Riptide Multisports » Jordan Jones

Jordan Jones 5150 Hy-Vee Championship 16th Place

Jordan Jones — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:52:26 +0000

The 5150 Hy-Vee Championship race was my goal this season and the effort to qualify was worth the effort. A purse of $1,000,000, 60 of the best non-drafting athletes in the world, and a huge crowd made this the best race I’ve ever competed in. As soon as Amy and I landed in Des Moines, we were impressed with the professionalism of the race. There were signs in the airport for the athletes, shuttles to take us to downtown Des Moines, and when we got there the race was practically already set up two days before race-time.

It rained on Saturday then Sunday was beautiful weather and almost cool. All the rain Saturday was in the river by Sunday making for a very strong current. If I swam easy then I’d simply be getting pushed backward by the water.

After getting called out individually to the pontoon, the race was underway. I’ve had progressively better swims this season but that streak didn’t carry through here. I exited the water in 29th place and 3 minutes down from the lead. The upside was that 10 guys lay within a minute up the road.

The bike course was finely planned and consisted of four laps with a nice mixture of city riding, hills, and straight power sections. I hit it hard on the bike and rode to 23rd place by the time I started running. I wasn’t sure how my legs would feel once they hit the pavement after my effort on the bike but they got rolling well. I fought hard on the run, passing guys to move to 16th place. After dealing with an achilles injury all spring and summer, it felt fantastic to finally have a stride and open up the legs. I loved the lap format of the run, 1.5 miles per lap with one big hill and a deep crowd most of the way. Plus I had Amy, Tate, and Paula cheering me on every loop keeping my spirits high.
With the huge backing of Hy-Vee and other race sponsors, 16th place was worth $7,000 which I’m very appreciative of. Greg Bennett was the men’s champion on the day which was nice to see. Amy and I were impressed with his friendliness and positive outlook on racing when we saw him and his wife Laura throughout the weekend.

It would help the sport dramatically if other companies could see the benefit of backing a race of this caliber. Imagine a series of races at this level. This was a bit of an experiment for high stakes non-drafting Olympic distance race and from my perspective it was a success. The athletes were an intriguing mix of Ironman World Champions, Olympians, ITU athletes, and 70.3 stars. The city of Des Moines is a perfect size for this race because it’s large enough to host a race this size yet small enough that the race is THE event in town. The race drew a large crowd locally and the live online coverage seemed to draw high ratings (at least every who I’ve talked to watched it). This is the model that the IAAF T&F World Championships is based upon.

Now it’s time for a short down period before getting back into my fall race season which will consist of five races. Next up is the Jarden Westchester Triathlon on September 25th in Rye, NY.

70.3 Boulder Race Report

Jordan Jones — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:16:51 +0000

With 8 weeks between my last race, Boulder Peak, and Hy-Vee, 70.3 Boulder was a nice opportunity to break up the tough training and get in a race without having to travel. I haven’t seriously competed in a half distance race since 2007 and was excited to test myself over the distance. My achilles tendon has been healing nicely since Boulder Peak so I’ve been back into my normal running routine and building back the run fitness.
Race day. The swim was noticeably slower than an Olympic distance but it was also “75.9″ degree water making it wetsuit legal by .2 degrees. I think this led most of us to hold back on the swim and avoid overheating.
I felt great throughout the swim and that continued onto the bike. Amy was spotting for me on the course so I knew I was in 8th place and 2 minutes off the lead starting the bike. I rode steady the first loop but was surprised that: this guy behind me wasn’t dropping, I hadn’t caught anyone, and no one was even in sight. I was riding slightly higher watts than expected while at a lower effort level than expected so what was going on?
At the turnaround at 20 miles (out of 56 miles if your not familiar) I was happy to see that Gambles and Cartmell were leading at 2 minutes up and 6 guys were grouped together at 1 minute up. I kept up my watts and caught that group heading up 36. It turns out the fellow riding with me was Raynard Tissink, 5th place at Kona last year so not bad company to be in. Once the course flattened again after a long slight downhill I moved to get back into the pace but got a little crampy on the inside quads of my legs. I hung back the next 5 miles to let it work out then went back to work the last 5 miles. I finished the bike in 2:04 (4th best split) with 3 other guys so we were holding down places 3, 4, 5,and 6. Aside from feeling normal crampy twinges, I felt great the whole ride and was surprised how comfortable I was riding for that long.
I was pumped up going into the run. I had been feeling excellent all day and felt ready to run. I dialed in the pace on the 1st of 2 laps, holding down 6:00 pace. I got into 3rd place and definitely thought I could hold it with a chance at getting 2nd.
Then, the wheels came off. I suddenly had to walk the hills, feeling sleepy and wiped. I walked the aid stations, filling up my bottle and taking down as much as I could. I’d drink it down, feel slightly better for a half mile then it would hit again like clockwork. I had to endure this for 4 miles as I gave up my position. 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th. Finally after taking in a load of Gatorade, Coke, water, and a gel (tasty meal huh?) at the 11 mile aid station some life came back into me and I was able to run steady for the last 2 miles or so to the finish. Oddly, once I sat in the reservoir for a few minutes after the race and drank some fluids I felt better than I normally do after racing.

