Splash Mash Dash Triathlon - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic

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!

Nada... pretty pleased with this.

Pretty fast. My shoes were velcro'd closed which was a PITA. Otherwise happy.

Need to get new tri shoes.

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.

Not much, this is a course PR for me by 3 minutes.

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.

I need speed laces in the Noosa's for sure. They're a PITA to get on.

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.

Given my inability to run because I'm 6'5 and 240, nothing. This is a tough course and I strategized correctly.

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.


Nothing, I am really pleased with this performance.


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 :)