NicoleJune is early triathlon race season in Colorado, and on June 4th, I did my first race of the season, the Olympic distance of the Colorado Triathlon.
I picked this race for a couple reasons – one is that 303Triathlon was one of the sponsors, so I wanted to help share the love for the event. Without Limits Productions was the race production company, and they put on great local events.
Here’s how the Colorado Triathlon unfolded for me…
The day before the race was quite a bit more hectic than I wanted it to be. Work mixed with getting packed for the race, and a stop at the Colorado Springs Bicycle Summit, it wasn’t the “stay off your feet, chill day” that is ideal. Late afternoon, I dropped my dog off with a friend and then drove up to Longmont to stay with Dana of 303. Of course I had to navigate through Friday afternoon Denver traffic, so I just accepted I would get there when I got there.
Dana cooked an awesome dinner and we caught up on some things. I spent some time on the foam roller and then got ready for bed. My planned 9pm bedtime didn’t happen, but at least I had my feet up. (And another friend crashed at her place and he arrived fairly late. I still need to give him the “night before a race” chat!)
Once I fell asleep, I slept pretty well. I think knowing the race course (this is my 11th year racing in Boulder) and not having any expectations other than to see what I’ve got helped me be a little more relaxed.
Race morning went mostly to plan. Breakfast was a banana and a mix of Generation UCAN (Cinnamon Delite,) vanilla protein powder, and peanut butter with water. (Tip: have your pre-race breakfast planned and tested during training!)
About 5:40 we left Dana’s house and got to the race site at 6am, right when transition opened. There were quite a few cars already parked. We walked with the crowds to transition and found packet pickup. Race day packet pickup was quick, as it was an “add on” to registration for a few extra bucks, so most of the locals already had their packets.
Once in transition I found my #TeamNeo athlete, Khem, who was also racing the Olympic distance (per my suggestion) and racked my bike across from hers. Then it was time to get everything situated. I didn’t have enough time to do my run warm-up, so I just did the lunge matrix and made sure I could get in the water.
I was expecting the water to be cold, but it was actually quite refreshing. No worries with my sleeveless wetsuit! I did double up my swim cap for a little extra insulation on my head.
The race morning vibe was great. I saw so many familiar faces! The weather was excellent, which always helps the mood of a race. This was the first race of the season for a lot of people, and I could tell they were excited, myself included!
Swim: 36:06, 50/81 OA, 8/16 AG
I was hoping to go under 35, as was about 35:12 when I looked at my watch a few yards up the beach. Due to the nature of swimming in open water, if I’m within a minute of my target time, I call it good.
While I don’t recommend having the first race of the season be your first time back in open water, it was many of ours out there. I felt pretty smooth for most of it, though I think I was sighting for a bit on the wrong buoys, so had to make a pretty abrupt course correction. Talking to others, I wasn’t the only one! It’s pretty clear where I had to make adjustments in my GPS map.
Heading back to the beach I was able to hold a fairly straight line. The sand on the beach was fairly soft and it’s uphill, but I got in a groove, bounded through the kiddie pool tubs to wash the sand off my feet, and got to my bike. It was right where I’d left it!
T1: 2:07 24/81 OA, 4/16 AG
This was a pretty smooth T1 for being the first race of the season.
Quick Tip: I highly recommend practicing transitions. Just set up your stuff as you would in a race next to your bike (it’s OK if it’s just leaning against a wall or your car) and run up to it, put on your gear, grab the bike, run a few feet to an imaginary mount line and hop on. You can do this before your weekend ride or just over and over riding around the block. You can practice T2 in a similar fashion.
Bike: 1:13:27 22/81 OA, 5/16 AG
139W AP, 146 W NP, 0.91IF, 1.05 VI
In my race plan I figured I’d start around 130W, see how I felt, and then just build, staying below 160W, which is somewhere around my threshold power these days. Once on the course, however, I didn’t look at power, I just raced by feel.
For this course, which is fairly steady and has under 1000 ft of climbing, I could have that VI a little lower. I leap-frogged with some people here and there along the course, and had some open space all to myself as well.
My nutrition was one endurobite square 30 minutes into the ride and Skratch for electrolytes. I had diluted Skratch in my aero-bottle up front (a mistake – meant to be just water) and a bottle of Skratch on the bike.
T2: 1:41, 33/81 OA, 6/16 AG
I put on socks (don’t like running without them), which takes a little extra time, but in general not a bad transition. Rack the bike, take off the helmet, socks on, shoes on, grab everything else and go! (Bike shoes came off as I rolled up to the dismount line.)
Run: 56:24 33/81 OA, 8/16 AG
I ballparked a 58-minute run in my plan, so when I was hitting the faster pace and it felt OK, I just went with it. This run course is a slight uphill as you head out with a couple more substantial hills, and then gradual downhill on the way back with those same hills in reverse.
My legs were feeling good so my goal was now to hold on to pace, but to walk the aid stations for sports drink and water, and take a gel at the turn-around. I didn’t drink enough water with that gel so I had a bit of a side stitch for the next 2.5 miles. It was manageable but I’d definitely prefer to not have to deal with it!
When I saw the mile 5 marker, I was ready to bring it in but the legs were just holding on. It was getting warmer out and it took some good mental strength to hold pace. My breathing was increasingly audible, so I knew I was pushing it. With a half-mile to go, there is just a slight uphill section followed by a nice downhill to help propel you into the finish area, and I always look forward to the landmark tree where the downhill starts.
I made it to the finish line and jumped into the big inflatable slip-n-slide chute but I didn’t slide very far…. I better work on that for next year!
Overall Time: 2:49:48, 33/81 OA female, 5/16 AG.
I’m glad it went well and pretty much to plan (having a plan is key – keep watching this site over time for more race preparation guidance!) and that I have a solid race under my belt before for the Syracuse 70.3 coming up on June 19th!
Nicole
