2008 Triathlon National Championships

Written by Jason Schott

I want to start off with saying this day was a long time coming for me. Almost 15 months to be exact. Many of you already know that June 30th 2007 in Portland Oregon at this same race, a female swimmer from the wave ahead of me punctured my eardrum with her fingernail. She was swimming off course and how she managed to get her finger perfectly into my ear I will never figure it out. (I bought a lotto ticket that afternoon thinking freaky luck was on my side…oh well) I was still able to finish the race with some serious setbacks along the way. I had to tread water several times to get my bearings, my transition from swim to bike was one minute slower than it should have been, and I fell off my bike the first time I tried to get on it. I finally walked to the fence, held the bike with one hand and the fence with the other and away I went. The rest of the race is history. I finished 11th OA and 2nd in the 35-39 AG. The distance was a 1.5k swim 40k bike 10k run. My time was 1:59.18. As soon as I finished that day, the only thing on my mind was to return the following year and get redemption on this course. Oh yeah, and secondly, get my punctured eardrum fixed!

Fast forward to September 20th 2008 because talking about 15 months of training would be extremely boring. Everything felt good race morning. I slept well on the nights leading up, I ate and drank well, and my taper seemed perfect. It was time to take the test. There were a lot of fast guys, especially in the 25-29 AG, many of them with intentions of turning pro at the end of this year. I knew to win the race overall, a time of around 1:55 or below would be needed. Last year the winning time was 1:57. Many people knew what to expect from this course because they did it last year so I felt times would be faster.

For those who don’t know, we start in 5 year increments so no one knows the full results until all racers are finished. The gun went off for the 35-39 AG and I was able to get out front on the swim quickly. I was caught by a guy halfway through and we traded the lead from then on in. I was out of the water in 18:02. I felt great, quick transition, then on to the bike. The bike was hilly which was great. There was really no opportunity for drafting/cheating. I traded leads with the guy from the swim for approximately 15 miles then he dropped off the pace. I came in to the second transition feeling great and had another good transition. Bike split was 57:41(25.9MPH) I got out onto the run and I felt great. I was clicking off 5:50 miles over a hilly course. I got to mile 5 and realized I was going to be well under an overall time of 1:55. I picked it up all the way to the finish and was able to run a 35:55 10K and post an overall time of 1:54.08. This was good for an overall victory of 50 seconds.

If you have read this far then thanks for taking the time to read about a day that meant a lot to me. It was also a day I was out to get for 15 months due to a freak ear puncture. I have a few people below I would like to thank because I feel they had a part in my success.

Maria Thrash, Chris Weissman and Marcus at Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta. Maria because she is a great coach, Marcus because he was always there to duke it out in the pool and stay past the normal practice for extra misery sometimes. Chris because he is 9 years older than me and still whips my #%$ in the pool….Motivation! Knowing these people would be there at 5:45 am made it easier for me to get out of bed and make the trek down to Dynamo.

On the bike I owe thanks to several people. Dan Moss for literally destroying me on the bike in an early season Sprint Tri. I out swam him by a minute and I ran 16 something for 5k but he put 3+ minutes on me over a mere 16 miles. He went through 16 miles in something like 36 minutes, well over 27MPH. A good kick in the pants is always good.

The EMR’s. (Early Morning Risers) Russell Lipscomb, Peter Coblentz, Jeff Field, Eddie Bobbitt, and John Mangum. A bunch of psychotic triathletes from the 90’s who would get up and ride at 4:30 or 5:00am with headlights and taillights. Sounds crazy, but with families, jobs, etc… this is the best time to squeeze in a 2 to 2.5 hour ride. It is a little lonely in Dahlonega by myself in the dark, but still worth it.

KIRK CORSELLO! Did I mention Kirk Corsello? This guy would show up at Stone Mountain Park for some of my 40k time trial sessions rain or shine. He would ride behind me for the entire 40k and talk/yell/scream at me about form, cadence and anything else I needed to change. He has a lot to do with why I had the second fastest bike split of the day.

The run is the run. It is the last of the 3 and can be the most difficult mentally and physically. I train alone 100% on the run and the only explanation I have is the fact that I enjoy suffering through descending mile repeats once a week by myself.

Other people who contributed by being friends, supporters, competitors, plain motivation, or all four. Andrew Johnston, no explanation needed here. If you need an explanation http://www.livingiswinning.com/ Marc Bonnet Eymard, he won Nationals and World’s at age 35 in the year 2006, just a kid back thenJ. Jeff Boyd, Dan Moss, David Silver, and Zach Winchester. I trained and traveled on and off with these guys over the last 5 years and they all kept me young and on my toes throughout. By the way, the oldest of the gang is 28 now, keep an eye out for all of them. Tim Yount, Jeff Dyrek and all the staff at USAT for putting on a great race. From the day before the race, to the challenging course, to the awards. First class all the way. All3Sports.com in Atlanta GA. for their sponsorship and support on gear, service, and anything else I needed, whenever I needed it over the 7 seasons they have supported me.

There are many other great people I have crossed in this sport at all levels and I try to learn something from each one of them. Thanks to all of you.

Most of all I want to thank my wife Janet who has supported me for 19 seasons of triathlons. I remember one Friday night back in 1990 while we were still dating. I told her I was thinking of doing a triathlon the next morning and she said I should do it and that she would go. It was an interesting morning to say the least, but she was extremely supportive then and she is the same way today! I would never have accomplished this amazing feat without her!