2009 Ironman Louisville

Ironman Louisville
Louisville, KY
August 30, 2009

Matthew Amman
9:53:17

56th Overall
10th Age Group

PRERACE
What I saw in Louisville, Kentucky before I even started the race let me know that this was going to be ugly. As the son of a hydrogeologist and serious fisherman, I know a thing about water quality. The Ohio River is barely suitable for swimming. Add in floating timbers and logs, swimming is hazardous. As for the bike roads, the road surface itself was nice but there was absolutely no shoulder. The road ended at the white line. I was little taken back by the whole venue.

SWIM
Horrible, horrible! Imagine lining up at 5:15 am to sit on road pavement for a 7 am race start. And because I was about the 1,200th person in the 2,700 person line, I started around 7:25 am. This was a time-trial start and I certainly prefer the mass swim start.

After jumping in, we had to swim a narrow channel for a 1/2 mile or more. The congestion was terrible. I had to swim with my head up most of time until we rounded the turn buoy and headed out into the river. The long swim to the exit with the river's current was easy. I exited with a disappointing time.

BIKE
The first 2:13 on the bike were uneventful. I kept the effort ridiculously easy to save it for the back half of the bike.

At 2:14 I got a flat tire. Luckly it was the front wheel. I never did take the time to look for a hole. It did not matter, I needed to change it. It was my first time changing a tubular and made a few mistakes. Using a razor blade to cut the tire, I thought I cut all the way through the base tape. Nope. When I pulled with all my might to get it off the rim, it would not budge. I tried the other side. No luck. I thought this might be game over. After a closer look, I saw that I failed to cut the base tape. After cutting it, the tire came off. When putting the spare on, I found out it was not pre-stretched enough. Luckily, an IM race photographer was right there to help. With his assistance, I managed to muscle it on. I inflated the tire and was on my way at 2:21. Poof! seven minutes gone.

I pushed a bit after the flat tire to minimize the time damage. I also had to start dealing with road traffic. I passed a number of cars plus a truck with a horse trailer on the left. Yes, I said the left. Without a road shoulder 2-3 feet wide, often times motorists were stuck behind slow cyclists and simply had to wait patiently to pass. Well, when the faster cyclists like myself are on our second loop of a two loop bike course, we were forced to pass both the cyclist and the vehicle on the left.

The final 50 miles were a little hard to pace, akin to the first 50 miles. The rolly-polly hills made for a pedal, then coast feeling... similar to when riding with a group of cyclists. A powermeter would have helped out a lot.

In the last 10-40 miles somewhere, I got another flat tire. It was a slow leak that I did not notice it until the last few miles.

RUN
I felt really good running out of T2. I walked the first 2 aids stations like planned. I plugged along comfortably while watching my fellow competitors put on a show.

Guy #1 in my age-group passed me in the first 200 yards coming out of T2 running sub 7. No problem I thought, he'll die later. He never did.
Guy #2 not in my age-group was insane. He ran past me just after the 1 mile mark running 6:00 pace. No problem, he'll die later. He (Evan MacFarlane) never did. For the first 3.38 miles he ran 20:17 at 6:00/mile ending with a 2:55 marathon.
Guy #3 Viktor Zyemtsev and winner of the race running sub 6:30's.
Guy #4 Luke McKenzie and second place overall running sub 6:30's.
Guy #5 running around 7:30 pace and I just could not respond.

So about 5 five guys me passed on run. Not too bad I thought. Except for one, I was not confident enough to run in anybody's shadow and try to hold on. Based on how I felt last year at IMWI, this was a positive run and I looked great while doing it (according to my family and friends watching). My form was good, light on the feet, relaxed arm-swing, no side-stitch, and no stomach distress.

I crossed the finish line in 9:53. I was happy to go sub 10. As for qualifying for Kona, I needed to go a 9:48. Doing the math, the flat tire did me in. Frankly, the whole experience left me sour. Ironman corp. did a fantastic job; it was the venue (swim and bike course) that really irritated me. Ironman Wisconsin was a five star experience. I'll likely stick to my home turf next time.

