Lake Stevens 70.3

All recovered from the Boulder 70.3 I hopped on a plane for the quick trip over to Seattle then on to Bellingham WA for my first back to back 70.3 races.  I have had this Lake Stevens race planned since the beginning of the spring, the cool weather in August and beautiful location I could not miss.  Plus my main sponsor for the last three years Erin Bakers was located here.  I arranged to stay with Bryan and Erin in Bellingham who opened up their home to Kevin Sullivan and myself the entire weekend.  Their hospitality was unprecedented and Bryan was racing his local 70.3 as well.  I got a tour of the bakery which I learned a lot, took in some sights of Bellingham, and relaxed Friday.  Saturday I had a great run around a beautiful lake in town called Padden, just wow.

A little ride, check in our bikes at the race site and some more relaxing while Erin prepared the most wonderful pre-rece meal for all of us.  We woke early Sunday and headed to the race site, arrived early and got set.  Air was about 55 and water 69, a far cry from the weekend before with hot water and hot temps all day.  It was going to be a nice day for a race, cool even.
The first wave headed off at 6:30 into clear cool Lake Stevens, as the gun went off I found my way to the front of the pack.  One guy was pulling in front of me so I gladly let him lead the entire swim, later to find out it was Graham O'Grady.  The swim was great mainly because this was the first cool water swim all season, there was also a rope about 4' below the water line that the buoys were attached to that you could follow the entire course.  I think this was for crew or slalom skiing, anyway it made for a great guide.  I touched Graham's toes every once in a while to let him know I was still there, before the exit I tried to pass, but he was not having any of that after leading the whole swim.  I was only one second behind him on the swim.  I got through T1 and hit the bike in first though.  But a few more guys were right on my tail and soon I was caught not too far from T1.  The bike was a two loop course with lots of small rolling hills, and the second lap was with the age groupers which made it a little crowded.  Very similar to the Boulder course the week before.  My bike felt good and I rode at around 300 watts the first lap, and then settled in behind two guys for about 10 miles on the 2nd, catching a legal draft.  After that I passed them as I felt their pace was a little too slow.  I did take the slower time to get in some calories fig newtons and hydration Nuun Strawberry lemonade.  I never did drop them even though I pushed the pace the rest of the bike.  Again a beautiful ride, cool, rollers, and smooth great course.  I managed to hold 316 watts average on this course at 24 mph which was exactly where I wanted to be.
Into T2 I counted bikes on the rack and there were 4 so I was in 5th, I made it quick and headed out for the run which is also two loops.  I love racing in my new Zoot Ultra Race 3.0, no socks, feet never too wet, and feel comfortable the entire run.  I had one guy pass me Stephen Kilshaw, I tried to stay with him but quickly realized he was running at a pace I could not hold.  So I ran my own pace for the rest of the race.  I could tell I was not fully recovered at about mile 8 or 9 as I started to slow, but I knew James Duff was right behind me even after serving his drafting penalty at the end of the bike.  I just kept counting down the miles, but James caught me with a mile to go.  I tried to not let him pass, but it happened, then I stuck with him and ended up only 6 sec behind at the finish.  Not my greatest run, but to be expected after back to back 70.3 races.  My swim and bike were both good so I was very happy with this race.  The main reason was the location though, and getting to race with 5 other of my teammates at one race Elizabeth Thiel, Geoff L'Heureux, Bryan Geschwill, Landon Opunui, and Kevin Sullivan...what a great race guys and way to represent the team.  Of course great weather and beautiful location don't hurt either...

This was my 6th half this season and the 5th WTC sanctioned one, the plan this season was to try and make it to Las Vegas for the world championship Sept. 11th as a first year pro.  Pro's this year race for points divided up at each race determined by placement, your top 5 points are added up and the top 50 go to worlds.  I received an email Monday morning from WTC that I made the cut, so I have excepted and now I actually have an A race this season to taper for. I can't wait to race the big boys in a few weeks.

Thanks again to Bryan and Erin for their wonderful hospitallity and enabling me to participate at the level that I do, I can not thank you guys enough.

Swim - 23:38
T1 - 1:09
Bike - 2:20:08 @ 24mph
T2 - 0:58
Run - 1:24:27 @    6:26/mi
Total - 4:10:20

Boulder 70.3

Racing the Boulder Peak and Boulder 70.3 I have come to expect tough competition, the Boulder 70.3 last weekend did not disappoint.  My last two triathlons have been right in my back yard which is so nice to be able to sleep in your own bed and not have the travel associated with all of my other races this season.  The day before the race I was up early getting my daughter's bike ready for her Ironkids race.  We hit the Ironkids race which she did very well at and enjoyed it so much.  It was almost more fun watching her race then doing my own the next day.  Great job Riley! 

