Swim
Comments: Top overall swim. Lapped everyone except Tom in my lane. I felt great. I was also the first out of the water which meant I was the guy to beat. I hate that feeling! What would you do differently?: Nada... pretty pleased with this. Transition 1
Comments: Pretty fast. My shoes were velcro'd closed which was a PITA. Otherwise happy. What would you do differently?: Need to get new tri shoes. Bike
Comments: This is a very challenging 2-loop course. The first 5 miles are seemingly all uphill. Total elevation change according to my Garmin was 450 feet. It's not Mt. Evans but still challenging. Anyway, I took off on the bike and just mashed as hard as I could. Stayed on the big ring and just kept powering through. After mile 2 I took in a Hammer Gel. At mile 4 I knew some of the smaller guys who could climb would catch up to me. Sure enough at mile 4.5, Tom came by and smacked my ass... good thing we're friends :) I was passed by one other dude on the first lap. The 2nd half of the loop is all downhill and I crushed the hills- I hit 40 MPH on Wildcat Reserve. I saved my legs on the downhills which proved wise for the 2nd lap, I negative split by 41 seconds on the 2nd lap. Overall a great ride for me, I was really pleased. What would you do differently?: Not much, this is a course PR for me by 3 minutes. Transition 2
Comments: Meh... T2 has been horrible for me all season and this was no exception. 3 freaking minutes? I must have stopped for a coffee or something. Poor, poor, poor. What would you do differently?: I need speed laces in the Noosa's for sure. They're a PITA to get on. Run
Comments: Meh. Honestly, I did really well by my own crappy standards. I did this race 2 years ago and the hills kicked my tush. I was determined to beat this course into submission this time :) I felt awesome coming off the bike and my running has improved dramatically the last 2 years. My goal was to stay around 11/min mile on the outbound because the hills are mainly up going out. I managed to do that- at the turnaround the Garmin said lap pace was 10:50, which is a big deal for me. I knew going back in I could open it up a little without reaching LT, so I did. I managed to keep an 8:55 pace on the second half. Very very happy about that. On the 2nd half of the run I knew I was going to hit the podium given the fast swim and the bike, and I didn't see anyone from my AG pass me once. This was good motivation to keep on cranking. What would you do differently?: Given my inability to run because I'm 6'5 and 240, nothing. This is a tough course and I strategized correctly. Post race
Warm down: Finished! I checked my time and I PR'd this by 13 minutes from the last time I did it 2 years ago. I had a great time hanging with Kerry, Steve, Neil, Gaye, etc. Handed out a ton of Wheaties Fuel samples. Had a beer to celebrate my victory :) It was a great showing for BT- TEBeal won overall, Trimama530 took second in her AG, and I won Clydes (also was good enough to win M35-39). Fun day. Not as fun as Rattlesnake would have been, but still fun. What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing, I am really pleased with this performance. Event comments: Fun race. I love these Highlands Ranch races. I prefer OWS for sure, but this is a fun alternative. The bike and run courses are challenging and make me appreciate how awesome this state is. RD and her staff do a terrific job. I won a t-shirt and a gold medal for my AG too- that's always fun :) Last updated: 2011-08-15 12:00 AM
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United States
Highlands Ranch Race Series
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 20/51
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 1/5
For a change I packed the car the night before, got all my ducks in a row and was ready early. Ended up going out with friends and stayed out till after midnight. I was the designated driver so I wasn't drinking, which helped :) Also decided to go to Village Inn at midnight for breakfast. Carb loading really helped, believe it or not. Anyway, got home about 12:45 and was up at 4:45. Tired but excited. Quad espresso and a bottle of water and I'm on my way....
Got my transition set up in under 10 minutes. I headed right for the pool and did a quick 400 warmup and felt great in the water. Tom (TEBeal) was in my lane and we chatted a bit about the competition, he basically had the attitude he could win (and he did)!