2008 Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon

Prologue
Clouds. Sweet overcast skies with temps in the low 60s. The weather looks perfect for racing. The sleep on race day eve was terrible. Last year I didn’t have any expectations before L2L but after last weekend, maybe I’m expecting myself to finish high. Last year I was seventh in my AG, just dipping below 2:30 for the first time. Toss, turn, toss, turn. At least I slept well Thursday night.
3:30 time to get up and get going. I’m carpooling with Bruce and Holly so at least I can zone out on the drive. By the time I get to transition, the area is packed. It looks like a row of racks are missing. I find a space with just enough room for my running shoes and hat so I take it. Some people really need to learn how to minimize their space.
Act 1 – The Swim – 1500 meters – 24:43, 1:38/100The L2L swim is in Lake Loveland I really like the swim here. I am in the first wave which means clear water and makes for an easier swim from last weekend. I catch a set of feet at the first buoy and I work hard to hang on. The feet are swimming pretty straight so I don’t have to work too hard on sighting. Somewhere before the second turn, I lose the first set of feet but I find a second set with the same pace. The second set of feet take me all the way to shore and it’s a nice grassy run to T1. There’s only a handful of my AG in front of me so I’m in a good position.
T1 – 1:04
Act 2 – The Bike – 30 miles – 1:19:03, 22.7 mphThe bike at Loveland is in my opinion one of the harder courses in Colorado. First there is the climb as you leave transition and head through the neighborhoods. Then there is the long steady climb on highway 38 to Masonville, the short drop, followed by another steady climb to the south end of Horsetooth. Once you peak at the south end, there is a short drop followed by another long steady climb and short descent to a sharp hairpin turn. The rollers coming south on highway 19 aren’t any fun either.
I felt really good through most of the ride. I tried to stay in the aerobars the whole time including climbing and was able to except for the last long climb. I really like the compact cranks for climbing. I was able to stay in my big ring the whole time and had a couple of cogs to spare in the rear. I only passed a handful of people but that’s probably because there weren’t a whole lot of them out there. I did get passed by an AG as we neared T2 but I was able to stay close and I dropped him when we exited T2.
T2 - :42
Act 3 – The Run – 6.2 miles – 40:26, 6:31 pace/mileThe bike hurt and after last week’s run, I knew this run would hurt too but isn’t that why it’s called a race? The runners were strung out along the course and I didn’t see many people until mile 2 when the race leaders were returning. Without a lot of people to catch, focus was critical. There weren’t a lot of people ahead so I had to focus on my own race. I was in good shape heading into the turn around with only eleven people ahead of me. Around mile 5 I finally caught another AG. I settled in a little to catch my breath and then made a move after a turn. The left hamstring started to cramp but with less than a mile to go I was going to push hard and try to hold my place. Fortunately I was able to hold him off and finished strong.
Total Time: 2:26:00, 25th overall, 2nd AG M40-44
Epilogue
I love L2L from the swim, the grassy transition, the tough bike course and the shady run but what I like the most is the food. The burrito bar is great with meat, rice, beans, potatoes, scrambled eggs, green chili, salsa, cheese, tomatoes and hot sauce. Yummy. After eating I talked to Brad (1st AG) and Ben (3rd AG) and we’ll all be back together again at Boulder Peak. It’s going to be a fun, fast time at Boulder in a few weeks.

Tri the Creek - The Rest of the Story

One reason for racing Tri the Creek was Pelican Fest being cancelled, another reason was the location and the last reason was the raffle. The race has a couple raffles before the race for early registration and a couple at the post race party.

I got a look at the preliminary race results so I knew I would stay for the results. For winning my age group I won a Nalgene water bottle. Fortunately it was the new non-toxic kind so I don't have to worry about using it.

The raffle was supposed to happen after the results so why not stay another minute or two and see what I could win. My friend Brian told me that in 2007, they had to draw four numbers before they had someone present to win the prize. Remember, you must be present to win.
According to the race website, you could win an untouchable bike and untouchable according to the race was defined as a Cervelo P2C with a Zipp 404 front wheel and a Zipp disc for the rear.

The crowd was like the Roman Coliseum. The announcer would read a number and everyone would groan and then try to look over the crowd to see if anyone was moving. No one would approach the stage and the announcer would start counting down like an auctioneer, going one, going twice, gone. When the announcer said gone, the crowd would cheer.

