The KodaFit Blog

Sorry folks…  Life has been pretty hectic of late, but here is my official race report on the Layton Triathlon held on July 31th, 2010.

After a rough night, involving a carbon monoxide scare, among other things I woke up and realized that despite plans to have my transition area set up by 6:10, it was now 6:25 and I had yet to pack.

In a flurry of activity, I showered, applied the necessary protective stuff - Body Glide and Chamois Butt’r, grabbed all my stuff and found myself walking my bike over to transition shortly before 7am.

Fortunately I found a spot right where I wanted to be anyway, and got setup.  It turned out that most of the members of the Northern Utah Triathletes Club had similar plans, and so I spent the remainder of the time talking to them, and checking in with a couple of other friend who were racing.

The race kicked off at 8am, with a time trial type start.  The super sprint athletes went first, followed by those of us who were doing the full sprint distance.  I think I started around 8:30, and was 10th or so in the pool.

The first swim went well.  I passed one person midway through, posted a good time.

The run to transition was a little longer than last year and traversed the parking lot.  Everything was well marked, although when you have that many spectators wondering around, it’s hard to get a straight shot.  I shouted “Coming through!!” a couple of times, and generally people were pretty good about moving aside…  There was one gentleman though who simply ignored me, and I made a point of running right by him…  Close enough to brush his skin and freak him out, but not enough to knock him flying!

T1 went well.  My plan was to attempt the entire race sans socks, although biking sockless isn’t totally new to me.  The bike course had changed a little as well since last year.  An out and back along a narrow path had been changed to one way, which made passing some of the slower super sprint folks much easier.  Layton PD did a great job controlling traffic, and it seemed I was done with the 5.5 miles almost as soon as I began.

T2 went well too, and I found myself out on the run…  It was hot, and I struggled a little to get my breathing under control and my form down.  With the course being just 1.5 miles long, there wasn’t much time to get into a rhythm.

The first person to pass me did so half way through the run, and was followed by a second.  I increased my pace, tried to relax, and held on to both of them to the end.

T3 makes this race unique, along with T4 and T5.  Dumped the shoes, grabbed my goggles and it was back across the parking lot to the pool.  I ended up in the pool right with one of the guys who had passed me, and we battled it out for a lap or two.  I also realized I’d forgotten to drop my Garmin off as well - fortunately it’s somewhat water resistant, so it seemed OK.  Finally I pulled away, and actually felt like I finished the swim stronger than the first round.

Back across the parking lot, onto the bike, and off after the other person who passed me on the run.   I caught him midway through, and we traded places a few times as we hurried our way toward the final run.

T5, and my family had arrived as well - Photo’s later! - The sock strategy paid off, as I was able to drop my challenger in transition.  It felt easier to get into my stride now, although the heat and fatigue were starting to make their presence known.

I had a clean run, passed a couple more athletes, and hit the finish line breathless and completely spent.

One nice feature at this race was that a minute after finishing I was handed a card with my time, and current position, with a count of the number of races who could potentially bump me down the order.  I think I was 12th overall with 3rd in my age group… But there were still 9 guys out on the course.

I checked in with the family and friends and set about trying to rehydrate, cool down and get my stuff cleared up.

I was almost completely ready to go at the awards ceremony, and I must admit I was a little bummed when they announced third place in my age group, and it wasn’t me…  The disappointment was short lived however, as my name then got read as the second place finisher…

YEAH BABY!!

Despite a slightly longer transition run, I actually dropped more than a minute off last years time, and I’m currently about 5 pounds heavier than I was last year as well.

All and all it was a great race.  I love the course, and the swim, bike, run, swim, bike, run format add an extra level of excitement to it.  You can push harder than you normally would in each discipline, and then swim midway through actually feels great.

Kudo’s to the Race Director for a job well done, and I’ll be sure to race this one again this year.

Oh…  And one final thing…  It would appear I was the first to sign up for the event when it was opened last year, which made for a nice surprise when I picked up my packet at Roosters the night before…  I got to wear number 1.  Not sure if it made me more of a target, but it felt good.

Perhaps next year I can try and earn the number 1 spot as well!

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I may need to rethink how I write my race reports, or perhaps I need to rethink my choice of races - and then again maybe not.

I link to this race report on an Xterra down in South Africa though Conrad Stoltz‘ blog.  Words by me cannot do this piece justice.

Xterra Grabouw

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I finally finished up my report on the Red Rock Relay late last night. It’s only taken me 6 months to do! I’m afraid it’s a little long, but hopefully I can make up for the length with interesting details and lots of pictures!

The inaugural Red Rock Relay was held over the first weekend of September this year.  I can state unequivocally that it was the funnest event I’ve done to date.  I’ve had some pretty awesome races, but there’s something about completing a challenge like this with a group of friends.

This journey began with a few folks from my tri-club talking about getting a team together.  I found myself team leader, and the quest to find 11 other people began.  Initially we kept it closed to Sharks only, but as time marched on we recruited friends, family members and anyone else who we could.  With just days before the dead line we reached our full team, and then the wheels fell off.  Two members had to drop for work commitments, another had to pull out for school commitments, several simply fell off the face of the planet, and before we knew it, there were 2 of us.  Not the best idea when contemplating a 180 mile race.

Fortunately as things looked bleakest, I got an email from Tanya Boyer, Editor extraordinaire over at TriHive - now Rocky Mountain Running and Triathlon magazine.  They were trying to organize a couple of triathlon specific teams for the race and were wondering if I would be interested…

 WOULD I?!!?

We ended up joining forces with two teams organized by Keena Schaerrer, a pro triathlete and coach from Utah County.  If you live in the area and you need a coach, I’d highly recommend Coach Keena.  She’s an incredible athlete, and her personality and optimism are second to none.  She hasn’t coached me, but if I lived closer, I would have no reservations at all about subjecting myself to her expert coaching.

Keena had organized two teams, a fast team and a fun team.  Not being an exceptionally fast runner, I opted for the fun team, as did fellow sharks Chuck and Jim.  We had a quick meet & greet at Keena’s studio the week before and with that we were all set for race day.

I took the family down to St. George a day or two before, and grabbed our box of stuff the night before the race at Brian Head resort.  It was a little nippy when we got there, and so I was a little nervous as to how it would be the next day.  Brian Head is up above 10,000 ft - which factors in later on.

The next morning, I woke up early, grabbed Chuck and some emergency donuts and headed up to Parowan to meet the rest of our team.  This is where things go interesting…

Google maps gave us some great directions to get to the meeting point, all of County maintained roads.  One of the roads though looked a little less that impeccably maintained.  In fact if we’re being honest it was little more than a washed out dirt track, although much of the washing was still taking place.  After some mis-communication - mostly on my part, Chuck and I headed down the track, bouncing in and out of the ruts and splashing through puddles.  All fun, until we got halfway down, and figure that we couldn’t make it any further.  We turned around well enough and headed back the way we came.  About half way back, we hit a rough section and took the right side of the road, instead of left, and then came the two worst feelings in the world.

THUMP!  As the van slid into a very large rut, and the bottom of the chassis hit the road…

And then the sick feeling that we were stuck.

We tried to pull it out, by any means necessary, all without success.

The remainder of the team arrived as well, and all had a good chuckle.

Fortunately Jim kept his wits, and left to find a tow truck and to try and get our start time pushed back.

15 minutes later, a jeep and 2 trucks arrived, although with a handful of the good old farmer types, making smarts comments like….  “Why were you trying to drive down this road anyway?”  and “I think the problem is that you got yourself stuck in the mud!!”

We tried the first truck without success.  I drive a Ford Windstar and one of the reasons I got it, is that it weighs about 1,000 pounds more than most other vans.  Good in an accident, not so good for getting out of mud.

Then we tried the jeep, complete with winch and we managed to drag the jeep closer to the van, but no progress with the van at all.  At this point, I was about to cry and the rest of my awesome team were having a great time taking pictures.  Huge thanks to Sherri and Chuck for most of the pics below!

After trying both the jeep and truck, a mechanic looking type told them to move and pulled up his big truck.  He tried to pull slowly and slid around, tried a few other moves, and then finally just got lined up and hit the gas.  Mud flew!  I wished I had closed the windows, and that big old truck just dragged my van all the way back onto the road.

Words cannot quite describe the relief!!!  I handed the guy almost all the money I had in my wallet, practically hugged him and cried on his shoulder like a little boy, and then rounded everyone up and headed up the mountain.

