Ironman 70.3 World Championship 9/11/11 by Tamsen Schurman

I never raced in Clearwater, Florida where the 70.3 World Championship race has been held in the past, but a decision was made by the WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) to move the race to Las Vegas, Nevada for 2011 (and beyond) with hopes that the course would be much more challenging with hot temperatures, tons of climbing/descending on the bike, and a hilly run. I would say that the race organizers met their goals because the water was 80 degrees so the swim was non-wetsuit, the bike was very challenging, and the run was never flat and it was hot, though not the 105 degree hot that Vegas had been experiencing up until the day before the race. We were told at the pre race meeting that the course had over 5,000 feet of climbing, most of which was on the bike. I pondered that for a bit, and though I bike plenty in the mountains, I hadn’t done any transition runs after my hard mountainous bike rides. Too late to worry about it now and at least I had a few hilly races under my belt for the season.

Qualifying for the championship was not my main goal this year, but going into Ironman 70.3 Boulder I figured that IF I won a slot to the championship race I’d take it. I’ve raced the Boulder course about 6 times and it is truly a great triathlon venue. The swim is beautiful in Boulder reservoir, the bike is a fast and fun 2 loop course north of Boulder, and (this is the reason I really like the race), the run is on a DIRT path around Boulder reservoir. It is a very eco friendly race, and the former race director, Barry Siff, who still has a big role in the success of the race, is just an all around great guy.

I didn’t win my age group in Boulder, but the woman who beat me just happened to be the 3 time 50-54 70.3 World Champion so she automatically qualified by winning the championship race last year. At any other 70.3 race I would have to win my age group to qualify since there is only 1 slot allotted for women age 50-54 at all of the 70.3 races. So, I took the qualifying slot in my age group after finishing well behind the winner in Boulder, and made plans for Sept. 11 in Las Vegas. My good friend John Brown from Tijeras also qualified in Boulder and planned to race at the World Championship but had to withdraw a couple weeks before the race.

My trip started off on Friday morning with snow on the peaks above Taos where I live. That had to be a good omen since skiing is my favorite activity besides triathlon. The flight to Vegas was fine except the plane reeked of alcohol and was quite a rowdy party scene. I suppose this is standard for flights to Las Vegas. I even recall lots of cheering when we landed. The race expo and registration were at the Henderson Pavilion just southeast of Las Vegas. This was also the sight of T2 while T1 was located at Lake Las Vegas, about 15 miles away. The WTC races always seem to require racers to arrive well before the actual race to “check in”. I did the required check in and settled in to watch some US Open tennis on TV at the hotel in Henderson. Talk about amazing athletes, but that is another story.

On the Saturday before the race there was an organized practice swim from 6:30 to 8:30 AM. A 650 yard course was set with buoys and only those of us registered for the race were allowed to swim. The water was somewhat murky but the practice swim felt good. I arrived about 6:45 AM and had a relaxing swim. It looked like many more people were arriving after I’d finished my swim, so I was glad to have gotten up early.

Later in the afternoon on Saturday we had to drop off our bikes and gear bags at T1. There was ample parking near T1 and I never got caught in any traffic jams throughout the weekend. As we entered transition with our bikes there were about 30 people sitting along the sides of the check in line with clipboards and pencils checking off everything from bike brands to wheel sizes. I guess keeping track of bike related statistics is important at the big races. The whole bike and gear bag check in process went very smoothly and quickly. The steep winding walkway from the road down to the bike racks would be an uphill slog on Sunday morning as we left transition.

Race day began very early with the transition area opening at 4:30 AM, though I arrived more like 5 AM. All the women 45 and older started the swim right after the pros at 6:35. I’m sure there were other important announcements on race morning but I only remember hearing that the water temperature was 80 degrees. We were lining up by waves and I chatted with quite a few of the women in my wave, all of whom seemed very friendly, and quite happy to be starting a race at 6:35 in the morning. There were many swim waves following ours, the last of which was the 18 to 24 male age group at 8:00. Andrew Templeton from Albuquerque was the youngest male competitor (he’s 18) in the event, and I chatted with him for a bit at the airport on the way home on Monday. What a great kid and super fit!

Lake Las Vegas is a small manmade lake with smooth, somewhat murky water, and some fancy hotels and golf courses surrounding the lake. It is an attractive setting for a triathlon. The race organizers put together a very safe, easy to follow course for the swim and the race started precisely on time after an emotional moment of silence in remembrance of the 9/11 tragedy.

