5430 Sprint Triathlon

Maybe I should race the Gila (and put in the necessary base miles prior) every spring. With the early season fitness I've gained, it has helped me both as a cyclist and it's improved my fitness off the bike in my triathlon endeavors.

After finishing mid-pack in the Gila GC- I would've finished higher but for a flat tire in the time trial which cost me 18 minutes- I've had some success on the bike, and that fitness has carried over to my triathlon racing. Because of a chronic injury, I'd only run 45 miles in 2008 prior to the Bolder Boulder. I surprised myself on Memorial Day with a 41:42 finishing time. A week later I raced the Longmont Sprint Triathlon and finished 12th overall and 3rd age group. (Technically I was tied for 11th overall and 2nd age group with the same time.) Then came the CO State TT Champs and in spite of a nagging cold, finished 12th in the 35+/cat 4 group. The next day was the Mike Horgan HC, and I crossed the line right behind Blue Sky's Charles Musgrave in 19th place. Last Sunday, in a highly competitive 5430 Sprint Triathlon at the Boulder reservoir, I was ecstatic with my 15 of 106 age group and 68 of 1054 finish. Which leads me to this race report.

I was pretty jazzed for the start of the race, even though the water temp in the Boulder Rez was a chilly 68 degrees. I was in the 3rd wave, starting at 7:40AM. All but one fool in our wave had a wetsuit, and a lot of guys even had neoprene caps on. When I last did this race in 2006, I swam a 15:33, and I was pretty confident I could better this. I'm about 5 lbs lighter this year, as I was able to fit more easily into my neoprene. A non-eventful swim (no goggle fogging, kicks or punches, etcetera) led to a minute plus improvement, and I finished in 13:44. 183rd on the swim. Okay, so I'm still a lousy swimmer.

After 12 years of doing triathlons and duathlons, I finally made the investment to a tri-specific cycling shoe. These shoes typically have one velcro strap, a smaller tongue, and a loop in back which all allow the racer to get into and out of the shoe quicker. This was the first time using these shoes, and they certainly made a difference. I shaved about a minute off my T1 time.

The bike leg was 17.3 miles on a very fast course. After motoring up that little rise coming out of the Rez, I settled into race mode and started passing the folks in the earlier waves. On Jay road, my buddy Craig, a decent cat 3 road racer, zoomed past me. I kept him in my sights, staying about 20- 50 meters back. But I also noticed some yahoo get right on his wheel and start drafting. Drafting is illegal in amateur triathlon and duathlon racing, and you can get time penalties for infractions such as drafting. Go figure there was not a moto ref in sight the entire time I was on the bike. (After the race I had the nerve to go up to the guy and call him a "cheat", and Craig told me he told the guy a number of times to get off his wheel. The most blatant cheating I've ever seen in the 42 triathlons and duathlons I've raced.) The other minor drama I got caught up in was a crash that happened around mile 10 about 30 meters in front of me. Two guys- the only two guys who passed me on the bike- zoomed past me around mile 8 or 9. I was going along at about 27 mph, so these guys were flying. The one guy was in my age group, the other a 40- 45 year-old racer. On 63rd Street, the guy in my age group cut the other guy off, clipped his front wheel, and the older guy went skidding across the pavement. I swerved around him across the double yellow, and then the fool who caused the crash stopped and almost turned into me. Crashes are very uncommon in triathlons, but anything can happen when someone is careless and/or reckless. After the race, I talked to the guy who went down and he had road rash up and down his left side and may have broken his shoulder underneath the ice pack he was holding. By coincidence the yahoo who cut him off had his bike racked next to me; the guy was a better athlete than me as he finished ahead of me in the final result- he must've run faster. I finished the bike about 20 seconds slower than in 2006 for a 23.5 mph average.