These are most of the runners for the first vans for both teams.

Fortunately the Race Director pushed our start time back, and I think it was finally about 9:40, and me, Keena, and another runner hopped on the ski lift and headed up the mountain to start the race.

The weather was perfect, and while mentally I was spent, it felt great to sit on the ski lift and enjoy the scenery.

Up the top, we hopped off and began our descent.  First off, as I hopped off, I felt a twinge of pain in my left foot.  I’m not sure what I did, but it developed into a nasty pain which got worse as the race wore on, and stuck with me for 6 weeks following.  I followed Keena and the other runner down the mountain, but started to slow because it felt like we were going to fast.  I check my Garmin and saw that I was barely at 9 min/mile pace, and I was going downhill, which was fine except my heart rate was 30 beats above normal, and I couldn’t breathe, and that’s when Keena mentioned the altitude.   Running at 11,000 feet is quite a bit different from running at 6,000!

I took a break after the first mile for a quick bathroom break - I think altitude makes you need to pee too - at least that’s my excuse, and then continued down the mountain.  The views were phenomenal, but I really struggled with the altitude.  4 miles down I came into exchange 1 and handed off to the next runner on our team.

While I was up the mountain, Sherri and Anita had taken to decorate the van, complete with nick names.  I was hereafter known as MudBogger, for reasons which I’m sure you can all guess.

The remainder of the morning was spent moving from place to place, swapping out runners and supporting them as best we could.

Here we are at the second exchange, complete with awkwardly placed Gatorade bottle by Yours Truly!

At one point we had to drive through an entire flock of sheep and all along we were treated to absolutely incredible views.

If you happen to run leg#4, I would highly recommend taking a small detour as you pass the viewing platform for Cedar Breaks!

Our final runner go to run 6 miles down a rather steep, narrow mountain road, which had some scary traffic, and which I stopped half way down to find the brakes smoking something fierce.  It’s amazing the difference between having small kids and full grown adults in the car!

We finished leg #6, and handed off to our second van.  Having a couple of hours to kill, we headed down the Cedar City and spent a couple of hours hanging out in the parking lot of Subway.  We ate, we laid around, I learned that a BLT from Subway will go really soggy if left overnight, and after a couple of hours it was time to head back up into the mountains.

On our way to rendezvous with the second van, we followed the runners route up three sections, known as the diablos.  They were only 2 miles legs, but were very steep and absolutely relentless.  At the top we merged onto a dirt road, and found after 5 or 6 miles had caught up to the rest of our team.  It was raining, and the dirt road was pretty slick.  At one point right before we passed our other vehicle, a nice big truck, we hit a sharp incline, and the van started to slide off the road.  Flashbacks of the mud bogging incident earlier in the day flashed across my mind, while the remaining occupants of the van all shouted encouragement.

My second leg began at Kolob Reservoir.  It was pretty flat for the most part, and I was fortunate enough to get behind a runner from another team.  I always run better with a rabbit in front of me, and finally at mile 4, I passed her.  It was also starting to get dark, and so it was time to done the reflective vest and the head lamp.

I believe this section of the race goes through some incredibly scenic country, unfortunately night fell very fast, and it was really black outside.  Sections of Zions required us to transport our runner from one spot to the next as well.  We suspect that Zions Park itself hadn’t issued permits or something.

We also started to notice lightning on the horizon.  Legs 16 and  17 were an out an back section along a relatively flat section of road.  I ended up running part of section 17 with one of the runners to help pace and provide a little extra support.  The final section involved some hilly parts of the highway, and then a long drop down into Hurricane.   The thunder was getting more and more intense, and at times, it seemed like we were the only vehicle for miles and miles.

As we hit the change over in town, the heavens opened and it was poor Chuck from the second vehicle that got to bear the brunt of it.  We headed into Washington City, to the rec center where showers and floor space were available.  I tried to sleep a little in the van, but was too pumped up on adrenaline to do much.  Finally around 4 or 5 am, we received word that the other half of our team was getting close, and so we packed up and got ready to head out for our final section of the course.

Unfortunately for the other runners, the Rec Center closed right as they got there, but I believe they found themselves a Denny’s and sat down to a good breakfast.  My final leg ran through Washington City, past the In n’ Out burger, which is unfortunately closed at 5am, and then down to the Virgin River.   After a couple of miles it joined a path which ran along side the water, and all of a sudden I found myself alone.  No vehicles, no other runners and a rather dim headlight.  The rain had cleared and had been replaced warm and damp humidity.  It was my last leg, and I pushed it hard, coming into the change over, as a rather sweaty, mess of a man.

Our second runner was one of the ladies on our team, and unfortunately for her, this next section continued on the rather lonely path, probably not the best place for a single female runner to be, and at one point she found herself right in the middle of a group of SWAT officers, apparently out trying to find the perpetrator of an assault on the path earlier than night.

The next few hours we tracked and followed our athletes up through St. George, into Santa Clara, and then up through the canyon to Gunlock.  This particular part of the race was interesting, since we crossed paths with a series of road races coming down the canyon, and Sherri got to meet up and run her leg with her brother.  It was also interesting, as this is part of the 2 loop bike course for the St. George IronMan.

Our runners did really well, particularly the second to last, and last runner, who got a number of kills on the hills leading up to Gunlock.   The last guy made such good time, that he arrived at the changeover to find the next runner still a little way off, but sprinting like a mad man to make it in time.

We took some photo’s each with our 3 stripes representing our three legs and then headed down into St. George for Breakfast.

The finish line was at a local school and next to a splash pad, although at this point it was starting to get hot, and lack of sleep was really catching up with me.  It was great to see my wife and kids again, and stinky hugs were exchanged all around.  An hour or two later, the second part of our team arrived, and we all ran in together.

With that, we celebrated a little, took some pictures and within the hour were all packed up, organized and ready to head back to wherever it was we came from.

A couple of thoughts…

Organizing a team can be pretty rough.  Last year all the leaders got a nice running jacket with the Red Rock logo on it. 

If I had to do it all over again, I’d get money up front from everyone, and make plans well in advance of the race.

Being it’s first year, I thought it was remarkably well done.  There were a few areas for improvement, but given that it was a brand new race, big old thumbs up to the race director.

A couple of ways they could improve the race…

1 - each team was supposed to provide 2 volunteers.  We really struggled with this seeing as we didn’t have a full team until a week before the race.  We did find one, my brother-in-law, but when he got to his check in station, no one was there to sign him in, or direct him or anything, and so he drove himself to where he thought he was supposed to be and did the best he could.  Unfortunately when my wife asked him if he would ever do it again, he responded with a solid “No way”.

It would take a bit of organization, but I think if the race organizers could find local community organizations to volunteer at the check points, that would be awesome.  I also think it would be great to have some system of checking athletes in and out of the change over spots and perhaps even provide feedback to the teams as to how everyone is doing.

2 - There are sections of this course which probably should not be run alone, particularly female runners - I’m not trying to be sexist here, but since female runners tend to be smaller, running alone on a trail in the dark, is probably not a wise decision.  Specifically the spots along the Virgin River.  Either require pacers at these points, or perhaps station some volunteers at regular intervals along the trail.  Perhaps a local scout troop could be roped into doing it, in exchange for a small donation to their troop.

However, that is about the extent of my complaints or suggestions for improvement.

We’re doing it again this year…We’ve putting together an ultra team and we’re planning on tackling the race with just 6 of us, running about 30 miles a piece.  It will be exhausting, but I think it will be fun at the same time.

We’re going to be The Red Rock Sharks!!

Stay tuned for more information as September approaches!

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The Clearfield Aquatic center has hosted a mini indoor tri for the last 3 years.  I had a conflict 2 years ago, and last year it was so popular, it was sold out by the time I heard about it.  This year as I left the pool one friday morning, I saw the sign and was signed up an hour later.

I took the extra hour, because I wanted to see if my sweet wife wanted to do it with me, knowing that she would likely laugh in my face, and then using a combination of hand gestures and descriptive language, might inform me as to the best place to put such a crazy idea….

But she said yes, “I’m sorry….  WHAT?!?!”

So off we went to register.

We ended up in the last heat, just a few minutes after our neighbors - who were doing the team thing as well.

