March Racing

Well, March happened before I even knew what hit me. I raced 4 times (5 if you count the Super Sprint Relay) travelled all over the deep south, experienced spring break in Mexico, turned 26, got my own health insurance (Thanks a lot, Obama...) and definitely didn't do anything very productive!

Rather than bore you all with race reports on every race, I will provide you with the bullet points of the races, and next I'll give you a list of the Top-10 best things I ate in the month of March. For your reading pleasure;

• March 1st was my season opener in Clermont, Florida. It was a draft-legal, Pan-Am Cup sprint race.
• The field was pretty stout, and this race is always a bit of a shit-show (pardon my language) 
• I had a decent showing, finishing better than last year in 29th. The important thing here is that I am clearly learning how to put together complete races.
• There were a few glaring mistakes (slow swim, over-biked), and a few strong points (good positioning, fast transitions)
• The whole next week I spent in Florida training. I've realized that I need to invest in some good training partners. Riding, running, and swimming with Brian MacArthur (B-Mac) Brandon Nied (Beenie) Alex Libin (The Russian Princess) Eric Lagerstrom (Nordic Thunder) and John O'neill (The Baby Giraffe) was a pleasure... Sorry boys, you don't get to pick your nicknames when I'm writing!
• Until the boys and I can all get a sweet house together in North Carolina or something, I will be taking applications for Omaha training partners!
• Shout-Out to our wonderful home-stay family, the Daughertys. A beautiful home, a well-stocked fridge, and a couple awesome dogs and you've got 5 happy triathletes! Thank you so much for everything! #TeamDaugherty 
• March 8th was the Pan-Am cup sprint in Sarasota. 
• I'd gone down on the bike the day before the race, and I think that affected my mindset more than it should have.
• Swim started out strong, but I got dunked by a large, smelly French dude. Again, this affected me much more than it should have.
• I wound up 32nd. Now, bear in mind this was basically a World-Cup level start list, and being that I am a swimmer, if I have a bad swim it doesn't bode well for my race. I did have a strong run though. Back to the drawing board!
• March 22nd was the Pan-Am Cup in La Paz, Mexico. I hadn't planned on doing this, but the boys talked me into it. 
• I found myself renting a car and driving across the Baja Peninsula... which is not even the sketchiest thing I've ever done before. 
• The race was blisteringly hot, and I was not prepared for that. Nor do I feel was I prepared for an Olympic triathlon in general.
• I was in the lead group out of the water, but in a Mexican bike pack, being the only gringo means you'll be attacked repeatedly until the rest of the field catches you. 
• In Mexico, the bike packs only go fast after the big gringo goes down... Remember kids, HOLD YOUR  LINES ON YOUR CORNERS! 
• I melted on the run. 19th place. Ugly.
• Cabo San Lucas on spring break is exactly what you'd expect it to be like. 
• The next week was the New Orleans 5150. I drove down with Rachel, Erin Dolan, and her mom.
• 16 hours is a long time to spend in a car
• New Orleans is a lot like the third world; Tragic poverty stands next to extravagant luxury, all with the back-drop of idyllic beauty... And the roads are shit...
• The race was pretty ugly over all, but I had a solid result in spite of that. Lets be honest, the field was as soft as the Huskers defense.
• The swim was the choppiest I've ever experienced. Seriously, worse than the Pacific. The group all stayed together.
• The bike was windy, and a 40k TT takes a lot different kind of fitness than a draft-legal bike leg.
• If you feel like you ran a 34, you probably ran a 36. 9th place is only disappointing when you could've been first.
• The French Quarter is one of the few things in life that is not hyped up enough. Everybody says its crazy... Nobody tells you its random-guy-passed-out-in-a-gutter-of-a-strip-club-while-people-make-out-in-the-street-at-8-o'clock-on-a-typical-Saturday-crazy. Vegas has nothing on New Orleans.

This crazy month of March racing would not have been possible without the help of a few certain people. HUGE thanks to;

The Daugherty Family

The Boys (as listed above... remember, what happens in Cabo, stays in Cabo)

My wonderful parents

Tom and Mikki Tye

Leo V. and Prairie Life Fitness

Moxie Multisport

Coach Zane

As always, my loving, patient, and beautiful girlfriend, Rachel.

Well, that sums it up for ya! Now that I'm 26 and a mature adult, I'm going to be timely in getting my next blog post out... but I'll still laugh when I fart... Anyway, look for the March Food Blog later today. Until then FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!