Donner Lake Triathlon, 2023

07/22/2023

After failing to really do a race until July, Donner lake was the start to my 2023 triathlon season with a bang of a race.   A very short sprint (400m swim, 10k bike, 2 mile run) it is a 110% effort at altitude the whole way through.

The swim was a little silly since I swam really wide of the first bouy and had to adjust course.   Definitely lost un-needed seconds to this silly mistake, but the goal is always a smooth start to the high altitude swims so I’ll take it instead of blowing up or getting punched in the initial brawl.

The bike was FAST.   Averaging 24 mph on a bike with clip-on aero bars, I love riding at altitude.   I quickly passed the swimmers who were right in front of me and slowly boiled down the field to only 2 people ahead.

The run is always a game of how hard can you push without blowing up your HR too much.   I am still not there in terms of run shape, so off my sub-7 pace from years prior, but I still managed to get close and reel in the other person in front of me.   After a big final push to stave off anyone behind me I finished second place in the group I took off in, and third place overall.

Hopefully I get some run strength back and maybe a little better swimming sighting, but overall no complaints about a fast fierce race.

Ragnar Trail Tahoe, 2023

07/08/2023

After missing the race last year due to COVID, it was great to do a running only event again and enjoy the trails.   Like all things, you can never expect what is going to get changed up, so while preparing for 1600’ climbs the race was snowed in (even though it was July 7th!) and they had to race at much lower and flatter elevations.   The event still started at 7500’ above sea level so the air was thin and the legs were tired, but all times were faster than predicted.

My first leg was the green leg.   A nice sprightly 5k up and over a ridge.   In the cool crisp evening with family watching, I happily ran down the course, up the hill, and over onto some of my favorite runs at sugar bowl.   While trying not to push it too hard, I still let loose a little and ran the whole way.

The second leg was on the red loop at a crazy 2am run.   Thankfully my head lamp was way better than before so I happily ran along passing an amazing 40-ish people.   The only issue was the sloughs of mud that had been created through the race, so my feet were very soaked and legs very muddy.   A good case for long compression socks though since I could just peel them off and hop back to sleep for as long as I could.

Finally, my last leg was on the yellow loop the following morning around 8am-ish.  The loops had all been nested versions of each other so I knew what was coming, but this time my legs were definitely on the toasted side.  Still I pushed through one last climb between the base passes from Mt Lincoln to Mt Judah to come in right on time and be the second fastest on my team.   Running is definitely farthest behind in my covid recovery, but I’m in a much better position than a year ago and with another good hard winter of ski/run training I think I’ll be in tip top shape for next year.

Santa Cruz Triathlon 2022

09/25/2022

Nothing pointed to a more clear loss of endurance from COVID than this race.   Everything was slow from swim, to bike, to run.   But like all sunsets, the sun will rise again tomorrow.

Overall the race was pretty smooth though.   No major hiccups with a consistent swim, a well paced bike, reasonable transitions and the same standard trudging run.  The bike was the most taxing and clearly out of shape while the run still managed a sub-7 time partly thanks to pushing but also thanks to super shoes as always.   Here’s to a covid-free training plan next year though where hopefully everything just gets better again.

Sandman 2022

08/21/2022

After a 2 month recovery period from COVID, I was not sure how my racing would go.   COVID really knocked me down and I lost most of June as well as a ton of fitness.   I even skipped the Milwaukee age group nationals to avoid hurting myself more.   But this race was just a sprint and I could always tag out.

The course itself was mostly perfect this time.   The roads were dry, the ocean was shark free (enough).   That being said, the race director said she extended the swim a bit so it came in around 0.82 miles instead of the goal of 0.75.    The tide was also high so that meant the beach had little hard sand to trod on.   Pounding it through piles of rocks, soft sand, and the occasional fisherman made it quite a trek.

Despite the minor challenges, it turned into a wonderful race though.   I paced the swim easy and gradually picked up speed as we swam along the shore.   Then on the bike I let it rip passing everyone in front of me in my age group (4 people!)   The key there was using a road bike instead of a tri bike like last year.   The course is 800 ft of climbing with the decents being really rough, so the use of a super aero position really doesn’t gain you much.   Then on the beach, I passed only one sole teenager with only two other people in front of me.  

In the end, I took 6th place overall and first in my age group winning another coveted sand coated trophies.   COVID took the wind out of my sails, but I fought back and the race was worth it.   Now to cure some blisters in my foot to come back to race Santa Cruz in a month!