It’s a bummer to give up all the spots and finish in 7th but I think that once I dial in the nutrition better and race in cooler temps then it will be easier for me to race this distance. It was close to 100 degrees and a high temp record so tough conditions to race in. I’m aiming to race two more half’s this year at Rev3 South Carolina and 70.3 Longhorn. On the positive side, my swim-bike was strong and both have been feeling great in training. My run is coming back quicker than I expect so I’m excited for the Hy-Vee start line in 4 weeks.

Boulder Peak Sub Hour Power Data

Jordan Jones — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:54:01 +0000

Jordan Jones Boulder Peak Bike Course Data

Since I managed to break 1 hour for the Boulder Peak bike course which is a goal for others out there, I’m posting my power data from the race.
I didn’t feel too great during the race but was happy to manage to go under an hour which has been a goal of mine. I did it on my Trek Speed Concept 9.9 so I had a very aero setup going.
Interesting numbers:
Average Power: 293 watts
Peak 10 Minute Power: 345 watts
Peak 1 Minute Power: 380 watts
Max Elevation: 6394 ft
Max Speed: 48.1 MPH
Click on the image to see it in detail. For clarity, the power is not zeroed out.
This is my first year training with power. Our team had weekly CompuTrainer rides at Tri Yoga Endurance in Golden, CO over the winter. I’ve also been doing my hard workouts and races with a power meter.

Boulder Peak – Lost The Battle – Next Up The War

Jordan Jones — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:31:17 +0000

Coming off of my best racing of the season at 5150 Washington DC I was pumped up and feeling ready for Boulder Peak. I started race the Peak when I was an amateur and have raced it around 5 times now. The climb up Old Stage and the fans lining the run course always have me excited to race.

The swim felt good and I got out of the water with some solid guys like Chris Foster and Tim Reed. The first sign of trouble was when I oddly cramped a bit while getting into my shoes on the bike. Once I got riding I felt decent but every time I raised the power to where I felt I should be, I could only briefly hold it.
I did break 1:00 for the bike course (59:58 how’s that for pacing?) which has long been a goal of mine but I didn’t feel quite right doing it. The bike put me in 8th place.

Once I hit the run it was just plain ugly. I felt absolutely wretched and was quickly in survival mode. Going into the race I was ranked 20th in the 5150 Hy-Vee rankings. I needed to maintain my top 20 position to qualify for Hy-Vee but with Boulder Peak along with a European race over the weekend plenty of guys would be earning points and moving up. See here for my previous points on the Hy-Vee qualifying system. With this in mind I had to tough it out on the run and grasp for whatever points I could get. I felt dizzy and a bit out of it on the run. Finally I got to the finish in 13th place.

That left me very unhappy as I thought that I had blown my chance at Hy-Vee. I wouldn’t mind it so much if I had raced decently but I felt like I was off and sure enough I came down with a virus after the race.
Fortunately, when the rankings were updated I was ranked 19th so I’ll be racing at Hy-Vee. Perhaps the good thing about my horrific Boulder Peak run is that since I ran 6 minute pace it didn’t put a strain on my achilles and it’s FINALLY getting better. In terms of frustration, this injury is the champion. It would slowly get better then as soon as I’d run remotely fast it would blow up and I’d be back to square one. Now that it’s finally truly healing I’m excited to start running again and start improving my position off the bike.
5150 Hy-Vee is September 4th so I have plenty of time to get back into run form and possible race 70.3 Boulder along the way.

