2010 Peak Triathlon

The PEAK Tri returns to Montana!

The Peak Tri 2010 was the first Missoula Peak Tri and my 2nd training race. Being the first race you never know what kind of crowd the race will draw. Well, the race hype behind this one was legit, entry sold out within a couple days of opening up back in February.

The competition was very accomplished. The field included five, count ‘em five champions of Montana races. They included Olympic trials swimmer and former Ironman Swim record hold John Weston, Grizzly Triathlon and Missoula Marathon champ Elliot Bassette, Zootown Tri winner Justin Cloute, Jeremy Oury and of course yours truly. On top of that, the field had handfuls of top contenders that finished top 3 at the local races last year. This is not the field that I dream of when I am off racing shape, but I can’t control that.

"The Murder Machine"

"It's Muuuurrrrddeeerrrr" Chamillionaire.

Before the race started I noticed my bike was attracting a lot of attention, duh that’s because it is awesome. My favorite NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon, has a really flashy car, it attracts attention. My bike is the equivalent on the triathlon scale, whether it is rolling at 25mph or racked in transition it looks good. I have affectionately named it “The Murder Machine.” This year it has committed a few minor felonies while seeing the lead of the YTri, but it has not been charged with pre-meditated bike split murder like last year…yet.

Anyway, I felt great during my swim warm up, feeling the confidence to swim well, but apprehensive about the chase pack that would soon be riding hard to catch the swim leaders. I knew Weston would nuke everyone, but after that it would be unknown. The only thing that I have been able to put early season time in on was my swim so I knew I was due for a great swim. The first 4 laps saw Elliot, Justin, and I swim even, I was very happy with my flip turns, they were flippin’ amazing (pun genius). I swam, what felt like, incredibly fast for the next 3 laps and put a couple body lengths on Elliot, Justin and everyone else besides Weston. I think Weston took a break mid swim and got a massage before jumping in a finishing up.

I exited the pool feeling great in 2nd place, the first time I have out swam Justin or the 2006 Griz Champ Elliot. I had a great transition, my internal dialogue talking “sunglasses, race belt, helmet, move your a**!” I hit the mount line with a flying leap aboard the P3.

I made a hairpin 180 out onto the course. I hit the throttle and rode for a mile before getting my feet into my shoes.

After slipping my feet into my tri shoes, Elliot went by, then Justin in tow. The race held there for about 2 miles until the first big climb. Elliot, being small and a great climber, split our draft-legal pack apart. Justin hung about 10 lengths ahead of me. I knew that the intensity was too high for my level of fitness, I knew I needed more training to ride at redline. Descending the big hill I flew by Justin while doing 42 mph and hurting bad. He bridged up to the barely legal 2 bike lengths and stuck there until a mile after the turnaround.

At about 8 miles I continued to hurt badly, I was too tired to even think of taking a split to anyone in front or behind me. I stuck in 4th place and made the sweeper into T2 while riding Justin’s 6. Antara grabbed my bike, I calmly gave a stiff-arm to the volunteer that had grabbed Justin’s bike, keeping the volunteer from crossing my path and slowing down my transition. I had a great T2 and left in 3rd just in front of Justin.

The Liable Party for the Blisters

I currently do not have the form to run well so I just plain suffer, this course was hard and hilly, adding to my misery. Justin soon went past, while I suffered through anaerobic meltdown and the worst blisters ever, Oury went by running the fastest I have ever seen him run. I was so out of it I missed the 2nd dog-leg on a course I scouted for 20 minutes, dang lost a couple more spots for my stupidity.

With blisters killing my feet I was slowed to a walk on the last huge hill losing another spot or two. I nursed it into the finish with my feet at level 10 blister pain and my body at level 10 fatigue, crossing 11th overall and third in my age division. It didn’t help that Susie from the health club came up to me after the race and said, “We had you as the favorite to win.”  She did say she loved my bike though.

My muscles, lungs, and feet hurt!

There is not much to say about my race, I knew I wasn’t ready and it showed late in the race. I am getting there though; I can feel it after every race and hard workout. I don’t ever want to be in this position again, racing without being ready; this year is the only time that should happen. I can already see that I will have more than adequate training time with work; I will do what it takes, the exception being this year only.

I did win one thing though, the best entourage. My parents, my sister and brother-in-law, Corrie, Jess, PJ, Chris, Carrie, and friends were all cheering for me and it rocked.  The race itself was awesome, best run race in history, awards within an hour, lots of volunteers, tough course with good logistics, cool shirts, plus I left with a race belt and transition mat for awards. I won’t be surprised to see other Montana races copying this race…just like they copied the Aquathlon.

Painful as it looks?  Yep, every step was foot based torture.

Here is to another race and lots of training for me.

Training Update: Signs Of Life

I am finally starting to hit the grove of training, I am not fully immersed in quality training but I can feel it righwithin my reach. A couple more weeks of consistent training and I will be ready for serious training.

Feeling great on race day is an amazing experience, feeling great during a huge block of training volume is equally satisfying. I have not had a huge block of training since I left Bozeman in 2006. For various reasons my spring training has no afforded big miles. I miss my riding in Bozeman. I would ride all day on Saturdays, usually 70-100 miles, be so tired that I would spend the rest of the weekend on the couch.

It was this training that has made me the cyclist I am today. I miss the big miles and I look forward to a great winter and spring of smart injury free volume. This year I have just started training. I am almost out of the pre training phase, a phase of body adaptation that conditions my legs and lungs to consistent training.

