Pumpkinman Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon

It was difficult to enter the water due to the rocky shore, so I kind of crawled in. I wore some slides up to the water’s edge that made walking on the rocks easier, and placed them next to the swim exit so they would be waiting for me when I exited the water. The water at the start didn’t feel as cold as where I had waded in before, which was a good thing. I was comfortable and ready to go when the horn sounded.

The swim went very well, except for a couple of frightening moments. A few minutes after beginning, I heard a loud sound in front of me, and saw that a person in front of me was doing a breaststroke kick. That is very dangerous, especially in a crowded swim. I made a mental note to try to stay clear of others as much as possible and moved on. I checked my time at the midway point and saw that I was at 17 minutes, so things were going well.
On the return trip, scary moment number two happened. One of the speedier swimmers from a wave behind me passed me, and as he did, he caught me in the nose with his hand. It startled me and knocked me off my rhythm more than anything, but it was a little scary. After the swim was over, I forgot about it until after the event when I was washing my face, and I thought ‘why does my nose hurt? Oh, yeah…’ Once again, scary, but no real harm done. I finished the swim and got out the water, and the race had gotten off to a good start.


Nothing, really. I’m not a good swimmer, and a swim where I don’t lose too much time on the field with little spent energy is the best that I can expect.

Slow transition, but I needed to get to my spot, remove the wetsuit, and pack up the bag for transport to the finish area. Also needed to apply sunscreen.

For me and Pumpkinman, it is really all about the bike. It is a course that traumatized me in ’07, and when I returned in ’08, I put in a respectable effort. I feel like I have come a long way since then, and wanted to test myself on the toughest Olympic bike course that I have done. Other courses have hills, but the thing that makes Pumpkinman unique is that the last eight miles are all uphill, as you climb from the Lake Mead area up to Boulder City. To add to the fun, the steepest part of the climb is at the end. I knew I would be better this time around, but I was looking forward to seeing by how much.

The first few miles sped by with rolling hills along the lake. I was passing some people, but the course wasn’t overly crowded, which was a nice change from a few recent races. My gearing felt really good and I wasn’t losing any cadence when I changed up or down. I was holding a good line and felt stable, and even when my speed got up around 40 mph on a downhill, I didn’t feel skittish. After the sloppy (albeit fast) ride I had in San Diego, the crispness and confidence I was feeling was a nice change. I made it to the turnaround and knew that as I approached the Boulder Beach area where we had started, Pumpkinman was about to get real and it would be all climbing to the end.

I felt the road start to pitch upward, and reduced my gearing accordingly. I wanted to resist dropping to my lowest gear as long as possible so I would have it as a bailout at the end if needed, so I stayed two to three away. I checked my time and distance before the real climbing started and saw that I had averaged nearly 19 miles/hour for the first hour of the ride – I was happy with that number. The course has been changed slightly in the past six years in that instead of using Hwy 93 to get to Boulder City, we used the multiuse path that runs alongside the highway. After turning onto the multiuse path, I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about contending with car traffic, only other riders. The pavement was very smooth, and even though it was uphill, it wasn’t just a slow uphill grind as the path twisted and turned. It was actually kind of fun at times.

After exiting the multiuse path after crossing back under Hwy 93, we were back on the road again, and it was a straight uphill climb. As the final grind proceeded, I could see the end where the road crested and we would roll down into transition. Yes, the ride was challenging, but nothing like I remembered. I wasn’t reeling the way I was the other times. As I crested the hill, I breathed a sigh of relief and pride – this was the Pumpkinman ride that I had envisioned and had worked for this year. In 2008, I had averaged 13.9mph for the ride, and this year, the average was 16.7 – a big improvement. I also never used the bailout gear that I had saved. As a bonus, I got off the bike before the winds picked up later in the day.


I probably had a little of room to push harder, but considering the run was coming, I think I paced it about right with energy to spare to run a decent 10k.

Pretty quick transition. Nothing wasted. Waved to J and the dogs and headed out.

Since losing weight, my running has come a long way. The run in San Diego last month was better than any I have done. I didn’t expect to go as fast here due to a) the bike course that preceded it, and b) the profile of the course – the first three miles are downhill to the turnaround, and the final three come back up. Of course it wouldn’t be Pumpkinman if the run wasn’t difficult, too. As I started out, I didn’t feel like I was running fast, but I glanced at my watch once and saw my pace – I was going faster than I felt. I reminded myself not to get wrapped up in the numbers until the end, so I decided not to look again until the turnaround.

As I made the turn, I checked and saw that I was under 30 minutes for the first 5k. If I could hold things together for the back half, despite the fact that it was uphill and I was more tired, and break an hour, I would be very happy with the performance. I knew I had a couple of minutes of cushion to play with, but also knew that they would evaporate quickly if I slowed down too much or walked through an aid station or two too slowly. One hill stopped me in my tracks, and I allowed myself to walk for 15-20 seconds, but other than that, I was clicking along. I felt the watch shake, indicating that I had passed five miles, and decided to check the time at the aid station which marked a mile from the finish. When I reached it, I saw that I had eleven minutes to go to reach an hour. Totally doable. I made the final two turns and headed for the finish arch with a couple of minutes to spare. Unlike 2007and 2008, when the course had gotten the better of me, this time Pumpkinman had been handled – in forty five minutes less time than it had taken me in 2008.


Nothing – I paced the run well, and didn’t slow down too much on the back half. It really isn’t a course set up to negative split.

I turned in my timing chip, received a finisher’s medal, and grabbed a drink. I scanned the crowd and saw J and the dogs coming over. I found a spot in the shade under a tree and laid down in the grass. Shortly thereafter, I was swarmed by Sadie and Sammy, who had also had an exciting morning. We took a few more pictures, including one of all four of us, and packed up and headed for the car, all of us exhausted. I was glad I got to share number fifty with them. It was one to remember.


BBSC, as always, did a great job with the race. Amenities were nice, events were organized, and the venue is spectacular. Even though it is a tough, tough course, this is one of my favorite events.