Pete and I headed to Denver on Friday afternoon for the Boulder 5430 Long Course tri on Sunday. We arrived in Denver at Danna’s house at 2am. Saturday we got up and rode for an hour on the trails near Danna’s house and then headed up to the Boulder Reservoir for packet pickup and a swim.Sunday morning at 4am we headed to the race site. I set up my transition and then sat around eating, drinking, amazed by the athletes that surrounded me. That was the most fit group of people I have ever been around; very intimidating!The race started with the pros at 6:30 followed by 9 waves of age groupers. I was in the 10th and final wave leaving off at 7:15. I did a nice long swim warm up, but once the whistle blew and I took off my heart rate immediately spiked. I had a hard time breathing and got knocked around more than usual. I never did settle into a relaxed groove and just focused on getting out of the water. Total swim time was 37 minutes. I was a little disappointed at the swim exit to find that there were no wet suit strippers; I had to use valuable energy to pry off my second skin. I was somewhat concerned at this point that the entire race was going to be painful.On the bike it took me about 10 minutes to realize that I actually felt pretty good. I was not going very fast, only around 17 mph, but I was not suffering and felt like my heart rate was more manageable. I settled into my aero position and focused on the beautiful surroundings and wonderfully refreshing temperatures that I was blessed with.At around mile 10 we hit the fun part. With minimal effort I cruised at 25+ mph and even hit 40 at one point; this was quite a long stretch and increased my average to over 21 by the end of the first loop. Sweet! And I will get to do that again! I was able to average 20.2mph overall for the 56 miles. I was very happy with that. The roads were unbelievable. The softest ride I have ever had.Off the bike in T2 I felt tired but not spent. I grabbed my stuff and headed out for two loops around the reservoir on all dirt and gravel trails. So nice. There were 3 climbs on the loop to keep your legs awake. The sun was strong, different than here in Texas, but I did not feel hot. I dumped water on my head at each aid station and with the breeze coming off of the water the heat was extremely manageable. From the start of the run I could tell that breathing was going to be an issue as it had been on the swim. I ran from aid station to aid station at a pace that felt like my 5k pace, based on my heart rate, but was in reality slower than my marathon pace and walked through them drinking plenty of water and ate sport beans every other mile. I really didn’t know how slow I was going until I finished loop 1 and saw that it had taken me a full hour. But that was what I had to give and I was enjoying myself and felt better than I thought I would, so I did not try to push it any harder. At mile 10 I had pretty much had it. It was time to eat more and I was at an aid station and needed to drink but I did not want either. I just pushed through the last 3 miles without taking in anything. I crossed the finish line at 5:34 after a 2:05 half marathon run. The second I stopped running I broke out in goose bumps and could not breathe. I am sure I was pretty dehydrated but I was very surprised at how much harder it was to breathe now that I was finished. I knew that I had shot myself in the foot by not taking any hydration or nutrition for those last miles but it was all over now and I was pleased with my overall time, with how I felt for 90% of the race, and absolutely loved the atmosphere and surroundings, so I was happy.It was such a great race. Well run, fantastic course, great people. My plan was to take a bunch of pictures after the race to capture some of the beauty, but I felt like crap and just wanted to lie down. Danna was kind enough to snap these for me, thanks!always what you want to see when you stop to pee...
our Saturday trip to the reservoir
the sunrise over the reservoir race morning
my swim wave
no strippers! dang!
I rested for the afternoon before Trey and Danna insisted on taking us out to Texas de Brazil for an amazing dinner. What a great trip! Thank you for hosting us Trey and Danna!
Now back to business. I have got to get a nutrition plan for my run at Cozumel. The bike is great, but when I run I really do not want to eat anything and that will not cut it for 26 miles…
Totals for last week:
Swim: 1:42 6500 yards
Bike: 7:30 132 miles
Run: 3:00 19.1 miles
This week calls for:
Swim: 2:30
Bike: 7:05
Run: 4:10
Total: 13:45
