"Look, if I had a nickel for every talented kid whose come through this place, I'd have a lot of nickels. But, in this sport, if you can gut them out, out-last them, you can beat the talented, even the ones who are in great shape. Talent doesn't replace heart. It never does, and it never will. That's going to be your strength, and that's how your going to win. You're going to get your big engine going, and then when it comes time, you gut them out. You make them hurt more than you are. Not everyone likes to suffer that much. If you race with your guts at the end, you'll find out who can handle it."
Neal Mundhall - Former Head Distance Coach, Men's Track, Winona State University
For those who know me pretty well, its been a fairly crazy month. I've made some changes, for the better in my life, and that has had a positive impact on my training and racing. I won't lie, I started to truly not enjoy training and racing for a while there, and was consumed with trying to prove others wrong, instead of sticking to my training plan, and racing plan. I was training too hard, doing everything at full speed, and it was wearing me down, mentally and physically. I had originally planned to head to Minnesota, my old stomping grounds to do a race I haven't done in 15 years, the Apple Duathlon. But the weekend before, I was tired, more tired than I should have been, and feeling mentally drained. When I got to work last Monday, the 18th, I was shot, and looking at a work schedule that was going to be unrelenting all week. So, I had to re-evalute - what is more important; how do I achieve everything I want without stretching myself to the point of breaking?
The decision came to me pretty easily while sitting through a seminar that I was not particularly interested in - I would not go to MN, but I would race somewhere competitive, and keep my focus on long course moving. I wouldn't need to taper, and I could save some money, and most important, not put myself behind the 8 ball at work. Enter the Tin Man Duathlon, in Columbus, OH. Good course, great competition, and close enough to jet over after work.
So, I packed up and headed out with my TT bike, the first time I would be riding it, let alone racing it all season. I was slightly concerned, b/c I haven't been aero all year, and with new bars and a different set up, I wasn't sure what to expect. So I rode the bike 30 minutes the night before the race, made some minor adjustments, and figured I was fit enough to bang it out.
The race was at Prairie Oaks Metro Park outside of Columbus, and when I pulled up, I couldn't have been happier. Nothing but gravel trails to run on, and smooth, newly paved roads to ride. As I warmed up, some of the big Du names of the Region started to show up, Jimmy Little and the infamous Brian Barker. As we said hello, I thanked Brian for his kind words on the infamous forum thread, telling him I owe him one. In typical fashion, he responded like a true gentleman and fierce competitior - " No you don't owe me, you don't owe me a thing. Let's have some fun today." I was immediately at ease with those words. Here's a guy who is an amazing athlete, amazing person, overcame cancer recently, only to dominate the sport once again. A true warrior and a truly stand up guy.
The race started, and with Brian off the front, I stayed close, a couple seconds behind, avoiding some of the larger rocks on the path, feeling pretty good, but noticing the heat start to creep up. As we entered T1, he had a slight gap, maybe 10 seconds, and I was off. I got aero as soon as possible, and just started to hammer. The legs were feeling good, and even though I was moving around on my seat, trying to get comfortable, I was keeping my breathing under control, while upping my speed. As we headed back to transition, with about 5 miles to go, I saw Brian flat. I was bummed, knowing that it would have been fun to keep banging heads all morning.
Not a minute later, Jimmy Little came up on my and hammered past. But, unlike last year when he would ride away from me, I kept him firmly in my sites, determined to not give up this race. I hit T2, and was down about 45 seconds. After the first 2 steps on the run, I could feel that aero position on the bike have its affect. My lower back was super stiff, and my legs were not coming around. Not good. But, after about a half mile, I started to loosen up, and get into a groove.
The second run twisted through the park, with slight rollers here and there, and more gravel to manuever. I hit the half way point and could see Jimmy, as he was being paced by Brian. I started to get excited, getting that old stalking feeling back, running guys down to really make it a guts race. Then at mile 2, I started to blow up. The heat and my lower back were not getting along, and I felt the knots forming. I keep going though, not giving up, and holding my own. With less than a mile 2, guys came up on me, and I couldn't respond. I was in agony, and the harder I pushed, the blacker the pain. But the finish line came, and standing there was an exhausted Jimmy Little, and Brian Barker, to congratulate me. I had fallen to 4th by less than a minute. I missed the podium by 6 seconds. But Brian saw something that day he hadn't seen from me in a while - the guts to dig deep and keep going, even at the hardest moments, b/c that's what makes winners.
That moment was follwed by another good feeling - these guys who used to beat me by minutes, would have been mine had I not had an issue. I was right there with them, and they knew it, and admitted the same. But as the 5 of us stood around and talked, another feeling came over me, I was having fun again. I'm super competitive and don't like to lose, but, I was able to share those moments with people I respect and who respect and love the sport. Any lingering doubts I had about not going to Minnesota were instantly erased. I was exactly where I wanted to be.
After I did my usual vomitting, my partner in crime Greg and I started to do a cool down. And I smiled the whole time, thinking, I can't wait to race these guys again. I'll be ready, this year is different and its not just about the pro card. Its about what you have inside of you. Your heart, your fortitude. So I hope we make it another gut it out race the next time we all meet, I expect a different outcome. But a better group of athletes, I 'd be hard pressed to find. My hats off to Jimmy for the win, and of course to Brian, for being the man he is.
Stay strong,
Guy