Before Boulder Peak

Jones 4th at 5150 Washington DC Triathlon

Riptide Multisports — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:37:42 +0000

5150 Washington DC Mens Podium

Jordan Jones raced to his best performance of the year over the weekend with a 4th place finish at the 5150 Washington DC triathlon. Getting out of the Potomac River in around 20th and one minute down from the main pack, Jones quickly got to work aboard his Trek Speed Concept bike.
He moved up to 11th by the end of the first of two loops that wound through downtown Washington DC. He then worked hard on the second loop to pass all but the leader, Australian Paul Matthews, to place himself in second place off of the bike.
Regaining run fitness after missing his last race due to an achilles injury, Jones ran well but couldn’t match the form of Tim Reed and David Thompson who passed him for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
After finishing in front of the White House, Jones was pleased which his finish. “I felt fantastic on the bike and really went after it, trying to catch Paul up front. That effort caught up to me on the run but I’m very happy with the finish nonetheless.”
Jones now sits in 19th position in the 5150 Pro Rankings which are used to determine who qualifies for the $1.2 million dollar purse series championship race in September.
5150 Pro Ranking
5150 Washington DC Results

5150 Washington DC Mens and Womens Podium

2011 Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship Maneuvering

Jordan Jones — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:25:44 +0000

I’m often asked what my goals are for the 2012 triathlon season. This year my goal is to qualify for the Hy-Vee 5150 Championship race which inevitably requires a long winded explanation of the qualification process. Today I’ll break it down and offer my sense of what’s actually required to get in.

My next race, on March 20th, is the Miami International Triathlon. That race kicks off a procession of 12 races that offer points towards getting into Hy-Vee. Hy-Vee is a premier race with big prize money and will likely be broadcast on NBC. Previously the race was a draft legal ITU sanctioned race and now it’s a non-drafting race. The race offers $151,500 to the winner, $3,000 to last place in 30th, and $36,050 in bonuses to someone who leads through the swim, bike, and into the 1st lap of the run.

Here’s where it gets complicated in terms of strategy. It’s not really a 12 race series. It’s more like 10 races due to 2 races (Provo and New Orleans) only offering 33%-50% of the points that the other races have. There’s three tiers of races broken down by the winner receiving 750, 500, or 250 points. An athlete’s three highest points finishes are what count towards their score. Even winning a 250-point race is only equal to 10th place at a 750-point race like St. Anthony’s. So I’ll call these 10 750-point races the “real races.”

Further complicating matters is that the series is essentially two series split over two continents. Of the real races, 4 are in Europe while the remaining 6 are in the United States. 25 men/25 women can qualify for the championship race, Hy-Vee, and a few remaining starting spots are reserved for specially invited athletes. I see it playing out so that 17 spots will go to athletes competing in the US series. 8 European athletes will qualify and want to make the trip to Des Moines, Iowa.

Further complicating matters is that the ITU World Championship in Beijing is the week after Hy-Vee. This likely means that Olympic hopefuls will shy away from the laborious 2 races in 8 days on different sides of the world. So in all likelihood, the Brownlees, Gomez, Frodeno, Whitfield, etc will not compete at Hy-Vee. Perhaps a slew of the top ITU guys will want to take on the challenge though, who knows.

I believe that in the end it will play out like this: to get into Hy-Vee I’ll have to average around 8th place at 3 of the 750-point races. Could it be averaging 10th? Yes. Could it be averaging 5th? Yes. That’ll depend on whether it’s the same guys up front at the big races or a bunch of guys in the mix. What I want to do is average a top 8 finish at Miami International Triathlon and St. Anthony’s Triathlon. Then I’ll have breathing room to do some races outside the series and leave my last points finish for Washington DC, Boulder Peak, or NYC.

I’ve been training hard and well for Miami. Two days after the race, Amy and I fly to Australia for a work-delayed two week honeymoon where I’ll rest up. Once back States-side, I’ll have a bit over three weeks to ramp it up again for St. Anthony’s.

Jordan Jones Rev3 Costa Rica Triathlon Report

Jordan Jones — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:10:15 +0000

From Jordan Jones:
With the real US triathlon season beginning in May, it’s challenging to find early season races to test triathlon fitness. That’s why I made the trip to the inaugural Rev3 Triathlon Costa Rica last week.

Rev3 Triathlon is a relatively new entrant to the race market and have been building a loyal following of racers through their US race series. After traveling to Costa Rica for the first time I can see why they decided to add a race there. It’s a fairly quick flight (5 hours of total flying time from Denver), it has good roads for biking, weather was great (hot but not humid, it felt like Denver in the summer), and it’s easy as a Central American destination in terms of safety, clean water, plenty of good food, etc. Check out the video to see a phenomenal yet simple local breakfast.

I roomed with fellow elites Andrew Starykowicz and freshman Damian Hill making for a good time. Damian is from Portland, OR via Alaska (and we’re talking hardcore Alaska with a family of fisherman near the Aleutian Islands).

Now to the race. The swim was 2 loops in a protected bay with just a little chop. I got out well and was dangling behind the pack, almost there, but the pace picked up at the first buoy 300m in and I was on my own the rest of the swim. Unfortunately the swim was a bit long and I was on my own for a LONG ways. The leaders got out in 22:XX and I was 3 minutes back in 9th place.

