What comes after swim, bike, and run?

For me it’s write, and man are my fingers ever getting a workout. You ought to see the insane striations in my left pinky.

How has fate taken me on this unexpected side-trip? These days I find myself attending cycling events all over the country, and sometimes around the world. Amazingly, my time as a triathlete in Utah played a central role in this journey. Nowadays I’m so busy writing books and chasing races that my time competing in triathlons is only a fond memory, but I’ll be back. It’s unfolded like this:

For years, nearly every summer weekend I would compete in triathlons. My main objective was often beating my good friend, Zane Morris. We had some epic battles including a heart-bursting sprint at the end of an Olympic distance race out at Sunten Lake that still exhausts me to think about. Every time Zane increased the pace I matched him. Every time I increased the pace he somehow did the same. Again and again we went faster and faster. My quads begged for relief and my lungs ached from the effort as we neared the finish, but our pace just kept increasing. The sparse crowd screamed encouragement. We crossed the line running side by side at full tilt. I’m certain I couldn’t have run the last portion any quicker if it had been a one-hundred yard dash. How we ran so fast at the end of an Olympic distance triathlon I’ll never know.

I still feel angry when I look at the results sheet that says Zane beat me by a second. I can’t say for certain that he didn’t cross the line first, but the margin was in the hundredths of seconds at most. The guy running that timer robbed me, and I want my time back!

Zane and I used to split our results pretty evenly, each of us drawing motivation from the other. Though there were stronger athletes around, every once in a while we’d get lucky and one of us would win the entire race. That was an important experience, because as a result I learned about sensations that are exclusive to leading a race. The event takes on an entirely different feel in those moments when all the action is happening behind your back. For me, a thrilling sort of exhilaration always kicked in when the entire field was in pursuit… when I became the hunted.

Meanwhile, I published my first novel while still holding down a more than full time job as a mortgage banker, plus my wife gave birth to our first daughter. Life was very busy and something had to give. Unfortunately my triathlon competition and training time were the obvious choice.

I watched with envy as Zane continued to produce great results, but in the back of my mind I had a plan to return and beat him again. I’d write a best seller, scrap the mortgage business, and return to triathlons stronger than ever. First I needed a best-selling book. As much as I would have liked to pen some blockbuster story that no American could resist (ala The DaVinci Code) I was much more suited to writing about racing, and I knew it. As an author I’d long ago figured out that the richest material comes from the things I feel most passionate about, and so my dual hobbies of writing and riding found themselves on a collision course.

The story that began to coalesce in my mind was about a young boy from Hanksville, Utah with dreams of winning the Tour de France. I’d ridden through Hanksville a couple of times on bike trips to Lake Powell as a teenager. Maybe my lead character, Ben Barnes, was based a bit on me, but the cool thing about fiction is that I could give him the endurance necessary to compete at the highest levels. I already knew a lot about bicycle racing and endurance athletics, but what I really needed in order to write a novel like this was some inside knowledge from a pro cyclist. That’s where another fortunate piece of my past came into play. Years ago I worked in the marketing department for the Park City Ski Area and I hired a fantastic woman named Jill Merwin. I’m not the only person who found her fantastic, and as a matter of fact a guy named Marty Jemison was so impressed that he asked her to marry him.

When Marty boggled everybody’s mind by heading to Europe, becoming a pro cyclist, finishing the Tour de France twice, leading Lance Armstrong to victory in his first two post-cancer stage races, and winning the U.S. National Road Cycling Championship I vicariously went along for the ride. After Marty retired I contacted him about my story ideas. Unfortunately, he was less than enthusiastic about getting involved.

Jill encouraged me to write my manuscript anyway and promised me she’d be able to get him to read it. I knew she could work her magic. It took me about a year to finish the first draft and I remember how nervous I felt the day I sent it to Marty. If he decided not to read it that would be a huge investment of time down the tubes. If he read it and didn’t like it I’d have similar problems. I prepared myself for a long wait.

The very next day my phone rang. It was Marty. “Dave, this book is incredible! I don’t consider myself a reader, especially of fiction, but I couldn’t put it down. I devoured the whole thing without stopping. I’ve never done that before. It brought back emotions I thought I’d never experience again.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“There are some flaws, though. I made lots of notes. I’d like to discuss them with you.”

That’s exactly what I’d been hoping for, and we subsequently spent hours sitting on his Park City deck going over detailed notes. He told me hundreds of remarkable stories about his life as a pro cyclist, and many of them found their way into the manuscript. It was a ton of fun.