SUMMARY
A month ago an acquintance asked me why I race. It's a question I have struggled with for a couple of years. This particular Ironman race gave me a two-fold answer. First, when life fails to demand my time, efforts, and talents either professionally or personally or both, I seek it out in the form of a hobby. Currently, triathlon quenches my desire for success and hard work. Second, I found out what makes me tick. I have a hard time racing against myself or the clock. To win races or beat rivals I mentally have to say, "I'm better than you and I'll turn myself purple to prove it." A lot of front-of-the-pack racers are like that. I am no different. But at an Ironman race far away from home, I had neither a chance of winning the race outright nor a rival--somebody that I could say to myself, "There is no way I'm going to let him beat me." So what happens to me under those conditions? I coast and that's exactly what I did. If you saw me racing last year at IMWI, you could see the agony and exhaustion. I was digging deep to try to catch my rivals up the road. I gave it everything I had.

My future in Ironman racing is uncertain. I feel that there is much work to be done both physically and mentally to hit the ceiling. But like most hobbies, it's just for fun and if something else comes along that fosters the same feelings as racing I might just hang up the swim cap and goggles, sell the bikes, and use the running shoes to mow the lawn.

THINGS TO REMEBER:
- Breakfast 3 Powerbars, 1 can Red Bull
- Bike: 13 Powergels; Chocolate is fine; Avoid Vanilla; Try Strawberry/Kiwi
- Spare Tubular plus trying bringing along Vittoria PitStop for flats
- Run: Loop 1 alternated coke/gatorade; Loop 2 just coke
- Salt tablets: 4 on bike, 2 on run (Salt stick); try more on bike and run











Heart Rate Data:
Swim 163 bpm
T1 144 bpm
Bike 135 but failed to work for last hour (likely was 145)
T2 122
Run 143 ave

Run Splits:
1 -7:54/pace 147 bpm
2 -7:19 141
3 -7:17 147 bpm
4 -7:41 146 bpm
5 -7:27 147 bpm
6 -7:40 147
7 -7:49 149
8 -7:25 146
9 -7:46 152
10-7:45 149
11-7:47 144
12-7:53 145
13-8:10 141
14-8:18 140
15-8:18 150
16-7:50 140
17-7:55 140
18-8:01 138
19-8:20 135 (started walking aid stations)
20-8:23 135
21-8:27 135
22-8:14 136
23-8:35 137
24-8:24 138
25-8:51 135
26.2-10:29 135

2009 Pleasant Prairie Triathlon

Pleasant Prairie Triathlon
Pleasant Prairie, WI
August 16, 2009
Olympic Distance

Matthew Amman 2nd OA
S 19:47 B 55:18 R 38:57
1:57:09

PRERACE
This was the race to finish off my IM Build. I'd never done a race at this location and looked forward to a semi-flat bike and flat run course. In the past a number of "fast" people come to win money. Pay-outs were for the first three overall.

SWIM
Without an elite wave, Scott (Bowe) and I started in wave two with Jelly Belly Pro Daniel Bretscher starting in wave 1. The water was clear and I swam comfortably on Scott's feet for the first 1/3. The triangular swim course was nice because we made only two turns. One guy in our wave smoked us with a low 18 swim, I exited the water about 30 seconds behind Scott.

Transition went fairly smoothly for me minus having to rethread my right shoe strap. Scott had issues.

BIKE
When you start biking, we have a good vantage point to see who's in front. Scott was nowhere to be found. I figured my T1 must of been slower than I thought and he somehow put out a herculian effort to be out of sight. Turned out I was wrong. Scott delayed exiting T1 to rearrange his race belt and then while biking, his rear brake was rubbing for loop 1. I had simply exited T1 before him.

Loop 1 was uneventful. I rode fairly even and upon starting loop 2, I saw the leader and calculated that I was 30 seconds behind. Not too bad, but I didn't have the motivation to push any harder. Suffering to catch and overpass someone is fun, but to do it as a solo effort wasn't going to happen today.

RUN
I came into T2 and put my socks and shoes on. After exiting, I was informed that I was in third. The run was hard. I struggled with the side-stitch from the start. At an out and back section, I saw the leader and he was cruising sub 6's. The guy in second had a CC shirt on with running shorts, obviously a relay team. By mile 3 the stitch had become manageable. I ran even paced until the end for second place.

