Spartan SoCal (3/11/13)

OK, so Runners Roost has said that they would like (expect) that if one of their runners has a blog, then you should post at least once a week.  I have tried to not do this, I'm really not that interesting and no one wants to read a dyslexics non-proof-readed (dyslexics of the word UNTIE!) ramblings, but I have put it off as long as I can.

I didn't do so well in this weeks Running of the Green so instead of moaning about that story, I thought I would tell you this one.  Spartan SoCal.

I have become totally addicted to the whole Spartan obstacle racing thing.  In a nut shell, a Spartan race is a trail running race with a bunch of strength obstacles that you have to perform that are scattered throughout the course.  I did one last May in Ft. Carson, CO and after winning it, thought that I could compete against the best so I signed up for the Spartan SoCal weekend.  The web site listed the race as 8+ miles with 20 or so obstacles along the way, how hard can this be?  Being full of arrogance from winning my one and only Spartan race, I thought I could sign up for both the Saturday and Sunday Elite race and at least place in each race.  Let me tell you, the course made me pay dearly for my lack of respect.

The Folks at Spartan have stated that it is their goal to elivate obsticle course racing to the Olympic level.  To do that, they must grow a pro field and expand globally.  SoCal was the first race where they offered prize money.  As a result everyone who was anyone in Spartan racing was there including 11 race winner Hobie Call.  Well, I wanted to race the best, here I go.

The course was a brutal 8.8 single track trail with over 3000 ft of vertical.  The course would be brutal on it's own.  Added to the difficult course we had obsticles like a travers wall, 8' 7' and 6' walls, mud pits and scrambles, tire flips, atlas carries and 21 other similar tasks.  Since the course was long and difficult, I took it easy in the first climb straight off of the starting line, and then started to move into the lead group.  I was in 4th or 5th and within seconds of the leader when we came to the monkey bars which normally I wouldn't even mention.  Unfortunalty it had been raining in San Diego for the past week and was still raining and I had mud on my hands and ok, that's enough excuses.  I fell off and had to do 30 burpees (with push ups) which took me out of the lead group for good.  I spent the next 3 miles and I can't remember how many obsticles to get back into the top ten when I failed the tire flip (again).  30 burpees later I was off and running again and starting to crap. 

The last 1.8 miles where the hardest I have ever had to race.  There was a 1000 ft climb that was more of a hands and feet scramble then it was a run with two 7' walls at the top, a cargo net climb, then a screaming descent past the 8 mile mark into a 75 meter lake swim.  Since it had been raining for a week straight, the water could not have been warmer than 50 degrees.  By the time I got 50 meters, I was so dizzy from the cold that I actually started to fear for my life, but I did make it out and stumbled into the gauntlet.  The last .8 mile went three mud pit/bum climbs into barbed wire sand crawl into water pit into 45 degrees greased plane climb into a 100 lb weight hoist up 15 feet into a spear throw into a 20 foot romp climb into a fire jump into a run through three gladiators with bow-staffs and then the finish.  I'm tired just typing it.  Everything went well until the hoist.  The rope was soaked and my grip strength was gone so I had a 30 burpee penalty.  I then turned the corner to the spear throw and I hit the target, but the spear had to much torque and it popped out.  30 more burpees.  At this point my chest and biceps started to cramp in earnest and I barely made it through the penalty.  I jogged to the rope climb and was able to hoist my carcass up and touch the bell, but immediately my forearms failed and I dropped the 20 feet from the top and into the 3 feet of muddy water below.  Thankfully I wasn't hurt and I managed to drag my battered body and devistated ego across the finish line for 7th place.

To say that the 22 hours between the finish on Saturday and the start on Sunday were some of the darkest moments in my competitive life would be an understatement.  I thought myself to be this tough Ironman athlete who could manage just about anything, yet this 8.8 mile run had bested me! 

Hopefully Sunday would bring a new day and a different result.  Never mind the fatigue I now felt.

