Yakima Triathlon

This year marked the return of Yakima's Valley of the Sun Triathlon. I remember my friend Kevin telling me about it when I met him back in 2008. None of my Yakima friends were at the race, but I was mentally prepared for this. Given my history with Yakima, and the announcement of the return of the race after 7 years, I knew that this was my path.  

 

*Chip Cooper, winner of the 2000 VOST. 



This race suits me well because it is a half-mile swim and a long bike. The swim was also warm and slimey, which sounds disgusting, but I always swim well in warm water because I have a hard time keeping warm in anything but warm water.

 

By the quarter-mile mark I was slipping through the warm water and in the lead. There is a long straight shot to the finish and it was fun to have people out on their docks watching us swim by. I thought the swim was great, plenty of kayak support, and smooth water.



*"Keep your head down and keep putting time into them" -Photo courtesy Yakima Herald

 

*Tidal wave. lol.  -Photo courtesy Yakima Herald

 

*The exit was uneven and if it weren't for this guy's Samoa grasp (see him man handling my arm) I would have crashed and burned. So, thank you to him and his arm-pythons. -Photo courtesy Yakima Herald 

 

I transitioned to some good cheers and left for the bike in the lead. Chip Cooper was about half a minute back and when I saw him it confirmed my early pre-race suspicions that this guy would be someone I would have to deal with on the course for the win. I knew just by looking at him. I know now that he was a multiple time winner of the VOST and a powerhouse on wheels.

 

 

I have mixed feelings about the bike course. It is tough, which is good, but the Yakima roads (and drivers) are far from "good" and I found myself in traffic getting jammed up a couple times, which is irritating. As I said before, Cooper is a straight animal on the bike and he took the lead from me. He went by and I quickly felt my frustration and displeasure rise as Cooper pulled away in the distance and I fought with the traffic. 

 

 

When I made it back to transition I saw Cooper start the run and I figured he had about 90 seconds on. In my mind I thought I would catch him because I started the run feeling strong. However, Cooper was not to be deterred and I took no time from him on out portion of the run. When I saw my chase efforts would not work all the wind went out of my sails and throttled back, disappointed. I ran only hard enough to hold off  a charging 3rd place, and not an ounce of power more.

*In tribute to Kevin, I wore his favorite red-on-red Hammer Kit that he always wears.

 

I have to be very careful with the path I am on. I have a growing discontent with anything other than winning. That is a slippery slope because the margin for being satisfied is very thin. 2nd place is great, heck, 2nd place is probably amazing. But, not for me, not for Superman. I am disappointed with 2nd place. I wanted to go to Yakima and put a stamp on my struggles there with a win and it didn't happen. I ran into a buzz saw in Chip Cooper and from what I experienced in speaking with him was that he was a deserving winner, a very gracious champion, an incredible athlete in all three sports, and a racer who had his own history with Yakima. I am happy for him.

 

Scott Sandsberry of the Yakima Herald interviewed me after the race. I thought it was a very nice interview, you can read it HERE.  I had the opportunity to give some of my background story and told Sandsberry about meeting Kevin and his family and my first trip to Yakima. 

 

In media it's all about getting to your message. You use a technique called "bridging" to get the interview where you want it. I think I did an excellent job bridging in my interview. In trying to get "the story" of the race Sandsberry cut to the chase in asking how Cooper beat me. Some of the questions such as, "Would you say the bike is a weakness for you?" "When he passed you did he slowly go by, or did he zoom past and drop you?" etc., were questions that I quickly bridged off of and put the credit back onto Cooper and the race overall, where it belonged.

 

Nothing I did at the race was weak, slow, or bad. I did great, Cooper did amazing, he is incredible and he deserved to win. Everyone who finished the triathlon is great, that is what the story is about, the story isn't about me. I think I did a good job of giving Cooper the credit and being humble in him besting me.

 

Sandsberry said a lot of very nice things about me in the paper, and a lot of Yakima friends saw the paper and contacted me, which was nice of them.  To my delight, there was a part of the article that sits sideways with me. They say the truth hurts and when I saw the following in the paper, isolated by spaces on both sides so that it stood by itself on the page, I knew it was a message.   



"Brosious, routinely a podium-place finisher at triathlons around the Pacific Northwest, simply couldn’t hang with Cooper on the bike."

I read that and immediately went to my white board and carefully wrote the quote down. I look at it every day. It will stay there until I win. I don't usually lack motivation or competitive drive, but this little flicker of truth is all I need. My story with Yakima is only starting.

 

Whether it takes 1 or 10 years, I vow to win this race.

 

My hope is that Chip Cooper, who I have all the respect for in the world, is there to race against me, and that the Yakima Herald is there to write the story.

 

I am very happy with the challenge as presented to me.

 

I... Love... This... Stuff.