Monday, June 30, 2008

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.

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