Mile
1 6:15
2 6:19
3 6:16
4 6:23
5 6:25
6 5:57

SUMMARY
The time difference between first and second was almost 5 minutes. Where can I make that up? First would be my transitions. Up to now, my bike shoes are off the bike. It seems that the faster racers are keeping them on their bike and slipping into them after the bike mount akin to the racers in ITU racing. I'm going to start doing that next year and try it out at Devil's Challenge Triathlon. Second, transition 2 is a little slow because I put socks on. With IM coming up, I was hesitant to get a blister. Third, raise my running performance. Between these three things, I might be able to make up the difference.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:
- 1 Gel and Red Bull for breakfast, worked fine (race start was 6:30)
- Carried a spared tubular, probably carry Pitstop in the future
- No socks for Olympics triathlons
- Running with race belt in hand for 1/4 mile felt good
- Side-stitch strategies remain effective
- Liberal use of Vaseline for the unit, worked good
- Nasal strip, aero-helmet, Team GG kit, visor
- Tire pressure F-115 R-117

2009 Camp Whitcomb/Mason Triathlon

Camp Whitcomb/Mason Triathlon
Hartland, WI
August 9, 2009
Sprint Triathlon
1/3 mile; 22 mile; 5K

Matthew Amman 1st OA
S-8:35 B-53:42 (24.6mph) R-19:43
1:23:59

PRERACE
The original plan was to do a massive workout on Saturday before the race (5hr ride, 1hr run) and then show up and humilate myself at the CWM triathlon. Well, the weather was terrible on Saturday but I managed to sneak in a 2.5 hr ride.

Sunday morning was sunny with a slight breeze. Like usual, I had to sign up race morning. Big problem. Upon registrating I was informed that they weren't allowing anybody in the elite wave. Huh! Two years ago I signed up race morning and was allowed into the elite wave. In a huff, I told the volunteers to hold onto the forms while I chatted with the race director. After pleading my case to both the RD and the head timer, the official response was NO! At this point I wasn't sure I wanted to play; besides Scott and I had a monster workout planned immediately after the race (3.5 hr bike, 1 hr run). After fuming for 15 minutes, I returned to the registration table, coughed up the $100, told the ladies that I'm going to win the race and not come back again. They just smiled.

SWIM
Scott (Bowe) with the rest of the elite wave took off while I watched. I was stuck in wave 7--the last wave. The previous time I did the race, I swam with a wetsuit and found myself overheating. With similar conditions, I opted to go without it this time. It was the right move. I had a lot of swim traffic to manuevre past and made sure to be courtesy. After the recent triathlon related deaths, I didn't want to hurt a newbie by swimming over them.

BIKE
Two years ago I raced CWM differently. It was my first time trying to win a triathlon. Between Michael Boehmer overtaking me on the bike coupled with trying to hold off Phil Bzdusek, I rode every hill all out (akin to MTB racing) and prayed that I wouldn't die. It worked that time to take 2nd OA and a big mental booster.

This time without the hype of "being in the front" when starting the bike, I simply kept my effort consistent never digging deep on the hills or making a tactical move.

RUN
I started running fast to take advantage of the uneven territory. At mile 2 I developed a side stitch. I kept it under control for another 100 yards but then I needed to stop. After resting for 10-15 seconds, I surged forward. One thing I learned that is if I tuck my chin, the stitch goes away. I may look a little goofy but it seemed to work. I finally crossed the finish line in 1:23:59.

SUMMARY
I'm taking my ball and going home.

Race safety is always my primary concern. After getting hit by a car in a triathlon earlier this year combined with a record number of triathlon deaths, I'm alittle worried while racing. In this particular case, you don't pay $100 to simply enjoy the morning especially for us competitive guys. To ask an elite to swim over a few hundred people and then bike past them 5-10 mph faster is potentially hazardous. We got lucky this time, but that hasn't always been the case.

