Matt Wulff: Confessions of a Clydesdale

Door County 70.3 Race Report: Confessions of a Clydesdale

Hi. My name is Matt and I’m a Clydesdale. I don’t work for Budweiser or pull a wagon full of beer. (not since college anyway) Rather, I’m triathlete of a certain size.

Now that that’s off my chest, I have a confession to make. I long to be a thoroughbred. This causes me to suffer from a condition that is all too common in the world of triathlon. I am prone to measuring my success based on the success of others. When you’re on a team like Madison Multisport, those “others” are some ridiculously hardworking, fast and talented athletes.

Why does this matter? Well, when you put in almost 5 hours to complete the Door County 70.3, you should feel good about yourself. You should feel proud. The vast majority of people can’t complete a half Ironman. So, rather than succumb to my affliction, I will focus on all the positives from Sunday’s race.

1) I got extra time to warm up.

The wind was pretty strong on race morning and my race start was delayed by about 42 minutes. I arrived onsite at about 6:30am which meant I had about 3 hours to get warmed up. My warm-up mainly consisted of standing around with my teammates talking about the weather and wondering when people were going to go for a run. No one did. Wetsuits went on really early because it was a little chilly out. My warm-up ended being a few sprints while wearing my wetsuit and 10 minutes in the water getting acclimated.

2) I did something new on race day and lived to tell about it.

I drank an iced coffee for the first time in my life. In fact, it’s the first cup of coffee I’ve ever had. I needed/wanted some caffeine and it was my only choice. I added a little sugar to it and actually enjoyed it. I was buzzing pretty quickly (which counts as part of my warm up) and it certainly is true what they say about coffee helping get things moving along…

3) I got to swim in a washing machine.

The delay in the start of the race was caused by wind and waves. The swim was shortened to 400M. That was a smart call by the race directors. With my late start, I got to watch a bunch of swimmers get pulled out by lifeguards. Not what you want to see before a swim, but I was confident in my ability to swim and manage the mental stress of getting battered by waves. The first 50M were relatively calm because the waves were blocked by a pier. Once you cleared the pier, it was nuts. Sighting was extremely difficult. Thankfully the course was lined with friendly lifeguards who yelled at me to get back on course.

4) I got to try out a new nutrition plan.

I had my nutrition planned out really well. My main source of nutrition was to be my bottle of Infinit bike mix. I had some salt chews in my bento. I was also going to try something new in this race - peanut butter and jelly. Well, the best laid plans fall apart when you come out of aero, hit some bumps and lose your nutrition bottle at mile 10. I watched it hit the ground and then thought, “I can’t afford to take the time to stop and get it”. I thought that because I’m an idiot and thought 30 seconds would make a difference in my race result. Lesson learned. Plus, I still had the PB&Js. I was excited to eat my first half sandwich about mile 23. I pulled it out of my bento box and in the process knocked the other half out and onto the ground. I also managed to drop a salt chew. So, I decided at mile 24 that I’d give Gatorade Endurance a try. Not too bad.

5) I learned that you can take time to smell the roses in transition.

In my race plan, I bumped up my T2 estimate to 6 minutes because I was thinking about changing clothes. I was really only going to change tops. Coach Cindi, was having none of this and asked if I was planning to spend all that time in the bathroom. Point taken. I went as slowly as I possibly could in T2 and it still only took 2:28. That’s kind of a good feeling. You can take some time to compose yourself and get ready for the run and it really doesn’t cost all that much time. Again, 30 seconds was not what kept me off the podium.

6) I’m getting close to figuring out how to be ready for the run.

Despite all my nutrition issues, I still felt really good at the start of the run. I managed my effort on the bike really carefully and even dialed back a little on the ride before the finish. I was willing to sacrifice some time on the bike to have a better run. It worked. I’ve completed three 70.3 races in the last 8 months and this is the first time I broke 2 hours in the run.

7) Having teammates on course is amazing.

I’m on a great team with great people and great coaches. Crossing paths with my teammates who were competing was encouraging every time. After Olivia yelled “Maaaatttt” as we ran past each other, I think I smiled for 5 minutes. (We’re easy to spot in our sweet orange, blue and black tri suits.) Having even more teammates on the race course cheering makes a huge difference. Teresa even walked up the bluff with me at mile 9. She did that about 10 times on the day. That was not an easy walk up a very steep hill.

All of these positives actually led me to setting a 70.3 PR by about 20 minutes (adjusting for the shortened swim). That’s amazing! Sure, it wasn’t as fast as some of my teammates, but that’s not relevant. I raced my race. I did the best I could. The fact that I still think I can do better is what gets me back out training and marching towards Ironman WI.  

Amanda Marek: Door County Race Report 1st Female Overall!

What happened yesterday is still surreal. The conditions weren’t perfect but Door County was one of my best executed races in 16 years as an endurance athlete. I’ve said it before, but you can only control the controllable. Your training. Your nutrition. Your mindset. Winning the Door County Half Iron had everything to do with my mindset and mentally overcoming what I thought to be my physical limit. 

About a month ago, Coach Steve and I had a no-BS conversation about what it was going to take to achieve my goals. My success is dependent on my ability to adapt and embrace a new (and amazing) lifestyle which requires the right mindset in every aspect of the sport. Putting together the pieces of the puzzle at Door County meant that each of the three disciplines relied on a different mindset. Composure in the swim, restraint on the bike and mental strength on the run. 