I again zipped through transition, taking about 30 seconds off my 2006 T2 time, and it was off on the run. There was a steady breeze coming out of the east as we ran along the dam road. Back in the day before my chronic heel pain, the run was my strength, even allowing me to finish in the top 3 of my age group in a number of smaller races. I was still able to pick off a few of my fellow age groupers, and only a couple guys passed me on the run. I didn't think I'd match the pace I ran in the Longmont Sprint, thinking I'd run 7:00 min/mi. After having a nice tail breeze on the way back in from mile 2 into the finish, I picked up the pace for the remaining 1.1 miles and finished running a 21:16 for a 6:52 min/mi pace off the bike. I came across the line strong and saw and heard Katie, Kenna, and the other Boulder Triathlon Club teammates cheering on the final straightaway. (If only I had a Blue Sky triathlon skinsuit.) I finished in 1:21:04, an improvement of 3 minutes over my 2006 time. Afterwards we hung out with James and the Blue Sky tri babes under the DRS/Blue Sky tent that James had set up. There was a nice race expo, with Avery Brewing Company as one of the race sponsors. Why don't cycling promoters have expos with free beer?? Those White Rascals from Avery Brewing sure tasted good afterwards.

08/21/07 - Xterra Mountain Championships

Score: Xterra Mountain Championship bike course - 1 Mike Starck- 0.

After racing in Ogden last year, I figured I knew what was ahead of me – I was wrong. The rainstorm that came through the night before had passed and left a beautiful, crisp morning. Water temps were in the upper 60’s and the swim leg went great, exiting the water with a few of the pros. The rainstorm also left the bike course in perfect condition – nice and tacky, no dust. It also left the wooden bridges and stairs, nice and slick. And unbeknownst to me, the bike course had changed. It put a hurting to me – 19 miles of mostly singletrack with over 3,000 ft. of climbing. At about mile 15 I realized I hadn’t eaten enough food and started to hit the wall. I managed to limp into T2. I squeezed down another Enervit gel and started the ascent of the ski hill for the run leg. I managed to finish a respectable 9th of 28 in the age group but a bit disappointed for petering out. My buddy and I hopped in the car, bought an espresso shake, and headed back to the Front Range. Nothing like an 8 hr drive after a 3 hr 20min race. Note: Ogden may not be on everyone’s top 10 list of outdoor destinations but, after racing there 2 years in a row, it should be. The town welcomes outdoor enthusiasts and has a Boulder-ish feel, being laid back and situated up against the mountains. They are also hosting some world championships there this winter.

- Mike Starck

8/19/07 - Rattlesnake Triathlons - Jason Kaminski

Saturday's Rattlesnake Olympic triathlon consisted of a 1.5k swim a 40k bike, and a 10k run. If anyone's ever been down south to the Aurora reservoir, you know how hilly the roads are down there. After my sub-25 minute swim, the hilly bike leg was next. The Rattlesnake triathlons are unique in that they have a time-trial start, that is each swimmer starts individually every 3- 4 seconds. You never know where you stand within the race in this type of format, but I preferred it over a mass wave start since the swim is my weakest sport and I didn't have to fight the crowd. The women started first at 7:15AM, and the guys who were doing the back-to-back races went next. I ended up starting about 8:15AM, thus avoiding most of the heat of the day. I turned in a 1:10 bike leg ( 21.2 mph ave), and then it was onto the run. I only had 2 guys pass me on the bike, and one of them was a pro triathlete from Denver. Having only run 3 times since February b/c of a torn MCL in my left knee, I knew this would be my toughest leg. I turned in a 51:12 for 8:15 pace, and I was pleased with that. Out of the 50 people in my category, I finished 12th in the swim, 9th in the bike, and 14th in the run for a total time of 2:28:37 which was good for 11th overall in my 35- 39 age group.

Sunday's Rattlesnake Sprint Triathlon served as the USAT (USA Triathlon) National Championship, and there were guys from all over CO and a few out-of-staters. Unlike an Olympic distance triathlon, there are no set distances for a "sprint" race. The distances here were 500m swim, 12 mi bike, and 5k run. This was going to be a walk in the park after yesterday's 2 1/2 hour romp. Again, the swim is my weakest sport, but I was thrilled with my 7:38. I had a good T1 and it was off to the bike. I threw in everything I had- I was either going to blow up or turn in a fast time. My cycling legs felt pretty good after yesterday's race, and I hammered the bike in a respectable 34:27 on 12 miles of the same hilly course as Saturday. I zipped through T2 and was moving pretty well, considering again that I'd done nearly no running the previous 5 months. Right before the run turnaround at halfway, my knee popped and I felt this incredible jolt of pain. I pushed through it and finished strong, passing mostly women but also a few back-to-back racers who started with me. My placings were 12th in the swim, 9th in the bike, and 10th in the run and I ended up 8th of 58 in my competitive age group (the winner and 4 of the top 10 overall guys were in the 35- 39 age group). I knew I'd have a strong bike, but was ecstatic with my 7:03 run pace. If my running injuries ever heal up, you guys might not see me much on the bike next season :-)