I did a couple of laps warm-up in a spare lane and then got ready to go.  We were in the final heat, and there were three of us racing.  The other two guys were in board shorts, and arguing about who would finish last - so much for the added adrenaline from some friendly competition!

BEEP!!!

And I was off.  First lap went well.  I flipped, came home, flipped again, and got to glance back at my lap time.  42 seconds.  Since I’ve been averaging 50s a lap in practice, that may be a little fast, but I got to rest after the swim so I tried to push it.  Each lap got a little slower, until around lap 8, my time finally popped over 50s.

The last lap about killed me.  I had absolutely nothing left…  I could see my wife running along the side of the pool to meet me at the other end.  I hit the wall, reached up to slap her hand (twice, since the first attempt was pretty pathetic), checked my time 7:55 and then collapsed on the side.

I’m not sure how long I was there, but I finally dragged myself out, and check on the kids.  Huge thanks to our other friends who came to watch the little guys.

The nice thing about the team thing was that I got to get changed nice and slow.  I stretched a little, made sure my laces were tights and headed back out to check on Ann.

She was doing well.  The bike portion was on the spinning bikes, and she was already about half-way through, spinning at a nice steady cadence.

We took photo’s, joked around, and before I knew it she was done, and staggering to the door to tag me…

I shot out the pool area, up the steps two at a time, and began my laps.  27 laps around a track about 200 yds long.  With a track that small it’s like step, step, step turn, step, step step turn…  You get the idea.

First lap I came up on a guy in a camel bak.  He heard me come up behind, and sped up.  Finally some competition!!!

Suddenly he came up on another lady, pulled up along side and slowed to her speed…

DUDE!!!!  WTF!!!

It’s a real narrow track, and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid piling into the back of them.  Right then we hit the corner and I saw a gap…  I broke into a sprint, passed them both, and kept going so Mr. camelbak wouldn’t feel tempted to follow and box me in again.  No worries though as he started walking shortly thereafter.

I tried to keep the pace going and did so fairly well.  My only regret was not taking my lap timer in with me, so I could count my laps and check my time.

It may have been my quickest 5k to date, but it’s hard to tell just how fast it was.  Finally I hit the final lap, zipped around, mostly by myself and then headed out the door and down the stairs.

Just so you all know, if I can be a warning to anyone here…  Running a blistering 5k (at least for me, and then hitting the stairs at full gallop - NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!

I made it down the first flight without incident, only by the grace of God though I think, grabbed Ann’s hand before hitting the last flight and crossing the line.

Our time ended up being a hair over an hour.  Good enough for 5th overall in the Novice couple division.

Swim: 7:55

Bike: 28:35

Run: 25ish?!

Not sure on the transition times of any of that, but we had a great time together and that’s what really counts!!

Thanks Hon!  We’ll have to do it again next year, only let’s plan on kicking some serious butt!

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This is going to be a quick report…  I’m working on a report of the Red Rock Relay though, and that one will more than make up for the lack of fluff here.

The Top of Utah Marathon is held each September in Logan,Utah.  About a month before though, they hold a half marathon on the same course.  I missed early registration unfortunately, but a friend of a friend ended up being unable to make it, and so I took his place on race day.  Sidenote -Before you chastize me…  We tried everything we could to contact the RD for a week prior.  And I ran with full ID and my cell phone on me, just in case.

Packet pickup was race morning, and while extremely busy it was well organized.  Buses took us up Blacksmith Canyon to the start which was cold and crowded, but like packet pick up they appeared to have anticipated the crowds and things like needing to visit the port-o-potty prior were no problem at all.

They ended up having a record turnout, and as such the race was pushed back a little to handle the additional bus trips up.

I hung out at the start with a friend, and we positioned ourselves well back in the pack.  I prefer to pass than be passed, and I also prefer to have people in front of me to try and keep my pace down for the first few miles.

The race started and off we went down the canyon.

If I may share a pet peeve here…  This is the second half marathon I’ve done, and then second time I’ve run into this problem.  If you are a 50+ year old lady, and like to walk events like this with your friends, I think the world of you.  However, with that said… No matter how flashy your walking sticks, how brightly colored your camel bak and how snazzy your workout pants…  If you are walking, you really need to start at the very back of the pack!

In both races, these ladies have lined up with the 8 minute mile pace group, and then spread out across the road in a spandex covered wall of voluptuous bottoms which is impenetrable to all who which to pass.

Back to the race though.  I kept my pace down for the first couple of miles, planning on picking it up around mile 7.  The plan was to try and run a sub-2 hour half.

Around mile 6 though I noticed that my pace had sped up more than I had planned, and in mile 7 it increased even more.

I was feeling good though, and decided to go with it and see what happened.

The course is predominantly run down the canyon, and then moves into the suburbs with a mile or two of reasonably flat running, and then a nice little uphill section for the final mile or 2.

My pace kept increasing, all the way to the end, and for the most part I felt great at least when I wasn’t running uphill, but even then I was able to hold it steady.  The final half mile is a gradual downhill, and you can see the finish line and the hoards of people surrounding it.

Right as I crested the final hill, I ran by a lady who was puking on the side of the road.  I yelled something about “Are you OK?” but a combination of knowing that I would rather hide in situations where I’m the one puking, and glancing at my Garmin to discover I was going to blow my previous PR of 2:02 away and I kept running.

According to my Garmin, the race was a little under a quarter mile longer than 13.1.  It could have been all the dodging to get around the old lady pace line, or just some inaccuracies in the process of measuring the route by satellite.

That aside though, I ended up finishing in 1:53:16.   8 minutes and 54 seconds faster than my previous PR!

All in all - a great race, and while it’s not on my schedule for 2010, I’ll definitely be doing it again in the future.  Perhaps as a precursor to the full Top of Utah marathon.

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Daybreak was an interesting race.  It’s was the final race in a series put on by the newly formed US TriSports Race Management Company, and if the opportunity arises, I would gladly compete in one of their races again.

In the Utah, specifically along the Wasatch Front, this race is perhaps better known as the Triathlon that got canceled because of a Round Worm infestation.  Just days before the race, the Salt Lake Health Department found an alarmingly high infection of the Roundworm Parasite in the water at Oquirrh Lake.

Actually local Fox News Channel aired the following story, which featured two fellow Desert Sharks - Kelly and Amy towards the end.

With just days to find a new swim venue, I thought they did a fantastic job of making alternate arrangements.

Daybreak was another impulse race for me.  I signed up on a whim just a couple of weeks before, and my race experience started the night before after a long drive down to Daybreak from my home, perhaps 80 minutes north of the location.   I arrived just minutes before packet pickup closed, courtesy of road construction in the area, and not being able to find the right building, and then returned home with 2 very tired and sleepy kids in the back seat.

Race morning started well.  I got to the venue in good time, got my bike racked up, and then found a very nice and apparently unused porta-potty to take care of the pre-race ritual.  While I’m hesitant to share this…  If you do the race next year, I’d recommend looking for the porta potties east of the building to the east of the main parking structure.

It ended up that I’d racked my bike in a bad spot as far as transition went, meaning I would have to run the length of transition in my cleats, but it would also make my bike easy to find, and ended up being right next to fellow Red Rocker and Desert Shark, Chuck.

To make up for the swim, triathletes were transported to one of the community pools by bus.  It was only a 25 yard pool, and the plan was 3 lengths for 75 yards, and then a little over a mile run to the transition area, before we could head out on the bikes.

I hung out with Kris, another shark who was doing the Olympic Distance, listened to the instructions and the National Anthem.  The start turned out to be a time trial start too, and while I would usually be a little put out to have to run instead of swim, I’d just finished a week long swim clinic and my shoulders were trashed, so it turned out for the best.

The biggest shock of the day was diving under the water at my start and realizing that it was a salt water pool!  My swim went well.  First two lengths were solid, turns were tight, and then I let it fly on the last length, passing Kris en-route.  It was kinda nice to sprint in a tri for a change, and since I can pull off a 26 second 50m sprint, the 75m swim was perfect.

We exited the pool, pulled on our shoes and headed off for transition.  We passed a couple of relay runners who looked like they were in the swim leg for a reason.  Heavier athletes and some with braced up legs, who I felt bad for, but with only a mile to run, I felt I could push it, and left them nicely behind.

My pace for the run ended up being about 8 minutes a mile - I think (Something to be said for timely race reporting!!).