I felt very comfortable in the WTC legal swim skin that Amy Regan lent to me, although the swim seemed to go on forever which is never a good sign. There was definitely some body contact in our wave, and though I’m used to this, I became somewhat annoyed with the woman who kept tapping my feet on every stroke. Finally I stopped to fix my water filled goggles, and she swam on past me. I continued on towards the next buoy and the next and the next and it seemed like forever before I actually got out of the water. I managed to get through transition without tripping on anything or anybody. I don’t really remember the winding steep uphill walkway to the bike mount line, so I guess it was uneventful.

The bike has been my favorite part of the races that I’ve done this year. I felt great as I started up the first of many climbs right out of transition. One nice thing about going to low altitude to race is that you just don’t breathe as hard on the climbs. The pavement was smooth and the course went into the beautiful Lake Mead National Recreation Area for about 40 miles. There was never a flat section in the 56 miles on the bike so we were always climbing or descending. There were no grind it out tough steep climbs, but lots of medium pitch longer rollers and I really enjoyed the entire bike course though the last climb back to T2 seemed long and since we were back in town it certainly lacked that remote desert feel of the Lake Mead part of the course. All in all though, the bike course is spectacular, and a good course for those of us that ride in northern New Mexico.

I thought I was pushing reasonably hard on the bike, and I passed some women who obviously swam faster than I did, but there was a never ending stream of men passing me throughout the bike. I expected this because all the men except the pros started after the women’s 45+ wave. The race organizers hoped that this much more challenging bike course would curtail all the drafting and pack riding that occurred in Clearwater. I did see a few guys drafting but not in huge numbers. I also caught glimpses of the pro men and women flying by on their way back towards Henderson after the turnaround at mile 20 something.

The bike ride was very quiet (ie: no chatting, no spectators cheering until near the end) except for some strange noises coming from my bike. Nothing serious I figured but slightly annoying. And it served me right for not having the bike tuned up all summer! The green powerade from the excellent and well stocked aide stations was starting to taste way too syrupy by mile 40 and I noticed the temperature was rising a bit as well. And had I actually only consumed 3 packets of Gu on the entire bike leg? Most races I am pretty careful with timely nutrition intake, but for some reason I mostly paid attention to drinking on this course, probably because I knew the run would be hot, and I thought getting more fluids was important.

It turned out I was in 3^rd after the bike. The previously mentioned world champion was right behind me and was running so fast I literally did not even see her pass me right after transition. In fact I think the top 7 women in my age group were all in T2 within 2 or 3 minutes of each other. I haven’t done many races where T1 and T2 are not in the same place. It definitely makes for some logistical challenges, and it also meant the bike course gained quite a bit of altitude by the finish in Henderson. One of the obvious logistical challenges is transporting gear bags. The race organizers handled this very well since we dropped off all our run gear the day before the race at T1 with our bikes and bike gear bags. The run gear bags were all transported and nicely arranged at T2.

As soon as we dismounted from our bikes at T2 they were whisked away by friendly and efficient volunteers. That was very nice, and unexpected. Now my only concern was changing shoes, grabbing a hat and some Endurolytes, and getting on the run course.

I actually felt ok as I headed out onto the run. For the first few miles I settled into a rhythm quite well, though the pace felt pretty slow. The run was quite busy (actually very busy) with racers, spectators, and aid stations and the course continued to be hilly, but gently so for the most part. The run consisted of 3 “repeats” of an out and back circuit near T2. It started out gently downhill for the first mile, then uphill for 2 miles, and then gently downhill for another mile plus. Because each little segment of the run course was out and back, there were always runners going the opposite direction. It was definitely hot and the ice and cold drinks were welcome relief at the aide stations. I had no idea where I was in my age group throughout the whole race. One guy said something like “I haven’t seen many women your age come through here yet” at T2, but I didn’t pay too much attention since people seemed to be flying through transition and flying through the run course as well.

