5430 Long Course Race Report

5430 Long Course Triathlon 2007

The Swim
As is tradition the start of the swim, there are several of us cupping our hands around our eyes, trying to block the glare of the sun off the water, trying to see the last buoy on the first leg of the swim. "There it is," someone points, "Just right of the sun." ‘One, two, three... ahh there is the 4th buoy’. We line up and the horn goes off. I think I swam a little too hard at Boulder Peak a couple weeks ago, trying to catch the wave ahead and getting out of the water with some of those people. So this swim was just my pace, smooth and strong. I get a little off course and the kayak comes and gets me going the right way. After a bit I start catching the wave ahead of me and make it to the first turn. Get around that and then site the furthest buoy I can see and make for it. The back side of the swim is uneventful and I just cruise into the finish. My hand hits some sand so I pop up and start running up the hill. I see a flat spot so I stop and take off the wetsuit, then run with it to the transition area. Beep.

T1
My bike is in the opposite corner of the transition area from where I run in from the swim, and out for the bike. I knew T1 would be slow but I know I will be in the lead here and my spot will allow for a quick T2 should I need to get out with someone. Little did I know how accurate this would be. I get to my bike and throw my wetsuit, goggles and cap to the ground. Put the sunglasses on, then the helmet, grab the bike and go. Run out of T1, Beep… and hop on the bike.

The Bike
Riding out of the reservoir is a little hill, ‘just try and stay smart, start watching your watts and ride you race’. That was the goal ride strong, CTS and Nick have really been working on my biking and it’s time to test it. I settle into my rhythm and ride, out onto Jay road, then the highway. The ride is going very smooth, about 12 miles into the ride. WHACK! Something big hit’s my helmet. Riding you are use to bigger bugs smacking into you every once in awhile. I wasn’t expecting the dying yellow jacket to land on my arm and sting me in its death throes. Ouch! I brush it off and squeeze where it stung me seeing if the stinger is still in there. Luckily I am not allergic to it and don’t have any reactions to bee stings. Turn onto St. Vrain and it’s time to fly. Down hill section and just turn it over. This is the furthest I have lead this race but I wasn’t looking back like I did in Lubbock (o.k. I looked back once). We turn off of St. Vrain and head up to the diagonal highway. Once on the diagonal I look back and see someone gaining. We turn back onto Jay Rd. just as Mr. Yellow catches me. He gets a head of me as we are riding back to the reservoir to start lap 2. Around the turn around and I get all the encouragement I need from Nick, the CTS and all my friends. I head back out keeping Mr. Yellow in sight and see others riding in. We get out of the park and turn onto Jay Rd. Mr. Yellow decides he doesn’t want me around and starts pushing it. I look at my SRM and say bye, as I wasn’t going to push that hard. All along the highway out of Boulder Mr. Yellow is pulling away but I am feeling strong and controlled. A few miles before the turn onto St. Vrain, the race really started. Mr. Orange… wait that’s Dennis Meeker rolls by (See it’s not as much fun once I know names to it). Then Mr. White… err Craig goes by… dang it! Finally Andy Biglow (he would have been Mr. Grey) goes by. They didn’t pass hard and I went from 2nd to 5th with at least 2 good runners in that group. I knew I couldn’t let them get out of sight. We upped the watts just a bit and ‘Hey, this doesn’t feel that bad’. Being the bigger guy of the group on the flat I actually ride past them and then there is a slight uphill and Craig goes around. We are coming up on the right hand turn to St. Vrain and there are 3 recreational riders right there. Craig is far enough ahead he get around them right before the turn and takes his line. Unfortunately as I get to the turn they make their intention of going straight know and I have to dive in behind them and take the corner tight. Well at that speed the corner is too sharp. The back wheel does a few bounces and I am going sideways skidding! The side of the road and a slight bank is all I see, coming towards me. Somehow… I don’t know how… I stayed up right and on the pavement with a good foot to spare. Dennis Meeker was next in line and looks at me and just says "Nice save." I reply "Well that will get your heart rate up," as I try to calm down. Everything was tense and I could feel my heart beating. Luckily St. Vrain is fast, downhill and non-technical. As we had passed each other I had let people know the Joe Forgarty wasn’t in the race and Mr. Yellow was up ahead and in the lead of the age group. Up ahead I see Mr. Yellow coming back to us, that was exciting. The rest of the ride was the 5 of us Me, Craig, Dennis, Andy and Mr. Yellow all within site of each other. On the diagonal highway I started thinking about the run. This is what I race for, this was going to be great, 5 of us out racing together, no split waves, no 5 minute differences to worry about. Just 5 warriors, 5 athletes, 5 guys finding out what they have left in them today. It was going to hurt… Andy and Craig are running fast, Dennis is a past Ironman CDA AG winner, and I had no idea about Mr. Yellow. Yes it was a fast bike with the cloud cover, but it all comes down to the run. We turn into the park and down into the reservoir. Every single corner since the near crash I was extremely tentative… I was imagining my tire rolling off my rim, or with the skid there being a worn spot that would blow… totally irrational fears, but in the heat of competition things come to mind. But as we got off our bikes at the line for T2… Beep… only one thing was in my mind. RUN!

