USAT Nationals - True Race Report, Apocryphal Interview

This is Bonnie Fjord with ESTN here at the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship in Milwaukee Wisconsin speaking with Jesse (Kona) Sturino with the Turk’s Head Racing team about his race today. 

BF: I just finished speaking with your teammate English Bill, I couldn't get him to stop talking about his glory days in the Harrisburg Marathon – I didn’t even know they ran marathons that long ago.

JS: Ha, yeah Bill can talk – he’s a good guy and has always been a solid athlete – he is doing the sprint tomorrow.

BF: So Kona, tell us about your training going into this race.

JS: I was doing pretty good early in the season, but my training wasn't great the last couple of months – work and life just picked up pace and I had to cut back my training – you know the story of the age group triathlete.

BF: Race morning, before the race, the energy level is so high at the transition area, but everyone seems so nervous.  Did you have the normal pre-race jitters?

JS: Not so much, race morning was pretty smooth.  I ran into Neil Semmel (a local race director) in transition.  At the swim start I ran into a fast local guy, Bob Pugh – he is super fast in the water.  He says to me, I’ll see you in the run – I said, I hope so…

BF: Ok, break down the swim portion of the race – the water looked pretty calm out there.

JS: Ha, yeah, calm water, maybe – until you throw a bunch of old men in and yell ‘Go’.  Hey, it was better than most swims – plenty of room to swim and it was well marked.  I’m a pretty slow swimmer, but can use the swim to warm up my engine for the rest of the race.  I got off course a few times going for the wrong buoy, but nothing serious.

BF: Yeah, you pretty much sucked in the swim – what were you… like 60 something coming out of the water?  Man that blows.  So now you’re over 6 minutes down on the top guys coming into T1.

JS: Holy smokes, I didn't realize how bad it was at the time because I don’t wear a watch in the water, but my friend John “Nicolai’” was there as I exited – before the race he told me he would be there to tell me how far down I was, but I think he lost count and just told me to keep moving – that’s when I figured I was screwed.

BF (laughing): Well you got through T1 pretty quickly.

JS: T1 used to be tough for me, but I got through it pretty quick this time.  The only problem I had was 4 old ladies from the previous wave at the exit point just before me and there was a log jam there – threw me off at the time, but I couldn't do much.  I didn't have the heart to knock any of them over.

BF: Ah, always the gentleman.  So now you’re on the bike which, rumor has it, you’re not too bad at.

JS: I love the bike.  I got rolling pretty quick and started picking off people left and right (ok, just right).  The first 7 miles were smooth as a baby’s butt and I was flying down a gentle grade at probably 30mph back near the transition area and a mass of people thought they would cross the road in front of me.  I had to hit the brakes as I’m shouting at the top of my lungs to get the heck out of the way.  Morons.

BF: Sounds dangerous – I’m glad no one got hurt.  So then comes the bridge – how was that climb?

JS: Very cool – I just kept flying by people going up.  Of course you’re going a little slower, so you can tell people they’re doing a good job… keep it up… almost there… that kind of thing.  It actually helps me race better when I can keep things positive.

BF: That’s a good race philosophy.  So, how about coming down the bridge – how was the wind?  And those speed bump sized covers over the interlocks on the bridge.

JS: I almost forgot about that – here you are, flying downhill at full speed, hanging on for dear life with the wind pushing you this way and that, and then you hit these mini speed bumps in the aerobars – all I could think of is my friend Majik who got seriously messed up at Poconos last year by a speed bump.

BF: Well, you could have slowed down a bit.

JS (laughing): Really?  This is a race Bonnie – THR doesn't slow down for anything!

BF: You know, you might be a little nuts Kona…  Ok, so the rest of the bike – any excitement there?

JS: So I come to the little climb right before we get off the interstate (oh yeah, whoever thought of putting the race on an interstate was genius – never did that before).  Anyway, I pass these three guys that seem to be drafting each other…

BF: I thought drafting wasn’t allowed.