The 5-foot swells on the way out and an aggressive under tow on the way back in shortened the swim. I can honestly say that it was one of the scariest moments of my life. We were tossed around, it was impossible to sight and even more impossible to get into a rhythm. The physical stress of swimming wasn’t the most challenging part of the swim. Instead, it was being able to maintain composure and not panic in conditions that I had never faced before. Hearing a volunteer yell “first female” as I came out of the water was validation that I did that. 

Onto the bike. I was especially excited for this course because it’s one that lends itself to my strengths, flats and rollers. The weather didn’t want to cooperate and it was very windy to say the least. The wind throws a different element into the mix. Yes, it’s more challenging and it requires you to work harder. But more than anything, it forces you to use restraint. There’s this constant battle between wanting to see a certain MPH but not taxing yourself for the run. The right mindset was to accept that my bike time was likely going to be slower than I wanted. I had to remind myself that pushing 90-95% to get an extra 10 minutes wasn’t going to help me if it translated to trashing legs and running 20 minutes slower on the run. I was more attentive to my power than I typically am. I made sure to keep myself in check and was set up for a solid run. 

I don’t know what my lead was off the bike but I was crossing my fingers for at least 7 minutes. The run has been the last piece of the puzzle for me. Over the past couple of years, I’ve had these consistent doubts that I can hold the lead off the bike. I finally did away with that. Putting together the run was a result of believing that I’ve earned a spot at the front and that my fitness is there. I’ve never felt stronger. I was consistent through 9, climbed the last bluff and then couldn’t regain my stride. I probably would have crumbled at that moment a year or two ago. 

Coach Steve and training with Cindi and Madison Multisport have been instrumental to my success. There’s no doubt in my mind that this win wouldn't have happened without them. But, developing a mind set and mental strength is a choice that only YOU can make. My performances at Race Day Event’s Wisconsin Tri Series and the Door County Half Iron have been the culmination of hard work and a new-found belief I can push physical limits. All it takes is the right mindset.

Coach Steve: Verona Triterium Race Report! 3rd Overall!

All,

Verona Triterium is done and dusted and my legs are still shaking from the race!

I have been wanting to do the Olympic Distance for quite some time as i've always heard its extremely challenging! I am fortunate to get to ride these roads for training, but to be racing on them is a different feeling. This year they changed the course due to construction, which forced us to ride up and down observatory road twice!  I find that many people seek out races that are flat so they can get the fastest time possible, as fast times look good on paper. I won't deny that I pick races that are flat and fast and racing on flat courses do present their own challenges, but this is one i wanted to conquer for awhile. Believe it or not, Verona Triterium Sprint was my first ever triathlon! This season, one of my goals was to race a lot for than i typically do. I find that racing a lot of sprints and olympics really puts me out of my comfort zone, something i often struggle with.

The week leading into the race wasn't an easy one. While ive wanted to race VT, it wasn't a key race for me so i was training quite hard till Thursday night. Madison Multisport was doing our key run session and i was slotted for 6x800 at 5k pace, with 1 minute of rest. It is a killer session and i had intentions of going easier because of the race on Saturday, but the workout was going great, i was in a good mindset, so i kept pushing. 

For shorter races, I do warm up in all 3 disciplines. Bike first, run second, swim last. The run i go through 10-15 minutes of a progression, 5min easy, 3min moderate, 2min at race pace. I then walk for 1-2 minutes then complete 3-4x100m pick ups, with 1 minute of rest. I was feeling ok, not fresh, but just ok. 

I need a swim warm up! I typically never swim well without one. I was able to get in a solid 300-400 warm up and felt good. The race started and i was off! The swim was 3 laps where we had to exit after each loop and dive back in, i loved this! Shorter 3 laps is much better on the mind than 1 long triangle. This is why i love IMAZ, 3 short bike loops make the race go by quick! the 1st lap of the swim, there was alot of pushing and knocking... 2nd loop, i found myself in the front of our group knowing that Vant was ahead. It was a confidence booster as it felt like i was swimming well, then somewhere in the 2nd loop my arms started to fall off. 3rd loop i tried my best, but i was suffering to keep them moving. A wave started about 20 second after i went past them and could see a bunch of white caps coming up on me quick, i had extra motivation to get to the buoy before them as i didn't want to get clobbered!

Swim done, 2nd out, cool.

I was passed by Ben in T1 which isn't a surprise, I am very good at Ironman transitions, short course transitions I might as well bring a bucket to sit on and a beer to drink. Once i started riding the first hill, i could just tell my legs were toast. The hard week of training was certainly knocking on my legs! Oh well, carry on! They quickly flooded with lactate and i couldn't generate any power... here i am riding a 40k course with 2,000ft of elevation gain and i'm suffering one Hill #1... sweet! Here is where i tried to settle myself down, "It will be fine, you arent warmed up yet, you'll come good" Nope... i didn't come good. Luckily, no one passed me and i held 3rd the whole ride.

I was convinced that the run was going to be a struggle, but once i started running i felt ZERO fatigue. I felt fresh and light on my feet! At this point, Vant and Ben were probably 3-4 minutes ahead of me and i was trying to hang on to 3rd and have a solid run. Mission accomplished.

Overall, I am happy with the race but it was what it was. I pushed hard when i didn't feel strong but gave it my best. 3rd isn't too shabby but looking for better at Pardeville and Door County Half.