2009 Late Season Training

Beesting & Loose Skewer

This past week I finished my first of three Build weeks to set me up for Ironman Louisville on August 31st. I managed to survive, learn a few lessons along the way, and was thankful for the rest days in between. The key workouts consist of:

1. German style 5 hr bike ride faster than IM pace
2. Zone 3 bike ride for 90 minutes followed by 60 minute run faster than IM pace
3. Long hard run

A lot of times when you do really hard workouts like this you don't know what to expect. Sometimes you surprise yourself yet other times you make a few errors. The major lesson so far is pacing.

WEEK 1
Workout #1 was designed to be soulcrushing but with poor pacing, I sort of ruined it. I did the TriWisconsin Lannon loop three times (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3062739) with a working knowledge of how fast I can ride it per loop. Last week I did two loops at breakneck speed without much trouble. However, this time the wind was up and my stubborness led me to believe that I could still muscle out three loops fairly close to the same pace per loop. I was wrong. My final loop was 11 minutes slower than the first. Not good. And when it came to running 30 minutes afterwards, I struggled. While the focus was the 5 hr bike part and running was simply bonus material, I did not get what I wanted out it, plus I got a nasty beesting while riding. Adding insult to injury, my rear skewer was loose for the ride. Thankfully, I lucked out and nothing bad happened.

Workout #2 was at Crank Daddy's bike shop on a ergmo/computrainer to ride at constant watts to keep my heart rate within zone 3. What I did was ride 425 watts (the thing must be WAY off) for 90 minutes followed by a 60 minute build run. The first 20 minutes were to be easy, the second twenty moderate hard, and the final 20 tempo. It was a challenging workout.

Workout #3 was the long hard run. The goal was to run my usual 2:45 loop faster than usual and see what happened (house down north ave to parkway, parkway to Hawley then back along wells (at Hawley & Wells turn usually takes 29-30 minutes), connect with parkway head north, across bridge to hart park, up parkway to north ave junction (usually takes 60-62 minutes) up parkway to hwy 100 back along other side of parkway, back down all the way to Hawley, same route back to north ave then to home street). 20.5 miles later I finished in 2:30. I had to fight a few mental demons along the way yet I survived.

WEEK 2
Workout #1/German Ride
This was a combo workout with Camp Whitcomb/Mason Triathlon followed by 2.5 hr bike ride immediately afterwards. The race went really well (see race report) and the following bike ride was manageable. I was far off IM race pace, but I made it. I also thought about running after the ride, but called it a day. This was my substitution for the week's German Ride.

Workout #2
Long brick workout of 2.5 hr bike (originally going to be 3.5 hr) followed by 2 hr run. The bike was on pace until 2:10 when I was stung by a bee on the right thigh, ouch! I had to stop on the side of the road and was in considerable more pain than last week's episode. After a few minutes, I decided to cut my ride short and head back to the car. Ten minutes later I felt fine at the car, I decided to finish with the long run. I ran strong hold sub 7:30's. I was happy that I kept it together mentally.

Workout #3
Instead of a computrainer ride at Cranky Daddy's I opted to go outside and do the Lannon ride. I rode sub 1:40 for 35 miles with a 7:30 pace run for 45 minutes afterwards.

WEEK 3
Workout #1/German Ride
Long ride was 105 miles to Theresa and back in sub 5 hrs (4:56) with a sore throat/head cold. I was supposed to run afterwards but with a late start time I had to get to work. I ran 1 hr later in the day and it was easy. I did, however, check out the legs after the bike with a short jog and felt fresh unlike the previous effort the week before or a month prior when I did the exact same workout (105 miles to Theresa and back in 5:00) but could barely walk afterwards.

Workout #2
Long Run 1.5 hr hard at sub 7:20 pace in the heat. I suffered.

Workout #3
Olympic distance triathlon (see race report).

+++++++++++++++++++++

I followed this with Matt Fitzgerald's two-week taper.

+++++++++++++++++++++

In conclusion, the season has gone by fast. Adrienne and I have done a number of races with the usual drama. We won a few, lost a few, had moments of greatness and moments of failure. Mentally I feel cloudy with erradic motivation but physically things seem to be getting sharper. I believe the build workouts I have chosen for this year will make me stronger to handle the challenges of racing an Ironman.

