeled over to medical for the next 3 hours….3 IV bags later I went home and to bed. I woke up at 3:00am and ate some Cheerios and had a glass of Chocolate Milk. I couldn’t get back to sleep because I was worried that I would sleep past 9:00 am which was the Hawaii sign up deadline. At 9:01 they give your slot to someone else.

At the Ironman Hawaii sign up, I was expecting a dozen Hawaiian girls to be dancing in their skirts as they called out your name and requested your presence to register..all the while the hula girls would be rubbing your shoulders and waving palm branches….HA! some dude asked you your name and then says, “O.k. that will be $500.”

As I sat down to register, TJ came up and grabbed me with a big hug and congrats. We got to register for Kona together. A nice end to a great journey.

--Reed

We are stoked to announce that Rasmussen Bike Shop will be the official bike shop of the 2008 Hy-Vee Triathlon! On June 22nd, 2008 athletes from all over the world will gather in Des Moines to compete for the largest purse in triathlon history: $700,000.00! Register today for history in the making.