Sunrise on the way to Snowbasin
I was a little nervous before the race. We were parked next to the Specialized trailer and the head mechanic gave me an awesome tip as I started to walk my bike down to transition. He told me to carry my bike because the field was full of goathead thorns. I've heard of the goathead thorns, but had never encountered one. He wasn't kidding. The field was FULL of thorns. I had four in my tire already. I plucked those out as we reached the pavement to enter transition. It felt funny walking around, then we found out why. Amber raised up her shoe and it was loaded with thorns. We were walking on thorns! It was a little chilly, but my new Maxxis longsleeve jersey was keeping me warm as I got ready for the event.
Amber's shoe
The truck parked next to us had a tire full of goathead thorns
Me walking down the isle searching for a spot to rack my bike
I had swam in my wetsuit just one time prior to the race. I still hadn't figured out how to get the thing on yet! After the struggle to get the suit situated, it was time to enter the cold water. It actually wasn't too bad, especially with the wetsuit. There were 320 of us on the boat ramp ready to hit the water. Race distance was 1500 meters for the swim, followed by 18.4 miles of mountain biking (almost 12 miles of that was climbing), and then ending with a 6.3-mile run around the Snowbasin area. I pre-rode the bike course, but had no idea what awaited on the run course.
Walking down to the start
The helicopter flying overhead really gave the race that "big-time" feel on a championship event. The the gun went off and the splashing began. I started in the middle of the pack. I know I'm not a good swimmer and had no business being at the front, so I lagged back. That was a great decision, but I should've lagged back even more. It was like swimming in a herd of whales. I'm used to getting bumped and kicked, but we were hitting heads, shoulders and thighs. I felt like I was swimming on top of people rather than on the water. It was my worst swim ever. The wetsuit floated me well, but it also felt like it gave resistance to my shoulders. I hated it. We had to do 2 laps of 750 meters each. I didn't get into any kind of rhythm until halfway through the second lap...once I was in the back. I actually came out of the water in front of quite a few people, but then couldn't get my wetsuit off. I practiced getting out of it several times before the race, and not once did the zipper get stuck...until the race! I spent 3-4 minutes walking up the ramp yanking on my zipper. I was about to ask someone for help when it finally started moving and I got out of the suit.
The helicopter circled the lake overhead as we swam
And we are underway!
Shannon watching the swim from across the Reservoir with binoculars
My transition was quick, but I was WAY back. I was 15 out of 15 starting the bike in my class. My swim time was 43:46 counting my transition and wetsuit struggles. That time gave me the 295th overall swim time. I knew now that I would really have to hammer the bike segment. I threw all caution to the wind and just went after it, never once thinking about the elevation. It was a relief just to get to the bike!
GPS of the bike course
Ben Allen was first out of the water and first up Wheeler Canyon
Conrad Stoltz and Branden Rakita chase Allen
Eventual race winner Josiah Middaugh
Me coming out of Wheeler Canyon
There was a great view of the surrounding mountains once you exited Wheeler Canyon
I had a good ride. There was a ton of traffic to go through. In all, I passed 156 people on the bike. I climbed well, but started wearing down before the top of the main climb up to Sardine Peaks. I dropped a bit of time, but continued to pick up spots. I had a great descent, hitting all my lines and catching some really fast riders. One guy was determined to keep me behind him, but I was able to slide by on a wider portion of the trail. I got into heavy traffic before the bottom and wasn't able to pass as many as I had hoped, but I came off the bike in the top 5 in my class. My bike time of 1:48:03 was quick, but still only good enough for 91st fastest overall. There are some triathletes out there that can really climb fast!
Middaugh was first to come in off the bike
Middaugh loosens his shoes in preparation for entering transition
Allen
Nicolas Lebrun wound up third on the day
Rakita finishing up the bike leg of the race
Ryan Ignatz
Cody Waite
Craig Evans limping in on a flat tire
Me nearing the end of the bike course
A short video of some of the bike course, found on YouTube
Transition was different than I had left it after set-up. There were bikes piled on top of my shoes and I had trouble finding a place to rack my bike, losing valuable time in the process. I spent a few extra seconds dropping off my GoPro. I wore the chest mount on the bike section. Here's the video of all but the last 2 minutes of the bike. It's pretty cool to see the course and all the people that I passed along the way. It sure was a beautiful day!
Nearly the entire bike portion of the race from the chest cam
Like I said before, I hadn't seen the run course. I busted out of the transition area on the adrenaline of the crowd. My legs were a little tired, but overall I felt good. The run began by going almost 1 mile straight up the ski slope. I settled in and only dropped a spot or two, then actually caught some people on the following flat section. At 2 miles I began to get a stomach ache. That ache quickly turned into severe cramping. I went from feeling good to walking in pain. And it just got worse. The jarring of running made my entire stomach area hurt. I have never felt that kind of stomach ache before. I wasn't sick. I would've gladly thrown up if it would've allowed me to keep running. I was forced into walking for most of the rest of the race. And it was a tough, tough course. There was another brutally steep and long climb midway around the loop. It was definitely the toughest run I have ever done. I limped along the final 4 miles to the finish. I had not eaten during the run so I was also bonking by the finish. I was totally destroyed, but I managed to run the last 50 feet across the finish line. Shannon thought I looked so bad that she wouldn't even take my picture at the finish.
GPS view of the tough run course
Finish area
By the time I reached the finish, I was getting sick. I thank the Lord for placing a restroom so close to the finish line. I went straight to it, not even stopping to talk to Shannon. I think I went through all the phases of life in that stall. Torment, disappointment, relief, happiness...
My run time was a dismal 1:36:21. I averaged a measly 15:17 average pace per mile. That placed me 310th overall in run time...out of 319. So bad...
Overall, I ended up 11th out of 15 (12 finishers) in the 25-29 class and 248th overall. I am surprised to have beaten that many people with the terrible end I had to my race. There isn't slouch in that field so I was very pleased with my result and very grateful to have finished the race.
Amber with the Snowbasin moose
Finisher medal that I almost didn't get...
Race highlights video posted by XTERRAPLANET
Later on, Amber had to go get the car for me. After picking up my stuff out of the transition area, I didn't have the strength to walk down to the car. I was so bonked! Shannon had to stand there holding all my transition gear while I laid down in the parking lot while Amber was getting the car. I don't know what the cause of the stomach cramps was, but I attribute it to a combination of altitude, lack of training and also on the huge bag of beef jerky I ate on the drive out. After the race, I told Shannon that I never wanted to do another triathlon. I meant it at the time, but by Monday, I was already plotting for revenge. Next year Odgen....
After the race, we strolled down to Ogden for a few hours. I managed to limp my way over to the downtown square where the Harvest Moon Festival Criterium was going on. I watched the races while the girls went out for lunch. I still wasn't up for eating yet. After the race, we went over the visit more family nearby and then went back to Gma's for some much-needed rest. Now that the "serious" part of the trip was over, it was time to loosen up and have even more fun!
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