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Mountain Man Triathlon - Olympic Course
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Mountain Man Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon
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 Swim
Comments: Back in 2009, I took the approach of starting this swim very, very slowly. Many people go out too fast and run into breathing problems with the altitude. This is a problem when you are in open water. It worked then, and I planned to do it again. The water felt very, very cold, but thankfully, the wetsuit was a little more forgiving than it has been in the last couple of events. The horn sounded and I took off. There was nothing particularly notable about the swim. I felt comfortable and fairly smooth. After the first turn, I saw someone struggling and checked on him. He was having trouble breathing but he was okay. Sometimes, reassuring someone else in open water reminds me that I am okay and makes me even more confident. I continued with a little more urgency. When I exited the water, I saw my time and felt pretty good. It wasn’t spectacular, but I was off to a decent start for the day. What would you do differently?: I haven’t been very swim focused this year, so considering the time I have and haven’t put in, I am happy with the performance.  Transition 1
Comments: I saw Tom on the way to transition. He had finished the swim and was ending the day due to an injury suffered the day before. I also saw Jenna and the pups on the way out. Despite saying hello to everyone, transition felt pretty efficient.  Bike
Comments: Even though I performed well on the bike in ’09, I felt like the lost weight would really show up on the hills on this course. Even though it is fairly hilly, it is nothing compared to the Pumpkinman and Patagonia courses that await me later in the year, so this would be a good test to see where I am right now. The miles began to tick off fairly quickly and I was maintaining a pretty decent pace, but as I hit a few of the uphills, I was a little disappointed. While they weren’t brutal, and they didn’t hurt as bad as the last time I rode hills outside, they were slowing me down more than expected. I still made it to the turnaround in decent time. I turned around and headed back, knowing that the second half was faster as there is a net elevation loss on the return. I also knew that in ’09, I reached a speed of 46 mph on one of the downhills (fastest I have ever gone on a bike). I was not going to be as fast this time around (the added weight then made screaming downhill easier) but I curious if I would hit a speed at which I would lose my nerve and slow down (being older and wiser now). While I still got up to close to 40, the bike felt stable and in control at all times. I suppose I haven’t lost too much of my feel for the road with all of the indoor training. I finally rolled back into transition. I was a couple of minutes faster than in ’09, but felt a little disappointed. I thought the uphills would be a lot faster than they were and I would maintain a better average speed overall. However, once I analyzed the results, I felt a lot better about the bike performance. In ’09 I finished about 80th overall on the bike. This year, I was 20th. It is a little confusing since I only gained 2 minutes or so. Maybe the conditions were different this year (winds, etc.), which would lead to times being a little slower overall, but being number 20 in a field of over 200 is a result that I am happy with. What would you do differently?: May have been able to press a little harder than I did Transition 2
Comments: I saw Tom on the way into transition; he wished me luck on the run, and I commented that the hill was about to kill me – foreshadowing…  Run
Comments: I started the run methodically – not too fast, not too slow – just settle into a comfortable pace. I knew that the real test waited between miles one and three. About 1 ½ miles in, I took the turn to go up the hill. My legs started to ache and my breathing started to get very heavy. I reminded myself that I am lighter now, and that just a month ago, I ran up hills just like this in Montana. I struggled to the first switchback, turned, and saw more and more hill stretching out in front of me. My stride broke as I gasped for breath – I guess the lesson remains that you can’t train for altitude. After walking a few steps, I continued to shuffle on. I needed to try a plan B, since my hope of running the entire hill had collapsed. I bargained with myself that I would run 90 seconds and walk 30. I tried that and it felt like the right ratio. I continued until the turnaround was in view and my watch signaled that I had passed three miles. My pace for that mile was around 12:30 – slow, but not disastrous. I would be able to run the rest of the way after the turnaround and assess how close I was to my goals. I turned around knowing I needed a big negative split to finish the event in under three hours. If I was close after mile 5, I would go for it. I ran, but the power was out of my stride. I couldn’t sustain the pace I needed. While I knew I was doing much better than last time, the mountain and the elevation had once again bested me. I saw Jenna and the dogs as I came into the finish. Jenna snapped a couple of pictures as Sammy and Sadie danced around. I crossed the line six minutes faster than ’09 on the run and about 10 minutes faster overall. It had been a good day, but not great. What would you do differently?: Race at lower elevations? Post race
Warm down: I found Jenna and told her to head to the car. I grabbed my things, said goodbye to Tom and headed to meet them. We had a backseat full of very sleepy puppies as we headed back down the mountain. Event comments: Mountain Man has a reputation of being a very well run event for a reason. It is well organized, on time, with adequate aid stations and nice amenities. The course is scenic and challenging. The event is up for sale, so I hope that whoever takes over will continue the tradition. Last updated: 2014-02-01 12:00 AM
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 2014-08-17 6:10 AM |
Master  1696     Surprise, Arizona |  Subject: Mountain Man Triathlon - Olympic Course |
| General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Mountain Man Triathlon
70F / 21C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 123/219
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 14/18
The drive to Flagstaff and hotel check in were smooth and uneventful. However, when I unloaded the bike, I found an issue that needed to be addressed. The screw that holds one of my rear brake pads in place had wiggled out during the drive, and the brake pad had fallen off. Thankfully, the pad was found next to the car, but the screw was long gone. I headed to the event check in and expo hoping that I would be able to find a replacement for either the screw or the pad. I checked in at the event site and asked the expo hosts if they had anything that would help me. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any parts so I was on to Plan B. I asked a volunteer for directions to a bike shop in Flagstaff. I drove to the shop and thankfully found them still open. It took a little time, but the shop employee found a screw that would fit. I also purchased the correct tool to replace the screw and I was on my way. Thank you to Absolute Bikes in Flagstaff. Unfortunately, it is almost becoming routine that I have a small issue to contend with when I transport the bike either by shipping, air, or land. Since this is a small, almost local event, Jenna and I got to bring the pups with us. After dinner and a little relaxation time at the hotel, we got to sleep fairly early.
We got to the site early enough to get decent parking, so the walk from the car to transition wasn’t bad. We ran into John Crown, who I work with and who runs West Valley Tri Club, so I finally got the chance to introduce Jenna to him. I got transition set up, said goodbye to Jenna and the pups, put on the wetsuit and walked to the start.
I was very curious to see how I would do. I have continued to lose weight over the summer, so I am racing the lightest I ever have. I also put in very good training months in June and July, more in an effort to burn calories than prepare for events, but miles are miles. The last time I had done this event was in 2009 when I was training for Ironman Arizona, so I was in good shape then and also five years younger. Still, I feel better than ever, and felt capable of bettering my times from that day by a wide margin. Especially egregious in 2009 was my run performance. The altitude (7000 feet) caught up to me on the run in a big way (miles 2 and 3 are up a large hill and a couple of switchbacks), and I struggled mightily down the stretch. I wanted redemption – at the very least on the run course.