Ok, Okay, OKAY! I know I haven't written in a long time. I have a few stories to share that I wrote a while ago and never published so I'll try to get those posted soon too. For now, I'll share the story of my most recent race, and get some new stories up in the next few weeks.
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| Along the bike course in Vernal, Utah |
The Dino tri is a sprint triathlon held in Vernal, Utah. It's one of the only races I've done where there is prize money for the top 3 overall finishers and the top time in each individual event - swim, bike, run, as well as a king of the mountain prize for the fastest time up the huge hill we had to climb. Another unique aspect of this race is having 2 transition zones. The bike was a point-to-point course instead of a loop. I liked it! only had to worry about setting up for one transition at a time. Not to mention, it was an incredibly beautiful place to race.
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| The swim location |
I headed out to Utah with a stellar group of athletes representing Boulder, CO. Charles, Dan R., Patrick B., Lindsay M., and I all made the 6 hour drive! The course was a standard 750m swim, with a 13.4 mile bike, and 5k run. The swim was in a canyon with high, red-stained, rock walls (gorgeous!). The bike included a steep 1.25 mile climb right out of the water, continuing to climb for another mile before descending a long gradual downhill and flat to the finish. The run was completely flat and in the blazing sun, despite the early morning start time, it was a HOT one, temps reaching into the 90's and no shade on the course.
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| The cowboy dinosaur! |
Despite a few hiccups in the start, it was an incredibly well run race. The sprint was started about a half hour later than we expected. And after staying the night in a questionable hotel, we all headed to the start ready to go! I had a strong swim, my best this season at 13:40 (still not as fast I want to be though!) and came out of the water 8th. I passed all but 2 girls who were in front of me in the transition zone. Seriously highlights how important it is to have good transitions. Some girls swam 2 minutes faster than me, but still lingered as I headed out on the bike. Thanks
Coach Dan for giving me that advantage!!
I had a great bike, the climbing was tough but short - I posted the 3rd fastest time on the bike. A serious rookie mistake when I transitioned to the run, and it cost me a few seconds, my inhaler was in my shoe!! So I went to pull it on and had to stop and yank the inhaler out. In the mean time the second overall girl took off on the run. We were only seconds apart on the bike coming in. Despite seeing her right in front of me the entire run I never could quite close the gap and had to settle for third overall. My run this season has not been nearly as strong as previous years, I only ran a 21 min 5k. Not sure why, altitude maybe?
Me representing in the Dino Tri shirt and Lindsay with my Ruby, rocking her first triathlon!
But the Boulder team cleaned house! Charles took first overall, Dan second overall, I was third overall female, Patrick won his AG and was First Clydesdale, and Lindsay finished her first triathlon ever in 4th AG. She also posted the fastest swim in the AG. Charles also won for the fastest bike split.
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| Charles, Laura, Dan, Patrick, and Lindsay |
Go Team Boulder! The awards were awesome engraved local sandstone.
Third OA and First AG (by 10 minutes)
Following the race we explored the Dinosaur National Monument were you can see dinosaur fossils still in the sediment where they were deposited ~149 million years ago.
Charles and I also went on the 'fossil discovery hike' where you can see dinosaur fossils on the cliff side as you hike. Incredible, please go here if you can. Dinosaur, Colorado!!
Lastly, a trip through Rocky Mountain National Park on the way home. Because a race is a great excuse to also travel and see exciting and beautiful things. Like moose! and hiking into the clouds on top of the gorgeous Rocky Mountains!
hiking into the clouds in Rocky Mountain national Park