Had a good solid transition and it was out on the bike.  I really enjoyed this bike course, although in hind sight, more hill training would have been good.  You start off  riding through the DayBreak city center, and then head out towards the copper mine.  It gets steeper as the road heads out, but I was able to maintain a solid cadence, and the area’s finest did a fantastic job of controlling traffic and keeping the course safe.

After reaching the high point of the course, you then turn south, down a quick hill and then up a really steep one, before bearing east and heading into the city of Herriman.  The road is tight, winding, and you can get some wicked speed heading down.  Several miles of your wheels singing, and you take a sharp right before doing a quick and back into the neighborhoods.  There’s a really steep hill at the turn around, which sucks going up, but is a real nice reward coming back.

After that, you head back up the gnarly hill - which was a lot nice coming down, up around the top and then begin a really nice descent back into Daybreak.  The final section was well patrolled by police, the only downside being that you start coming up on the slower riders in the Sprint distance race, and I had a couple of nerve-wracking high speed passes.

Coming back into transition reminded me a little of some of the scenes from the Tour de France.  Spectators line both sides of the road yelling and screaming, and the din from the cowbells is intense.  It was a huge rush racing through the crown, but I believe volunteers had a nightmare trying to keep the spectators off the road and out of the way of the cyclists.

T2 went well, and it was out onto the run course.  By this point of the day it was getting pretty hot, and the water, while loaded with funky intestinal parasites looked very inviting.  The Olympic course circles the lake twice before finishing.  I felt strong and tried to maintain a good pace and for the most part I managed.  I did stop to walk at one aid station, before a couple of girls behind gave me some encouragement.  The last two miles, I ended up behind 2 guys, who were both in my age group, and who both had iPods going.  I know it’s not a big deal, but something about guys who race with music, when it’s explicitly forbidden in the race rules just bugs me.   I was tired, my legs were burning, but I vowed I would pass them.

We played leap from for a while, but with a mile to go I kicked it into high gear and gave everything my body had left.  It would appear from the results, that both gentleman likely started walking at that point, since I beat them both by over 5 minutes.

The finish line was crowded, a little unorganized and noisy.  I did enjoy hearing my name as I crossed the line, and then things got a little blurry.  I grabbed a bottle of iced water and tried to find something I could grab onto.  I ended up holding the upright pole in one of the sponsors tents, and stood there hyperventilating for likely 10 minutes.   I’ve had a couple of races where I would get done and then beat myself up mentally, knowing that I could have done better, had I only pushed harder at the end, since I finished with plenty of energy.  I can say with absolute certainty that I had nothing left at the end of this race.

I really enjoyed Daybreak.  They gave each finished a free photo, which was nice, although a wee bit small, and the finish line festival seemed great.  Once I got my breathe back, I grabbed my stuff, loaded the car, and then got to have a well deserved lunch at a local Mexican grill (Chameleon Grill or some kind of lizard like reptile - I think) with a couple of other sharks.

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I’ve realized a couple of things in the last week or so…

First, if I wait until I’m in the right frame of mind to write a report, it probably won’t happen - hence today, I’m not in a writing frame of mind, but I’m going to give it a shot anyway.

Second, my race reports are far too long.  I read a friend’s report of IronMan Florida, which he began with an apology about the length of it, and it was significantly shorter than any report I’ve done.

So…  Silverman 2009, a report on the half Iron Distance!

This was to be my “A” race for the year.  I signed up last November and had my leave and  hotel accommodations booked by mid year.  Training could probably have been more intense prior to the race, and I developed some IT Band problems in my right left the week before.  I’ve been racing since February and done entirely far too many races this year.  That’s not to say I haven’t loved every minute of it, but I do think there are improvements to be gained by focusing on fewer races in a shorter season.

Lesson 1: Shorter, more focused race season.

We arrived Friday and I got checked in minutes before packet pick up closed.   The expo looked great, but sadly it was closed to, and I never got back there the next day to check it out fully.  Silverman has a reputation for having the greatest swag of any race, as well as being the toughest race in the world.  They didn’t disappoint with the swag, and I’m pretty sure the degree of difficulty was dead on as well.

Saturday morning I attended the mandatory pre-race meeting, which was fun and informative and then headed off to Lake Mead with the fam to check my bike and transition bags in.

Lesson 2: I need to develop my own personal checklists for races.  Saturday night as I was going to be, I realized that I’d left half my run stuff out of my bag - nothing essential, but nerve racking none-the less.

Saturday we had In N’ Out burger for lunch, and by dinner I wasn’t feeling hungry.  We grabbed some quick meals from Walmart, and I grabbed a little sushi kit.   It was OK, but without Wasabi, or any meat or veges in the rice, it was a little bland.  It was hard to tell if it was nerves, or if something was up with my stomach.

Sunday morning came way too soon, although I was grateful for about 6 hours of solid sleep.

I walked from our hotel to the Carls Jr. at Sunset Station and join a few other nervous athletes.  I was really early, but some of the guys were doing the iron distance, and were getting really nervous.  Especially when 45 minutes later the bus hadn’t shown up yet.  Fortunately someone ran over to the hotel and found out that the buses were arriving on the other side.

I snagged one of the last seats on a bus and off we went.  I’d skipped breakfast, since I wasn’t feeling to good, attributing it to nerves, but riding out on the bus, I got the distinct feeling that I was going to puke.  I didn’t and we arrived at the start with about 2 hours to go before our race.  I got setup and started drinking a mix of HEED and Hornet Juice.  Not the best taste in the world, but I got it down.

The full start was really cool.  If you look in the picture, just on this side of the barriers is a guy in jeans and a black jacket, next to a lady in khaki capris.  That gentleman is none other than Dave Scott - IronMan legend!!!

After that, I got my wetsuit on, finished up clearing my transition area, and I was good to go. With 45 minutes to go, I hopped in and began my warm-up. The water was perfect! A little cool when you got in, but after a 100 yrds or so, I got used to it.

The lead iron distance swimmers started coming in at 46 minutes - did I mention the weather was absolutely perfect as well?

I swam around, mingled and broke one personal rule I promised I never would, but I’ll spare you the details.

8:30am and the horn blared! I positioned myself in the midst of the pack, hopefully to get a good draft from the group like I’d had at the Utah Half. I think I got a draft, but it was the most violent swim I’ve been in. Generally people swam straight, but every 30 seconds or so, someone would cut across and push me under to get to where ever they were going. Not only that, but guys kept getting on my feet - which I’m fine with - but they’d get up on my calves and start pushing down on my knees and my butt. I don’t usually kick much when I swim, and if I feel someone behind me, I’ll try and avoid hitting them, but after a couple of punches to the upper legs, I would start kicking and I landed a few nice shots.

The first leg out was brutal. We then had a short across swim, before beginning the trip back to the finish. I got a side stitch at this point, and also swam wide to recover a little. I got my breathing under control and the cramp subsided.

The final stretch wasn’t bad at all. It’s the longest competitive swim I’ve ever done (Utah half been cut short due to weather), but it went OK. With a couple of hundred yards to go, I had someone get on my legs again, and try and crawl up my butt, but I dispatched him with a couple of good kicks. Seriously… You have the whole lake, and you choose to climb on me… Jerk!

Ok - so it looks like this report is going long, and I should warn you that language may deteriorate a little as well.

Lesson 3: I need to get a lot faster in the water. I have the ability, I just need to work on the stamina. This way I don’t have to worry about fighting the masses!

My goal for the swim was 40 minutes and I was out in 39 and some change. I had my first experience with a wetsuit stripper, which could have gone better, but I was inexperienced in the process, so next time I’ll nail it.

T1 went OK, although not as quick as I had hoped. My goal was to hustle through both transitions, since I’d lost valuable time in these at Utah.

4 minutes or so later I was running up the hill with my bike. HUGE THANKS to the volunteer who offered to stuff my wetsuit in the bag for me. It really helped, although it’s not a job I think I’d want to do.

My goal for the bike was to conserve energy. I would bomb on the downhills where I could, but change down and take it easy on the hills. With 6000 ft of climbing ahead I would need everything I could get.

The only problem was that as I sat on my seat, I felt what seemed to be saddle pains. I think it might have been just cramping in my glutes, but it did worry me a little.

At mile 8 things were going well and I was feeling better on my seat.