I did my first long (relative term to current training volume) of 25 miles on Saturday. I was pretty tired afterwards but that means I am going in the right training direction. I set out from the Tri-Palace and found a sweet route that goes by two lakes, it was awesome. I feel great about the ride.

My swim has been consistent all spring, I did my firs open water swim on Saturday after my cycling adventure. The water was pretty cold, but my swim was great. My arms felt strong, this was a definite confidence booster for training. There is something special about swimming in open water that makes me feel like I’m a bad-mutha. “Yeah it’s cold, deep, dark, alone, and scary.” Just watch me from the shore, I ain’t scuuuuurdd of no monsters, they should be scared of me. :)

That reminds me of time me and Kevin went to Canyon Ferry Lake and just started swimming. We swam and swam and swam until we were at least a mile from shore in the closest direction, alone and dependent upon no one but ourselves. Most people can’t deal with that kind isolation in large bodies of water. Imagine if anyone saw us, what would they think of two frog me in wetsuits in the middle of the lake a mile from shore.

Check out the pics below of my open water swim lake and of my running trail near the Tri-Palace, it is a great training area, that is why I live here!

Oh yeah, check out my 2010 Hammer Kit, how can I not feel awesome wearing such a sweet kit! I wore it for my ride this Saturday and I thought I was lookin’ pretty sharp.

I am excited to be training again; I understand I am not in the same training place as I was at this time last year. I understand I need to race and train at the same time, I have not had the training time that I usually have had in the spring. I have decided I will race through the next few months. I have no choice, if I rest for each event and not train through I would spend every week resting and not training. I will train through the next two months of races in hopes to have my form in July. I have a feeling that my races will actually be more consistent, more on that later.

YMCA Triathlon

Saturday was the YMCA Ytri. I won the race last year with a fantastic bike and run split, but this year I had a very heavy heart as my 8 year old lab was hit by a car. For the first time I didn’t really want to race. I was very saddened by the loss of my hunting dog, I hope at the very least that I will learn some sort of lesson from the loss of my noble dog.

I knew going into this year’s race that I was not on the same level that I was last year. My heart was heavy with sadness; I was nowhere near race ready with only riding my P3 10 times leading up to the race, on top of that my legs felt like crap leading up to the race. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. In fact I thought it was going to be a disaster with all things considered.

After arriving at the race everything was out of sorts, I was running late, which never happens, I was scattered looking for this or that. With only 30 minutes to race start I still had not found a transition spot. When I did finally put my bike in transition it was in a terrible backward-facing, time-killing spot that I would never pick in a regular triathlon. I set up T-1 only to have some guy knock over my P3; I was quick enough to snag it before it hit the ground but my sunglasses hit the pavement busting into pieces. It was at that moment that I almost called it off and went home.

I miraculously made it to the race start, I wasn’t even body marked with 10 minutes to go but that was the least of my worries, I was lucky I made it to the right pool on a day like that. I started the 500 yard swim and my problems continued. Despite a great spring of swim training I had no grove and no speed. Two laps into the race my goggles fogged up to the point of blurring the wall, making my flip-turns land off target and slow. I exited the pool in a disappointing 6:36, 5th fastest swim. I had a pretty good T1 and left close to the

leaders.  

My training was not what it has been in the past years so I did not have the bike speed, I rode 1:15 slower than 2009, but I managed to suffer myself to the lead entering T2. I had a great T2 and left for the 5k in first.

Mentally I knew I was not going to win, my heart was other places, specifically with my dog. For the first time ever, I did not want to be doing a race, I did not even care I was there. Second place soon passed me, I did not even try to stick. 3rd place flew by easily running a 5:30 pace, see ya. I was in 3rd now, and still didn’t have my mind on racing.

Proof of distraction came when I ran off course, granted the course marshals did not help any when they did not even say a word as a took a left turn instead of the right. Volunteers flagged me down about a quarter mile later and plainly said, “you ran off course back there, turn around and go back.” Normally I would care that I just wasted a half mile of running, today I didn’t. I did not even say a word, I stopped turned around, and proceeded to slog back towards the course. I never saw the 1st or 2nd place again after running off course. I finished the run without a sprint or emotion. I gave 3 or 4 minutes back to 4th place when I went off course, but I still had enough of a lead to miraculously maintain 3rd.

Corrie comforted me after the race as we waited for the awards and drawings, I am grateful she was there for me, she helped me cope with the accident that cost me my version of “man’s best friend.”

The race itself has no meaning or special moments to me, I did the race in a state of shock, “my dog is really gone, forever?” I was 3rd overall, I won some money, a jacket, a medal, a runner’s hat, and my age group. Normally that would be a great day, but today was different, today was just a day that I wasn’t mentally there.

I felt a little better after the race thanks to Corrie cheering me up. If it were not for my dog Cael, I probably would have quit the race after the swim, and the bike, and running off course. I figured I would finish for Cael’s memory since she would probably be sad that I was sad.

I can’t be too sad because after all I did have this hot babe cheering for me...

and I had these winnings...

and I have these wicked dance moves, call me Mr. FreeeeeeeeZZZZe. 

Normann Stadler (2 time IM Hawaii winner and my bike hero) said, “No matter, your worst days and your best days both have sunsets…I will do what it takes to finish this race.”  Here is to a new sunset, a new day, and a new race.  My lesson, I have learned to never miss another opportunity, the best dog ever taught me that.