2 Races In 2 Days

This past weekend Brandon and I ventured up to lovely Loveland, CO for the Lake To Lake (Olympic- 1.5k swim, 30mi bike, 10k run) Triathlon. Being a popular regional race, we'd heard many great things about it so we decided to sacrifice our weekend beauty sleep (ha, as if) and wake up at 3.45 a.m. on Saturday to drive to the race which had a start time of 6.30 a.m. (which although super early, I was glad about, since it has been hot as an oven here in CO lately) We got there with what I thought plenty of time to spare, but much to my surprise we were one of the last to rack our bikes. Since spots weren't marked, it was a first come/ first serve basis for bike racks, so we ended up in the middle of some rack in the middle of the transition area. Which for memory challenged people like myself, is not easy to find. I made sure to count the rows from each exit to remember where to turn for my bike. (there might have been a separate Elite rack, but I was unaware at the time)

After we laid out our stuff it was already time to head down to the start, about a 1/4mi away from transition. I got about a one minute warm-up in before the first wave, which included M and W 35-39, as well as Elites, were off. Now I've been pretty spoiled with the pro starts where there might be 10 of us at the start of the swim. This was not that kind of start. It was a classic run-in start for all 200 or more of us, and although I lined up near the front, I immediately got hit and shoved and kicked. The first buoy was a mere 100m away, so one can imagine the cluster that built up around that. More kicks and shoves. After swimming on top (sorry), hitting arms, and being borderline panicked at the closeness of everyone, things finally started to thin out and I swam the remainder of the swim by my lonesome, as usual. Not that I minded after that turbulent start, but a pair of feet to draft off would be nice every now and then! My time was around 23 high or 24 low, but the official swim time included the run back to T1, so that about added another minute.

Swim Time- 25:02 (nothing to write home about...)

Coming out of the water and running the 1/4mi back to T1, I had no idea where I was among the women. I also wasn't sure who showed up and who else would be starting behind in a later wave. As a mainly AG oriented race, there was no pro category per se, so whoever had the fastest overall time, would be crowned winner. I promptly ran past my transition row and had to back track which probably cost me a few seconds. I got on my bike and was glad to be on land, ready to tackle the hills of the challenging course.

We drove the course the day before and I was worried about several rather technical descents around Horsetooth reservoir. Not being the most skilled bike handler, I needed to make sure to take turns and descents slowly, as every time I have a doubt, last year's Du Worlds crash creeps back into my mind (ouch) Luckily I survived the ride just fine, and actually enjoyed the various climbs. The course was tough but I loved it! (views were pretty spectacular too!) I slowly caught back all the women who beat me out of the water and played a lot of cat and mouse with guys I would pass on uphills, with them beating me back on the downhills. I couldn't help myself but remind a few male competitors to not draft off the women up front, as I saw this happening first hand to one of the top 3 women as I made a pass. Not right guys, and you know it! Anyways, I came off the bike within my goal time and was now in leading position, but unsure of how far ahead of the next woman.Bike- 1:19

The run course consisted of an out and back, with the first few hundred meters run on grass and downhill. This proved to be a rather wobbly experience for me as I had gumby legs from the hard ride. Once on pavement I did a quick inventory and realized I needed some salt soon so I grabbed a cup of fluids at the next available aid station and downed a tab, immediately feeling a bit better. The sun was now out in full force and things were heating up fast. I shopped as best as I could at every aid station but unfortunately only managed to grab the Gatorade cups each time, instead of water, and on top of it, the Gatorade concentrate wasn't watered down and I gulped down 2 super sweet sips of it. With my mouth on fire from the sweet stickiness and the oncoming dehydration I quickly developed goose bumps all over. At the turnaround, I got a glimpse of Brandon, who at this point hadn't passed me yet (he started a wave back) and was looking strong. I also saw the second and third place females and knew then that I would be able to hold them off if I just kept my pace.
Hurting big time in second half of run.

B in control on the run!

I remembered someone saying that the finish of this race is a bit cruel. I would soon find out why. With about a mile to go, you pass the finish and do another loop around a lake with the finish on the opposite side. I was entering a world of pain at this point and felt like I was moving in slow motion. Finally I made the turn to the finish and crossed the sweet line of relief as the race winner.
... and done.

Run time- 39:02 (just short of sub 39 goal. Next time :)
Total time of 2:25.25

After immediately downing two bottles of fresh, crisp H2O I watched as Brandon crossed the line and he saw me and this was his reaction:One of my favorite pics :)

Following a mix up with the timing system and a temporary DQ (you can read all about it in this article here, I received my award for "USAT Rocky Mountain Regional Champ" (it was a regional championship) and Brandon got his super huge mug for winning his AG (yeah!) we were off to find coolness in the form of car air conditioning.

Going against all IM training rules, I took the rest of the day off as I was going to see if I felt good enough to run the Lyons River Run 5k the following morning. Now, some might think I am nuts for racing two back to back events, but I am trying a few different things in my training this year and I want to see if an increase in stress, in the form of speed work (combined of course with the long stuff) will have a positive(or rather negative) effect on my race splits. Everyone is getting faster all the time and I am just trying my best to keep up. To my surprise I woke up feeling pretty good and without soreness or too much fatigue. Besides another early morning, I felt pretty chipper so made the decision to head to Lyons (with my sherpa ofcourse) to see if I could race well after a hard event less than 24 hrs prior.
Startline #2 of the weekend.

When I toed the line and saw the Romanian runner in her bun huggers I knew it was not going to be an easy race :) We took off through town and I hit my first mile in 5:28 (albeit a slight downhill), running in third place. Second mile was a more "pedestrian" 5:52 and at this point my mind started to wander and let me know it was not interested in winning or even racing hard. First place was out of sight and second was right up ahead. I found the courage to make a pass and held her off until the final stretch (which is uphill) and that is where my legs had enough and I pretty much froze. I ran the third mile (uphill) in 6:14 and finished in 18:17, third overall.
Just before freezing up and getting passed.

And it wasn't so much the effort that was hard, as much as it was the mental muscle that shut down. I walked away from the race with a new experience, something to draw from in a later race, when the going gets tough and I need to dig deep. While I certainly wasn't fresh, I still managed to run a PR (for altitude), even with the little devil sitting on my shoulder. And I realized that the human body is indeed far more capable than we want to believe. And besides, if you haven't been to Lyons ( I usually just ride my bike through it), it's a really cute and green little town, I like it!

I am now in my biggest pre- Canada training block, and I have vowed to make it count, because come August 29th, I want to be as ready as I can be for the big day! Lets see how far this body can push.

Happy Training and enjoy the hot, hot summer! (and remember to hydrate! I like to eat between 1-2 water melons a week to help with that :)