At around mile 15 we had a nice long downhill. Midway down, as I came up on 4 or 5 athletes, a minivan started a mix of slowing down to cheer an athlete on, and indicating to try and pull over. Their athlete wasn’t very fast either and as traffic backed behind them, and an ominous hill loomed in front I made a snap decision. I pulled out behind the van, and in front of an absolutely SWEET new Dodge Viper. Crossing into the opposing lane, I pedaled for all I could, passed the van and then pulled back over.

I suspect a move like that could have been cause for a penalty or a DQ, but at the same time… Just because you want to say hi to your athlete, doesn’t give you a right to block the rest of us from doing our race, especially on a nice downhill!

Lesson 4: I need to get faster on the bike, so that these types of athletes and their supporters are behind me on the course.

By mile 30, I was beginning to feel it. I’d grabbed some water and refilled my aero bottle. I dropped a Cola Nuun in, and that mixed with the remaining HEED and Hornet Juice. Uggggh!!! I also wasn’t doing so well with my perpetuem, and I was starting to feel chaffing on my neck from the wetsuit. It also seemed like I’d been climbing for way too long, and ahead were “THE 3 SISTERS.

The 3 Sisters are 3 hills on a bike path. They have a grade of between 15% and 18% and I was relieved to find that they are only about 100 meters long each. I geared down and I was psyched and ready for them. Going up them wasn’t actually too bad. Plenty of people cheering on the sides and while they were tough, you could tell the end was in sight.

Having crested all three sisters, I realized something… It was only mile 37, and those 3 bitches had taken all of my energy! What Sadistic Bastard came up with those?!?  Now in all seriousness, Mr. Frank Lowery puts on a heck of a race, but at that point of the race, with all my energy gone….  Freakin’ Frank!!

I’m kinda smiling in this pic from mile 40, only because I was feeling accomplished at having put the 3 sisters behind me.

The remainder of the bike wasn’t too bad. Lot’s more climbing, but a couple of Oh-So-Sweet downhills, which were far too short.

HUGE shout out to some rather hot young lasses on the side of the path with “We love triathletes” and “Nice Legs”. You guys really helped me out!

The last mile or so was a gentle uphill, and I was hating my bike. Usually I dread starting the run, but this time I was more than ready. Perhaps longer races are my thing…

I handed off my bike to a volunteer and then had to grab it back to take my Garmin, Phone, IT strap and a 5 hours energy off the bike.

T2 I really tried to hustle. Back at the Utah half I took it far too easily. I sat down and tried to change everything over. I switched out my shirt to avoid chaffing, downed the 5 hour energy and was good to go. It felt pretty quick, but looking back it was over 4 minutes. I wonder if I didn’t hit the button until after I saw my sweet wife and kids.

The fam were waiting for me right as I exited the tent. High fives to all the kids and a somewhat sweaty and disgusting kiss for the wife.

Big smile on, cup of water down the hatch and off I went.

My legs felt great and I was soon passing people, some in my age group. Stopped by the porta potty at mile 1 and took off still feeling great.

The next couple of miles felt really good. They were uphill, but I was feeling strong, and while I wasn’t flying, I was passing people steadily. A nice quick downhill back to the start and then a brief stint on a bike path.

And then came the hill. I ran some, and walked some, but it was relentless.

Mile 7 and I could hear the beep of the timing mat - that sweet, sweet sound. I was still feeling good and looking forward to hitting the downhill.

Miles 8 through 10, I ran nice and strong. I passed a guy from my age group, and I was looking forward to being done. Around mile 10 the wheels fell off, as my right IT Band tightened up and started affecting my knee. I’d had some Endurolytes around mile 8 as well, and things weren’t feeling too kosher down south - if you know what I mean.

10 thru 12 was interesting. The fellow age grouper I passed on the hill and I started to play leap frog. We also ran through the district which was cool. It started with an aid station where the first 2 guys had names and numbers printed out. “Come on Michael!! You can do it!” The only down side was… I only get called Michael by telemarketers, or when I’m in trouble. I need to investigation the logistics of whether I can register for races as Mike - just for these reasons!!

That aid station rocked!! Grabbed some Coke and some Gatorade and headed off down the main section of the district to the tune of U2’s Magnificent. As I turned right and out of The District, I got some paralyzing cramps. My apologies if this is TMI, but they were the kind were you have to stop and clench. All those breathing techniques from the pre-birthing classes came into play as well. Hee hee hooooo,hee hee hooooo

My leap frog buddy passed me, and said, “Hey, let’s keep this up to the finished!”. I couldn’t!

I walked and ran, stopping occasionally to let the contractions pass…

The last 200 yds were great though. That light at the end of the tunnel makes finishing a race so much easier. In the final mile I got passed by another couple of guys in my age group, but as I entered the chute, I noticed no-one around, so I stopped and said hi to the fam again, and then continued on to break the tape and get my picture, medal and all of that.

The medal looks awesome, the finishers shirt is one I’ll get a lot of usage from and all in all I was glad to be done.

I think I may have had a wee stomach bug as well during the race, although I don’t think it affected my performance if I did. Usually I can eat a ton after a race, but after a quarter of a burrito at Del Taco that night, the nausea returned.

I woke up the next day, feeling like I’d run a marathon. Silverman truly kicked my butt.

I toyed with the idea of doing the full distance next year, but I think I’m going to have a go at the half again. My time this year was 7 hours and 17 minutes. I realized I have a lot of improvement to make, so perhaps when I can break 6 hours on this unforgiving course, I’ll look at bumping up to the next distance.

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On Saturday I tried out my first trail race, and my third half marathon.  My second half marathon is still on my to do list of races needing to be reported on, but I figured since that list keeps growing, I’ll just go ahead and do this one while it’s fresh in my mind.

The Mountain View trail is a single track trail on the east side of Antelope Island.  If you read this blog often you likely know that the island is a favorite place for me to train.  This was the first time they’ve held this race, and it was organized by Jim Skaggs, race director of the annual Buffalo Run on the same island.

Jim does an excellent job organizing races - at least in my opinion.  It’s hard to know exactly how to describe his organizational style though…  He has a great sense of humor which is reflected in the race description and accompanying legal documents, and while everything is organized exceptionally well, it still keeps the small, almost family like atmosphere.  I’m not sure if this is Jim’s style or if it reflects upon the ultra-running community, or if it’s a bit of both, but I like it.  I like it A LOT!!

Packet pickup was the day before, and we got a nice long sleeved tech running shirt, featuring the race logo, and a small back of electrolyte stuff, some ginger chews and BioFreeze samples!

The race logo is of a bison chasing down a runner - I was hoping that irony wouldn’t let this happen during the race however, but more of that later!

The race was scheduled to start at 9am, and I arrived on the island at about 8:30, which gave me a chance to meet up with friends and socialize a little.  Chuck, who is part of the Desert Sharks Tri club, and a fellow Rockin’ Roller from Red Rock was there, ready for his first half marathon, as was fellow Shark and avid trail runner Dave!  I also got to chat a little with Joanie, one of my lunch time running buddies from work, and my adopted mom (Which I’ll cover in my Top of Utah race Report!)

In the pre-race meeting, Jim talked about how he had only expected 50 runners or so, and there we all stood, a band of 125 runners all eager to get going.  I saw regular road runners, trail runners, triathletes and a couple of dogs.  We were quite the diverse group.

9am came quickly and it was ready to start.  The start was right at the Elephants Head Trail head, and headed through the White Rock campground, before heading up and over the island, and then along the Mountain View Trail to the Garr Fielding Ranch.

My race plan was going to be fairly simple.  I wasn’t sure if I’d get a PR, but I wanted to be close.  My plan was to start slow, and turn it on at the end.  Negative split was the name of the game, and I was going to play it hard!!

And we were off!!   I started at the back, and was grateful to find plenty of space between people through which to move.  The first half mile felt wonderful, and I felt like I had a good comfortable pace going.  Checking the Garmin, I noted that my pace was about 8 mins/mile and my heart rate was already over 160.  To put this into perspective, my half marathon PR is based on a pace of 8:35, and my heart usually hangs in the low 150’s for a running race of this distance.

Need to calm down Mike!!!

The next mile or 2, took us uphill.  I was still passing people and felt strong on the hill.  I’ve been working on hills for Silverman next month, and so this was good!  Halfway up, I got passed by a guy with an interesting gait.  He wasn’t going much faster than me, and so I tucked in behind him, increased my pace, and followed him up the hill.

