I flew out to Denver, CO on thursday afternoon and drove 1.5 hrs to Colorado Springs to race my last race as junior. Since Colorado Springs is above 5,000ft in altitude, i can't say i didn't feel the lack of oxygen and the dry air which i'm not used to.
I was ranked 6th in the U.S for junior men going into the race and so i got a good spot on the starting line, although it didn't help much because i got off to a really rough start on the swim. Before the first bouy i had been pushed about 2 feet underwater by one of my competiters which caused me to stop and gasp for air, while already feeling the lack of it due to altitude. I really suffered the first lap of the swim and so lost my position and fell back behind the leading pack of swimmers, where i usually am positioned. On the second lap i regained focus and passed about 5 swimmers before the first transition. I really swam hard the last 50 meters knowing that the large group up ahead would form a big pack on the bike and that i would be caught behind them. On to the bike i was feeling surprisingly good so i hammered as i hard as i could to catch the chase pack but with no success. I settled in with 4 other guys before the start of the run. By now i wasn't really worried about my position, i just wanted to finish strongly, so i ran with the guys from my pack and caught about 5 other athletes throughout the run, feeling better and better as the run went on. I finished in 15th place, not exactly what i had hoped for but i was exceptionally pleased with my ability to bounce back from a bad swim and have decent race. This was my last race a Junior Elite and so know i will first take a 2 week break and focus on my running before i enter my first season as an amateur elite. I hope to obtain my pro card next year while racing non-drafting races all over the country!
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