JS: No kidding! ... and then these clowns jump on my wheel, get a rest, then pass me.  The problem is that I have to back off so I’m not drafting, and then of course they slow down, so I have to repass, they jump on my wheel and we start the whole cycle again – that lasted 7 miles or more.  One big guy (Moose), a ginger (Red Beard) and a dude with a blue Tri suit (blueberry – or dingle berry is more like it).  Finally we get back to the bridge and only one of these clowns (dingle berry) can hang on and we come into T2 together.

BF: I hear T2 wasn't so good for you?

JS: You know, I’m usually pretty good in T2 so I wasn't even thinking about it and I just lost time for no good reason - messing around with stuff – seconds add up quick.

BF: So how did the run go?

JS: Well, dingle berry got through T2 faster than me and was 15-20 seconds in front of me with that goofy blue tri suit – I thought he would be an easy target, but it took me over a mile to reel him in.  He must have known I was back there and he tried to strike up a conversation, but I left him for dead.  I don’t have a lot of respect for cheaters and he was drafting big time on the bike.

BF: Less than 5 miles to go – how are you feeling.

JS: Well I got a little faster in the 2^nd and 3^rd mile hitting a 6:20ish pace, but mile 4 was tough.  I’m not sure what happened, but fortunately I grabbed a gel in T2 and got it down just before the water stop at mile 4, made the turn around and knew I only had two to go.  I had visualized this in my head weeks before the race – make the turn around and then go for it and it worked!  I just kept picking people off after that – bam, bam, bam.  I felt like I was flying, but in reality I got back on a 6:20ish pace and everyone else was slowing down.

BF: Sounds like a good feeling.

JS: Yeah, this was the best part of the race for me.  About mile 5 water stop a young teen girl is watching me come through a water stop and she looks right at me and says – ‘wow, you look really strong’ – good motivation.  A couple minutes later, my teammate Nicholai yells to me – c’mon Kona, pass that guy in front of you – I was exhausted, but I felt so damn alive right then and thought, yeah, I’m going for it and it was like I had another gear.

BF: Tell us about the finish.

JS: At mile 6 I’m passing another guy in my age group and I turn to see him and realize it’s Pugh who always beats me and I just flew buy him and said ‘good job Bobby’ as I pass.  Then I see the bridge – my friend Leo and I talked about this bridge the day before the race and decided when we saw the bridge, it was time to give it everything we had.  So kicked in the turbo boost and ran all out until I hit the red carpet finisher shoot.  There must have been 12 people in the finisher shoot in front of me – I passed them all but one in the 100 yards I had left – I just sprinted my butt off.

BF: That’s an exciting finish.  What’s next?

JS: Marshman of course – the Superbowl of triathlons!

Bike Splits:

1	2:32.2	1.00	23.7
2	2:29.1	1.00	24.1
3	2:41.2	1.00	22.3
4	2:32.3	1.00	23.6
5	2:10.6	1.00	27.6
6	2:16.0	1.00	26.5
7	2:35.6	1.00	23.1
8	2:29.0	1.00	24.2
9	2:03.6	1.00	29.1
10	2:10.7	1.00	27.5
11	2:21.1	1.00	25.5
12	2:31.7	1.00	23.7
13	2:24.2	1.00	25.0
14	2:31.0	1.00	23.8
15	2:19.0	1.00	25.9
16	2:36.4	1.00	23.0
17	2:37.4	1.00	22.9
18	2:23.1	1.00	25.1
19	2:27.9	1.00	24.3
20	2:27.1	1.00	24.5
21	2:22.3	1.00	25.3
22	2:34.5	1.00	23.3
23	2:51.1	1.00	21.0
24	3:00.6	1.00	19.9
25	1:52.5	0.54	17.2

Run Splits:

1	6:41.1	1.00	6:41
2	6:23.7	1.00	6:24
3	6:23.0	1.00	6:23
4	6:50.7	1.00	6:51
5	6:25.9	1.00	6:26
6	6:23.6	1.00	6:24
7	1:14.9	0.22	5:44