T2
My rack was the closest to the bike in point. I quickly got my bike racked, helmet off, socks on, shoes on and GO! Visor and race belt on as I was running out of transition. Beep

The Run
Running out I see Dennis right ahead of me, the Andy and then Craig, not sure where Mr. Yellow was but I knew who I was worried about. I roll up on Dennis and say a few words then off. We start running out of the park and Nick is there yelling. ‘Can’t go slow with the coach watching… go. Strong run Strong’. A slight downhill and I catch Andy, as I pass he gets on my feet and goes with me. ‘Uggg, don’t worry about him. Run your race.’ I am catching Craig slowly and tell him "This run is going to hurt." "Not if the cloud stays there," he says, a nice cloud was blocking the sun, but there weren’t any others around. "I meant all of us coming off the bike together," I tell him. He says he was going to take a few miles to get into the groove. We run up to the first mile marker and I take the split 5:40… fast but not overly concerned. I didn’t want to wait for Craig to warm up, he’s fast! So I pushed it. I pulled away and I heard him and Andy talking. ‘Great, they are going to work together,’ the next mile is a 5:59 and I am feeling good. We come upon a little out and back section where you can see your competition and Craig and Andy are still running side by side. Dennis has dropped of a bit. I keep it flowing and miss mile marker 3, but somewhere in here that cloud decides to drift off and the sun came out. I start taking as much water and Gatorade as I could get. The next few miles blur by. It’s part of the Boulder Peak course, just run. ‘Don’t look back, don’t think about them, no sign of weakness,’ I tell myself. Across the dam and to the dirt road leading back to the transition area. I get on the pavement and tell myself to just keep pushing for a few minutes, then you will be passing the spectators for lap two, they will cheer you up and get you motivated. Down the hill and through the crowd to start lap 2, hearing my friends gets me going just like I hoped. Head out to lap two I get some motivation seeing some friends and then Nick getting me pumped up. Nothing like the words of a coach to get you going. Down the hill and trying to keep it strong. Mile 7 was a 6:39… ‘Ohh things are starting to tighten up. I wonder where Craig and Andy are?’ I know looking back won’t help much as we are joined now by people on their first lap. ‘Just run strong to the out and back, you will see him there.’ The two little hills on the run course are a bit bigger this lap. Get to the top of the second and think ‘It’s all flat now, just roll.’ I get to the turn around and start heading back, I am instantly pleased to not see those two, the first lap they were close. A bit later I see Craig running… no flying towards me. Man that guy is a smooth runner! I look at the watch and think I have about a 1:20 on him. ‘O.k. 4 miles to go… you can lose 15 seconds a mile and still win… no just keep running,’ The legs were starting to really get heavy and the glutes were tightening up. Through the aid station and pour as much water on you and in you as you can stand. On the out and back I had seen my friend Amanda. The new race strategy ‘Catch Amanda’. I messed up on the mile markers and didn’t get some splits until Mile 11… 6:24. That’s still good! But I think the mile before was slower as I really had to talk myself up for mile 11. I was using everything I could to keep the legs moving fast ‘Imagine a string pulling you forward… that didn’t work… Mantra… Strong, Smooth and Strong… that didn’t work… The ‘You’re Not Going to Lose’ because game… You aren’t going to lose because of a bee sting! You aren’t going to lose in the last 2 miles! You aren’t going to lose…’ Mile 12 6:51… that is not working. Just before I had looked back at a flat piece of road and didn’t see Craig. ‘Keep running, think about the overall,’ I tell myself. Across the dirt road part again before the pavement and I am falling apart. The legs have nothing, no turnover, and no power. I look back and don’t see… there he is. ‘Is that him?’ Don’t think about it… that’s at least 30 seconds. You have less than a mile…Run!’. I see Nick ahead he is telling me to push it all the way in. I try, I try opening up my stride. Sweet downhill section, try to pick it up. The crowd, don’t turn around. Run all the way… the chute… the finish. Beep.

A few (14 actually) seconds later Craig flies across the finish line. We are both smiling and excited. Hurting mostly though. Both PR! Both incredible races! We high-five each other. What a race.