Auburn International Long Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

If you only swim once a month, your swim performance will get worse. My swim was looking better a few months ago, but because of work and such, and because I tend to give the swim a low priority, my pace has actually gotten worse over the last couple months. It showed.

I felt pretty good, though. It took a while to get into the groove, probably 500m, then it felt pretty smooth. No real problems, it just took me a while to finish.

The water was great. It must have warmed up a bit in the last week or so. And the venue was beautiful. Surrounded by green hills on all sides.

Swim lots. I also need to put more BodyGlide or something on my neck because I've got a spot that's rubbed pretty bad.

A little wiped out from the swim, it didn't help that I heard the announcer say something like, "The last few swimmers are still coming in" as I got out. Had some trouble getting my wetsuit unzipped, but a volunteer helped me out. Took my time in T1. Hit the bathroom and rode off.

Move faster and be more organized. Given how long I knew the day would be, I didn't mind taking a couple extra minutes, though.

Well, the pain starts pretty quick on this course. My goal was to take it "easy" for the first part from the lake to Overlook Park (~8 miles), which included the most difficult hill. Luckily my bike has 3 chainrings, because I was on the "granny gear" for much of the time. I don't know how people with only 2 chainrings made it through that course.

Having ridden the course a few times helped a lot. I knew what to expect and I remembered some of the hills, which came in handy later on when I started cramping and had to walk up a few. I knew which ones were going to be hard so I didn't even attempt them. Which worked out fairly well, because by the time I got to the top, I felt rested and ready to rock and roll.

Not sure what all to tell you about the course. It was very scenic, low-traffic, generally in great condition, partly shaded, well marked and supported, and makes Wildflower seem flat. The hills are grueling and unrelenting from the very beginning. After climbing out of the Bear River loop, the majority of the return trip is downhill.

Speaking of the Bear River loop, this is the scariest part of the course. When I was on my way down, there were a couple of fire trucks and an ambulance about half-way down. Apparently some guy crashed and had to be carried off on a stretcher. Someone near me commented that he probably fractured his collarbone. It is a very steep, narrow, winding road with no lines. It's easy to go too fast so you have to stay on your brakes.

As I said, I walked a few hills. When I first started to get some cramps, it wasn't even on that steep of a hill. Riding slower I could drink/eat more, which helped. It was like I needed to catch up with my nutrtion, but I never quite could. I drank my entire camelback (70oz), 3 more 20-24oz bottles of Cytomax, a 24oz bottle of water, and had about a flask (6oz?) of gel. My camelback and one of the Cytomax bottles also had 1 scoop of Carbopro (extra calories) and 3 Endurolyte capsules per 24oz. But it still wasn't enough.

Because I was quite a ways behind the leaders, they were coming back when I was heading out. They passed by probably at about mile 15-20 or so. I'm slogging uphill, and they're coming screaming downhill past me. It was pretty cool. Being in the race, you really get a front row seat to the action. Clas Bjorling won the whole thing.

Bike lots. Lose weight. Strength training. Keep working on the race nutrition.

I also didn't rush through T2. I was definitely in no hurry by this time. Many had already finished. I like my regular laces so I took the time to bend over and tie them. Put on my hat, grabbed my fuel belt and race number and took off.

I forgot (as usual) to remove my bike shorts. I had my tri shorts on underneath. It wasn't a problem wearing them, though. In fact, I probably would have had more of a sunburn if I had removed them.

I could have gone a little faster. Remove the bike shorts.

So if you made it this far in the race, that's already a big accomplishment. It actually felt good to get off the bike and start running. I think running is my favorite of the 3, so I was actually looking forward to this part. I was only concerned about my nutrition and if I would cramp or have other problems. Because I ended up walking a good part of the time, I was able to make some progress with getting more fluids into myself. But I never peed again after T1, so that wasn't a good sign.

The shady trail run was actually quite nice but it was a little unexpected. I had not run on the course so I didn't realize how much of a trail run it was. Parts were just a narrow single track and it seemed like running on a tightrope. Other parts were dirt/gravel. It had rained the night before but was sunny during the day so although there were a couple places of mud, it wasn't bad and the rain had cut down on the dust.

Toward the end, when I would try "running" uphill, I would get overheated, so I stopped trying and just walked up hills. Luckily there were just as many downhills and I took advantage of that when I could. I was probably running 9min/mi or better downhill, then walking uphill. The final section along the canal (which was about 3 feet across) was flat and I was probably running 11-12min/mi for most of that. It was the uphills that really hurt my time.

And uphills they were. You would not believe these hills. If you've ever seen the Wildflower course, imagine Lynch hill. That's the first and easy half of the Dam Wall. It was insane. Cardiac Bypass was shorter and a rocky, dirt trail, but almost as steep. The Pit was just long.

I drank a lot. I finished my 5 8oz bottles of Cytomax pretty quick. I had them all refilled at least a couple more times. I probably had about 1/2 flask of gel, a couple 8oz'ers of water, and picked up some pretzels, salt, and salt tabs (3 total) at the aid stations. They also had sponges in ice water at most aid stations and the volunteers would squeeze them out over your back and head. Oooohhhh Yeeaahhh!

I was lucky in that although by the time I got to the end the announcer was packing up, when I passed by the finish line going from loop 1 to loop 2, the announcer saw my race number and called out my name, mentioning my Curious George jersey (which was a big hit).

Run lots. Hill training. Heat training. Lose weight. Continue to refine the nutrition plan.

When I got to the end, I was disappointed to see they had just started breaking everything down. The official cut-off time was 8:30 after the start of the last wave, so I had about 15 minutes left. But you can only keep the volunteers around for so long before everyone wants to start packing up. I understand, but it's a bummer for the BOP'ers who probably need the support more than anyone. They did have some food left, and although I didn't feel like eating anything, I "forced" myself to eat a piece of chocolate cake. You know, recovery food.

Last but not least, I have to mention what a great support my fiancee Brenda is. She was the only one I saw out there cheering and holding up signs. She went with me to set up T2, then T1, then when I was getting ready and getting in the water. She was there cheering and taking pictures again when I got out of the water, and when I head out of T1. She drove by me on the course (bad girl) as I was making my way back up to Overlook park. She met me a couple more times out on the bike course with a cheer and a sign. I missed her at T2, but at the turn-around on the first loop of the run, she had placed a sign that read "Mike Ellis -- Run Baby Run -- My future husband". It was really sweet. I don't even know how she got there to put it there. I saw her when I started loop 2 of the run, then again at the finish line. She had already put everything in the car, prepared my recovery drink, brought me a towel and some dry clothes, and helped me not fall over. She's the best!!!!


What limited my ability to perform faster was my lack of training, especially leading up to the race (work was crazy), being overweight, the low priority I gave to swimming, not having figured out my race nutrition yet (although I think I'm getting closer), and not getting my bike fit dialed in yet (I'm getting closer with that, too).


Other than starting a little late and a couple of lame volunteers, this was one of the best races I've done in terms of race management. COLD Cytomax and water at the aid stations. Ice water sponges at the run aid stations. Enthusiastic and helpful volunteers. Meticulous course marking. Policing of major intersections to control traffic and let us through. They even provided a non-white finishers T-shirt. And even though I was one of the last to come in, there were still volunteers at the aid stations, and still food at the end.