I thought I was running a smart race because it never felt like I was working too hard, and I hoped to pick it up on lap #3. But somehow, probably because I never run on pavement and I don’t really run very many miles in training, by lap #3, my legs felt like lead and I wasn’t moving well at all. I tried a little more Gatorade (at least it was orange and not green!) and my legs picked up a little for the next 5 minutes and then I was back to survival slog mode. Temperatures were close to 90 by now so it felt pretty hot and seeing so many amazingly perky runners fly by me was a bit discouraging. I wanted to run like that but just couldn’t! I was surprised that only 3 women in my age group passed me and I finished 6^th in 5:23. I was very happy with the race, and though I knew I hadn’t had my best race of the year, it was still a good effort at an incredibly competitive race.

The post race massage and food tents were both a welcome sight. I made the decision to go with massage first since the line wasn’t very long. It was a nice relaxing 15 minutes or so, and I highly recommend seeking out a post race massage when it is available. I next made my way over to the food tent and was eyeing the pizza slices on other athletes plates, but when I got to the pizza, it was gone. That was somewhat disappointing, but I found plenty of pasta and fruit and chips instead. I joined some women from Colorado at a table and, as most post race discussions go, some of them felt pretty good about the day and others not so much. I didn’t pick up on the details, but I think the difficulty of the course had surprised many of us.

There were plenty of shuttles to take us (and our bikes and gear bags) back to Lake Las Vegas where the race started. It seemed like quite a few racers stayed at the hotels around the lake and those that didn’t parked cars in the parking lots near the lake. My shuttle ride was very pleasant and I talked with a nice Colorado man getting ready for Kona (his first time). I recall hearing him say that his biking is a bit weak but he was a bigger guy so he probably won’t even notice those winds on the Queen K!

Amy Regan told me that the 70.3 world championship is not nearly as big a scene as Kona and now that I’ve done both, I agree. This race was extremely well organized on a fantastic course (except for the murky water for the swim), with an amazing field of athletes from all over the world. The pre race hype was nothing like Kona and best of all for me, the race is half the distance and not nearly as painful. Hopefully I will return!

Becoming a “true” triathlete

2011 marks the start of a comeback of sorts, after running cross-country and track both in high school and collegiately I was burnt out and needed some R&R before returning to competitive athletics. Rewind to fall 2010 when I began seriously training again for the first time in about 2 years. After suffering through minimal length workouts for about 8 weeks, I finally began to feel like my former self. After a very consistent winter of training I felt that it was time to begin racing again. After looking at the NM race schedule most of the winter, I decided on several races: Little Boy, Jay Benson, Milkman, Santa Fe, Cochiti. This is a report of my race experiences for the 2011 season.

Atomic Man-Little Boy

In about mid March I finally felt mentally ready to race and decided that my season opener would be Little Boy. After mostly doing easy runs and longer swims, I had begun to add in some intervals and some bike workouts. Race weekend finally arrives and as is typical for Los Alamos, Snow is predicted for the first week of May. During the prerace warm-up temperature were in the 20s and I kept going back and forth between using tights or not. It seemed to be warming up, as race start got closer, so I decided to use only arm warmers and gloves.

As the race goes out, I find myself out way to fast and way to close to the front, especially for the shape I was in. About a quarter in I had the unique experience of getting past by my younger brother for the first time in a race. As it turns out he takes the race lead and pushes the pace the rest of the way. I am content to wait and stalk the lead pack of 5 or 6. Coming into the last half mile I still was able to see the lead pack of guys. Entering T1 I was in about 6^th place and was very happy with my run split.

I managed to catch 3 people in T1, including Alexander and left in 3^rd. During the bike leg I had planned to maintain until the turnaround and crank on the way back. I felt that the way back the hills were easier and you could make more time coming back. I held until the final hill before the turn and was feeling good so I decided to push a little more up the hill. Right before the turn I saw the two leaders within about 30 seconds or so, so I really started pushing. I occasionally caught a glimpse of them until about 2 miles felt, then, I began to feel the lack of bike work and my mph dropped. I hung on until I got to Monterey S and then I was past by Marty. Him passing me woke me up and I was able to finish the bike well.

T2 went smoothly and I was able to overtake Marty early in the run. The second run was pretty miserable; I ended up being content with my place and just held pace.

Overall it was a fun race and a great first race of the season. I was very excited about a 3^rd overall result and excited about the upcoming races.

