Columbia Triathlon Champion and Record Holder
Chris Lieto had a record breaking win against some of the Worlds best at the Silver Anniversary Columbia Triathlon.
After Wildflower I took a week very easy to get my legs feeling back to normal after running those crazy hills. I had a good week of training as I prepare for my next 70.3 Ironman in 2 weeks. This last weekend I wanted to get a good race in to help with my fitness and keep building through the year. So I decided to race the Columbia Triathlon in Baltimore, Maryland. It was to be a training race which only means I don’t taper for it and train normal straight up to it because the goal is a race after. Lance Watson, my coach has really been dialing in my training and things are going in the right directions. I still......
After Wildflower I took a week very easy to get my legs feeling back to normal after running those crazy hills. I had a good week of training as I prepare for my next 70.3 Ironman in 2 weeks. This last weekend I wanted to get a good race in to help with my fitness and keep building through the year. So I decided to race the Columbia Triathlon in Baltimore, Maryland. It was to be a training race which only means I don’t taper for it and train normal straight up to it because the goal is a race after. Lance Watson, my coach has really been dialing in my training and things are going in the right directions. I still race it hard as I do every race I do. It was to be a tough race with lots of hills on the bike and even more on the run. It was also a tough field with Chris McCormack, Richie Cunningham, and some young superstars like Andy Yoder.
I flew over on friday night and got in a good day of training in on Saturday on the course and was able to see the challenging bike and run course. The bike course is nothing but ups and downs and rights and lefts. There was not even a stretch of road that was straight or flat. You are either climbing a hill, descending, or winding your way through a wooded countryside. Beautiful but challenging. The run was around the lake and through a neighborhood with again nothing straight or flat. Constant running up hills or running down them, but easier than Wildflower!
Race day came very quick and very early. With the time change from west coast to east coast it was waking up at 1:30 in the morning and I was racing by 3:45AM! Waking up that early is always hard, but what always helps me adjust to new time-zones and helps me recover everyday is my EarthFX blanket system. I am in that everyday and take it on every trip.
I got a small breakfast in considering my body is used to being asleep at this time it was more like a midnight snack! A bagel and a bottle of Powerbar Endurance with Base Amino in Based Water. Breakfast of a champion for this day:) http://www.baseperformance.com
We got to transition and set up everything quick and got a chance to catch up with some of my competitors that I don’t get to see that often. Except for Macca who I have been seeing every other week for the last month and a half. It is always fun to be at a race where the atmosphere is fun and relaxed. I did a short warm up run with Macca, and we got to talk about the rest of this year. I think this is may be the last race I will see him at until Hawaii in October. He is doing Ironman Germany in about 2 months where it seems it will be Kona ‘07 revisited. 7 out of the top 10 last year will be racing there. I will be looking forward to watching that race. Best of luck to Macca, I know he will crush it.
I got in the water to get a good warm up in and the water was perfect. No wind and it was like being in a swimming pool, except you could only see about 8 inches down and the water was 65 degrees. The swim started out smooth and soon 3 guys took off at a fast pace. I knew that Eric Limkemann was racing and he has the swim course record at 15 minutes!! Very fast and I didn’t even want to try and blow myself following them. It had to have been him and a couple guys who would most likely pay for it later. The guys I was looking out for were right next to me so I knew I was in good company. Our group came out of the water at 17 minutes and we were running through the hilly transition. Onto the bike it was Macca, Cunningham, and Yoder around me. Perfect. I paced myself the first couple miles monitoring what they were doing and wanting to warm the legs up slowly. But then came Yoder (19 year old kid) trying to push the pace. I got to race him a couple months back in Miami and he raced well there, but it seemed that he has been training well since. He made me work harder than I wanted in the beginning as I don’t like anyone riding away from me. I like to keep my competitors in sight and use them for motivation. He was going well up the hills and I was not feeling the best at the time. We slowly pulled away from the rest of the field, and after hitting the 8 mile mark or so my legs started to get warmed up and feeling better. I knew we were coming up to a wooded winding part of the course, and I figured that was a good time to try and separate myself from him. You get 20 seconds up the road and no one can see you because of how the course is hilly and winding through trees. I pulled away and ended up getting about 2 minutes on him and more on the rest coming into transition.
I ended up breaking a 10 year old record on the bike set by Tim Deboom, riding 56 minutes to his 58 minute record. My Trek TTX and SRAM Red really makes it easier to put those times in. Riding the down hills and pulling away from other riders you know that the TTX is the most aero dynamic bike around. Its almost like cheating. I can’t tell you how many times I had to shift gears!! My wrists are sore from shifting up and down with every hill. The new SRAM Red is very smooth. I didn’t waist any time or energy not getting in that gear quickly, smoothly and easily.
I started the run along the lake, but within 200 meters it was straight up a hill and it didn’t stop. I wanted to make sure I had a good run and focused on running well on the uphills and down hills. I didn’t want to have happen what happened at Wildflower, getting caught by Macca close to the finish. I find it hard sometimes to be in the lead and run because you never know what is going on behind you. No time splits and no seeing your competitors getting closer or farther away. Not that it would have helped at this race due to the hills and woods. You could be 15 seconds apart and may never see your competitor. I had to focus on my run and not worry about anyone else. Easier said then done. I was definitely wanting to know what was going on behind me. Doing all the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races over the years, doing an Olympic distance race goes by fast, especially the run. 6 miles compared to 13 or 26 is like you are done before you are used to getting warmed up. My new K-Swiss shoes rock!! No socks and with this hilly run course my feet were the same after the race as before. No blisters or black toes from the down hills and the water pored through them and kept them light and fast for the uphills. Who needs to carry an extra 2 lbs up the hills or through the last miles of any run. I came into the finishing shoot and saw the time on the clock @ 1:51 and heard the announcer say I was going to break the overall course record. It was a great race and win for me and I was excited that things are coming together well this year as I keep training for Kona.
I broke the tape in 1:51:13 breaking the course record set by 2008 US Olympic athlete Matt Reed by about 30 seconds. He couldn’t make it this year, and I was relieved that he wasn’t there because he is absolutely flying. He is going to do very well In Beijing, and I am excited to watch every second of the race.
Andy Yoder had a great race finishing 2nd and Macca picked up the 3rd podium spot. Great day of racing and great people. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Training is going well, and I look forward to the next race in 2 weeks time at Ironman 70.3 Boise.
Thanks for all your support and help in getting me to this point and the support you will continue to give as I go through the rest of the year.
Chris Lieto