As I progressed through subsequent drafts Marty reread the manuscript several times and added more insight on each occasion. With his help I wrote a book that draws ordinary people into the lives of a pro cyclist in the midst of the hardest race of his life.

Upon publication the book received praise from many pro cyclists, virtually every national cycling publication, and some very strong mainstream reviews as well. I went on a sixteen city promotional tour in the northeastern United States coinciding with the 2004 Tour de France. I signed at one or more bookstores every day and did hundreds of media interviews. CNN started having me on regularly as their Tour de France analyst, then Fox News and ESPN added opportunities as well. Soon my book became the first sports novel ever to win the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Fiction. Considering how many baseball novels are published every year, and how few cycling novels have ever been put into print, I think this was a pretty big deal.

Along the way I made an important discovery. Bookstore signings are grueling and boring. Signing at bicycle races and century rides are exhilarating and fun. I quit doing bookstore signings and attended only bicycle events. Pretty soon I was getting messages from event organizers telling me that their guests were hoping I’d attend their events. At the same time e-mail flooded in asking me to write a sequel.

Though I’d never dreamed of writing a second cycling novel I had enough business sense to know I’d found an audience, but what would my new story be about? The first book took place at a bicycle race, but at its core it was really a story of personal transformation. I couldn’t put the same character through a similar transformation again. I needed to drive the story with something else. What could it be?

The answer came to me in an unusual way. Pro athletes in a variety of sports, but especially cycling, started privately sharing their stories with me. Pretty soon I learned there was a lot they wanted to say about the pressures to use illegal performance enhancing drugs, but they couldn’t risk attaching their own names to some of their experiences or ideas. Ironically, telling their stories fictionally became a better way of telling the truth than non-fiction ever could.

After the 2006 Tour de France one critic said that it was as if I wrote that book, The Tour, with the use of a crystal ball. I didn’t have a crystal ball at all. I had athletes telling me what was going on behind the scenes and as a result there are details in the story that became more real than I’d ever dreamed. I believe that in the long run The Tour will empower young athletes to make better career decisions.

These days, the three-ring traveling circus (otherwise known as a pro-bicycle race) feels like a home away from home for me. In some races they’ve invited me to travel the course ahead of the cyclists signing books for fans camped out on scenic country roads. What an experience it is to fly through the countryside under full police escort. On one occasion a traveling companion turned to me and said, “Foreign heads of state don’t get treatment like this.” No doubt. Have you ever waved to a cop whose siren was blaring as you overtook him in a no passing zone on a windy country road? I have. It’s fun.

I doubt there’s another author in the world who has signed as many books in backwoods locations as I have. I love the challenge of speeding through the countryside, stopping to chat with fans, then trying to stay ahead of the charging peloton. It’s an exhausting journey by car. I don’t know how those guys do it on bicycles.

But now I’m on to an even more exciting adventure. The newest leg of my journey began on July 2, 2006 with an inspiring telephone call from Saul Raisin. We’d met before, but didn’t know each other. Saul’s victory as the Best Young Rider at the Tour de Georgia, his remarkable with at the Tour of Langkawi, his epic breakaway at the 2005 World Championships, and other incredible performances had caught my eye. I could tell he had the potential to become one of the greatest American cyclists in history. Then, like so many other fans, I followed the story about his devastating crash (he fell into a coma as the result of a racing accident in April 2006). The news couldn’t have been more bleak. He wasn’t expected to survive, but he defied the odds with an incredible show of mental and physical strength. I felt inspired just hearing his voice and was amazed that he’d chosen to call me.

Saul wanted to discuss writing a book about his experiences. As much as I admired him, at first I was lukewarm to the idea. Writing a book is an enormous undertaking, and I worried that if Saul didn’t race again this one would have a very limited audience. We stayed in touch, then in early September I sat down with Saul and his parents at their home in Dalton, Georgia. By this time Saul had miraculously returned to riding on the road. After learning more about what he and his family had overcome I remember telling them, “I came here thinking we ought to write a book if Saul can win races, but now I feel like we have to write this book regardless of what he accomplishes next in his life.” Once you hear the details I think you’ll agree. Saul is an amazing and inspiring person and his story is going to change lives.

So now he’s training as hard as he can with the goal of winning the U.S. Pro Championships in September, and conquering the Tour de France after that. I believe he’s got a great shot at both. You’re going to be blown away when you learn why I feel so confident. Suffice it to say that there is nothing ordinary about Saul.