5430 Half-Ironman (70.3 Boulder)

This year's race is the tenth anniversary of the first 5430 half at the Boulder Reservoir.  I doubt that Ironman North America would acknowledge it, but it is an interesting fact.  In that inaugural race I came back from a 6 plus minute deficit off of the bike to run down Ironman (Kona) legend Wolfgang Dietrich to win the overall title.  To say that I have fond memories of that race would be an understatement.  Remember this bit of trivia, it may win you a pair of ironman socks at the 'manditory' pre-race meeting one of these years.

In the 2012 addition of the half-ironman I felt the added pressure of the Boulder Series Points race hanging in the balance.  I had a total of 13 points due to my flat tire in the sprint while Steve Johnson had a score of  10 points since he raced in the amateur elite category which receives no points.  If I could somehow finish second and Steve finished first, I would earn 8 points and he would earn 10 so I would win by a point.  Anything less than a second place finish would mean I would finish second in the series.  Normally I wouldn't worry about having to finish second, but the field in my age group in this race is stacked.  The last three Americans to finish on the podium at the Ironman World Championships in Kona in my age group all live in the Front Range and were lined up on the start line.  I came in third in 2004, Tim Hola placed several times since 2005, and Steve Johnson came in second last year.  To add to it, Tim Hola had beaten me handily last year at the ITU Long Course World Championships when the swim was cancelled.  For me to place second, I had to beat one of these two!

Going into the race I thought I had two ways of finishing where I needed to.  Ideally, I would win the swim with a 30 second or more lead, then get away from Tim in the early part of the bike and then hopefully Tim wouldn't allow Steve to pass him on the bike (there's a story behind this that I will save for later) giving me a lead going into the run...I win!  Option two, I get out of the water with Hola, stay with him on the bike, Steve gets stuck behind him on the bike, we start the run together, and I out run one or both.  Option three, I hope that I come in third and Hola wins.  I don't love this option, but it would work out points wise.

Before the race started when I was starting out for a warm-up run, I crossed paths with Tim.  After exchanging pleasantries we started making excuses as to why we weren't ready for this race (I know it's odd, but this is a normal conversation).  He said that he had already done two Ironman races and that although rested, he had little speed.  For my part, I told him about my ankle injury.  I explained that I hadn't run more then 10 miles this year with no brick workouts and very little speed since that is what hurt my ankle the most.  I even asked, pleaded really, that he beat Steve so I could still win the series.  He promised to try.

After a long wait from the 7:05 pro start to the 8:00 35-39 male start, I found myself at the start line next to Tim.  Normally I would seek out this start position, but since I can see (thank you Colorado Ophthalmology) and I have been swimming fast, I would have preferred to start far away from him so I could get clear easier.  Once the gun sounded, I took off and got clear of the field.  I didn't feel anyone closely trailing me but I didn't flip over to check.  I started running down the first two waves in front of me before the first turn and then after the turn buoy I settled into a smooth pace where I concentrated on the glide phase of my stroke.  With about 200 meters left I noticed that I did have a trailer and Tim had been riding my draft all swim.  He tried to come around, but I slipped under the exit banner first with Tim right behind.  We went into transition together and exited together.  I am a little disappointed with my swim time.  Twenty five minutes is reasonable, but the way I'm swimming this year I expected a 24 low. 

The first part of the ride is a dangerous section for me.  I am not a powerful rider and the first 8 miles are a slight uphill power climb.  This type of riding fits into Tim's strength on the bike.  I resolved to try to pace off of him and I was fortunately able to keep pace with him.  If the first half of the lap favors him, the second half favors me.  I am more aerodynamic and a smoother rider and the down hill favors me.  We started the second lap together.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep up on the first part of the second lap and he was able to get out of sight quickly.  To add insult to injury, Steve passed me at mile 30 and Eric Kenney (I got to chat with Eric after the race for the first time and he's a really great guy) passed me five miles later.  I got to the top of the hill on 36 and knew my only chance to get back into the race was to push my advantage on the down hill.  I pushed the down hill hard.  My new Jamis just screamed down hill.  I was going so fast that the lift created by my aero-helmet actually started to lift the helmet off of my head.  Good thing it was strapped on tight!  Once I made the turn at the bottom of the long down hill who should I see right in front of me but Tim.  My strategy worked -- thank you Jamis!  I matched my bike course PR of 2 hours and 14 minutes in a year that I have been biking slower in general.  It's gotta be the shoes bike!