After climbing for a little more than a mile, we crested a hill, and began a very rapid descent back down the other side.  It started off well, and then we had a short section of bush whacking through an area which had seen many bison walk through and leave some precarious holes.  It was like walking through a mine field, and the guy I was chasing kept asking if I wanted to pass.  I was grateful to have him in front.  It slowed me down, and let me take it a little easier.  Probably good since at least 1 other person twisted a knee in that area.

We hit the trail, took a sharp right, and it was now a straight shot to the ranch.  I’d slowed a little and my average pace was now holding at about 9 minutes a mile.  Time to increase it a little, which the guy I was following did, and for the next 2 miles, we ran together at about 8:30 a mile.  I think I was pushing him a little harder than he would have liked, but on the plus side, he was helping me run conservatively.

At mile 5, the trail got a little wider, and so I passed him, and took off.  I passed a couple more people prior to mile 7, and then began a short climb up the the Frary Peak parking lot.  On the way up, I hit 6.55 miles - Half way!  And my time was a couple of seconds over 58 minutes.  Looking good!  Time to pour on the gas.  Right before the aid station at Frary Peak though, I got behind 3 runners.  They were moving along well, but not quite as fast as I wanted to be going.  1 stopped at the aid station and I followed the other two through.  Half a mile down the trail, I found a wider spot and blew by them…  Settled back down into my rhythm, and was just getting it down when I found myself behind another runner.  That slowed me for another half mile, before I got by her, and then just as I was finding the groove again, my shoe lace came undone…

The worst part of the shoelace thing, is that I meant to double knot them right before the start, and I forgot.  I tied it without losing any ground to the runners behind me, and was off again.  It hurt, but didn’t take long to get running again.  It was about this point, that I heard the sound of trotting on the road, about 50 yards to my left.  I glanced over, and there came a large bison pull, galloping? down the road.  I’m always amazed at how heavy they look, and yet they can bound along on their thin little legs, almost bouncing.  Actually I say one actually bouncing last week - just weird.

The bison continued, and disappeared off into the grass on the other side of the road, still running.  I was hurting now, and it was getting hot, but I was still in control.  Minutes later the same bison reappeared, crossed the road and made a bee line for some runners ahead of me…  Uh oh…  My thoughts about the race logo came back…

I’m sure everyone involved was nervous, likely the bison too, but he crossed the path between two groups of runners, and then started grazing peacefully.  Phew!!

I passed through the final aid station and began the final 2 or 3 miles.  I can do this!!  And then lace #2 came undone.  I got it tied quickly, but getting up again and starting to run was really hard.  My legs were tight, and I couldn’t get my pace right.  In addition, I started losing ground on the girl I was chasing down in front, and I noticed people behind me getting closer as well.

I struggled through miles 11 and 12, and as I began 13, figured I could give it all I had for the final mile.  I caught and passed the girl in front with much huffing and puffing and then bore down and gave it all I had for the finish.  Thankfully, I had my Garmin counting the miles, and I had a good idea of where the ranch was, because until you hit 50 yards to go, you can’t see it.

I tried to sprint the last 50 yards in, but I honestly don’t think I moved any faster.  I finished in 1:56:10, which meant the first and second halves were within seconds of eachother.

My wife and kids were there to meet me.  My oldest son playing official photographer!  Chuck was there too, having rocked his first half in 1:47 and some change!

I felt a mix of nausea, likely caused by a clump of phlegm which had been in my throat most of the race, and total and complete fatigue.  I love finishing a race with nothing left in the tank, because I know I gave my all, rather than thinking I could have gone faster.

Finishers all got a pretty cool coffee mug, and the owners of Striders cooked up some delicious hotdogs and hamburgers for all participants and their families.  It was great to sit out on the grass with family and friends and reflect on the race.

Joanie and Dave both finished the race as well, as did 110 other runners.  Congrats to everyone who made the distance!!

Final thoughts on the race.  It’s an easy course in that it is fairly flat, but by flat I mean, no major hill climbs.  It’s never really flat, since you’re constantly on a slight grade, either up of down, and you spent a fair amount of energy concentrating on the path ahead to avoid rocks and bison turds!

I got my first blister in a race too - just a couple of small ones on the inside of my right foot.

I’d do this race again in a heart beat though.  It was well organized and the scenery was great.  I do like the half distance on a good downhill for some help with speed, but it’s always good to mix it up a little.  I’m actually thinking of registering for the 50k they do out on the island in March, and maybe the year after, I’ll give the 50 miler a go!

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Saturday July 11th I did the Echo Triathlon Olympic distance. This was my Fathers Day present this year. Fathers Day arrived, and after saying all week that I didn’t want anything, it turns out no-one got me anything, so I asked if I could register for a race. SCORE!!

I wasn’t considering this an A race by any means, since I only had a couple of weeks to prepare, and with my first half iron distance race looming next month, I’m more focused on that. However after riding the course and as the day got closer, I was looking forward to a fairly good showing.

A few days prior I also read some feedback from a coach about his coachee’s experience with Coure D’Alene a few weeks ago. Two things stood out in the feedback.

1. He talked about how fructose doesn’t play real nice with other sugars.

2. Almost everytime a world record has been broken, the runner has negative split the course.

The fructose thing was new to me. Usually in a race I use Gu, and then either Gatorade, or more recently Hammer HEED. At BAM a month or so ago, my stomach felt funky on the bike. Not bad, but just like things weren’t mixing well. I checked out a Gu pack, and discovered that it uses fructose. Hmmmm!

I’m thinking about switching over entirely to Hammer nutrition as I switch to training for IronMan later this year, so I figured now was as good a time as any. I picked up some Hammer Gel at Striders, and fortunately found 2 sample packets of Melon flavored Heed at home, since Striders don’t appear to carry it any more. In the past I haven’t liked HammerGel, but I went with the Raspberry and the Fruit Punch, and both were actually quite palatable!

On the negative split thing… In the past a lot of my mid-week running has been done on my lunch break. I’ve been busy implementing a new web application for a local law firm on my lunches for the past month or so, and my running has really suffered. The last 2 tri’s I’ve done, I’ve ended up walking a little on the run. I didn’t want to do that again. I started running on lunches again last week, and have been feeling stronger. I figured a negative split might be a good way to go.

OK, but onto the race! Echo Reservoir is just a little under an hour up the canyon from where I live. It was an interesting race, in that the venue has no parking, and so you get to bike in to the start. I left home a little late, but not too late, and was shocked by how many people were already there. The ride down to the start was uneventful and check-in was quick and easy. I think they were expecting 800 athletes, and they had the organization to handle that.

Transition was pretty cool. They had assigned racks, and each label featured the comments entered at registration about why the athelete tri’d. The only downside was that transition was in the dirt.

Pre-race prep went well. I got my nutrition in, had my ibuprofen in good time, and the pre-race porta potty visit was successful as well.

I got into the water with just a couple of minutes to go. Met up with a couple of other Sharks and tried to work out whether we were swimming clockwise or counter-clockwise. Everyone was lining up facing counter-clockwise, so we figured that was it, and after a couple of quick warm up swims, I positioned my self on the outside edge of the heat.

The horn went off, and it was on. The water was about perfect. A little chilly to begin with, but once we got moving it was great. The course was a triangular shape, and Olympic distance did 2 laps. The swim to the first buoy was really long, but I tried to stay calm and smooth. A couple of collisions, but I held my ground and it went well. Between the back two buoys, I started to get a side stitch, and a cramp which moved up to my shoulder. I’ve been getting these a fair bit lately. I think it may have to do with my breathing, and increased intensity. I tried to stay slow and fluid, and breathe easily.

As I turned to complete my first loop, it was right into the sun. It was a good thing, since I forgot about the cramping and focussed on try to stay straight and see where I was going. By the time I started lap #2, I was feeling much better, and I started to find my groove. I sped up a little and felt like I was headed for a strong finish.

Hopping out the water was tricky. With a couple of waves starting after mine, the mud on the edge had gotten very soft and squishy. I swan in as far as I could and then squished and slid out of the water. The run to transition was carpeted, but they had a shoe zone, since the transition itself had a lot of small rocks and stones in it.

The shoe thing didn’t go well. Next year I’m taking flip flops instead of water shoes. I had my wetsuit down to my waist by the time I hit transition, leaving my goggles and cap in the sleeve as I pulled my hand through - coolest trick ever!!!