2009 Tri-ing For Children Triathlon

Tri-ing For Children Triathlon
Eagle, WI
July 26, 2009
Olympic Distance
1.5K 40K 10K

Matthew Amman 3rd OA
1:58:54
S 18:18 B 59:11 (25.2mph) R 39:37

PRERACE
I expected this to be a challenging race both physically and mentally. I had a few prerace jitters because a number of tough competitors were expected to be there (and they were). Next I just couldn't get my mind psyched up. I tried to talk myself into it but it failed to work. This and a few other races in WI just fail to motivate me unlike Camp Whitcomb Mason, High Cliff, Devil's Challenge, or Lake Mills.

To win this race I knew that I needed to run a 37:XX 10K otherwise Joe Kurian was going to run me down! I wasn't too worried about anybody else.

SWIM
Scott and a fellow Gear-Grinder Jordan Mathes took 1-2 in the swim with me exiting the water about 1 minute behind. I thought I had a decent swim minus my accident at the first turn buoy. When ducking under the buoy, my face caught the support line and took my goggles off my face so I had to spend some time getting them back on. As a result I lost another 10 yards to the swim leaders while letting the trailing pack catch up.

BIKE
The bike course distance was spot on for once despite some last minute course changes because of road construction. I managed to bike into the lead after Scott and Jordan decided to question the first bike turn. After a quarter mile, they decided to turn around thinking they shouldn't have turned right but once they saw me coming at them they turned around again to follow me. With time, I pulled away and rode solo around the two loop bike course. It was a windy day with some rough roads. I had the fastest bike split and knew I needed it if I was to have any chance winning.

RUN
Coming into transition was hectic. The sprint and half-sprint participants were finishing with me. After racking the bike, putting on socks and shoes, I took off. It looked like I had a minute on Scott and Jordan. Short of mile one Jordan ran past me fast, sub 5:45 fast and kept truckin' ahead to get about 50 yards ahead of me until he eased off the gas. He lingered there the rest of the race. By mile two I had trouble. Yes, I had an inkling of a side-stitch but that was gone by the first mile, this time it was bodily movement #2 trouble. I needed to find a restroom.

Jumping back in time, on the drive out to the race I had an upset stomach and was forced to make an emergency stop at PDQ to use the facilities. My guess is that 8 jumbo chocolate chip cookies I ate the day before were the culprits. Gosh, they tasted soooo good that I just couldn't stop after 1 or 2.

Now back to the race. From mile 2 onward, I ran as fast as I could while keeping myself intact. 6:20 pace was plenty fast but the rest of the competition managed to catch me. Joe Kurian caught me at mile 3 while performing a 35:10 run split and in the final half mile, Pete Metz blew past me with an incredible 36:XX run split and vomitting a few times in the process.(Although he somehow got a 2:00 penalty on the bike dropping him to 5th in the overall standings. Bummer.)

Heart Rate Data:
Swim 164 bpm ave
Bike 165 bpm ave
Run 160 bpm ave

SUMMARY
I'm happy with how I did. The high end run speed is simply not there this year from lack of speed training. I guess that's what you get when you're IM training. Long slow distance (LSD) training makes you just that...slow. Although I wanted to win, for this year I'll take it in stride. Joe Kurian and Justin Henkel continue to teach me that when it comes to triathlon racing, you need to develop the rockstar run of a 2:30'ish open marathon to really dominate triathlon running. That way you can run the following triathlon run splits: 16-17 5K or a 34-35 10K or 1:18-1:20 half-marathon or sub 3:00 marathon. That is what it takes to win anywhere on anyday.

When reflecting upon my strengths and weaknesses, I still believe I'm a fairly balanced athlete. When I started this sport in 2005, I knew I could coast on my high school swimming background for the swim section. As for the running part, Dad did a number of running races and a few marathons when I was kid, Grandpa too. As part of growing up I did few races with him as well until I got heavily involved in Soccer. Biking was to be my major performance limiter. My first big race was Spirit of Racine HIM in 2006 and the bike section killed me. When comparing myself to others in my age-group that year, I was a top swimmer, horrible biker, and ran mediocre considering that I fried myself on the bike. Three years later I've evened out my talents, especially at the HIM and IM distance. However, at the Olympic and Sprint I lack the raw running speed to put out a sub 17 5K or sub 36 10K run split. I chalked most of that up to lack of run specific speed training. When looking towards 2010, I see myself dedicating a lot of time towards that type of work.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:
- Stay away from chocolate chip cookies
- Breakfast: One Powerbar and 1/2 can Red Bull was fine
- 1/4 filled water bottle filled with HEED was fine
- Simply flushing mouth with HEED twice on bike was fine
- Experts agree, crack marks on the chainstays seem to be paint cracks and not frame cracks

