24 July 2016 - TriBoulder Olympic distance Triathlon

TriBoulder was a race of many different emotions for me. I was nervous because I had only done this distance (swim 1500 meters, bike 27 miles, run 6.2 miles) once before. I was excited because I had high expectations after winning at Boulder Sunrise.  I was anxious about the swim especially after I saw how poorly the course was marked. I was excited about the bike ride, especially the back part starting on Nelson Rd since it included some nice downhill stretches. I was nervous about running 6 miles after the bike ride. The distance on the run was not a concern, it was the fact I had never run the back part of the reservoir and it looked hilly.  

My goals for this race were to swim in about 34 minutes, transition under 2 minutes, average 20 mph on the bike, and complete the run in 54-56 minutes.  Overall I wanted to finish in under 3 hours. My only previous Olympic distance triathlon was TriRock Aurora in 2014 where my time was 3:16:55. 

Hanging out with my sweetie before the swim start!

My pre-race meal on Saturday was Olive Garden chicken, pasta, breadsticks, and salad.  I took Hammer Endurolytes (3 capsules) about 30 minutes before the race and ate a cliff gel about 5 minutes before. Julie came out with me before the race and to see me start the swim. She had to work so couldn't stay any longer. It was fun to have her there to support me and to take some pictures for my blog.  We arrived at the res a little before 6am. This gave me plenty of time to setup transition and get the lay of the land. One of the things I've learned is to walk into transition from both the swim and bike entrances to make sure I can find my spot. Luckily my transition spot was on the end of a row which made it easy to find!  

Getting body marked in transition before the start of the race.

I lucked out with a transition spot on the end of a row!

About 7am, I put the wetsuit on and headed to the water. I had considered not wearing the wetsuit but decided there is no sense in giving away 5 minutes. I didn't expect to be on the podium but you never know. It's hard to believe but it really makes that much difference!  I warmed up in the water, got my heart rate up, and all seemed well.  Next I headed to the beach where we were getting ready for the signal to start. Once they give the signal, everyone runs into the water and starts swimming. It can be a bit chaotic with lots of kicking and bumping into each other. I typically let all the madmen go first and stay back long enough to avoid the contact. It doesn't always work out especially when others employ my same strategy!  

My swim wave running into the water for the swim start.

Second from the left, with the orange goggles, that's me running into the water and acting way too intense!

At 720am, my swim wave took off. I don't know how many 40+ dudes there were but it seemed like a bunch. There was contact pretty much continually for about the first half of the race. Without the wetsuit, this probably would have made me nervous. The wetsuit gives me a bit more confidence. The worst part of the swim was the first half was straight into the sun. Combine that with the buoys sitting really low in the water and I had no idea if I was headed towards the correct buoy. I basically followed folks faster than me hoping they didn't lead me astray. Unfortunately they went off track which meant I did as well.  The course was laid out with 8 buoys. The first 3 were to guide us to the slightly larger green right turn 4th buoy, the 5th slightly larger red buoy was also a right turn and the rest of the buoys guided us back to shore.  Somewhere between buoy 3 and buoy 4 a bunch of us swam towards buoy 5. With the sun in our eyes and the buoys sitting low in the water, it was like the blind leading the blind. It became evident something was wrong when I collided with a swimmer going the opposite direction as me.  Frustratingly I adjusted course and swam the extra distance back to buoy 4 and took the right turn towards buoy 5 and home towards the goal posts. I have no idea how much time the extra swimming cost me but probably at least a couple minutes. My swim time was a disappointing 36 minutes. 

I was very pleased with my first transition as I was able to get outta the wetsuit, get the bike gear on, grab the bike and back outta transition in 1:54.  Once on the bike I took 3 more Endurolyte capsules. I probably should have done this in transition as it was a challenge to take them out of the plastic bag while riding the bike.  This probably cost me 30-60 seconds at the start of the ride.  The bike ride was fun!  There were some hills in the first part and at the end but there was also lots of flat and downhill. After we turned at Nelson road, I moved my Redshift dual position seat post forward and leaned forward onto the aero bars and away I went.  For about 5 miles my pace stayed around 30 miles per hour. I really enoyed that part of the ride!  My bike time was 1 hour 19 minutes and I averaged right around 20mph. I was thrilled with this and with my T2 transition. I was able to get outta the bike gear and into the run gear and back out of transition in 1:44. 

Sure looks like I'm having fun on the bike!

The run was kinda challenging. I carried a water bottle outta transition and took 3 more Endurolyte capsules at the start of the run. Next I poured the rest of the water over my head. This felt great and added a kick to my step!  I tossed the plastic bottle towards a trash can and missed. Luckily some nice lady yelled "I'll get that for you".  My legs were a little tired so I didn't want to push too much in the beginning of the run. As mentioned previously I was slightly nervous about the hills between miles 2-4. 

This picture was taken in the first part of the run.

 I was pleased with my 8:55 pace the first 2 miles.  Each mile there was a water stop and I took the opportunity to drink a little and to pour some water on my head. Mile 3 was a little tougher due to hills and my pace slowed to 9:20.  Mile 4 went great but I slowed considerably on mile 5 and 6.  I was just tired. At the finish I spotted a 50 something year old dude and ran my butt off the last 2/10 mile to finish ahead of him. Unfortunately as I got closer it became evident he was a youngster (53) and not in my age group. My run time was 57:39. A little slower than I wanted but not horrible. My total time was 2:56. I was thrilled with this time and it is now my PR for Olympic distance triathlon. 

Another finisher medal for my collection.

Overall I added another finishers medal to my collection and had a good day. I finished in the middle of my age group 5th out of 9. The top 3 finishers all had fancy triathlon bikes with fancy wheels. They say it's all in the engine but I question if a couple minutes is in fancier equipment. I'm gonna keep trying to improve with my current equipment and am "really really" excited about my next race at USAT Age group Nationals. 

The numbers:
Total time:  2:56:42.4  
Swim time:  36:00.3
T1 time:  1:54
Bike time:  1:19:25.9
T2 time:  1:44
Run time:  57:36.9

Age group (Men 55-59):  5th out of 9 finishers
Men:  90th out of 161 finishers
Overall:  129th out of 288 finishers 

What's next for me? 
8/4/16 -  Boulder Stroke and Stride (Long course - no wetsuit)
8/13/16 - USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals (Olympic Distance) Omaha NE
9/24/16 - Tour De Cure (Diabetes) Metric Century Ride