Tim gained about 30 to 40 seconds on me in the last 10 miles and I started the run in fourth.  About 4 minutes behind Steve and 40 seconds behind the tandem of Tim and Eric.  Since I haven't done any long runs or bricks, I felt that my best chance to at least get second (I could see that Tim was going to do me no favors in beating Steve) was to be patient on the first lap and try to get within sprinting distance with a mile or two to go.  By the first turn around I had moved into third and 25 seconds behind Tim.  By the end of the first lap I was only 10 seconds behind Tim and due to the enthusiastic cheering from the Runner's Roost crew, Tim learned how close I was.  Starting the second lap Tim allowed me to catch him so he could ask if my ankle was feeling OK.  Actually it sounded as if he was questioning the reality of my injury (apparently he hasn't been reading my blog, Oh the horrors!).  I assured him that this was my longest run of the summer, but I doubt that it gave him any comfort.  Well, at this point I was in a bit of a pickle.  I didn't want to pass him and be forced to set the pace and risk my lack of fitness getting the better of me, but on the other had I wasn't sure he would allow me to sit on his back shoulder for the next 6 miles.  Sure enough Tim slowed down a mile later forcing me to pass.  So pass him I did.  I accelerated hoping that I could keep it together for a 5 mile acceleration.  At the second turn around I had a 26 second lead and by the finish line I put on another minute for a second place finish and an overall win for the series!  I ran a pedestrian 1:24, but given where I have been this year I couldn't have been more thrilled with my effort.  Overall I finished with a time of 4:07.35 which is a course PR for me after 10 years of racing this course. 

Unfortunately my concern about my lack of condition was well founded and the race ended in the medical tent.  I am extremely grateful to the Runner's Roost team for making sure I got in and out of the tent without going to the hospital.  In particular I will forever be in debt to Jesse and Tristin for staying with me while I received a liter of IV fluid. 

I also need to thank Jamis, PowerBar, and VeloSoul for helpping me get to this race and to perform as well as I could. 

Thank you,
Kirk



How fast does this set-up look!

5430 Sprint and Boulder Peak - We'll See

Gust Avrakotos: There’s a little boy and on his 14th birthday he gets a horse… and everybody in the village says, “how wonderful. The boy got a horse” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.” Two years later, the boy falls off the horse, breaks his leg, and everyone in the village says, “How terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.” Then, a war breaks out and all the young men have to go off and fight… except the boy can’t cause his legs all messed up. and everybody in the village says, “How wonderful.”

Charlie Wilson: Now the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

~Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

Well, it's been a long interesting three weeks so let me start from the beginning. 

Sunday three weeks ago:
The Denver Triathlon four weeks ago changed their course to include 6 trips over railroad tracks where the pavement had buckled so that riding over it created a jolt to the bike and rider.  I never thought about checking my equipment after the race for signs of trauma.  Fast forward to the night before the sprint.  As I was filling the front tire I noticed that there was a crack in my 808 front wheel where the tire is glued onto the rim that had gone through to both sides.  Since the race was the next day and I couldn't do anything about it, I just hoped the wheel would hold for one 17 mile ride. 