Jay Benson (ABQ World Championships)

I was particularly excited about Benson since the run course is first, and also quite fast, it would be a very good indication of my current run shape. Alexander and I started in the second wave 2 minutes behind the elite wave. I had planned to go out conservative since the first straight is uphill, and to my surprise Alexander stuck with me on the whole first stretch. We begin catching the end of the first wave. As we crossed roughly the mile he tells me, he was going to go from here and takes off. It was nice of him to wait for me during the first part. I thought about going with him but thought better of it. I kept catching more and more people from the first wave and was able to see Alexander about 30 second upfront. I finished the run and had a smooth T1.

On the bike I started out at a good pace and caught my brother about a mile in. For the first time I had the experience of mostly catching people on the bike instead of being caught. I hit the second turnaround feeling strong and was maintain a good pace. Once again my lack of time on the bike caught up with my and I suffered the last 3 miles.

The swim was also painful. I was out of gas due to lack of training and I couldn’t go. I managed to catch two people but was overall disappointed with my swim.

Final impressions from the race were overall positive but showed that I was out of gas after about 50 min. I needed some longer workouts. I finished with my best time ever at Benson, at just over an hour and just outside the top 10.

Milkman

Milkman is one of my favorite races in NM. The course is a fun, and more difficult then you would think. A lot of the really good guys from down south came out for it this year. My good friends Matt Gonzales and Rance Irving were there also. The lake/pound whatever you want to call it was the clearest I had ever seen it, you could actually see the bottom. I had the advantage of youth during this race, being in the first wave. This I found key because temperatures were supposed to climb to the mid 90s by mid morning. Matt, Rance, and I were all in the same wave. Rance took the early swim lead and never looked back. I swam along side Matt for most of the swim and came out about ten seconds back of him.

On the flip side of being in the early swim wave, they gave all the under 24s the worst transition spots. We had to double back on ourselves to get our bikes and get out of T1. The bike leg was going great. Going up the long hill towards the turn around I noticed I was doing close to 30 going uphill. This of course was due to a great tailwind. The return trip was brutal and the rest of the bike I was suffering. Read: lack of time on the bike.

Coming into T2 I passed my Dad who was just going out on the bike. T2 was uneventful and I went out on the run. I begin passing people as soon as I hit the dirt around the fish hatchery. On the backside of the fish hatchery I began feeling lousy and was light headed. I had been getting water at every aid station but I needed more. I took two glasses of water at each aid station, drank one and poured the other on me to try to keep my core temp down. The heat was getting to me bad. Then I hit the two-mile marker and suddenly felt better and was able to finish strong.

I ended up with a top ten finish and a very good time. I was quite happy with my overall race.

Santa Fe Triathlon

After milkman I had 6 weeks to put in quality training before my next race. I took advantage and added some longer rides and some track work. This was once again a stacked field. The run was first, and it was going to be a fast start. It was completely downhill from the start all the way to the mile marker. Once again I overestimated the shape I was in and started out way to fast chasing the leaders. The next mile was mostly flat and I just tried to hold a solid pace. Pat caught me shortly before the 2 mile marker and I tried to hang with him in the last mile that was all uphill. I couldn’t hang but finished with a solid run time.

T1 went super smooth, I caught multiple people during it and right after the transition. The start of the bike leg I tried to push a little bit and get into a good groove. We made a turn and the rest of the way out was uphill, I put my head down and cranked on it, which worked to my advantage, I had closed to within about 30 sec of my friend Matt. After the turnaround was all-downhill and I gave it everything I had. I finished up the bike leg pretty happy with my effort. Then entering t2 I was able to keep my momentum.

Santa Fe is interesting in the fact that you have to run about 400M to get from transition to the pool. The swim I felt much better than I had late in any race earlier in the season.

Socorro

Socorro is another of my favorite races to do. The only problem with Socorro is the pool can be a little crowed with the time trial swim start. I was lucky and when I started I found myself with clear water both in front and behind me. I had a better swim then I was expecting. I got out of the pool and after passing a small crowd of people I made it to T1. I had a spot on the other side of the transition so I tried to make up some time running without my bike.

I got on the bike and started to push the early portions of it. I was rolling on the bike until we got to the guard shacks to go on the back portion of the bike. Mentally I feel sleep from here to the turnaround, but from the turnaround all the way in I was flying. I finally felt I had some bike legs and was feeling great. Despite raining the night before the course was mostly clear of debris. Coming into t2 one of my shoes got caught on the ground as I dismounted and came off so I had to go back and get it.