We got to hang out at the beach swim with the kiddos and attend the pro meeting, so I was all set. 
Race day I arrived early as is my norm now after a few rushed races in the past, I had plenty of time to get everything set, chat, and walk around the transition area.  My strategy for this race was to take the swim easy, nail the bike, and see what happens on the run.  The swim was wetsuit legal though most felt the water was way too warm, no worries not much you can do about it.  I like my Blue Seventy full wetsuit anyway even if it was going to be a little hot.  Our start was 6:30 am nice and early to keep out of the heat in the afternoon.  I started the swim right behind Andy Potts and after the gun went off I found that many of the guys were jockeying for his feet.  The group swam out in the beginning what I felt to be a little to the left of the course, so I stayed right and followed the buoys.  I reminded myself that I was going to take the swim easy, which is exactly what I did the rest of the swim.  I was 25 meters or so behind the lead group and before the 2nd group.  I think this strategy is a good one especially at altitude, where fighting for position the whole swim really takes it out of you.  I came out of the water 8th in 24:28 and hardly out of breath, I may need to go a little harder than that next time, but hey I am ready for a great bike now. 
T1 went well and I was off on the two loop bike course.  I saw my coach Eric Kenny as I exited the res giving me pointers and letting me know exactly where I was in the race, thanks Eric for the amazing support!  The lead group was only 30 seconds or so ahead of me, I knew I could catch them but at what cost?  I decided to race my own race and see what happened.  I did gain on the group at the beginning, then they gapped me again, then it held steady at about 1 minute or so the rest of the bike.  Two guys passed me at the beginning of the bike, but they were holding a pace that was a little out of my league so I had to let them go.  I tried to hold 300 watts the entire bike and I managed to feel pretty good throughout the fast flat course.  I had my hydration in the form of Nuun strawberry lemonade which was great, grabbed three waters on course, a few fig newtons, two gels, and a few salt tabs.  I felt quite dialed in on the bike, at mile 45 a little fatigue set in but nothing drastic.  The course is fast, I held 292 watts average and finished the bike in 2:09.48 at just under 26 mph, my best bike ever I think.
I was a little worried beginning the run as I put out a lot on the bike, but after the first 3 miles or so into the run I was feeling pretty good, not fast but good.  The run was a not even that hot this early in the day and the first loop was all to myself, I was passed by 2 guys at mile 4 or so one which I kept in sight the rest of the race.  Lap two I was surprised as rounding a turn I just missed stepping on a 3 foot rattle snake, he was rattling and did not look too happy.  I warned the guy behind me and continued on.  The run actually went by fairly quick, with aid stations each having their own theme was pretty fun.  Thanks BTC you guys were a great help.  Mile 11 into the run I rounded the north east side of the res and just thought how lucky I am to be racing and living here the beautiful mountains in the back ground and the lake.  Oh yea and hat guy is only 100 meters in front of you go catch him.  I think he put on a little at the end because I tried to catch him for what I thought was 8th place at the time, I pulled the gap to around 50 meters but that was about all I could muster at this point in the race.  There was a great crowd at the finish, I crossed the line at 4:01.27 in 11th place.  My run was 1:25.02, not my best, but I am very happy with this race as I feel my bike is finally coming along. 

Now to recover this week and head to Washington state for another beautiful race at Lake Stevens.


Swim - 24:28
T1 - 1:24
Bike - 2:09:48 avg 25.9 mph
T2 - 0:45
Run - 1:25:02
Total - 4:01:27

