Jordanelle Race Report

The Jordanelle Triathlon - August 22nd - turned out to be great race, and absolutely loved the course (sans the first mile of the run, more on that later); it was pretty well organized (sans some pain points - more on those later).

I camped out at the Hailstone site on the opposite side of the lake the previous night - this was a little frustrating to have to shack up so far away from the venue, but apparently the Rock Cliff sites were washed out and there was some confusion - more like complete and total lack of communication from the race director until the week of the race, at which point we were told via email that there was no camping reserved whatsoever. Lucky for me I booked the Hailstone site 2 weeks in advance. $25 for the reservation sucks, but it beats getting up at 5 AM to drive, and I absolutely hate being rushed on race mornings. I was camped close enough to the lake that I snuck over and got a few hundred meters of swimming early in the evening to keep things loose. Slept good minus the air matress going completely flat again, but it was nice to have a hot shower and facilities close by.

Nutrition / Setup: Morning of I had half a bagel, a breakfast bar, and a bannanna. Took in 2 Propel for liquid prior to the race. No nutrition problems during the race or hunger whatsoever. Arrived at the parking in Francis (4 miles East of transition), found a spot, threw my gear back on my back and biked down to transition. I had plenty of time to setup early, and chat with a few friends doing the race. Like I said, I hate being rushed. Always feel like I'm forgetting something.

Swim: Hopped in the water about 15 minutes early and warmed up. Race started on time - Olympic wave left at 9:00 and Sprint 9:30. Chatted with a few of the other athletes, found my position near the front and left, by the buoy. My open-water swimming strength and confidence have increased greatly over the summer. Horn sounded - we were off. The pace was pretty furious at first - LOTS of chop and thrashing. I wonder if this had more to do with where I positioned myself, but it didn't bother me - I was probably dishing out my fair share of chop and kicking. I settled in to my own lane and cruised to the first buoy. Tempted to take a peek at my watch but I knew it wouldn't benefit me any, so I didn't. The first leg was longer than the 2nd and 3rd, and there was some hesitation by the pack going around the first buoy, but the pace picked back up. I was still in the first half a dozen swimmers in my wave in the lead, but we were now overtaking the Oly racers on their 2nd lap one by one. I had a very strong swim - very controlled and great tempo. If there was any negatives to point out, it would be that I could've pushed a little harder and possibly sighted better - I veered off twice but it didn't cost me much time. Swim time was 13:55 for a 1:51 100/M pace. By comparison - Echo was 14:19 for a 1:54 100/M pace.

T1: Was worried wearing my new Look shoes and pedals would cost me time, but it was smooth sailing. I did slip a tad coming out of transition trying to do the running style mount on my bike, but I gathered myself and took off. Next race I'm going sockless to shave some time. 2:00 even.

Bike: I told myself before the race I was gonna slaughter the bike course. I wouldn't say I did that, but I did pick up the pace. The interval training has been paying off - I was 8 tenths faster than Echo (19.1 MPH -vs- 19.9 MPH), but I wonder if Jordanelle wasn't a faster course with less hills. It was mostly false flat heading out toward Francis, and as it has been with all races, I seem to get passed and dropped by my AG'ers. Total bike time was 43:20 @ 19.9 MPH.

T2: Pretty uneventful. Shoes came off quick, run shoes went on quick, and after a major swig of some H20, I was out. 1:23. Could've been faster but meh.

Run: Talk about annhialating your legs. I came out wanting to push, but after hammering on the bike for 14 miles, I was spent. My hammies were on fire, and my calves didn't wanna toe off a single bit. I'm incredibly surprised that I didn't spend any time walking, because the first mile and a quarter were probably akin to that power-walk shuffle you see people do. After turning back up on HWY 32 and down into the nature reserve, things finally started to loosen up and I pounded the last 2 miles to the finish. I took in a cup of HEED at mile 2 and more of it ended up on my shirt than in my belly. So much for drinking and running. ;) Run time was 24:17 @ 7:50 Min/Mi pace - surprising considering the amount of pain I fought through for that first mile of the run.

Overall: I feel great about this race! My total time 1:24:58 was good enough for 5th of 30 AG, 2 minutes back of podium. Race day also happened to be the same day as Melinda's birthday and her 5k run at Sugarhouse, so we were both out doing things we enjoy. We celebrated with a nice dinner and a movie later that night. :)

Millcreek - Conquered!