Getting out of the run it was surprisingly still overcast and I felt great. I loosened up rather quickly and soon caught several people. Then we turned onto the ditch bank and I really begin moving. I reached the second turnaround and tried to increase the pace. Then with about a half left I started increasing the pace more and for the first time, this season, it felt like I was actually getting up and running. Triatomics overall had an excellent showing, with Pat and Jeff both being in the top 3.

Overall I could not have been happier with this season. The “comeback” is in full force and I can’t wait to see what next season holds now that I have some good races and good base under my belt.

Sept 17-18th Trail Duathlon and Cyclocross Events course info!

Well, the Enchanted Forest Trail Fest weekend is set for Sept 17th-18th with a trail duathlon and cyclocross events and clinics for all levels and abilities! Proceeds from the event will benefit Los Alamos trail restoration efforts! There will be free camping at the venue (no hookups) and hotel discounts in Red River for participants! Check out registration, schedule and more details on the flyer on the Southwest Nordic Ski Club's homepage under Club News and Upcoming Events front and center.
Below is some info on the actual courses for the Trail Du and Cyclocross events courtesy of Clay:

After the mountain bike race in Red River on Saturday, Nina and I, and a couple of the Get Out! team juniors all went up to the Enchanted Forest trails to scope out the best possible course options. As of now, the trails are beautifully soggy, green and a bit muddy in places -- perfect conditions for a cyclocross and trail duathlon. Except for the altitude, it felt more like we were in Oregon or New Enland. Come Sept. 17-18, the trails will probably have had time to dry up just enough to make for a perfect weekend of trail events.


I can say that I believe we've come up with the best course for the cyclocross event, and the duathlon course is still being figured out with many more little sections of fun and scenic single track still being discovered. We found some nice terrain that will allow the advantage of real cross bikes to be maximized. The course is a blend of some more buffed out double-track "access" road, a short, steep natural run-up right where specators and campers will be, and a lot of rolling/twisty Oregon/New England-like woods that will be quick and fun. We tried to avoid too much steep grinding, or gnarly descents that favor mountain bikes. It'll be a real traditional cyclocross course that both racers and spectators will enjoy.

For those of you who went up to RR for the mountain bike race and got your butt kicked by that crazy (for lack of a better way to phrase it...) course, you might want to consider this event. Trail Du course will be a lot more flowing terrain with a mix of wooded double and single track with only short climbs and fun descents. This is the case for both the run and the bike. These are going be some fun events.

The cyclocross camp is going to feature several accomplished 'crossers giving instruction. If you're looking to improve your cross skills, come up and take advantage of this opportunity.

Vineman 70.3 race report (July 17, 2011)

The Vineman 70.3 triathlon was held this past Sunday in Sonoma County, CA. It was a very fun race, and a great reason to visit the Bay area. We arrived Friday night on the same flight as fellow racer Jeri Sullivan and Dave Chamberlain. Char Latham also raced, but she put the long miles on her car in order to get to the venue. (Hopefully one or both of them can add onto this). The weather was great all weekend – Saturday was beautiful and sunny, and a great day for some wine tasting before getting to the race expo.

Event organizers required everyone to attend a pre-race briefing and get their hand stamped before you could get your registration packet. Warning to anyone planning on doing this race (and I do recommend it): you can't show up at a briefing late, as they close/lock the doors to the gym and don't let late stragglers in. So you have to wait till the next briefing an hour later if you're not on time.

Vineman is different from many triathlons as it is point to point, with T1 not being in the same place as T2. The race expo is held where T2 exists, so after getting your packet, you can simply drop off your run gear and be done. Makes packing on race morning kind of weird, though, as I kept thinking I was forgetting something, since my pile of stuff was smaller than usual. Up early got us to the transition area in plenty of time. Lots of big name pros raced, including Miranda Carfrae who ran by me as I was bringing all of my gear down to transition. Chris Lieto chatted with Ben and me after the race, while we were mulling about waiting for awards. A very nice guy.