By the time my suit was completely off, my feet were covered in mud. I tried to scrape it off as best as I could, and slipped the shoes on. I was going to try biking without socks for the first time in a race. It was easier not having to put socks on, but with the mud my transition was over 3 minutes. To make matters worse, someone asked a family member for the time, and it seems like my swim had taken almost 35 minutes - NOT GOOD!

Perhaps now would be a good time to mention my goals…

My plan was for a strong swim in the 30 minute range, which would be a PR by 2 minutes, but I felt was possible.

T1 was supposed to be a minute, since I wasn’t going to be messing with socks.

The bike course is an out and back with a big hill going out and then down coming back. I went conservative and figured a 1:20 would be a good time to go for.

T2 was supposed to be another minute or so.

The run, I was going to start slow, and try and hold 9:30 per mile for the whole run.

With those plans, and factoring some cushioning in, my goal was 2:55, although I would have been stoked with anything under 3.

Got on the bike and tried to get into a rhythm. I didn’t feel bad, and I was moving quickly, but it just wasn’t perfect. 3 miles of flat and downhill, and then we began the climb up the canyon. I got passed a bit, did my own passing, but by 6 miles in, I was starting to feel the groove again.

I hit the top of the canyon with an average speed of 17.5 mph. Which considering that I’d been hovering around 15 most of the way up, was pretty good.

I turned and headed down… Free speed Baby!! I took the speed up to about 30mph. It felt great. It took some concentration, since the road wasn’t the best, but I managed to hold it to the bottom of the canyon. Average speed was now up above 20mph, and I began the final 3 miles up to transition. At this point the road was really busy, with all the Sprint Athletes out on the course as well. It made it fun though.

Transition was interesting. There was a looooong run in the dirt between the dismount and the entrance. As we approached the entrace there were about 3 or 4 sprint gals walking slowly through. I’m grateful for the girl beside me, who started yelling for them to move, thus clearing the way for her and I. There were a number of dirty looks given, but if you’re going to walk slowly next to your buddy and stop in the entrance you deserve it.

Mud and dirt were still an issue in T2, although there was a little less mud now. I grabbed a 5 hour energy as well, and drained my gel flask. Grabbed the Garmin and back out onto the course in just under 3 minutes. Not great, but I was feeling good, so perhaps I could make it up on the run.

My last couple of races, I’ve left transition and held a 7:30 to 8:00 pace for the first half mile or so. That may have been my downfall at those races, so this time, I opted to try and stay around 9:00. It was tough, and it hurt but I managed to hold it.

The run was a trail alongside the dam. Pretty flat, but there was a definitely decline heading out, and incline heading back. I stayed fairly consistent and managed to run solidly all the way out. At the turn around I started feeling really good and figured I could pick it up a bit. It also helped that I was starting to run by other Sharks and plenty of high 5’s and encouragement were shared.

With 2 miles to go, I came upon #123. He had an O and a 33 on his legs, just like me. That meant same age group - and he was looking tired. I figured I’d hold it behind him for a while, and then opt for a final kick over the last 250 yards or so to pass him. It’s the first time, I’ve ever worried about strategy in a race, and it was both fun, and it took my mind off my legs.

It was going well, until the 5 mile mark where he stopped for a drink… I blew by him and tried to up the tempo a bit, but I’m guessing he say my leg markings and got an adrenaline charge. He came flying by me seconds later. I figured he’d burn out a little way down the trail and I’d catch him then, but he kept going to the end. DOH!! I sped it up a little with half a mile to go, and came into the finish feeling strong, but spent.

All in all, it was an excellent race. I felt good in all three legs, and felt like my nutrition and pacing were dead on. The only thing I wasn’t ecstatic about was the swim, but it seemed everyone’s swim times were off, leading us to suspect that the swim course may have been long. So that’s my excuse for that.

Finals Times

Swim: 34:02
T1: 3:21
Bike: 1:14:42 (Average Speed 19.9 mph)
T2: 2:50
Run: 53:15 (Average Pace 8:35 per mile WOW!!)

Overall in my division, I was 15th in the swim, 13th on the bike and 15th on the run, giving me a final placing of 14/24. Still plenty of room for improvement, and I do have a really tough division.

Final Time: 2:48:11

Now my previous Olympic PR was at BAM last month in a time of 2:41 and some change, but this course was 3 miles longer on the bike, and a quarter mile longer on the run, and if you factor that in, with my average speeds at the two events, I think this one comes out as a new PR.

My final results are here.

And there are photo’s located here. I particularly like some of the bike pics, and the run ones where I’m going from right to left. The left to right ones were on the way out, and I was hurting.

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BAM is an Olympic Distance Triathlon, hosted by WARP - Wasatch Area Race Production - at Soldier Hollow, in Midway, UT.  It was the venue for many of the cross country type events at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and is an incredible venue for both winter and summer events.

The week before had some pretty crappy weather in Northern Utah, and weather predictions for Race Weekend were not looking good at all.

My personal race predictions were looking good though…  Here they are:

Swim: 32:00

T1: 5:00

Bike: 1:05

T2: 2:00

Run: 50:00

We decided to camp out at the venue, which was going to make logistics a lot easier, and  the kids have all be begging to go camping for a while now.

Lesson #1:  Camping out at the venue absolutely rocks, even when it rains, which it did, and hard too.

Lesson #2:  Camping out with 5 kids, aged 10 months to 9 years, not such a hot idea.

When all was said and done, it wasn’t too bad. At about 10pm however, a certain kid, who shall remain nameless, chucked my big, solid MagLight at another kids leg, which kid then proceeded to scream bloody murder, to the point that he then threw up all over himself, a couple of sleeping bags and a pillow or two.

But when you factor out little incidents like that, it wasn’t a bad weekend.  We arrived about 4:20 on Friday afternoon, and by 4:45, had the tent up, most of out stuff unloaded, and I was sprinting like a mad fool, to grab the race packets for 3 of the kids.  5:00 we had the kids race (See previous posting), and following that we dropped my bike off at Deer Creek, and headed into town for dinner.

The night was actually fairly warm.  A couple of big thunderstorms rolled through, but they stopped around midnight, and it was quite peaceful after that.  I heard from one of the race directors that they had done “The Dance”, naked, at midnight in T2.  I can’t say for sure if they did, but whatever it was, it worked.

Just a heads up… This race report, as with all of my reports is waaaaaay looooong. I get kind of wordy, and I like to include details, so I can go through what worked and what didn’t. There are photo’s however, so if you want to see those, and my final results, just scroll down to the end.

I woke up at about 3:30 and kind of lay around until 4:30.  I hit the restrooms, got my race kit on and then walked my run stuff up to T2.

BAM is a point to point race, so you drop your bike off at the swim venue the day before, setup your run equipment at the 2nd transition area on race morning, and then catch a bus to T1 to check your bike and setup your bike equipment.

I was the one of the first people set up my run stuff, meaning I got the pick of positions, and then headed down for a quick shot of carnation instant breakfast, grabbed my bags, and got on the bus.

While I enjoy meeting new people, I was grateful to find some fellow sharks to sit with. Sandi, Sue and Steve were all at the back of the bus, and I got to meet Polly as well!

Got to my bike at around 6, set up my aero bottle, checked the tired, set up the Garmin and then wondered around nervously. Got to meet a couple of other sharks, and then tried to focus on getting ready for the race.

7am I grabbed Gu #1 - vanilla (mmmmm!!), and then noticed that Stef had arrived as well. Stef is a blogging buddy from Las Vegas. I got to meet her in person at Rage earlier this year, and it was really great to see her again. They say that Facebook and other social networking type things (like blogging) can limit your social interactions, but I think they can really enhance them as well. I’ve met a couple of new people in those endeavors, who’ve turned out to be great friends, and it’s always good to be able to share a race with people you know.

7:30 grabbed the second Gu, and wondered off to get the wetsuit on.

7:40 Wondered over to the water with Stef and hopped in to warm up - which is interesting, because I’m sure my core temperature dropped significantly as the barely liguid water slipped through my zipper and through my neck. Brrrrr! It wasn’t as cold as it had been a couple of weeks before, but it was still chilly!!

7:50 Staggered out of the water - Does anyone else have trouble walking normally when they exit a lake?