Utahn’s are going to have a particular connection to his tale because as we put the finishing touches on the manuscript an amazing thing happened. This February, while waiting for a flight at LAX, Saul happened to meet Aleeza Zabriskie. She’s the little sister of the fastest time-trialist in the history of the Tour de France, Dave Zabriskie. They fell in love at first sight, and before I knew it Saul had moved from his home in Dalton, Georgia to within a couple of blocks of my Salt Lake City home to be with his fiancé, Aleeza.

His presence here takes me full circle. Could there be better motivation to get back to my training days than receiving regular calls from a pro cyclist who wants to learn the local routes? Zane better watch out because Saul’s giving me training tips as we go. My passions of riding and writing have now collided in the best way imaginable. What a ride!

Dave Shields is the author of several books including The Race, The Tour, and Tour de Life: From Coma to Competition. You can learn more at DaveShields.com.

Popularity: 5% [?]

May and Mother’s Day. You can’t really think of one without remembering the other. A mother is one thing that you and I have in common. Our circumstances may differ but like it or not, we share the fact that everyone has a mother. Does your mother, grandmother, sister, wife, or significant other worry about you at times? Well, she is not alone. Not all mothers worry about the same things but I have never met a mother yet that doesn’t do some worrying in one form or another.

I myself am a mother and a race director. At times it is difficult to separate the two roles that I play. Let me explain. I like to refer to myself as a concerned mother, not a worrying mother. Just the other day my son and nephew put their bike helmets on and headed out the door with eager anticipation of jumping their bikes on any ramp, curb or other obstacle they could find. My last words to them, “Be careful! Don’t be too wild. Have fun!” Twenty minutes later I was scraping the pavement off of my nephew and blood was everywhere! Like any good mother, I doctored him, consoled him, gave him a treat and sent him out to play. Triathletes are not really much different. On occasion I stand at the exit of the transition area, tell you to buckle your helmets, encourage you to be safe and have a great time! Some of you come back to me with pavement embedded in your skin and blood running down your legs. I am always thankful for trained medical personnel to assist you! But I do feel better knowing that I made sure you were prepared and told you to be careful as you left the transition area.

At night I lay awake with “thoughtful concerns” about my children and what is going on in their lives. I over analyze situations and try to come up with solutions to improve their lives. Preparing for a race is no different. I lose plenty of sleep over analyzing details from each event. “Have we eliminated all cross overs? Should I position a volunteer before this intersection? Did we order enough porta-pots? I forgot to answer that e-mail. What is the weather suppose to be like?” These are only a fraction of the thoughts that wake me in the night.

I don’t know about you but I love food! Ask my husband and he will tell you that I turn into a serious monster when I am hungry. My mother did an excellent job of feeding me as a child. I grew up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming and we ate “well”. My family gatherings, like most, are centered around holidays and food. As a mother, I find joy in feeding people. It is part of who I am. I am afraid I enjoy feeding my family more than most mothers. As a race director I am always concerned that there will not be enough food available for hungry, starving athletes and volunteers. I find myself hovering the finish area making sure that we save enough food for all participants. I feel as if I have failed if there is not enough fruit and bagels for everyone. Some of you may remember the BBQ at Jordanelle. The spectators were in heaven but most athletes did not want to eat a sloppy joe after pushing their bodies to the limits. And then of course those of you who were vegetarians wanted to puke at the site of it! Sorry. It was all a mother’s good intention of wanting to feed you! I have learned that bagels and fruit suffice.

I believe that all mothers at one time or another nag their children about cleaning their room. Some mothers are more relaxed than others. I’m not sure where I fit in. As a race director however, I am very much on the nagging side. I have learned that venue owners remember events that leave their mark with garbage. Believe me, we hear about every race director within the last twenty years who forgot the one important lesson to clean up! I am afraid that our volunteers think I am a Nazi crazed dictator when it comes time for clean up. I have even been known to chastise my partners at events if they don’t pick up what they drop. So the next time you throw your wrappers, banana peals, & water bottles you can think of me and the poor volunteers who get to clean up after you.

When children accomplish a goal most mothers experience a great sense of pride. It is a sensational experience to watch my children succeed in sports, academics and music. I could bore you with a dissertation on how my children are the best around. I won’t. I will however tell you that I have experienced the same sensation watching thousands of athletes accomplish a goal. I have wiped tears from my eyes as I witnessed cancer patients, disabled persons, and friends and family overcome physical and emotional pain and accomplish the goal to be a triathlon finisher!