Swim start for Jeri and me
The swim is in the Russian River – a shallow, wide, minimal current waterway – you swim upcurrent for half, and then turn around and come back. There were tons of starting waves – the pros went off at 6:30 men, 6:32 women, and then every 8 minutes after that; Jeri and I weren't till 7:26 and there were plenty more people after us. One nice thing (especially compared to Boulder Peak Olympic distance a week ago), people were free to come and go in transition well after the race had started. (In Boulder last week we all were kicked out at 6:20, ten minutes before the pros started, and we were never allowed back in, no matter the fact that I didn't go off till 7:10). The current did not seem bad at all, although it looked like some people really had trouble with it. For a couple of the waves, we watched the slower people seemingly go no where as they headed out - very troubling till I got in and couldn't figure out what issues they were having, as it really didn't seem like much. The water was 70 degrees, so wetsuit-legal for everyone – there has been one out of the past 20 years that it was so warm, no one could wear a wetsuit. The water was shallow, so that at some points, you could see the bottom, and at the turn around, there were quite a few men walking. I walked a little bit till I realized it was hurting the bottom of my feet. Still, it was so shallow, that you could had to pay attention to not hit the river bottom with your hands. This was only for a little bit, though. And the way back did seem faster than going out. We swam up the right side and back on the left.

Transition was sandy then rocky, but a carpet was laid along the length of the area, except not between rows. Enough to not be too bad, though.
"Where's my bike?"
You have to pay attention to where your rack is - there were close to 40 different rows. They gave you a plastic bag to load your swim gear into so that they could transport it to the finish area for you, or you were free to toss it to your cheering family – which I was able to do. Dan and the boys had gotten up early with me, and had been at the start area the entire time.

Immediately coming out of transition is a little hill. I had watched some of the pros run up it, and others ride up it (yes, they were in, out, and on their way, before I had even entered the water). I chose to run up it before mounting my bike, which I think was the right decision. The bike ride was great. Some hills (one in particular got my attention), with some twists and turns, but very pretty, riding through many vineyard areas and other crops, as well as lots of trees. Best part about the day – the weather was overcast until mid-way through my run. It had been hot on Saturday, which was fine for walking around and touring, but the clouds on Sunday really helped keep it cool throughout a good deal of the race. (I spoke to Liz Miller once back in LA, who has done therace the past two years, and she spoke of >100 degree temps when she finished her runs each time. Ugh). The bike surface is pretty good, although not always. It's a point to point to point bike, leaving Guernesville and ending up in Windsor at the high school. Almost all back roads except for the very end, so quite pleasant. I gotta admit, it's pretty cool to come into transition and only see one other bike anywhere near yours. Some lady came in soon after me, though, and mentioned that I was in second and that the woman in front was a good swimmer. I had no idea. (Turns out the woman in front of me, stayed in front of me for the entire race. And good swimmer, indeed; she's an ex-Olympic swimmer, and was a pro-triathlete for three years as well. And very nice, as I found out while chatting with her after the race).

The run was nice – some more back roads and then literally into and around La Crema winery's vineyards. I knew Dan was bummed, though; part of his spectating plan had been to be sipping wine at the winery while the runners came by. Unfortunately, there was a big sign as we entered the winery, saying “Welcome to La Crema Winery – visit our store in downtown Healdsburg for Wine Tastings,” or something to that effect. So he and the boys had driven all the way out for nothing! But I did get to high-five with the guys a couple of times in and out of the 1.1 mile loop in the vineyard which was fun.

There were a few hills on the run which kept it interesting as well. I saw Char and Jeri, and my friend Jaclyn from TriSports.com on the run, but with everyone starting at different times, it's hard to tell how everyone was really doing. (Although afterwards, I saw Jeri and she said she took more than half an hour off her previous half iron distance race!).



I crossed the finish line 5:05:14 after I started – a time I was pleased with. I certainly felt more recovered from Ironman CdA this weekend than I did in Boulder, although by about mile 8 in the run, I was feeling it in my legs. I ended up 2nd in the W45-49 age group. Awards weren't till 4:00, which gave me time to get a shower (they had a hose-fed three shower head arrangement at the finish – out in the open, but I was able to do a decent enough job in my singlet and shorts, and then get changed in the school's bathroom, that I felt a ton better afterwards), and get my bike boxed up and put away. Awards went 5-deep for age groups with more than 100 competitors, and 3-deep for the smaller ones. We each got a bottle of La Crema wine (which we drank that evening with my cousin at her house in San Francisco – it was quite good!), and some other swag. First got a TYR wetsuit, 2nd got a TriSports.com gift certificate, 3rd got a visor, and then I lost track... I turned down my slot to the 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas this year – Dan will be away at a conference, and I'm not comfortable with such a tough race just a month out from Kona. In past years, the 70.3 race has been AFTER Kona, making it more possible for me, but this year they not only changed the venue from Clearwater, but also the time of the year, so no thanks.

