St. Croix Valley Olympic Race Report - New Course Record!!

I went into St Croix with my sites set on a great swim time. With my injuries in the start of the summer I never felt like I could "race" the swim and wasn't in swimming shape until the last couple of weeks. I wanted to go out hard and not hold back and see what would happen to the rest of my race. Tim Walton (swim coach extraordinaire from Optum Health Performance) has been helping me a lot with my stroke and was in my heat so I really wanted to beat him out of the water! I came out of the water at 22:00 and change and was super excited to see that it was under 23:00. The bike course is challenging with some hills and since it was raining a little I had to be a little conservative on the corners. I was shocked to see though after the race that I averaged 23 mph on the bike - last year I could only muster 22.1mph. Coming into transition I checked my watch and knew if I could run around a 40 min 10k, I might havea shot at the course record. I didn't want to bonk at the end of the race and be mad at myself for going out too strong so I just concentrated on my form and cadence for the first couple of miles knowing that these were the hardest of the run with a few hills. At mile 4 I checked my split and saw it was about a 6:15 ...only 2 more miles...about 13 more minutes of pushing. At the last mile I checked my watch again and knew I was close. I couldn't remember exactly what the record was, but knew it was 2:09: and change. I was hoping it was closer to 2:10 because as I was making my way to the finish line I was past the 2:09 mark. As I crossed the finish line Jerry said to me "I think you did it Kort". I gave Tim a high five, chatted with him and thanked him for cheering me on. My excitement was short lived as I saw one of my athletes in the transition area. I was wondering why he was walking and was ready to start yelling at him to run until I saw a big gash on his head. He told me got got into a bike accident and wasn't able to finish. I was so bummed to see him like that because he has worked so hard and really wanted to leave it all out there to see what he was capable of. I understand the frustration of having your body and mind ready to race, but certain circumstances prevent you from completing. However, things happen for a reason and that only makes you stronger and more determined. Next up is Peregrine Charities triathlon, Twin Cities 10 mile and Austin 70.3!