Dan Oryall: USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals #1

Edgewood College senior Dan Oryall (Madison, Wis./Verona Area HS) has dedicated much of his senior year to training for the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals to be held on Saturday, April 17 in Lubbock, Texas. The race consists of a 1,500 meter swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run. Dan has been instrumental in establishing the Edgewood College Triathlon Club and gaining membership in the Midwest Collegiate Triathlon Conference, so that Edgewood College could be represented at this event.

Dan will be submitting journal entries to the Eagle Blog, so we can all follow his progress at Nationals. His first entry is below...

As I sit here with my car packed up I am filled with mixed emotions. Just 18 hours down the road awaits Lubbock, Texas where I will soon be competing with the top 1,200 Collegiate triathletes in the USA. My head tells my body that I have worked hard enough and my stomach is filled with anxiety and anticipation. This whole process has been a big waiting game. It's funny to say, but it's almost movie worthy. It always seems cliche and cooler when it happens to someone else, but it is downplayed in your own life. I was able to gain a spot over the summer for this elite triathlon, but while out on a victory shake out run the next day I tripped in a pothole while it was raining. With a small tear in my meniscus I wasn't able to recover quickly enough and join my teammates on the cross country team. I regret not being able to help them out all season, but it appears that they didn't need it, and I was a spectator to the first men's cross country conference championship in school history. Next I decided I would forgo my track season to train completely for this triathlon. The months dragged by as I swam, biked and ran. Now that the race is less than a week away, I am finally ready. Ready to show my teammates what made me absent, ready to prove to myself I trained hard enough and ready to show the rest of the triathlon world what an Edgewood College athlete can do.

Now all that awaits me is the starting gun...

Thanks,

Dan

Wish Dan luck on his Facebook page

USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals promotional video

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