Mt Evans Hill Climb

A bike race from 7,000' to 14,130' in 28 miles up the highest paved road in north America?  Searching for a bike race in my short triathlon break I was in for this one for sure.  The Mt Evans hill climb has been an annual race for the last 46 years making it one of the oldest and highest in North America.  I had been looking forward to this race for quite a while, also trying to get others in the area to do it with me, but on race day I found myself alone.  No worries there were 150 others in my Men's CAT 4 division.  I arrived at Idaho Springs early 7/23, got my bike and gear setup and rode around the small historic mining town at about 7k'.  I was early so I watched a few of the other divisions start and got ready for the CAT 4 men's start.
It was a slow roll out of town and then the group held steady as the climb was mild towards the start for a few miles.  The entire profile of the race is all climbing ending at the top of Mt Evans, hence the Mt Evans Hill climb.  The first 10 miles or so I stayed with the group as did about 40 riders, but once the climb really started I found it more and more difficult to stay with the group and the group quickly splintered into single riders the rest of the way up.  I thought I was out in front of many riders in the initial pack, but found many lighter riders passing me on the way up.  The route is absolutely beautiful all the way up and was quite enjoyable till about Echo lake at mile 13, my Kestrel RT 800 climbed great and was comfortable all the way up.  I have been doing some good climbs on the road bike prior to this race in preparation, but I think I should have at least rode the course here at least once.  Because I had no idea what I was really in for here, it was getting tough.  My legs were burning already as the course leveled out around summit lake at mile 22, by leveling out I mean it dropped to a 4-5% grade.  I was riding with a few guys from my group here and passing riders from the previous group starts.  After summit lake as I looked up the course on this perfect weather day all I could see was switch back after switch back the rest of the way straight up.  This is where the race really took a turn for the worst, I was having trouble holding my power at even 250.  I think I need much more climbing work to be good at these hill climbs longer than a few miles, but I did notice that most of the guys that had passed me were a lot smaller and lighter which sure helps climbing.  I did see a huge marmot sitting on a rock right next to the road I said what up and continued on my way.  The race continued up the switch backs as the air got cooler and thinner towards the top.  I was pretty much out of steam by the end and managed one last push to the finish line.  The top was cool and the view spectacular above all of the surrounding mountains.  I found my gear bag with food and warm clothes, this was brought to the top by the race crew for the decent back down.  It was in the high 80s at the start and 50s at the top, pretty much perfect weather.  I stayed up top and spoke to a few of the guys I had been riding up with, took in the sights and then headed back down the 28 mile decent.  It took me 2:24.48 to climb up and about exactly 1 hour to get back down, the decent was pretty fun too.  I ended up taking 20th place in CAT4, of course the race paid through 10th, not too bad but I expected better.  I enjoy the road races so I know this will not be my last, and as much as this race was painful, I am sure I will be back again next year.

 

Boulder Peak

I have been a little behind writing my blogs trying to fit in family, training, and work in the past few weeks. We did get in a great trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton right after the Boulder Peak race. So moving to Boulder last October I knew I had to race both the Olympic and 70.3 races that were right in our backyard, problem is they are right in the backyard of many of the top professionals in the sport and at over 5k feet to boot. Regardless I was in for both, the Boulder Peak was 7/10 and I expected to do well even though the completion would be tough. The 5150 series has been really tough with all the top Olympic guys vying for spots at Hy-Vee. Hy-Vee was in my plan until they decided to cancel the Provo UT race, after that I did not have 3 races in which to score points in any longer. The Boulder peak was nice because the pros did not start until after all the armatures were done and mostly off the course, luckly it was an overcast day and teh heat was not an issue.
The swim was non-wetsuit and quite nice, I had a little trouble staying with the lead pack and did loose them towards the middle but not by that much. I was out of the water 8th I think in 19:29, the res is so nice to swim in. On the way out of transition right after mounting the bike I heard someone fall right behind me, it was Brooks Cowan who I train with. Only later did I find out he crashed right out of T1 and had to stop for a few minutes to get his bike back in riding condition. The bike has the one huge hill up Old Stage, my plan was to try and keep it under 400 watts or so on the hill and steady the bike at just over 300 watts for the remainder. I followed this pretty much, but could not quite get myself to hold the 300 average I was looking for, ending the bike in 1:03.29. I did ride side by side one other male pro who I can not remember his name for the last ½ of the bike, but the stagger rule allows for this and we were watched very closely by multiple officials on the motorcycles. T2 went really well and quick, since most armatures had just finished they were all for the most part sticking around to watch. The pro run course was three loops back to the finish line area each time, while I do not like all the loops it is nice to have people all over cheering lining the course, including my family, coach, and various friends. I think this was the first race this season that my family has been to due to traveling to so many races. My run actually felt the best in this race all season, I think the long runs and speed work with my coach Eric Kenny is starting to pay off. Also to my surprise my feet were the most comfy they had been in a long while, Zoot just sent me the new Ultra Race 3.0. I had only done a warm up run in them, but man they were nice, fast to get on, light, and very supportive. I had my best run time in a few races at 36:36. Overall I was passed by a few guys on the bike, passed a few on the run, and ended up 14th overall in the pro division. I would of liked to placed a little higher, but am still very pleased considering almost all 13 guys in front of me were big name triathletes and this is my first year racing pro. I am getting there it is just going to take some time and some more dedication / power on the bike.

Swim - 19:29
T1 - 1:23
Bike - 1:03:29
T2 - 0:37
Run - 36:36 27 pace 5:54
Total 2:01:34