08/12/07 Triathlons

We had several Blue Sky Velo triathletes tearing it up this past weekend. There were two big races, 5430 Long Course (1/2 Ironman distance) and The Great Colorado Triathlon (Olympic distance).

Here are those results:

5430 Long Course

Leann McAllister – 5^th in 40-44 women (awesome result!!)
Wayne McAllister – 28^th 40-44 men

Great Colorado Triathlon

Maggi Kelly – 2^nd in 40-44 women
Beth Coppock – 4^th in 40-44 women
Eric Coppock – 1^st in 40-44 men (we are hoping to have him join us next year)
Kelly Dykema – 2^nd in 45-49 women

The Great Colorado Tri also featured the Jr. National Championship after the adult race. These were kids from the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and more. It was very exciting watching how fit these kids were and that the future of triathlons is in their hands. In addition, there was a Pro/Elite race which started at about 12:00 (very hot for those athletes) and included some top elite racers who weren’t out racing the 5430. It was a great spectator course in that we did 2 loops of 750 meters in the swim, 6 loops on the bike and 2 loops on the run. I have attached some photos from that race.

June 2007 Blue Sky Velo Triathlon Results

As you can see below, there is a lot of racing for this team. We are
having a blast at these races together supporting each other.

We were also lucky enough to have Louisa Jenkins, former pro bike
racer, come and talk at our Skirtini party this month.

Longmont Triathlon – June 3
Maggi Kelly – 2nd – 40-44
Kelly Dykema – 1st – 45-49
James Dykema – 3rd – 45-49
Michelle Toledo – 12th – 35-39
Mike Gaffney – 13th – 35-39
Kyle Fredin – 1st – 35-39 and 2nd overall
Justin Newell – 6th – 30-34
Kristin Newell – 3rd – 25-29
Deb Schlutz – 9th – 45-49
Hillari Hansen – 4th – 45-49
Deb White – 7th – 45-49
Leanne McAllister – Team w/ children – 2nd team overall
Jen Jepsen – 7th – 30-34

June 9 – Sunrise Stampede 10K & 2 mile

Karen Charles – 2nd - 45-49 – 10K
Kelly Dykema – 4th - 45-49 - 2 mile
Maggi Kelly – 2nd - 40-44 - 2 mile
Michelle Toledo – 2nd – 35-39 - 2 mile
Tamara Gaffney – 2nd – 35-39 – 10K
Sabrina Naftel – 3rd – 40-44 – 2 mile
James Dykema – 1st – 45-49 – 2 mile

June 10 – Greeley Triathlon
Justin Newell – 13th – 35-39
Kristin Newell – 3rd – 25-29

June 17 – 5430 Sprint
Karen Charles – 6th – 45-49
Hillari Hansen – 13th – 45-49
Tamara Gaffney – 21st – 35-39
Michael Gaffney – 90th – 35-39
Leann McAllister – 8th – 40-44
Wayne McAllister – 30th – 40-44

Boulder TT – June 20
Kelly Dykema – 1st SW4
Maggi Kelly – 2nd SW4
Ashley Johnson – 4th SW4
Kristin O'Rourke – 3rd SW4
James Dykema – 1st SM45+

Lyons River Run 5K – June 24
Karen Charles – 4th – 40-49
Hillari Hansen – 16th – 40-49
Maggi Kelly – 7th – 40-49
Kelly Dykema – 8th – 40-49
Michelle Barbour – 7th – 30-39
Deb Schlutz – 21st – 40-49
James Dykema – 6th – 40-49

Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon – June 30
Leanne McAllister – 4th – 40-44
Beth Coppock – 5th – 40-44