2009 Lactic Edge Triathlon

Lactic Edge Triathlon
Stevens Point, WI
July 11, 2009
Sprint Triathlon
500yd; 18.12 mile; 3.22 mile

Matthew Amman 1st Overall
1:09:31
S-5:49 B-42:12 (25.7mph) R-19:12 (5:57 pace)

PreRace:
At the last minute Scott Bowe talked me (and our wives) into travelling to Stevens Point, WI to do the local Cellcom YMCA Lactic Edge sprint triathlon. Previous year, Scott and I were in the area for our epic IM training camp and did it. Scott won last year.

The race course was different this year. Construction caused the course to be slightly longer than last, hence when comparing times things don't match up.

Swim:
The swim start was quick with Scott leading us out to the first buoy. In the first few yards I happened to get cut off by fellow Gear Grinder Tom Shepard. To prevent a gap between Scott and I, I pulled Tom underneath me. Not very nice on my part, but he did cut me off (he forgave me after the race). From there I sat in the draft touching Scott's feet--something he let know after the race he wasn't thrilled about. Gee whiz! But that's what you get for wanting to swim in the lead. Next time I'll be polite and not touch the feet. At the swim exit, I was a few seconds behind Scott and together we put a half a minute on the field.

Bike:
Transition was smooth and I managed to leave T2 with Scott. He led the bike course for a 1/2 mile before I took over. I was working hard with the heart rate staying really high (around 175 (LT)) and after another mile I was happy to see Scott come around and pass me. I then eased off the accelerator to give myself a breather. With my reckless abandonment for speeding around the corners he never got more than 15 meters ahead. After another mile I was tempted to push hard again but decided to make my move around mile 8. Between Scott fading a bit and my love of perfect pavement, I hit it hard at the 7.5 mile mark--Sentry World--and pushed all the way to the finish. The effort and outcome was good but far from stellar. That lovely feeling one gets when racing tapered is addictive and racing when tried doesn't allow one to feel that unbridled energy. I was hoping to ride the final 4 miles in the 50-12 gear ratio, but lacked the power to sustain it. Bummer.

Run:
I came into transition with about 1:30 lead ahead of Scott and Tom. Transition went well and I managed to run with an even effort holding 5:57 pace. I did flirt with a right side-stitch but running sub 6 is fast enough for me. To get rid of the it would require a lot of track work and that's simply not compatible with IM training.

Overall:
Congratulations to my fellow Gear Grinder teammates. Together we took 1-2-3 overall. Individually I was happy to win but felt my performance was mediocre. The Pewaukee Triathlon happened to be this weekend and I feel that there is no way I could have won that race if I showed up. David Thompson and Will Smith are much faster than me. I often wonder if I could get that fast. I remain skeptical meanwhile I'll be happy to be one of the local fast guys.

Adrienne placed first overall in the women's field.

Things to Remember:
* Breakfast of 2 Powerbar Protein bars was too much.
* I may be fast, but I have a ways to go before I average 27-28 mph on the bike and back it up with low 17 5k run split.

2009 Got Energy Triathlon

Got Energy Triathlon
La Crosse, WI
June 14, 2009
Olympic Distance (1500m;40k;10k)
Matthew Amman 1st OA
1:59:27
S-20:33 B-57:58 (25.7 mph) R-39:11 (6:18 pace)

A car nearly killed me in this race. In the last half mile before entering T2, a car took a right turn across the closed bike lane right in front of me. I had only a few seconds to react by braking and swerving. It was not enough and I hit the bumper.

PreRace
Earlier this year when visiting our friends Travis Evenson and Paula Skoy in Onalaska, we saw that the YMCA puts on a local triathlon in June. Adrienne and I figured we would sign up as another excuse to visit friends.

