Race report from this weekend's race in Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone. Great time. Race website is www.janetstriathlon.org
Left work at noon Friday, out of Poky at 1:15. Checked into Yellowstone National Park Madison Campground around 4:30. Camp setup by 5:00. New family truckster Xterra works well for family trips like this. Weather was ok and looking to be fair for race on Saturday. To sleep at 10pm on the dot.
Pre-race: Up at 0715 to a chilly morning but no rain (yet!). Standard morning routine. Cooked up coffee and SmartStart cereal. Baby Paul was doing ok. Out of camp at 0815, get another coffee at the gas station in West Yellowstone, arrive race area at 0900 to check in and get ready. Felt a little rushed, unlike last year when we got there really early and stood around for 90 minutes or so. The water was looking good, and they said it was 59deg instead of 53 showing on Reclamation Website. Good to go, I guess. The race looked much bigger than the 40 or so from last year, and it was…had 72 entrants this year. I got a decent warmup in the water and then headed to the start line, where they screwed around with the timers for a bit.
Swim: Went exactly according to plan, and a minute faster than expected. Lined up front right so I could get next to the rope that leads to the bouy (out and back course). I hit the start well, and things went good from there. Turned around at 500meters at 7:20 and I was in about 5th place overall. Water was smooth and easy swimming. Saw some cool bugs on the water but couldn't identify for use while fishing later in the day. Swam the rest of the way with a good stroke, focusing on form over power to ensure I didn't freak out and feel like I couldn't breathe. Swam the entire way with my face in the water with a good freestyle stroke. Out of water in 15:02 and in 5th or 6th.
T1: Sucked. Couldn't get the zipper going on my wetsuit. WTF!?!?!?! Out in 3:21…SLOW!
Bike: Went as planned but felt slow. This is a flat course on a packed dirt road with lots of "humpty" bouncers. I passed a lot of bikers that must have been part of the relays that passed me in transition. I felt like I was pushing hard but still felt slow. Not sure what the deal was. This is really a fun course to ride!
T2: In and out! Saw only two bikes, so thought I was doing well. Found at later that I wasn't in third overall but 5th or so.
Run: Started slow on purpose, but not sure I could've pushed much faster immediately. I was babying a pulled left calf muscle from last week's tri-turned-du. First mile was 8:45, second 8:25, third and fourth came in at 16:02 for 8minute average. As I ran, I felt that my calf muscle was stronger, so I pushed it harder. Got passed by one guy at mile 2.5 or so…large guy about 6'2" and 250 and all muscle cut pretty well…not the kind of guy you expect to blow by you on the run, anyway, he kept pulling away for the rest of the run. Finished run in 33:02 (about 100 yards over 4 miles).
Overall: I love this triathlon because of the MTB and trail run. I would like to see a couple of hills, but you can't have everything. I couldn't remember my times from last year on race day, but I just looked them up and my overall time was faster but bike and run were slower. That's with a bum wheel, so I'm ok with that. The swim went so much better and is a better representation of what I can do, so I'm very happy that my OWS practices the past month paid off. The race was much bigger this year, too. Got first in age group. And Pocatello was well-represented in this race this year, which is nice to see.
Misc: The venue for this is simply awesome, and the family that runs it is GREAT. The swim has been in calm water both years I did it. The bike is on flat packed dirt road that is lots of fun to ride cuz of the bumps (cyclo-cross bike is probably best). The run is a nice run on old logging roads, too. No gas fumes during this race! It's a memorial race for their daughter Janet who died from cancer, and it's a fundraiser for cancer research. Very well organized, and everyone is friendly. We make it a family fishing trip to Yellowstone with a triathlon for fun. The weather was great for the race….about 60 and overcast/mostly cloudy, threatening rain the entire time. The rains came after the race and lasted all day, all night, and into the morning, which is why we left early. I did catch a small brookie in the Gibbon about 100 yards downstream from the bridge by Madison Junction, so that was a success, too.
This year's times versus last year's times. First line is my watch. Second line is race results, and the swim and T1 are combined. Third line is 2008 times.
Year Race time Chip time Swim T1 Bike T2 Run
2009 1:39:58 15:02 3:21.46 48:22 XX 33:12
1:39:56.057 18:24.63 47:58.846 27.765 33:04.807
2008 1:42:07.168 1:42:05.556 21:04.55 2:27.700 45:58.082 33.217 32:03.615
Average Heart Rate: 161 Calories: 1,932
Swim AHR: 155
Bike AHR: 162
Run AHR: 164
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