Rocky Mountain Triathlon - International Course - Triathlon

Each race distance and gender were sent in waves, so Olympic men had both Sprint distance groups in front of us when we started. They were only doing one lap, but the director's desire to get everyone started quickly meant that by the time we hit the first turn buoy we were catching the ends of both those groups, and things got a little hectic (and probably scary) for those slower swimmers who were just trying to finish their race and then found a bunch of racing men churning through and over their ranks.
I found someone just before the first turn buoy to draft off of for most of the rest of the distance. I was able to ease off the gas and just get pulled along. I tried a pass on a few occassions but not until after the last turn was he going slow enough for me to justify jumping out and past him, and then I was lucky to fall in behind one of the Olympic female leaders. Drafting was the part of my OWS that I wanted to work on the most in this race and I was happy to have found a good set of feet and then been able and patient enough to settle in.

I should have pushed harder at the start and could likely have caught someone a little faster to draft behind. Although my time was a solid improvement for me, I hardly worked behind the guy I found. But we were dropped by the leaders in the first 200 m such that I couldn't have covered the gap between the guy I was behind and the guys at the front.

Because everything was soaked in transition I took the extra time to wear socks again (even though I had been planning on a sockless ride today). Wet feet, wet ground, damp socks, all consprred to make things sticky.

Not much. I didn't want to risk blisters or chafing just for the sake of a few seconds in transition. At the same time, excepting the disaster on the bike later, I was fastest in my AG in the swim and run, but lost time to the eventual AG winners in transition. So, if I'm serious about getting more competitive, I need to commit to speeding up my transition times.

The bike was crowded, with a lot of drafting and iffy passing due to a narrow shoulder and plenty of the slower sprint racers in front of us. I attempted to follow the rules and drop back from people in front of me before initiating my pass, but often it all seemed a bit meaningless as trains of 4-5 bikers would be ina tight row, or you'd come across three abreast with no one seeming to be in the act of passing.
Traffic cleared quite a bit by the time we passed the sprint turnaround, and then even more by the Olympic turnaround. My legs were feeling... off. It was 9000 ft, which is about 2000 ft above where I live and train, and I usually race lower, not higher, so it was an all-around unsettling feeling, but I just didn't feel like I had the usual power to tap into as we started the mild climb back to transition. I did start getting my legs back under me and started passing people on the way back when I realized I'd developed a flat on the front tire. I pulled over in the gray drizzly weather, shook my head, and thought long and hard about DNFing. Then I sucked it up, got out my spare tube and got to work. Just as I was starting to put the tire back on the tech support drove up and slapped it all together for me. such a spirit lifter, as I hate using my little hand pump (need to get CO2). Hopped back on the bike, and wanted to throttle this course and get back some lost time.
Not 3 minutes down the road, I'm flat again with a pinch.... Again, I hear the voice saying, "Just pack it in, go home, get a warm lunch." But, either way, I'm 5 miles from transition, and I"m walking until someone comes along. So I walked for about 5-10 minutes before again, tech support swoops in to save me. New tube, and I'm back off!
This time I was decidedly nervous about my front tire, and just aimed to get this ride over with as smoothly as possible. Swerving away from every tiny piece of debris (barely any else on the course at the stage, so why not swerve?), and cringing over each crack in the pavement, but I made it back to transition, with my mind focused on the thought that the ride is over, it is what it is, now I get to start over with a different sport and run.


Not try to squeeze 20 more miles out of those tires? They were well used, but in fine condition at race start. after the race they are trash, full of cuts and nicks. I'm not sure what was on that road, but it took a lot more than 20 miles out of my tires.

Otherwise, nothing different. I was proud of my mental toughness to not let the bad ride spoil the rest of the day for me. Sure, I had to lower my "podium" expectations, but I still had a fun time, and I got in a fast run.

Transition was crowded with slower people now, so due to narrow walkways I was forced to stop my run to my rack and walk it in behind some other people. But this was okay, as I was still shaking the rough luck from the ride out of my head and clearing my thoughts for the run.
Also slowed to change from soaking wet bike socks to dry socks for the run - this was a good choice. My feet were completely comfortable for the whole run.

Again with the oddities of altitude. My legs felt fine at 7:30 miles, but my breathing was a bit heavy. I was nervous for a bit that this meant I was going to dip later, but I guess I found a sweet spot where I had the strength to maintain it and my lungs weren't quite about to fall behind.



I'd probably push a little more in the middle miles. Because I was concerned I backed off and did 8:00 miles for 3,4,5. Then for the last half mile or so, once I realized how little I had left to cover, I opened it up and blitzed at about 6:00 mile pace through the end.

Jogged and walked for about 5 mins. Had some drinks, a banana. About 30 mins after I added a beer.


Tube failure.
Not having a fast transition plan in place for cold, wet weather.


Transition area was a little too small for the number of racers on hand. Swim waves were sent out a little too close. Better rules instruction for bike would have helped some of the newer racers, and refs would have helped keep the rest of us in line.
But, the course was beautiful. The events were on time. The organizers and volunteers were really helpful and supportive. Good event, and with a little more polish it will be even better from a racer's perspective.