We travelled there after work Friday with the dogs. Zero like usual hogged the back seat with Nika having to stand. They eventually worked things out so that both could lie down.

Saturday was fun. We went and watched Travis play in a softball tournament in Sparta and enjoy the chicken dinner the local Lions club was grilling. Yum. Afterwards, I put together the bikes and Adrienne and I went for a 30 minute ride to warmup the legs. I was hoping to get a swim in as well at the YMCA but did not have enough time. We had an excellent dinner at an Italian restaurant in LaCrosse.

Race
This is not a very big race. The sprint category had some 180 participants while the olympic distance had just under 70. The venue, Lake Neshonoc and Swarthout Park, was beautiful with perfect conditions.

Swim
The swim start was uneventful. I started up front and a little too far to the left. The first 200 yards was fast with some guy pretty intent on swim up and over me. He kept swimming up on to me until his hands were on my waist. Wierd. After a while I was out in front and pulled away. However, by starting on the far left I had trouble swimming straight and kept veering off to the left. I eventually made it to the turnaround buoy and started back to the swim finish. I exited the water in 19:XX with a 30 yard lead. Transition went smoothly.

Bike
I rode out of Swarthout park quickly and onto Hwy 16 where an assigned motorcyclist was my guide through the bike course. Upon reaching the first turn as we started riding through town (West Salem), the motorcyclist had some troubles and went around the first turn too slow. I nearly ran into him and had to swerve. It was not a good sign.

The bike course was mildy hilly but the road conditions were nearly perfect and there was no wind. It made for fast bike riding. I pushed fairly hard but was a little worried about tired legs. My training partner Scott had done a race the day before (Elkhart Lake Triathlon) and when we chatted on the phone after he finished the race, he told me that his legs were still trashed from our hard ride at Merton Tuesday and the hard run we did on Thursday. Nevertheless I seemed to hold up okay.

I led the entire bike course. The turnaround was a bit gravelly and I did slip a bit. On the way back I could see that I had a comfortable lead. Second place (Brent Sinn) was a few minutes behind.

As we got back to town, there were a few turns to manuevre through. For the last 3/4 of a mile, the eastbound road starting at Leonard Street was closed off to traffic with construction barrels. Soon after entering this area--the dedicated bike lane--the lead motorcyclist decided to vear off into the traffic lane. I thought nothing of it because he had problems when we originally went through this section. My other thought was that maybe he thought I could make it back to the park/transition area on my own--it was nearly in sight. So I forged onward in the bike lane.

Well, apparantly what was going on was that a car wanted to take a right turn across the bike lane, something I did not see, to enter a side street into a subdivision. To avoid a mishap, I either needed to come to a complete stop or vear left into the traffic lane behind the motorcyclist. Anyway, the car turned right in front of me giving me a just 10-15 yards to stop and/or swerve. I tried to swerve but knew I was in trouble. I was moving way too fast (+25mph). The driver of the car must of saw me at the last second because he tried to stop but was still moving when I crashed into the right side of his bumper. The collision was between his bumper and my crank/left pedal (nothing touched the wheels or frame). I went flying landing on my left hip and shoulder. The pavement was smooth so I slide maybe 7-8-9 yards. Immediately, I got up to assess the damage. Having witnessed Scott crash at Triple T a few weeks earlier, I was familiar with the routine: check body, check bike, make decision if to continue. Based on the rather small tear on my bike shorts I knew it was not as bad as Scott's fall. Some fingers on my left hand were badly scrapped plus some minor road rash on my left shoulder and chest. The bike seemed okay, the wheels still true, no visible cracks on the frame.

I climbed back on and biked back into transition. Checking over my shoulder, I saw that the motorist had pulled over to the side of the road and race volunteers were scrambling over to talk to him. Meanwhile, I was falling apart mentally. I was extremely mad and felt violated. Here I was pouring my heart into having a fast race and some car takes me out! When I entered Swarthout park with the spectators cheering me on, hidden behind my sunglasses were tears of anger and fear. I managed to rack my bike, put on my running shoes, and start running.

