Coming off a disappointing finish at IRONMAN Wisconsin in 2013, I was determined to make 2014 my best year of racing yet! After missing Kona qualification by 7 minutes, I used that 7 minutes as motivation during my training. During all the my hard sets and intervals, I thought about that 7 minutes and pushed myself over and over. I signed up for IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene and was fortunate enough to have a great race and qualify for Kona, a dream come true! I raced a few other 70.3’s leading up to IRONMAN, finishing 2nd and 5th overall.

The weeks coming in to Kona, I was burnt out. Between moving and starting a new job, being on my bike was the last thing I wanted to do.  Kona was a stressful, yet humbling learning experience. I always want to do better, but looking back at it, 18th in World in the Men’s 25-29 age group isn’t too shabby. I took a lot away from the race that I will use in my racing this year.

Rankings and points systems can be very flawed, but it does still feel nice to be recognized once in awhile. According to IRONMAN, I was  a Gold All-World-Athlete, which means I was ranked in the top 1% of my AG, and the 30th overall Men’s 25-29 age group athlete in the IRONMAN only category.  Again, this system is a bit skewed based on how many races you do, but I’ll take it!

I was also recognized as an All-American by USA Triathlon (USAT). According to their rankings, which only account for USAT sanctioned races, I was ranked 13th overall in the Men’s 25-29 division in the US.

2014 was my most successful, challenging, stressful and motivating years of my athletic life. But in the end none of that matters unless there’s someone waiting for you at the finish line….

2015 Outlook

It took awhile to recover (mentally) from Kona and the long 2014 season, but eventually I got back in the swing of things and re-motivated myself. Working for a great company like Endurance House has given me the opportunity to live triathlon everyday of my life. Interacting with newbies and multiple IRONMAN finishers alike.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am now working with a new coach, Blake Becker. He is a local pro from Madison, who has been racing for over 15 years now. Blake and I have some big goals for the 2015 season and I’ve already been super impressed with my other teammates as part of BBMC. I am also doing a bit of coaching myself, leading the Endurance House Redefine Your Possible Team. This is a group of triathletes ranging from Sprint to IRONMAN athletes, looking to take their fitness to the next level.

I’m also excited to announce I’ve got some sponsors on board for the 2015 season! I’ve decided withdraw from the Wattie Ink Elite Team. Best of luck to everyone on the team, hope to see you out racing this year!

More details to come once everything is finalized. Still looking for some additional sponsors! Email me at eric.r.engel@gmail.com

2015 Tentative Race Schedule

When I began the year, I originally planned on only doing IRONMAN Wisconsin, but things have changed. I’ve caught the KONA bug and want to make another run at it this year. I’ve signed up for IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene this June 28th. I loved IMCDA last year and I’m hoping with some experience under my belt this year I can make it even better. If I qualify at IMCDA, I will be heading back to the big island on October 10th, 2015.

• February 22nd – WINTER WONDERLAND INDOOR TRI
• May 2nd – IRONMAN ST. GEORGE 70.3*
• June 7th – LAKE MILLS SPRINT
• June 28th – IRONMAN COEUR D’ALENE
• July 12th – PEWAUKEE SPRINT
• July 26th – TOUGMAN MINNESOTA 70.3
• Aug 8th – USAT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (Oly/Sprint)
• Aug 16th – PIGMAN 70.3
• Sept 13th – IRONMAN WISCONSIN
• Oct 10th – IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 2015 Totals

January was off to a good start. Totals are below. Looking forward to cranking things up in February and March. The goal is to stay healthy and consistent.

Swim Totals: 43,700 yds
Bike Totals: 18.25 hoursRun Totals: 75.4 miles
Strength/Core Totals: 5.25 hours

Swim T-Pace: 1:14 min/100 yd
Bike FTP: 300 watts

Thanks for reading!

P.S If this is Austin…