The 5430 Sprint should more accurately be called the world sprint triathlon championships based on the level of competition.  Any error in your race will move you off the podium.  With that in mind, I tried to push the pace from the gun.  I had a great swim, leaving the water with a sizable lead over my rivals.   Not more then half a mile from the reservoir's entrance I hear the unmistakable pisst pisst pist of a tire going flat.  It's my rear tire and I hop off the bike and cover the hole with my thumb to allow the tire sealant inside to cover the hole.  Every time I moved my thumb I heard the continued sound of air escaping.  As I am fiddling with my tire I watch the other competitors pass me and I can even swear I hear one of them laugh as they pass.  Once all the air was gone, I turned around to walk back to the reservoir and then home.  Two dozen steps later a mechanic's truck pulls up to me and offers a replacement rear wheel.  It takes me a second or two to decide a poor result is better then not finishing, so I accept the wheel.  Now, the new Zipp Firecrest wheels are considerably thicker than  their previous wheels so we can't get the wheel into my frame until I release the rear break.  This allows the wheel to fit into my rear triangle so I attempt to get back into the race, but the wheel is flush with the left brake pad.  I stop and get off the bike again and the only way I can seat the wheel in the frame without it rubbing all the time is by placing the wheel in cattywumpus into the dropouts.  At least the wheel isn't rubbing, but isn't in line with the frame.  Again I try to join the race that's passed me by and this time the bike is rideable even though the wheel flexes into the left pad on every pedal stroke.  By the time I get off the bike I'm spent, but I manage to run into 5th place in the age group.  I'm happy with the place considering the hardships, but it's a place that I know takes me out of the running for the series points race. 

“How terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

Monday:
I have been going to the same physical therapist, Todd O'Mara since my knee surgery in 2008.  After looking at the Achilles tendinitis in my left ankle he tells me that it's time to see a doctor and I may need to start wearing a boot.  Then Bikesource confirms my wheel is unrideable and since it's 7 years old, it's past warranty.

“How terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”


Friday:
Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays I take care of the kids all day.  Anja wanted to go the the zoo and then I had arranged to take her to my in-laws so I can get a quick ride in.  To save time I pack my biking stuff into the car, throw the bike on my roof rack, grab some snacks and head for the zoo.  Anja and I were having a very animated discussion about Rapunzel in the movie Tangled when I swing the car into the lower level of the Denver Zoo's garage which has 7 feet of clearance at best.  The ripping sound almost makes me puke.  I run out of the car forgetting to put the parking brake on, see my mangled bike on the pavement, watch the car roll further into the garage, sprint to catch up to the car, yank the brake, run to my bike, wrap my 70 feet of magic hair around the bike and the frame and fork, "Flower gleam and grow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what was mine ..."  It's no use.  I place the bike in the trunk and the roof rack which was also torn off in the front passenger seat and take off for Turin Bike shop where I bought the bike.  En route I manage to get a photo ticket for stopping beyond the white line at a red light. I then find out at Turin that the handlebars, fork, and rear wheel are ruined and the frame seems "OK".  However, you can't always tell with carbon.

“How terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

I order a new fork and jump back into the car to go to the shop I always go to, Velosoul, Chris puts the bike on the stand to do his own assessment of my race bike. 
Note:  Velosoul is a small boutique bike shop close to my house that was opened three or four years ago by a friend of mine.  Although the shop is under it's third owner, I have remained with the shop.  They are too small to really sponsor athletes, but they help me when they can and I am always grateful to them.  Last year they tried to get me into a Jamis  bike since that is what they sell, with little luck
Not more than 5 minutes later the new Jamis rep comes through the front door on his once every 8-12 week shop visit.  I can't believe it!  He looks at my bike, we talk about triathlon and our mutual friends in South Florida (I used to train out of Naples, FL), and the shop.  I give him my resume, and I leave the shop hoping for the best.

“how wonderful.” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.”

I then start driving Anja back to the zoo when I get a phone call from the foot and ankle doc who reiterates that I may need a boot and make an appointment for the following Tuesday.

"How terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

Anja and I have a great time watching the sea lion show as well as the new elephant show were I see an elephant swim for the first time. 

“how wonderful.” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.”

