Let me start by saying this is a great race. It really is. It's not too large, well run, more than enough volunteers, etc. Honestly, I think it is just about the best race put on around Denver, as far as I'm concerned. So, what's the downside? Well, the fact that it starts at 6:30 on a Saturday. That means being up in Loveland around 5:00 so you can check in, since it doesn't make sense to go up there the night before to check in only to head back home. This translates into being up around 3:45 in the morning. Friday night, I was wired and didn't get to sleep till 11:00 or so. AND it was my usual up-and-down routine the night before a race. Next year, I'm going up the night before and getting a room.

Anyhow, up at 3:45, make a light breakfast and hit the road. At least I cleaned up the bike and loaded up the truck the night before. All I had to do this morning was grab my water bottles. Thankfully, the drive up is peaceful, albeit dark. I'll admit to getting nervous, though. There was some serious crosswind on I-25. This could be problematic on the bike. And what is it with semi drivers driving side-by-side doing 60? I mean, come on. :P

Well, I get up to Loveland just after 5:00. I'm driving by the lake and notice its still pretty low. They said it would be low, but this was REALLY low. Hopefully, they wouldn't turn it into a du. I get there, get checked in and unload my stuff. I get to transition and manage to grab a good spot for my gear. Get set and geared up. The lady on the bullhorn is getting a little antsy, so I grab my wetsuit, goggles and cap and head on down to the beach.

Swim

Thankfully, the swim wasn't canceled. The water was low, but it was still deep enough to swim. For the most part. I'm in the third wave, so we go off around 6:45 or so. The water isn't cold at all, really. We did run about the first 30-40 yds, though, since it was so low. Once we were able to dive in, I was able to find my rhythm. There's a funny thing about swimming: in the pool, you look at your lane, and you only see 25 meters/yards, whether you're doing 100 m or 1 k. In the open water, it looks A LOT longer than you think.

Like I said, I got into my rhythm soon enough. I was able to catch a few drafts, but people seemed to be burning themselves up early on. I was able to cruise along and catch quite a few people from the wave ahead of us. Our wave seemed to have a wide swatch of abilities. The water was almost too warm: my legs got rather warm. I could have gone without the wetsuit, but I do like the extra buoyancy one gets from it. Overall, the swim was rather nice. Except the last 75 yards or so. You see, I swam for as long as I could. Until my hands started raking the mud. We had to run those last 50 or so yards in mid-shin deep mud. That definitely ate into my swim time. And then there was the unusually long run up to transition. Given that, I'm okay with my 30:57 swim time. Not great, but okay.

Into transition, strip off the wetsuit, ride gear on, and out in 3:40. I can do that better, but I was taking my time after the run up from the beach.

Bike

I love the bike course at this race. There's some really nice rollers on the way from Loveland Lake to Horsetooth Res. Nothing bad. It can honestly be a rather fast course. The final climb up to Horsetooth can be challenging, but not too bad if you pace yourself. Going into this race, I was telling myself to take it easy. I had a great ride last week at the 5430, but I shouldn't expect the same this weekend. Last week was a flat and fast course. This one is much more challenging. Not only do you have the climb up to and around Horsetooth, but there's some rollers on the way back into Loveland that can be rather punishing after that climb. So, I was being realistic and hoping to have an average speed around 18.5 MPH or so.

Well, I get out on my bike, get my legs under me and am feeling strong. I'm passing quite a few people and having a lot of fun. I'm not expecting much, so imagine my surprise when I get to the last climb up to the Res and check my average to that point: 20.7 MPH?!?!?!?!?! That can't be right! Huh. Maybe my final speed will be close to 20. I know it's going to come down, what with the climb and rollers ahead. But maybe, just maybe, it won't come down that much. So, I go for it.

Coming back into Loveland, I'm still feeling strong, but getting a little beaten. The rollers are there, but not as bad for me this year. I could do without the wind, but I'm not complaining. The volunteers on the course are great. This is what makes this race so great. For large parts of the bike, they've closed down a lane of traffic for us. On top of that, there's 1-2 volunteers at nearly every intersection, holding up traffic and directing us. I've NEVER seen this level of support in a race. Even better, they have the left-most lane closed for us from about half a mile out up to the only major left turn we make on the entire ride. And I really like how the bike now comes back in to the school through the sculpture gardens. There's no longer a gaggle of bikes trying to make that hard right into the parking lot.

I get off my bike after 31.67 miles, 1:36:04 and a final speed of 19.9 MPH. I'll take that. Into transition, run gear on, out in 1:41.

Run

So, I head out on the run, and I'm already having problems. My right side is cramping up something fierce. As soon as I have the chance, I hit the restroom. Thankfully, there's one early on in the run. I think that Gatorade on the ride didn't agree with me. Anyways, I'm out on the run course after a few minutes and am feeling much better. There's still a little cramping, but nothing bad. I'm focusing on my stride like I have been. By the first aid station at mile 1, I've worked out most of the kinks and grab some water. After that, I've grabbed my second wind and am running strong.

For the most part, the rest of the run was uneventful. I worked out the cramps, grabbed water at each aid station and just kept running strong. The weather was perfect for the run: partly cloudy, mid-70s. Gorgeous morning. The last 400 yards or so saw 2 guys pass me. There were a lot of people cheering us on (damn, I love this sport). Then a guy hollers at me "Keep it up, only 100 yards to go!" So, I figure what the hell and floor it. Sprinting that last 100 yards, I manage to pass the 6 people ahead of me. It was a great feeling, since several people who had finished went nuts when I started the sprint. I got to the finish line and nearly collapsed. Nothing bad, but I had sprinted so hard, I was more than a little winded. Finished the run in 58:30.

Final times:

Swim - 30:57, 265/32
Bike - 1:36:04, 19.9 MPH avg., 176/532
Run - 58:30, 9:35 min/mile, 401/532
Overall - 3:10:54, 1^st in class, 227/532 overall

Yeh, I won my class. I'm REALLY happy about that. It's not too often something like that happens, so I'll take it. Now, compared to last year there was a marked improvement. My swim was 2 minutes shorter this year, despite the longer run and the mud. The bike, while 3 minutes longer, was a longer course, so my average speed was 1 MPH faster. As for the run, I was only 5 sec/mile faster. However, given I lost 2-3 minutes in the loo and was dealing with cramps for the first mile, I'm okay with it. Not happy, but I can accept it. Overall, my race was a minute longer than last year, but much faster. For me, it was a huge accomplishment.

So, now its time for bed. I slept 9 straight hours last night and am still rather tired. I think I need some more sleep. For tomorrow, it is back to the mundane life of a state employee. Boulder Peak can't get here soon enough.