We didn't leave California till Tuesday, taking all of Monday to be tourists in San Francisco. What a great city. I would definitely recommend this race to all Triatomics. Being near sea level certainly makes you feel strong, and the hills are nothing compared to what we have to train on, although they are not be taken lightly, either. And, it's a great reason to take the family to northern California for a long weekend. (A visit to Ghirardelli mid-morning - does it get any better?!)

XTERRA Moab 2011

First off, refer to the pics on the Triatomics album for the visuals. Moab is interesting to the eye, for sure:
XTERRA Moab Album

This race is a revived version of the XTERRA they last held here about six years ago and before. The course was changed somewhat from those years, which also had other variations. It worked well, except for the fact that we had on-coming traffic on the far end of the bike. Since it was on a Jeep road, there was room to pass, but the lines were sketchy and people didn't give them up easily. Anyway, it was a great race course.

The swim was in pretty cold water -- between 55 and about 58 degrees, depending on how far out it was measured. It was at a little man-made lake called "Ken's Lake" about 8 miles south of town, and there is quite a bit of camping there too. XTERRA races always seem to be two lap swims, which is strange. The water was so cold that people had trouble staying upright after exiting the water. I had a slow transition because my hands were so numb and I had trouble getting things off from the swim, then on for the bike.

The bike course is held on the infamous "Steelbender" (a.k.a. Flat Pass) Jeep trail. It had some gnarly rock slaps, big ledges, etc. It was physically and technically tough and took a real toll on you back, arms, and hamstrings. It was also pretty scary in parts and required some committed moves to stay on and not walk down them. That made a big difference in times, I think. The drops actually made stuff around here seem pretty tame in comparison.

This was also the longest XTERRA I've done. The bike was a long one (taking me 1:51) and the run was a full 10km on a pretty tough trail (my time of 54:08 was not the fastest, but among the fastest). I think the winner did a 48-something run, which was fast on that course. So, it was a longish race and there were a lot of tired folks afterward.

Laury Goddard had been to a Moab XTERRA training camp about 6 weeks prior, so he knew how bad the bike course was. I thought he was exaggerating, but he certainly wasn't. He was rather understating the difficulty, in fact, and to see it for yourself was absolutely necessary. We pre-rode on the Thursday before, and we had to practice certain spots several time to get it down, and get the guts up to do the drops in the race.

Both Laury and Orion had great races. Here's an amazing fact: this was young Orion's FIRST ever triathlon! He's only 16 and we just started to teach him how to "race swim" this year. He had taken to it quite well, and despite being more of a mountain biker, he's turned into a good swimmer and even better runner. I am pushing him to also run cross country for the Hilltoppers this fall.

We did Los Alamos and the Triatomics proud, with age-group medals for all three of us. Laury got 2nd in the 60-64 (...a tough field, no lie!) and Orion got 2nd in the juniors <18 after a hard-fought battle with two other very good triathletes. The guy who ended up winning was a faster swimmer/runner (and a year older and looked like a grown man), but Orion was hands-down the best mtn biker. The other juniors were amazed with his mtn biking strength and ability. I think he has a future in both road and off-road triathlons. And, I gotta hand it to Laury: this was a very physically demanding course and he knew it ahead of time. He just took it in stride and came out smiling on the other side. I don't know many people who can do something like this, and he did it in style at age 63!!!

I got 3rd in the M40-44, with a 9th OVERALL! The M40-44 class had the most placings of the other age groups in the top ten...well, maybe the 25-29ers had more if you count the overall. I also had a girl beat me! She was awesome and had a stellar bike leg. She can also swim and run well, so I'm not ashamed =)

Overall, this was a great race, but not for the faint of heart, or the under-trained. The course is hard and requires good mtn bike skills. It's also physically tough with all of the rock ledges to climb and a lot of granny-gear, gut-busting mega-steep climbing...throw in two stream crossings, and some deep sand, and you've got a lot of work to do. They do have a much shorter "Sport" version that has some of the stuff, but not nearly as bad.