Monday:
First thing I get a call from Velosoul.  Jamis is going to sponsor me and give me a Xenith T2!

“how wonderful.” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.”

Next Thursday:
My training partner Tracy Matteson (we share race wheels) gets a used Zipp firecrest 1080 front wheel for cheap.  I pick it up.

“how wonderful.” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.”

The next Friday:
My bike arrives in the shop two days before the Boulder Peak Triathlon and my only chance to qualify for the 5150 US championships

Saturday:
I ride it for 45 minutes.  It feels good, but is different then my previous bike.  I'm further forward which will be better in the long run, but it uses my hamstrings more and I can feel it.  Me on the new Jamis

“how wonderful.” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.”

Saturday night:
The new tire I had purchased and glued to my rear disc after the flat gets sliced on glass and is filled with slant and silicone.  Here we go again.

"How terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

Sunday (Boulder Peak)
The tire held air overnight, so there is hope.  I have another great swim getting out in 19:30 and the effort felt easy.  I had a huge lead over my age-group.  Normally I know that if I can get to the summit of Old Stage Road I should be able to out run anyone who passes me after the summit.  I like to start the lead up to the steep climb fairly conservative  I that when the climb really starts I have some power to put into it.  All goes well with this strategy until I hit the Lee hill.  As soon as I get out of the saddle or push hard on the peddles, the new front wheel rubs in the brake pads.  I start having deja vu to the last race.  Despite this disadvantage I manage to hold the lead past the summit and all the way to the turn onto 63 where there are only 10 or so miles to go.  I get passed by two and starting the run I can see one of them.  I pass him just after the first mile marker and then set my sights on the lead.   I gain the lead after the second mile marker and after the turn around, I know that I will not be caught.  I end up winning the age group by about two minutes.  To make the day even better, the first two places from the sprint didn't do the race, the third place finisher finished fourth at the Peak, and I am now sitting with a four point lead in the age-group points race!

“how wonderful.” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.”

After these three weeks I will forever be in debt to Velosoul, Jamis, and Tracy.  This small thank you can't express my gratitude.  Thank you.

I also would like to thank Runners Roost,  PowerBar, and Pearl Izumi for your continued support.

Kirk Framke

 

2012 Denver Triathlon

The Denver Triathlon 2012

After last year’s Denver Triathlon, I was excited to compete in this year’s event.  I enjoy the easy drive from the Platt Park neighborhood where I live to Mile High/Sloan’s Lake for the race.  Perhaps the best part of the race is the abundance of Roost racers and volunteers.  I felt like everyone there knew my name.  The race carried the same two-transition format as last year plus a change in the bike course.  Going into the race I didn’t think too much about the change in the bike course from a two-loop flat and straight course to a two and a half loop course full of quick corners.  I figured though that the times would be slower as a result.

This year I competed in my age group as opposed to the ‘amateur elite’ category.  Last year I got a nice draft in the swim behind the eventual second place finisher (David Bobka), but this year as a result of my classification change I had clear water until the last turn when I was passed going into the beach.  I would love to believe that swimming with the DU Varsity Swimming Team has gotten me to the point were I can swim a 16:55, but something tells me that the course was a bit short.  What’s 150 meters between friends anyway?  I was happy with my swim.  I had no problem seeing the sparse buoys thanks to my new eyes and my split was the same time as when I swam behind Bobka, but this year I was leading instead of drafting.  That’s improvement.

