Prologue
It's back to Broomfield for my second Mini Ha Ha. It was going to be my first race of the season but then Pelican Fest happened. Although it's a short race, it's very popular and sells out pretty quickly. Last year, I barely got in so I registered as soon as I could this year. Bruce, Holly and I have teamed up and will be racing as a team were each person does the whole race and then the times are combined.
A couple friends of mine will be trying their first triathlon at Mini Ha Ha. It's a great race for beginners since it's short and a pool swim.
ACT 1 - The Swim - 300 yards pool - 4:09, 1:23/100
A nice aspect of Mini Ha Ha is that the first two heats of the swim are the fastest two heats. If you have a good swim time, you can get off to a quick start. Pool swims always start with the great confusion of trying to figure out who's going first. No one seems to want to go first and this was no different at Mini Ha Ha. After trying to convince the fastest swimmer to go first, I gave up and volunteered to go first. We had one guy in our lane who estimated his swim time at 5:30 but the rest of us were guessing 4:30. I almost lost count but when I heard the crowd roar, I knew the first swimmers were finishing and I knew that I was almost done. After the short, quick swim, it was out the back door to transition.
T1 - 1:14
ACT 2 - The Bike - 11 Miles - 30:02, 22 mph
When I ran into transition, there were about ten people there. I quickly pulled on my glasses, helmet and ran my bike out. As I started out I passed one other racer and started the first loop. As I go around the loop, I keep looking for other racers up ahead. With the nice straight aways, I can see pretty far but I don't see anyone. When I start the second loop, I start to see some people but they have to be from the second or probably the third wave. As I start the last leg down Main, I get passed by a racer on a nice Orbea. I decide to hold the gap and follow him into T2.
T2 - :48
ACT 3 - The Run - 1.7 miles - 10:21, 6:05/mile
The Orbea racer is racked a couple spaces down so we charge into transition together. I quickly slip on my shoes, grab my hat and number and bolt out T2. I don't know what positions were are in but if he wants to beat me, I'm going to make him work for it. I don't really know how close he is so I'm basically running scared and just push it hard. As I approach the aid station someone says that I'm the first runner. Well that can't be because all those people exited the swim before me. The aid station is on a corner where you go right, 30 yards and then right again. I don't see anyone in the turn area and as I take the second right, I glance back and there's no one back there. Still running scared, I keep the pace high and push it to the finish. As I approach the finish line, I hear the announcer saying I'm the first finisher. Wow, where did all the fast swimmers go? No wonder I didn't see anyone on the bike or run.
Total Time: 46:35
Epilogue
My time held up through the morning and was the fastest time of the day. Since I was on a team, I wasn't eligible for the overall awards but my team did win with strong performances by me, Holly and Bruce. The two new triathletes had a fun time and I think they will both be back next year.