I love both of my careers. I love being a mother and I love being a race director. I absolutely love the Woman of Steel Triathlon and what it represents; mothers and women of all circumstances striving to be their best and overcome whatever challenges life brings them. I will always have times of “thoughtful concerns” with both of my jobs. As a mother I learn continually, make mistakes and try to improve. As a race director I learn continually, make mistakes and try to improve.

Sheri Anderson is a mother of two beautiful children and co-owner of TriUtah. She and Trisha Bowerbank are the directors and founders of the Woman of Steel Triathlon.

Popularity: 6% [?]

SUGARHOUSE PARK - SLC

1500 East and 2100 South, in the Historic Sugarhouse District

The innerpaved loop is 1.4 miles of rolling hills and ther perimeter grass loop is 1.82 miles. Nearby is an outdoor all weather 400m high school track. This park is perfect for speed sessions with intervals on the track, fartleks on grass, or hill work.

RED BUTTE GARDENS/BONNEVILLE SHORELINE TRAIL - EAST BENCH SLC

300 Wakara Way (U of U Research Park)

This trail offers one of the most scenic views of the valley and endless options of rolling terrain, these trails are perfect for low impact and hill work. Access to the Shorline trail runs along the east bench. For a more intense long run, try Dry Creek canyon Trailhead (East of U of U Hospital), which eventually connects to City Creek Canyon.

CITY CREEK CANYON - DOWNTOWN SLC

Northeast corner of State Street and North Temple (Memory Grove to City Creek Canyon)

The canyon offers 7 miles of steady climbing. Both the road and trails parallel the canyon walls which eventually hooks into the Shorline/Great Western Trail System. This is perfect for uphill and downhill training or a quick run from the office or hotel.

MILL CREEK CANYON & GREAT WESTERN TRAIL - EAST BENCH SLC

3800 South Wasatch Blvd

Divided in Upper and Lower Mill Creek Canyon. The Pipeline Trail in lower Mill Creek is very flat and scenic. Upper Mill Creek is more rugged and steep. It provides access to the Great Western Trail System and is perfect for intense hill work, ultra mountain running, and beating the heat on hot summer days. Admission is $2.25 per car.

LIBERTY PARK - DOWNTOWN SLC

600 East and 900 South

The perimeter of the park has a new woodchip running path (1.45 mile loop) that is flat and very soft. The inside loop (1.4 miles) is cement/pavement. It is within a short distance of offices and hotels, and is perfect for tempo and steady state runs.

UTAH OLYMPIC OVAL - WEST SLC

5662 South and 4800 West

Circling the outside of the 2002 Olympic Speed Skating Oval is a 442 meter, 4 lane, mondo indoor track. The indoor temperature is set at 65-67 degrees F and is perfect for fast speed sessions all year round. Admission is $2 per person.

JORDAN RIVER PARKWAY - WEST SLC

550 West and 4800 South (Arrowhead Park)

This route follows the Jordan River with 11 miles of continuous paved and dirt pathways. This nature path is flat and gently rolls through groves of trees, wetlands and boardwalks. It is perfect for weekend long runs and summer evening jogs.

Popularity: 28% [?]

City of Residence - Sandy

Occupation - Environmental Scientist

Years in Triathlon - May 2000 was my start, Evanston Triathlon. I was not involved in Endurance Sports before then.

Favorite Discipline? - Favorite discipline is the bike, although, it’s the one that scares me the most. There are so many things outside your control on the bike that can affect your performance. You can get a flat, drop a chain, crash, not consume the proper nutrition, etc, and it will completely kill your race. But it’s also the dicipline where I feel I’m nearly as fast as the non-Clydesdale age groupers my age. Especially when I’m not climbing. So, the bike is a tale of good and bad for me. Lots of anxiety, but also lots of catching and passing going on as well.

Pre-race rituals - . . . I don’t seem to have anything consistently regular, other than I generally consume a gel before I enter the water, take my time putting on the wetsuit, and try to find someone I know to fist bump before I take off. Honestly, my pre-race rituals change pretty much every race.

Favorite “Local” Race - . . . other than BAM (Rob’s the Race Director). . . would be Spudman. Most Memorable would be Jordanelle 2001. It was so cold at the start, we had to wait for some two hours after the swim start for the fog to clear and temps to warm up enough to melt the ice on our bikes.