This summer I set a goal to climb all the canyons adjacent to Salt Lake City - City Creek, Emigration, Milcreek, Big and Little Cottonwood, Corner Canyon, and Butterfield. I've tackled the first two on several occasions, and Milcreek was the beast that tempted me on.

From the base of the canyon to the top took 1:05 - 3000 feet of climbing in roughly 9 miles.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10308602

VERY tough climb - fairly relentless during certain sections. The first half of the climb is manageable and moderate, but once you pass the White Creek bridge (I think that's what it was), the hills really pour on one after another. I distinctly remember 4 sections that had me in granny numero-uno (lowest gear on both rings), pounding away trying not to stop. There were also a few "flat" sections where you can recover slightly. I hit the top of the climb with a great adrenaline rush and chatted with the other cyclist who was just slightly behind me for most of the climb.

Now that Milcreek is out of the way, the rest should be easy, yea? ;)

Echo Race Report

My Echo race report comes 3 weeks late - better than never, yea?

July 11th was the Echo Reservoir Tri in Coalville - a race I was really looking forward to after my floppingly-bad swim a month earlier at the BAM race and the cold waters of Deer Creek. Echo reservoir was running in the high-60's water temps and the bike course (previewed the week prior) was nice and fast. I stayed in my tidy new tent a few miles south of the lake and rode up early morning of race to prep transition. The Sprint wave fired off at 7:30, and I wanted to be in the water by 7 to give me time to warm up, etc.

Pre-race nutrition: 1 banana, 1 cereal bar, 2 advil, and 22oz of water.

Swim: With the warm inviting water, I knew this would be a strong swim for me. I had a great pre-race swim of maybe 100 meters - enough to get the blood flowing and the muscles loose. We were stuck between two yellow buoys for the start wave, and I lined up on the far left so I could dart to the inside track toward the first race buoy. Gun fired - and I made a hard fast push to get ahead of the main pack and veered left slightly to avoid the washing machine. For a guy who can't swim a straight line to save his life, I did fantastic - my sighting was frequent and I wasn't doing much zig-zag. Start to first buoy felt great, second buoy slowing a little, finding my tempo, less and less bi-lateral but I was keeping a great pace and breathing 2 on each side before switching, then sighting. Rounded the third buoy and I realized there were only 2 or 3 people ahead of me in my wave - this energized me and I made a hard push the last 200 meters to shore. Time to T1: 14:19. This definitely felt like more than 750 - but the run up the carpet and into T1 probably took over a minute.

T1: 2:39 - Not bad considering that awful run from the shore. My rack was located on the far end of transition so I should make up time at the run exit. In retrospect, having to fight with sandles is a bad idea!

Bike: I've always considered myself a strong biker. Maybe not fast, but consistent and moderately good at climbing hills. The Echo course spits you out onto a hill the first quarter-mile, and it rolls along-side the reservoir until the East turn up the canyon. I was off to a strong start, but just like BAM I was passed by AG riders (not too many). This was my first race with my aero bars, and they made a difference but more on downhills and extended flats. Getting in aero is slightly uncomfortable with my road geometry, so it's not an ideal position. I climbed strong up the 4-mile false flat up the canyon, and hit the turnaround point feeling good. Tried to swig down as much propel + water as I could reasonably take after turnaround, maybe 12oz. Jammed half a raspberry hammer gel in before coming in on the bike finish. Total bike time was 38:59 (19.1 MPH), but after looking at my AG leaders, a 34-35 minute time would've probably kept me on the podium.

T2: I lost time here. The RD's ran the transition point to the same entrance as the swim-in, which means I had to run ALL the way around again (everyone else had to, so I digress). 1:37 and I'll call it slightly above average - the AG leaders were around 1:20-ish.

Run: Started off about how I figured - legs slightly tight and sluggish that first half a mile. The run course felt slightly downhill - which wasn't true - but it helped me get over the mental block that seems to hit you as you take off. That's why they call em "bricks". I wasn't exactly blazing a trail, but I felt strong and pushed a little on the second half of the run. Run time was 24:28 - not bad, but again just slightly above average. AG leaders were around 22:00.

Total time was 1:22:04 - good enough for 7th of 39 AG - 9 minutes of the AG winner Eric May and 7 minutes out of podium. I was ecstatic about how I felt - I know there were moments when I could've cranked up just a little more, but if I do that I run the risk of exploding on the course later. In retrospect, my swim is definitely my strength in these events - not my biking (which I always assumed). My bike time was only good enough for 15th AG and nearly a full MPH slower than the leaders. Gotta find a way to make up that gap!

Next race up is Jordanelle on August 22nd!