Run
Full of adrenaline, I managed to run strong the first mile. I was trying to put what just happened behind me and hold it together to win. As wanted, I kept my running stride short and pushed the envelope short of side-stich territory for the first 15 minutes. At the first turnaround I had what looked like another triathlete running me down. He was running sub 6 miles, me right around 6:25. Worried I kept pushing it and after 5K never saw him again (He must of the been the winner of the sprint triathlon.). At the start of the second loop, Adrienne was starting out on her first loop. She was running fast (nearly as fast as I). Upon passing her, I told her what happened. She thought I must of been fine with the pace I was holding.

On the second loop I let myself find my natural running stride. My pace seemed even and I even managed to push hard for the last mile. I never ran on the edge for risk of hurting myself even more. I crossed the finish line in 1:59:27.

Conclusion
Who was at fault? I believe we all were: the motorcyclist, the car, and me. While it's easy to point a few fingers, I'm just happy to be alive. The medical staff at the race did a wonderful job and wish to thank them as well as the race staff. They did their best to ensure a safe race and sometimes things just happen.

I'll be sore for the next few days and have to grow some new skin. I was hoping to race High Cliff Half-Ironman this coming weekend, but will have to spectate instead. That's okay. Adrienne is fun to watch.

La Crosse Tribune:
Got Energy Triathlon: Wife and husband sweep intermediate distance racesBy KIRK BEY | kbey@lacrossetribune.com.

WEST SALEM — Adrienne Amman smiled. The “debriefing,” as she called it, likely would take place on their three-plus hour drive home Sunday to Wauwatosa, Wis.

Amman could take great satisfaction in a job well-done. The Got Energy YMCA/Touchstone Energy Triathlon, a race she and her husband, Matt, had first heard about when they visited the area last winter, had been an enjoyable experience. Adrienne won the women’s intermediate distance race, which consisted of a nine-tenths mile swim, 24-mile bike ride and 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run, in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 53.6 seconds. She beat runner-up Maggie Fournier of Onalaska by more than seven minutes.
Adrienne Amman begins the swim portion of the Got Energy Triathlon Sunday as she runs into Lake Neshonoc in West Salem. PETER THOMSON photo

For Adrienne, it had been a day worth talking about. And the perfect person with whom to discuss it would be sitting in the car seat next to her.

Matt had had a pretty incredible day himself, winning the men’s intermediate distance race in a course-record time of 1:59:27. He had done so while doing the final leg of the race, the 10-k run,with an aching left hip. It was the result of a collision with a motorist as he approached Swarthout Park on his bicycle.

Matt simply was looking forward to icing his leg and getting some rest. But Adrienne was happy knowing her husband of seven years would offer his opinion of the day’s events if she asked.

“He’s my guide and my coach,” Adrienne said of Matt, who, like her, graduated from Middleton High School and the University of Wisconsin. “He tells me what I need to do with my training and I say, ‘OK.’ ”

It’s no wonder.

Matt, 32, has completed one Ironman triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.2-mile run), the Wisconsin Ironman, last year in Madison, and plans to compete in one later this summer in Louisville, Ky. He’s a chiropractor with a hectic schedule — he has his own practice in Milwaukee — but he has a strict, 20-hour-a-week workout regimin.

Adrienne, 30, is a speech therapist at the Milwaukee Veterans Administration Medical Center who also has a busy schedule that includes between 16 and 17 hours of training a week. Even though Matt and Adrienne don’t get to train together often, days like Sunday when they both perform well are a great way to spend a weekend.

“This (competing in triathlons) is just fun for us. We keep it light and just try to enjoy it,” Matt said. “This is our hobby.”

It’s the type of hobby that Adrienne is glad she shares with her husband. She knows he’s a good resource in helping her improve.

“You can learn something from every race,” Adrienne said. “There’s always something you can improve upon.”

Things to Remember:
- Breakfast 500 calories (2 Clif Bars); 1 can Red Bull
- Drink only 2/3 can of Red Bull (5-6 oz) in future
- Tire pressure F-115 R-118 (Fine)
- Water bottle 1/3 full with water
- Flushed mouth twice on bike, never drank
- No food or water for OLY
- Wore socks for run (Good idea)