First number called, second number called, third number crowd. The crowd is anxious. It took four numbers last year. The fourth number is read 3 - 5 - 8. Wait, that's my number. I yell out, that's my number and start moving forward, the crowd groans and then applauds. I move to the stage pulling my sleeve up to show the number on my arm.

Wow a brand new Cervelo P2C.

2008 Tri the Creek

Prologue
It's the start of the triathlon season and the return of swimming in Cherry Creek where I swam over twenty years ago growing up. Triathlon season was supposed to start four weeks ago but was put on hold after the tornado wiped out Windsor. The race was originally postponed and was finally cancelled for the year. So it Tri the Creek at Cherry Creek.
I wasn't sure how the race would go since I've been traveling for work the last week. I didn't get in a lot of swimming and very little cycling. I was in St Paul and no one knew where a public pool was. Life Time Fitness wanted $25 for a single day which seemed a little steep so being cheap meant no swimming.
Act 1 - The Swim - 800 meters? - 17:27.7,
It's the first open water swim of the season. I've been working on my stroke, getting good pool time and hopefully it will pay off. The course is a very slanted triangle that almost parallels the shore on both the out and back. The first buoy seems to be missing or it's just a long way out. Either way, it's the course that's set and it's what we'll swim.
There are eight waves but for some reason the waves start only eight minutes apart. It spreads the crowd out a little but the swim is still crowded. I move to the start of my wave for the start and start out with a quick minute sprint to get into clear water. That doesn't last long as I start to catch the earlier wave and after three or four minutes, I'm in the thick of the earlier waves.
I had a little trouble staying focused on the way back to the shore and I found myself having to work to keep my head in the game. I saw some people stand but I think I misjudged the depth once when I tried to stand. Time to keep the head down and swim to shore.
T1 - 1:12.6
Like always it's uphill to transition. I've spent a little time practicing transitions and one thing I've learned is it's not about speed but about patience. Slow down a little, focus and don't make mistakes and you will get out faster than if you rush and forget something. I run out passing a couple in transition and a couple more as they mount up. Jump and start to ride.
Act 2 - The Bike - 14 miles - 33:06.4, 25.4 mph
A quick out and back from the marina to the spillway loop. The course started with a little downhill stretch and then flat across the south end of the reservoir. There were some small climbs on the east side which helped break up the ride and I tried to stay on the aerobars the whole way.
The turnaround was the parking lot by the dam spillway where I used to fish growing up. Even though it was early, there were fishermen out just like I was years ago.
Most of the way I was doing the passing but on the return leg someone finally passed me. The P2SL rode great and it's a lot of fun flying by people on bikes that are much more expensive. I was also reminded about the discussion I had about wheels at the bike store. The aero wheels look great but you need a good engine to make them work.
I kept with me for most of the way to back to transition and felt pretty good about my ride. I was in the aerobars almost the whole way including up the hills. Another interesting thing was that I rode near the front of the saddle most of the way. It wasn't really a conscience decision, it was just how I became positioned.
T2 - 45.8
I left the shoes on the pedals and on the way into transition I heard some kid comment that they don't even take their shoes off the bike.
Act 3 - The Run - 5k - 19:40.4, 6:20/mile
A quick downhill to start the race and then out on the bike path. I tried to get the legs to stretch out but settled for turnover. I had some right calf cramping on the bike and it was a little tight on the run which I think kept the stride short. I was able to keep the turnover high which helped keep the speed up. I caught someone around half a mile into the run who I thought would be good to pace off of but passed him after about ten seconds when I figured I should run my race. About twenty seconds later, a young shirtless guy passed me and I couldn't go with him. I kept the pace for the rest of the race and at the turnaround I was the sixteenth person. I passed two more of them on the way back to move up to being the fourteenth person over the line.
Total Time: 1:12:12, 6th overall, 1st AG M40-44
Epilogue
Wow, my first age group win at a competitive race. It was hard to know where I was on the course since the swim start intervals were so small and body marking didn't include age. After the race I met Ed the shirtless runner and Brian Todd from ski patrol. Brian's wife was racing so he was cheering her on with their daughter. For the first race of the season, I was really pleased with my effort and the results. Hopefully the rest of the season goes as well as the start.