National Anthem, suck down Gu #3 (Mint Chocolate - best flavor ever!!), luck wishing to Stef, Steve and Josh and then into the water for the start. I positioned myself towards the back, but on the inside path of the course. Glad I warmed up too, because the water felt much better the second time around. There was a count down, and then the ROTC from BYU (I think) shot off the canon. I expected it to be louder, but I also had ear plugs in! First time plugging the ears in a race, and I think I shall be doing it from now on - definitely helped me stay focused.

Collided with a couple of bodies en route to turn one, but I kept going - Score that a win!! First turn wasn’t too bad. I got grabbed on the butt a couple of times, but it’s a sporting event, so that’s OK - right?!? I may have done some inadvertent groping as well.

The course was a triangular shape, and doing the full distance meant two laps. 2nd turn went very well, as did number 3. Back to the start for round 2. I was starting to get a stomach cramp at this point - don’t think it was the Gu’s since it’s happened the last couple of times I swam open water as well. I think it has to do with continuous swimming, which can only be practiced in open water, so I’m hoping to do more of that this year.

I started chanting to myself “There is no spoon, it’s all in my head, there is not spoon” This in reference to a part of The Matrix, referenced by blogger buddy xt4 here and which words he’d wished me well just prior to signing off for the weekend. Thanks xt4! It really helped!!

By the middle of lap 2, I was feeling really good again, and I was only just starting to be passed by athletes from the second wave which started 5 minutes later. Things were looking good for a PR swim!!

Final stretch felt really good, although my shoulder were feeling tired, but you don’t need shoulders on the bike now - do you!!

Exited well, unzipped the suit (QR Breakaway zipper - you ROCK!!), grabbed the caps, goggles in one swipe, pulled out the plugs, into the cap and then I pulled them through my sleeve, dropped them halfway - Excellent race tactic - thanks to the person who recommended that!!

Exited right behind another Shark - turned out to be Club President Di, who had beaten me in the swim at Rage by almost a minute, despite starting 7 minutes later - doing some quick math… That means I could be 3 minutes faster than Rage, and I suspect she has improved as well.

Wetsuit came off well, transition felt quick and it was off on the bike. I was able to check the time about a minute into the ride and it said 8:40. Wave was supposed to start at 8:00, which means with the minute or so on the bike, Swim and T1 were about 37:00 minutes. Perfectly in line with goals!! Nice

The first section of the bike is along a highway. There was not supposed to be any passing, but with some short course athletes already on the course, that was tricky. I tried to be safe and picked my passing spots carefully, but I did blow by a couple of mountain bikes, and the odd tri bike as well.

3 miles into it, I passed Di back again, and was holding an average speed just above 20mph - so far so good.

The BAM course is really fast, but there are some hills, and they hit after the first 5 or 6 miles. Nothing too steep though, and I stayed in my big ring for all of it. I had a shot of gu as well, as drank a fair amount of HEED too. My nutrition seemed to be going well, although my stomach was feeling a little full. The 3 before trick I tried at my first marathon and it worked well, but I realized that I didn’t take on anything else for the first half of that race, so I opted not to take any more Gu on.

After the climbing came the downhill. LOVED IT!! Nothing too steep, but I got some good speed! Topped out at a little over 33mph at one point, but generally tried to keep it between 22 and 26mph for the second half. At one point I was down in the aero position, cranking away, and holding a 28mph average for a couple of miles - it felt really really good!!

A little climbing in the last couple of miles, before a few miles a perfect downhill, and then one final big hill up to T2.

It looked like I was heading for about a 1:05 time on the bike, and I’d forgotten what my goal was 1:03, 1:05?!? Either way, I was close. Hopped off the bike without incident, just to see to other sharks come flying in right behind me. SHARK ATTACK IN TRANSITION!!!

Opted to skip the 5 hour energy, grabbed the hat instead of the bandanna, and I was off!

T2 time - 1:30 or so. Nice job Mike, just keep it together. There is no spoon!! There is no spoon!!

The first 2 miles of the run were rough. I started well, but my toes were all numb. I think I need to invest in some bigger bike shoes. Kind of held it together until the first big hill into Soldier Hollow itself. I think it was all mental, and I was trying to get back control. Sweat was also starting to run down my neck, and it turns out, I had some wicked chaffing from my wetsuit. Owwwwww!!!

Hit the top of the hollow, and decided I need to run down - averaged around 7:30/mile coming down - BACK IN THE GAME BABY!!

There’s a nasty short hill at the bottom, and I put my head down and went for it. Doing well, grabbed some Heed at the aid station, and threw water on the neck. Doing well. The next two mile went OK. Walked one or two steep hills, but generally kept running and was feeling strong.

At mile 4 I bumped into my friend Mike from work. He was doing the Lite course and was about a mile into his run. He was looking good, and it was nice to chat for a while. Another downhill came, and I used gravity to my advantage again, taking off for lower elevations. The final two miles went pretty well. Passed Di at one of the switch backs and exchanged 5’s and then headed up for the finish. Walked one last beastly hill with a half mile to go, and then picked a couple of guys to chase into the finish. I caught them both just prior to the final turn and heard my name announced. “Mike Mackrory, looking for a strong finish”

Yes I will! Thank you very much.

The kids were waiting in the finish shoot, I yelled “High Fives Guys!” and got all but 2, even the wife I think! That is the reason my daughters photo looks like this….

Got to break the tape - first time ever, and then staggered into the finishers tent for some water and a rest.

Rested for a while. Got to see Mike and Di finish right behind me, and then figured it best to go and rescue my wife from the kids.

That about sums it up for the race. Official finish times haven’t been posted online yet, but from what I saw on the final list outside the timing trailer…

My swim time was 32:09 (9 seconds shy of my goal, but my previous PR was 34:23. That’s HUGE. Beat myself 2:12 - WOOHOO!!)

T1 was something crazy like 2:17 or something ridiculous. Goal was 5, although I really wanted to hit 3. Hell yeah! I’ll take that!!

Bike Time according to Garmin - 1:04:29 with avg of 20.2. Goal was 1:05, so I beat that, and PR’d something fierce! This wasn’t a full Olympic distance race, so it’s hard to compare, but I have never gotten an average over 20 in a race before, and my previous Olympic PR avg was 19.5 in Provo last year - and that course could not have been flatter - we’re talking 40 ft difference between the highest and lowest points!!

T2 - Garmin again - 1:31 - well under my 2 minute goal. Way to skip the dilly dallying!!

Run - 1:00:36 - That’s off my goal by over 10 minutes and without a doubt my slowest Olympic distance run of all time (This was my third race though!). I don’t feel too bad about it, because I did well on the swim, and I pushed really hard on the bike. My run training, has been slack of late too, and this course is BRUTAL. But all that aside I still have much to improve on - A little too much spoon on this section if you ask me.

Final time was 2:41 and some change. 6 minutes off my goal, but I’m still stoked about it. Even if you factor in the additional 4 miles on the bike for a full Olympic event, that’s still a PR against my best ever Oly Tri by over 10 minutes!!

Nice job to Stef who I believed PR’d by 29 minutes over last year or something close (Her coach says 29, she says 28… I think Stef may be playing it down, so let’s go with the Coach’s numbers!!)

I believe my friend Mike won his division - I was breaking down a tent at the time, surrounded by kids, but I think that’s what I heard, and I thought he did really well!!

And the father of the family that camped next to us won his division as well - on his first triathlon as well!!

I think the family on the other side of us cleaned up as well - but I expect that from them Their two kids are extremely talented and my goal is to be a parent as supportive as theirs. So while I don’t have the official results… Ian and Mia - well done too!

I thought the event was really well run, although there were some weather issues, and I believe the off-road duathlon got canceled on Saturday night due to thunderstorms, which sucks for those who planned on doing it. But overall, it was a great weekend.

Where to from here:

Short term - Shark Attack Sprint Triathlon is next week. Need to do some speed training on my run and my swim early this week to be ready. The plan is to push the swim, really push the bike, and hopefully have enough in the tank to go sub 25 minutes on the 5k. I can do it!!

Middle term - My run needs work, and I could do with some longer distance swim training. I feel capable though, just need to the time.

Long term - I’m definitely coming back to BAM next year. It’ll be weeks after IronMan, so assuming I’m prepared for that, I should be back in shape again. I going to attempt the BadAss next year though. 9k trail run on Friday night, full BAM triathlon on Saturday morning and off road Duathlon on Saturday night. Should be a blast!!

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