Being a Race Director is… - Being a race director is a very difficult way to give something back to the sport I love. It’s entirely rewarding, but also very difficult. It’s much easier to pay my money and show up to race.

Training time has become a premium now that I am in the full swing of race directing. Time spent working on race details takes a lot of time out of my day. Forces me to train late at night or lunch time. I think all race directors love to race, so we all have trouble getting out to train enough to satisfy our needs.

Popularity: 23% [?]

My friends and I are very competitive. We have always tried to beat each other at everything we do, especially tennis. We started to play tennis together every chance we got. I practiced all the time and even took a tennis class. I really wanted to be better than them. But they just had more natural ability and coordination than I did at the sport.

Along came triathlon. I have always mountain biked. I have never competed or anything, it’s always just been a leisure hobby. So, when I bumped into an old friend and he told me about a mountain bike triathlon race in St. George, I was interested. We talked about triathlons and the St. George race for a while and I thought that it would be something cool to try. I went home and looked at the Web site for the St. George triathlon. I looked at the courses and sure enough, they had a mountain bike course. I was excited. I started training instantly and signed up for the race shortly thereafter.

The second I heard about the triathlon, I thought of my friends. This was my chance to beat them at something. For triathlon, it’s all about who trains the hardest, and I can train hard. I called them all up and told them they have got to sign up for this race. Eventually I had four of my very close friends registered. As time went on we found out that they changed the mountain bike course to a road bike course. We kept training and had been biking enough to know we needed to get road bikes for the road bike course. Pretty soon I found out that one of my friends, JD had joined a masters swim team and was swimming everyday. The others were pretty committed as well. They were always telling stories about their fast runs and the rest of their training. This is getting serious. I thought “I don’t know if I can beat these guys after all.”

We called each other almost everyday to talk about each others training, about gear and about eating. Usually a couple of us would get together and train on the weekends. We became even closer as friends and competitors.

We all took the trip down to St. George together for the big race. We discussed our estimates of the results. One friend, Andrew, had always been an incredibly fast runner. My friend Troy seemed to be twice as fast as us when we went biking together and he was also a great swimmer. According to our predictions Troy would beat us all and it would be a close second between me and Andrew.

I remember coming out of the first transition area on my bike and seeing my wife, asking her “Have you seen Troy?” I started biking as hard and as fast as I possibly could. “Whether these guys are in front of me or behind me, I will bike as fast as I can” I told myself.

On my way back, after the bike turn around I saw Andrew. I was ahead of him, I knew I had to keep my lead to beat him.

When I was leaving the second transition to start the run I saw my wife and I asked her “Have you seen Troy?” hoping to get a feel for what I needed to do to catch up. Her answer was “yes.” It told me nothing, I had no idea where he was. The run seemed so hard and long. “Just keep pushing yourself” I said. As I came to the finish line I sprinted as fast as I could. I looked all over to see if Troy was waiting for me. I saw him cross the finish line a little over a minute behind me. Then followed Andrew, a minute behind him.

I DID IT! I couldn’t believe I actually did it. A few minutes later came our friend Paul and then JD crossed the finish line. We all took a little swim in the lake to cool off and I was happy as could be. Everyday for the past six months before the race, I had thought about beating those guys and I did it. I was on cloud nine. That is a race I will never forget.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Biker’s Edge Donates Land

Weber Pathways recently received the largest single donation in its twelve year history. Biker’s Edge in Kaysville has donated a commercial lot which Weber Pathways sold for $327,000. At the donor’s request, Weber Pathways will use the proceeds for trail-and trail-related projects throughout the County. These will include development of a trail corridor along the Weber River, continuation of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Weber County, construction of trails in Ogden Valley and development of trail-related programs.

Zach Chatelain of the Biker’s Edge said, “We are extremely excited to be able to make such a great positive contribution to the trails in Weber County. We all love to ride and are thrilled at the prospects of new and better trails in the area. I know that these trails will be enjoyed by both those who live in the area and those to come to visit for years to come and would also like to thank Weber Pathways for everything they have done to make this happen.”

Weber Pathways is a public non-profit organization with a mission to promote, plan, and preserve a network of non-motorized public pathways and related open spaces in Weber County, Utah. For more information about Weber Pathways, call 801-393-2304 or see their web site at www.weberpathways.org.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Xterra Winter Worlds in Ogden

The inaugural XTERRA Winter World Championship, a weekend-long, winter sports festival is set for March 8-9, 2008 at Snowbasin Resort, with evening activities being held in Ogden, Utah.