Unfortunately things weren’t as good on the bike.  I got out of the water just behind another guy in my wave (I’ll call him John) and I excited T1 first.  I biked the first lap with him behind me so that I always saw his shadow trailing me.  Normally this wouldn’t bug me, but for some reason it did (I think I was more frustrated that I was going so slowly).  A mile into the second lap I over took the slower triathletes and a draft marshal.  In my miffed state I moved out to the left and yelled that the guy behind had been drafting me for over a lap and then I slipped back to the right and continued back to swerving in and out of the other cyclists.  I immediately felt some remorse for being a “tattle tale” something I have never done before in a race.  The status quo continued until the second climb up the 8^th street overpass when Gregory passed me amid a dozen or so other racers.  I dropped back as safely as I could in the traffic and then tried to accelerate over the summit to the turn around.  We then tried to navigate through the crowd on the twists, turns and railroad tracks that link the lower Mile High part of the course to the upper Sloan’s Lake part of the course.  On the climb to Federal, John put 20 to 30 seconds on me which took me the next 4 plus miles to retake him on the same hill going down.  As I passed he yelled something that I couldn’t understand with my aero helmet on.  Again I navigated the turns and slower riders and finally arrived into T2 after what can only be described as a sub-par bike split. 

I quickly transitioned to the run and things didn’t get much better.  I just didn’t feel like I had any pop to my run.  The only saving grace for my run split was that the course was only 5.9 miles instead of 6.2 so the time was a solid 35 flat.  The only issue is that I know in my heart of hearts that the course was short.  I hoped that it was identical to last year, which I ran 50 seconds slower thereby making my run better then last year.

The interesting part of the race came after the finish line.  John finished later and when I came to congratulate him on a good race he started telling me that we should have worked together so we could have gone at least two minutes faster and that I shouldn’t drop back so far after getting passed so that we could take more equal pulls.  He is a good guy (we used to ride together about 10 years ago although I doubt he remembers) and I don’t begrudge him saying this, but I explained that there was a marshal behind us and I wasn’t going to work together as a result.  Obviously the correct answer would have – no, because it’s against the spirit of the rules, but it was after the race and it was obvious that he wanted to work together and I didn’t, besides he is someone I respect and I was in no mood to disagree.

I heard them announce that I was second overall so I was pretty happy with my race result.  While I was waiting for the award ceremony to begin, I had a ton of fun playing football with Campbell, cuddling with Anja, and chatting with Erin while eating cookies.  I was curious about my swim split so I got up to check the splits on the results sheet.   I was surprised to see that I was given an unspecified bike position penalty.  It must have been bad karma while I was biking on the left (blocking) to tell the race marshal that someone was drafting.  Anyway, the penalty pushed me back into third overall, and one of the C-Different blind athletes moved into second place.  He is a great guy so I was happy for him and I was glad that I was still in the top three overall.  This was my first penalty in nine years, so it was a good reminder to be even more vigilant about my positioning on the bike and, also, that no one likes a tattle tale or being told how to do their job.  

Matt Smith and Me at the finish

Spartan Race Ft. Carson

Here are some pics from my first Spartan Race.  It was a ton of fun (when do you ever get to roll around in the mud with an m-16?) and I was fortunate enough to win the race.

Mud crawl w/ Gun

Bolder Boulder

Please excuse the typos, the kids need to be supervised!

The weekend race double is now complete and I every grateful for that.  I finished the Bolder Boulder in a time of
35:38 (+/-) which wins the age group and is somewhere around 90th place.  Unfortunately it looks like my chip wasn't working and I'm not listed in the results.. I have emailed the timers twice so far and I hope that it is corrected soon.

We couldn't have asked for a better day for the largest 10k that I compete in.  For those who have never done the Bolder Boulder, there are something like 60 runners, but the race feels small because you start in seeded waves of a couple hundred.  Any way, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature was a pleasantly in the mid 50's (I know a bit chilly but livable).  I started in the back middle of the A wave and that seemed a about right. Even though I do this race every year, I still have some trouble rationalizing finishing around 90th place as about right.  I started the run at a measured pace (5:32) since I knew the difficulty of the course really picked up at mile 3 and it seemed to work. 