The bike was certainly the crown jewel of the race and a bad ace course. The first and last 2 miles were on a private road connecting the resort, where the race was staged, to the public road. And man were those some hilly miles – 3 hills, each about 1:30 of all-in biking to get up. Onto the bike, up down, up down, up down. I was in my easiest gear, averaging 425 watts up the hills, with only 50 rpm! I like it, many courses can be wimpy and it’s cool when the course itself actually presents a challenge rather than just going fast being the challenge. These weren’t insane, but enough to ruminate over the day before the race.

After passing Rom Akerson and reaching the 1st bike turnaround I saw that it was basically a group of 8 around 3 minutes up. Included in that group were Leo Chacon, Huerta, Starykowicz, Reed, Cunningham, Fleischmann and Guillaume.

Onto the run I moved up one more spot into 7th, I was trying to work up to the 5th and 6th guys, Starykowicz and Guillaume but they had too much on me at a little over a minute up.

Looking at the results, I’m happy with bike and run but I didn’t execute on the swim. I HAVE to make those packs to make real improvements over last year. It was good to at least almost be there at the 1st buoy but almost doesn’t cut it on race day, either you do it or you don’t. The consistent 30k swim weeks are paying off but I still have to game the swim on race day.

Backroads of Colorado road bike video

Riptide Multisports — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:26:06 +0000

Follow the Riptide Multisports Elite Triathlon team on this ride on some of Colorado’s finest roads. Starting in Golden, CO the team rides up Golden Gate Canyon to picturesque dirt roads near the Peak to Peak Highway. Features Matt Balzer, Tate Behning, Ryan Borger, Dan MacKenzie, Cyrus Severance, and Sean Wendt with Jordan Jones as cameraman.

Jones, Mackenzie top-20 at Coteau-du-Lac

Riptide Multisports — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:01:08 +0000

Jordan Jones and Dan Mackenzie traveled to the Coteau-du-Lac ITU Pan American Cup, just outside of Montreal, Quebec this weekend. The race took place Saturday afternoon and had a hearty men’s field of 73 professional triathletes from throughout North and South America.

Mackenzie emerged from the swim in 30th place, and safely made the chase pack on the draft-legal bike leg, just barely out of the lead pack. Jones was not as fortunate, emerging a minute later in 47th, requiring a strong surge to catch the chase pack. By the end of the first of six laps on the bike, Jones had joined Mackenzie in the chase pack of 15. The lead pack had 22 athletes, until a crash on lap 5 caused 2 riders to DNF and 2 to fall off the pack.

With a lap and a half to go on the bike Jones put in a big surge, riding off the front of the chase pack and catching and passing the athletes that had fallen off the back of the lead pack. Jones started the run about 30 seconds up on the main chase pack and spent the first 5k picking off the athletes ahead of him, while Mackenzie did the same from about 200m behind. With 5k to go, Jones was in 15th position and Mackenzie was around 24th. Jones’ achilles tendon, which has been giving him trouble since a run workout in mid-June began tightening up, forcing him to slow the pace for the last half of the run and lose a few places. With a couple hundred meters to go Jones found himself looking over his shoulder, knowing that Mackenzie was fast approaching. The two athletes crossed the line 7 seconds apart in 19th and 20th, both earning coveted ITU points.

Jones will now give his aching achilles tendon some much needed rest before he takes the line at Boulder Peak on July 11th. Mackenzie will be in action July 10th, at the San Francisco Treasure Island ITU Pan American Cup.

Full results here.

Jordan Jones Wins Boulder 5430 Sprint Triathlon

Riptide Multisports — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:39:08 +0000

Jordan Jones raced in Colorado’s largest sprint triathlon Sunday morning, finishing 1st overall among 1300 athletes. Jones finished one minute and forty seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. He had the fastest run of the day, clocking 16:52 on the 5k course, which allowed him to expand the lead he had carved out with his swift swim and bike splits.

The sprint race served as a tune-up for Jones who will travel to Montreal, Quebec, Canada for the ITU Coteau-du-Lac Pan American Cup this Saturday. He’ll race with teammate Dan Mackenzie as the duo fight off stiff competition from around the world in their quest for coveted ITU points.

Additional media covering Jones’ win:

Daily Camera photo gallery

Daily Camera news article

Colorado Triathlete article

Full results available here.

Saturday’s ITU Coteau-du-Lac Pan American Cup will be covered live via Twitter. Check out twitter.com/teamRiptide.