The main event is a unique XTERRA multisport race combining the four disciplines of cross-country skiing, mountain biking, running and snowshoeing. Other featured events for the weekend include an XTERRA Snowshoe competition, XTERRA Dash-for-Cash snowboarding event, and activities geared towards children.

“The vision and partnership of the Utah Sports Commission, TEAM Unlimited, and Snowbasin guarantees a successful event for our community and one that will round out our foundation’s year of activities,” said Kym Buttscharedt, president of GOAL’s board of directors.

The GOAL Foundation is a non-profit group of community leaders, business owners, former Olympic planners and volunteers all dedicated to attracting and promoting sporting events locally, nationally and internationally. The vision is to enhance the greater Ogden area’s quality of life through connecting and funding programs, events, and activities relating to recreation, sports, art and education.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Click here to listen to our interview with former US National Champion triathlete, Marcel Vifian.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Click here to see pictures from the inagural Vikingman Triathlon.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Some of you may have seen my post on the local forums about the first annual Vikingman. So, you may know that I thought the event went off well, especially considering it was a first time event. I’ll be back in 08. Below is a brief race report, which will also give you a feel of the course.

Pre Race.

The night before I noticed that my rear seat bottle holder was loose. Upon further inspection it was revealed that a bolt was busted. I was a bit shocked and distressed. What was I going to do? It was getting late and I didn’t want to waste energy trying to make it work. So, I studied the layout of the bike aid stations. There were four, and I know I can get through 56 miles with three bottles. This could work out.

I decided to keep a bottle of Ensure on the bike (700 calories) and finish it off by the first aid station. Then, the plan was to get a bottle of Heed at every aid station and a water for a quick swig/wash-down.

Race Morning

Fireman John and I dropped off our gear super early in the morning (5 am-ish). Plenty of time to kill from here on out. The race has two transitions, which is a bit frightening. The bikes are racked far from the main event area, so there is no checking, and re-checking, and re-checking (times 10) before the gun goes off. You’re just hoping that you didn’t forget anything.

Things were organized and I jumped onto the appropriate bus, which took us to the swim start. I jumped into the water about 15 minutes early. Water wasn’t to bad, considering the air was pretty chilly. There was a a bunch of the blue turf (fake plastic grass) laid out so racers didn’t get all muddy. This was very good!!! Anywho, a lane line kept swimmers from crossing the start line early. If you’ve done the Spudman, you know of the strong current pulling you downstream. You could feel it pull you here, too. The VikingMan swim begins where the Spudman swim ends, but across the river.

The horn sounds and we’re off. Things spread out quickly and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was the last guy in my wave. I’d see an occasional swim cap here and there, and everyone started to bunch up as we made our way to the swim exit. Regarding the swim exit–it didn’t come quick enough. I expected to get out of the in around 20 minutes. In 06 I exited the Spudman swim in 17 minutes, so 20 minutes seemed reasonable. 33 minutes later, I free myself of the water. Blah!

Quick transition and off on the bike. The first half of the bike was hauling. I knocked down the Ensure and followed by hydration plan to a “T.” It went so well that I’m considering the one bottle method for IMF in November. I loved the simplicity of this route.

Back to the course. Very fast and the wind seemed fair. I thought I’d be just as fast the second half. Mile 28 or so rolls around…fast decent, slow climb out and we’re off on the return trip. Wind felt more sketchy heading back but not a big headwind or anything. Definitely slowed me down a bit. On top of this was the gradual climbing. Just slightly above false flat and eventually took you up to a roller. This was the case, over and over for the second 28 miles. My speed dropped considerably.

Bike ends–quick transition and I’m off for the run.

My heart rate was pretty high and I took it easy to get into a flow. Man, was it hot at 11am. We ran around fields surrounding the airport. There were patches of water all over the area. It’s always nice to be by water! Legs felt good and hung with the lead woman for a bit, until her steady pace was too much.

The second half of the run was super tough. Legs were beat but I refused to walk, although my 2:14 run split looks liked I walked. They need more run aid stations. Maybe plant some trees to shade the runners!

So, I happily finish my journey, we pack up and head home.

Love the event. They have something special on their hands and hope they stick with it.

Popularity: 23% [?]