A Trip to the Edge - by Eneas Freyre

Arrival

As the warm humid air hit me upon exiting the cabin of the puddle jumper, a refreshing wave of rejuvenation hit me. I had left the spring of the northeast, still somewhat clad in mild winter browns and grays, and greeted by the sweet smell of spring in full bloom in Birmingham, Alabama.

With rental car secured I headed out for my “home stay” that the race directors were kind enough to arrange from me. The rainbow of colors and lush green foliage of Birmingham was a sight for tired eyes.

I had arrived two days early to compete in the Elite Duathlon National Championships which was organized by Team Magic at a local state park.  Concurrently, the park was hosting its annual Power Man race, a duathlon event that is a hybrid of Olympic and long course distances, not for the faint of heart and certainly an event that is lacking on the US race calendar. But Nationals was the standard 10k run, 40k non draft bike, and 5k run, still a challenge for any athlete.

As is my standard practice I took the time to recon the race course and was surprised by how subtly challenging it was. The bike leg had zero flat stretches, all big rollers up and down, while the run course was more of the same including an almost 1mile twisty trail run every 5k. This was going to be one tough race, and that run course was going to shatter the field in short order.

Race Day

It was an early start on race day as breakfast was had before sunrise, but most of my mornings are like this and it was relaxing sharing a coffee with my roommate and fellow competitor, Michael Russell. He happened to win Elite Duathlon Nationals last year and is a full time multi-sport athlete so it was interesting hearing his war stories and the life of travel and training that is a pro. Laughing inside as he replayed his epic training regime, it was almost embarrassing how little time I actually afford to my training in comparison with a true full time athlete. I hoped that my precision and passion would be the equalizer. 

5-4-3-2-1; the gun went off and we were at 5min pace, running up hill in a blink of an eye. After mile 1, I was still in the front group but knew the pace was way too fast for me to hold. After 5k, I was still in solid position but burning matches too fast. It wasn’t by choice but I had to dial the speed back and when I hit transition 1 to begin the bike leg I was already down 3min to the lead group of 4. It had been a long time since I had raced a hard 10k and I was reeling from having lost so much time even after running a 34+min 10k on a hard and technical course with single track.  Elite duathlon is about running fast, very fast, and most of my competitors are accomplished collegiate runners that eat 15min 5k’s for breakfast.

Not to worry- the bike leg is my  strength; I’ll make up the time. At the halfway point, I realized that the first run had done a number on me and my legs. I was making up ground and going fast on the bike, but not like I was used to. The rolling terrain was taking its toll on the entire field, but yet again the front group was holding their own and I couldn’t get enough time back.

I hit transition 2 having made up only a couple of spots on the bike and was in 5th place, the last podium and money spot. My legs were trashed and by mile 1, I was caught by a gazelle.  Whoops, no, he was human, but it certainly didn’t look like his running was taking the extreme effort mine was.  I lost a further couple minutes on him and settled for 6^th place.

Post Race

It’s not often that I get the chance to be at an event with time on my hands. Usually I am chasing after one of my boys or meeting up with clients at TARGETRAINING , all in balancing being a parent and a professional, but today I had more time than I wanted to reflect on my 6^th place finish. Today I had found my limits and felt the crushing sense of being ordinary. Nothing special, no podium placing or post race news media. Worst of all no family or teammates to distract me from simply failing in my goal of achieving a podium spot at an elite national event. Sometimes being human is a lonely endeavor and often it makes you call into question your goals and aspirations in life.

This is a good thing! How boring we would all be if we just cruised through our days in simple bliss. What if we all got that ribbon and we all shared in a collective victory after every event we participated in. That socialist view of competition has never sat well with me. Testing your limits in life helps refine and sharpen our focus. The choices we make and how we proceed after disappointment or failure defines our character and often the greatest moments in history are responses to these challenges.

At TARGETRAINING we are fortunate to have athletes train with us that are passionate, driven, and disciplined. But we and they don’t always come out on top; it is the process of getting to the start line, and then the finish line that helps drive us and win, lose, or draw how we move forward after our events is what life is all about. We train, compete, and socially participate because we are passionate about a healthy and sustainable life style of endurance athletics.  Whether you’re jumping into your 1^st bike century in our TT Spring Classic, or trying to PR at the local triathlon, being a TARGETRAINING athlete is about excellence, but it is also about being human and finding a balance with the many balls we juggle in life.

Is it realistic for me to race at the highest level of the sport given the balancing act that I play every day? Probably not. Will I be a stronger athlete and person from having hit the limits of my physical capabilities given my constraints? Only time will tell.  But the process of preparation and how I respond to disappointment is what will certainly define me, while creating lasting memories that will carry me through future challenges.

I would like to thank my family and friends at TARGETRAINING for helping get to the start and finish line of yet another great event.

Be strong and passionate; it is the TARGETRAINING way.