Moab is also a lot of fun. It's a total circus with the National Park tourists, the jeepers and other off-road vehiculars, the motorcycles, the mtn bikers, the river rafters, the Germans...you get the idea! It's all a lot of fun too, except that they only serve that dang Utah 3.2 beer =)

We drove back home the next day, but not without a stop at a totally cool trail system outside of Cortez, called "Phil's World." This place is a must on any mtn biker's list. See the photos and look it up on the mtn bike forums. It's a great set of trails.

babysitting for Storrie and Cochiti Lake Tris?

Hey, anyone bringing friends/family with them to Storrie Lake or Cochiti Lake tris? If you think they might want to watch our almost 3 year old during the race please email me at dinapesenson at gmail dot com.
We're happy to pay or trade by watching your kid(s) at another event.
thanks!
Dina

Be Nice to the Volunteers!

Don’t let the blog title put you off – I’m hoping this isn’t going to be too dull or too preachy and isn’t meant to be a rant but I really wanted to put some things out there about the importance of volunteers and how the first three races of this season has changed my outlook on both race organizing and volunteering at races. My plan to volunteer actually started off last year when I was planning my race season (yes, a little early….) and was checking out the Chasing3 race calendar www.chasing3.com . Chasing3 are the folks who are running the New Mexico Triathlon Series this year and amongst other races, they did Benson and Cochiti last year. This year they’re doing more races and a race for free program, where if you volunteer to help at selected races, they give you an entry slot for another selected race for free (more details can be found at http://www.chasing3.com/race-for-free/ ) and that sounded pretty good to me so I volunteered at Coyote Carrera and Benson for slots at Storrie Lake and Cochiti.

The first race I volunteered at was Coyote Carrera down in ABQ and I essentially helped out getting people getting body marked and pointing people in the right direction – nothing too challenging but it was fun being involved and seeing the first 10 or so people crossing the line. One thing that stood out while doing a little crowd control to keep people from impeding racers exiting T2 to the pool was a small number of grouchy people who didn’t like being informed that they probably shouldn’t get in the athletes way – hey I’m trying to do you a favor!

Next up was Atomic Man, I did the Fat Man in the cold and light snow and as it was close to home my wife volunteered and helped out with traffic control and directing on the run course. She’s got a low tolerance to the cold so I’m very grateful she helped out in conditions which would approach her own personal hell !!!! However, she also got a few grouchy people, one who “had kids in the car” and wanted to park in the school parking lot after the Little Boy had started and one classic “I pay my taxes” when told a short section of road was closed. Ah, well you always get a few!

The last race was the ever popular Albuquerque World Championships aka Jay Benson and was as usual a great race. This time I helped John out with timing and the bike out/bike in part of the race. Now here we only had one minor grouch but he came back to apologize so fair play to that guy but what struck me at this race was the amount of effort that went into the race set up. I was involved in the break-down too and if you looked around, all the racks, advertisements, barricades etc. had to be broken down and put away and all the course markers and aid stations broken down too. Angie and John told me the Chasing3 crew had been there since 9pm the night before and had worked right through to after the race – would anyone have guessed that’s what they do? Me neither but I do now!

So I think I’m trying to make a few points:

One is that seriously, be nice the volunteers, you might have pre-race tensions and be trying to get in race mode, but the volunteers have probably been up the same length of time you have if not more and are more than likely doing this for free (or at least a free race ;o) and they don’t have to be there. You don’t want to be remembered at a grouch! I know it’s just a few individuals but I’m not writing about the 99% of nice people. BTW every Triatomic was a credit to the club!!!!!!!

Two, next time you’re at a race, look around and think what might have to be taken down when everyone clears out and remember that someone had to put that up – organizing these races is a non-trivial event and be patient if there are minor kinks during race day. Volunteering has given me a whole new perspective on the amount of effort and organization required to put on a race so hats off to Angie and the whole C3 crew. I only saw a small slice of what happens on race day so I can’t imagine some of the stories they have!

Finally, I’d like to get you thinking about volunteering at a race if you haven’t already done so, not only is it pretty fun and you get to meet a bunch of new people, it’s also an eye-opener to what’s involved and you might be able to pick up some tips on what to do or what not to do - I think I now have an idea what’s the most effective way to mount/dismount the bike!

I also want to thank the C3 crew for putting on some great races so far this year and now I’m just looking forward to Storrie Lake and Cochiti and yes, I'll be back to volunteer at more races!!!