Preparation

It's Sunday morning and I'm hurrying through registration, body marking, and setting up my transition site. The triathlon will start in 30min. The weather is beautiful like usual and not chilly at all. The lake's inviting and sparkling clear. I love racing at this Emigrant Gap area because of the grand views and the giant trees, rocks, and mountains. They make me feel small, and glad that I know personally the power that created them.

There's no time for a bike warm-up, but I jog a mile while eating my PowerBar, hydrating, and finding the secret restrooms over at the marina. Ouch, the legs really hurt from yesterday, but it was a valuable workout to me. A long run and bike in the hills of Grass Valley. A tough course that I tried unsuccessfully the year before. So the goal of today's race is to see how well I can push through tired legs; training for the end of an Ironman.

Leaving the transition, I run into Michael Behrin and his wife. They're a couple from Nevada City that did the Lake of the Pines triathlon, my hometown race that I had to miss this year. They tell me a guy came within a minute of the record I set last year. I didn't realize it was a record. I also see Dale, Tana, Jim Grant, Bruce & Lori Piner, and many others as we make our way to the water. Many of us are here after doing the Half Vineman in Santa Rosa last week. And our favorite announcer, Whit Raymond, is here along with a new voice from Eric Gilsenan, a familiar sports nutrition rep. and racer himself. I say a prayer and give the race to God. Now I'm ready to start.

Swim

We're the 2nd wave, 30-45 yr olds. This is the first time my roommate, Dale, and I get to start together. I'm enjoying the water. Staying wide to the right. A large group takes off in front which seems to leave me heading up the middle pack. Someone's hitting my toes, staying in the draft behind me. I don't mind. It feels good to swim in the open with no one in front. But he's hitting harder now. I try to lose him by swimming around the slower swimmers in the wave ahead of us. Dale's only a few swimmers back and said he saw this guy glued to my feet. The course has a zig-zag towards the end. I'm glad I watched the sprint Triathlon swimmers negotiate it earlier because everyone's having a hard time following the course. My swim is good, 22:56, 7th in my age. I rush to the bike. The announcer is keeping the tri-factoids flowing.

Bike

I jump on. Then I'm told to get off and walk it ( I didn't attend the race talk the day before so a few things caught me by surprise). We push up the steep granite climb to Donner Ski Ranch. Sprint Triathletes are coming down. I'm impressed to see the girls tucked and humming through the corners; often better than the guys. A 19yr old passes me and I push hard trying to catch him. Over the top we soar down the back side. Over bumpy roads and along other ski resorts. Coming back, I see the leaders, Pete Kain & Scott Young. Jim Grant is close behind. We turn-around and start back up to the summit. I suddenly hear, "Hey, Bro, what are you doing back here?" "What are you doing up here?" I joke back to my roommate, Dale, as he catches me. We proceed to leap frog back and forth, pushing each other and seeking out others to catch. I drop my chain and he beats me to the summit. Now into the steep descent, my strongest part, Dale, carving into the tight Rainbow Bridge corner, pulls right and motions me to pass. Obliged, I take the lead and rocket down through the granite walls to the transition site. But my rack wasn't wisely chosen. It's at the opposite end from the exit. I trek to the end, don running shoes, and hustle back. Meanwhile the announcer, Eric, is reporting my qualifying accomplishments and Dale, in his up-front rack position, is gaining back the seconds I got on him from the descent. My bike time, 1:20, was also 7th in my age.

Run

The legs feel heavy and sore. Mainly the quadriceps. But it's part of training and getting stronger and I focus on maximizing forward movement. The first mile registers 10:35. I know I'm not at peak 6min pace, but this is crazy. I quickly deduct that this 6.5mi course is measured backwards this year so that the first mile is really 1.5mi. I'm really happy with my 7min pace which I hold consistently around the beautiful lake. I finally pass the 19yr. old that put such a gap on me during the bike climb. And sure enough, in the final miles, there's a runner in my age group far enough ahead to seem physically "out of reach", but close enough that you know you have to try. This is the part that hurts, but it never lasts as long as the joy of reaching the goal. I dig. And sprinting by him in the last 700m is the highlight of my race, and another gift from God; setting up the chance to accomplish something I'm sure I can. 43:31 was actually 6:40 pace and, again, was the 7th fastest in my age.

Finished

I finished 6th in a tough crowd and, without the proper tapering, this was just about as exciting as 3rd place last year. I leave the mountains with great contentment, a great start on Ironman training, and, more so every race, a great appreciation for the Lord allowing me to enjoy this great sport.

Dale and Tana also had good finishes of 7th and 8th respectively even after competing in a Trans-Lake Tahoe relay swim race the day before. I watched all the awards and was inspired by the many world champions and famous racers in attendance. Pete Kain, new mother and ever-charming Holly Nybo (winning overall), Rick Niles, and other fascinating athletes.

God Bless,