I was able to maintain my pace through the second mile (5:33) and was fortunate enough to pass Justin Little.  A quick side comment about Justin, he is racing so fast this year that he is really pushing me.  On one hand I am grateful to be pushed while on the other, a pleasant jog through the Pearl street mall would have been nice too.  He is a far kinder person than I so it is gratifying to see him compete so well.  The third mile is where I started to struggle and I think that Saturdays race played a part in my suffering.  When the grade ticked up, I found it hard to power up the hills.  My third and fourth mile splits were 5?:51 and 5:52 respectively and I was so happy to run through the 'Highest Point' marker.  I was able to let my legs turn over better after the summit and I was able to hold 5:35 pace until the hill into the stadium.  I would have liked to loaf that hill and the lap of the track, but I could feel the mass of runners behind bearing down on me (thanks Justin) and I was able to only loose one place in the stadium.

At 35:38, I was just under 30 seconds faster than last year which is refreshing since all my other running races this year have been slower than last year.  I am hopeful that this is a harbinger of things to come.  I just hope that I make it back into the results some time soon.  I could really use a new key chain.  Thank you Runners Roost, Nike, Pearl Izumi, Power Bar and Colorado Ophthalmology.

2012 Pelican Fest Race report

I always get nervous before races and the first race of the year normally makes the butterflies living in my stomach flutter even more violently.  This year’s edition of the Pelican Fest Triathlon was no different.  I had won last year’s race handily and I was hoping to repeat the result which didn’t help my nerves.  I have normally used this race as a warm-up to the more competitive races later in the season because it has been able to maintain a local (and amateur only) feel which I find helps ease the anxiety of getting back into triathlon racing.

Saturday started with a some what unnatural yet welcome calm that bathed to ground with a thick fog that fogged your goggles and misted your wind shield.  Despite the fog the air was a refreshing 60 degrees at race start which made for ideal race conditions.  The race starts with brisk 63 degree 800 meter swim across Windsor Lake, followed by a rolling 10 mile time trial, and finishing with a 5k out and back run around the lake.  A nice quick race to knock the winter cobwebs from your winter hibernation. 

Before the race started I was looking forward to the swim because I have been swimming faster then years past so I was excited to see if my increase in pool speed translated into a faster swim split.  In addition to swimming faster, this was my first race with my LASIK enhanced eyes that allows me to see the buoys which I thought would also help me swim faster since I would be able to swim a straighter line. Unfortunately at the word go, I had, by anyone’s measure, a slow beach start that ended in me having a dozen or so swimmers to swim over and around.  After the first 200 meter buoy and the only 90 degree turn I was in 4^th place and within sight of first.  There was a lead group of two, and break, and then the one guy that I was behind.  I immediately tried to pass, but either he swam into me or I swerved into him which farced me back behind him.  I tried to pass several times only to be thwarted in the same way until just after the half way point when I was finally able to get past and into third place.  Once I was clear, I started to reel in the leaders, but I ran out of water so I exited the lake in third place 15 to 20 seconds back.  I had a reasonable transition and started the bike course.

On the bike I caught second at about 1.5 miles into the ride and discovered the shock of the day.  A bunch of ITU races had shown up to race.  Only in Colorado does a small local triathlon become an international Olympic qualifying race!  The rest of the ride was uneventful until the dismount line into t2 when I caught the leader and was also passed by an Argentinian ITU points racer (gotta love the names and country written on the uniform).  The original leader took the run out hard (+/- 5 min pace) and me and the Argentinian where forced to try to keep pace.  I passed the Argentinian after the first half mile, but I was a good 25 seconds behind first.  I was able to get some time back after the initial blazing pace so that I was with in 20 seconds behind the leading ITU racer, but once he saw me at the turn around he restarted his original relentless pace which I couldn’t match.  Once I realized that overtaking him was not to be, I shut it down and cruised for the last mile. 

Intellectually I know that second overall including beating 4 of 5 pros and posting a faster time then last year isn’t a bad result, but emotionally I would have liked to won.  Perhaps with a better start and a stronger effort on the run I might have been able to get the W, but probably not.  The one silver lining is that I am old enough to be the winner’s father.