Tiger Tri

I was born in and grew up in Colville. I’ve avoided going there since my grandmother’s funeral. Tiger Tri is the only triathlon she had ever been able to watch. The first was back in the 90s. We’ll just say that I was slower then, finishing outside the top 100. I competed another year as a swimmer on the record-setting team with Mark Knokey and Jason Hubbard. Jason (from Colville) was two-time NCAA II 5K champ with a 13:37 to his credit. I’d never turn down an opportunity to be on a team like that. We shattered the record with a time around 1:47 or 1:48. His run, a sub 33, was so fast some thought he cheated. That was at the end of a 120-mile training camp in the mountains! With so much changing between then and now, I decided it would be time to give it another try.

After Righteous Richland, I set two bike course PRs. My speed is getting back to where it was before shattering my collar bone on 31 July, 2005. Back then, I was a faster biker than runner, but never got to test my top speed in a race. I was going to race Timberman as a pro. Five months later I could lift more than five pounds. Fast forward to now and things are coming around. It’s been frustrating, especially with the pain and discomfort of trying to ride aero, my arm going numb in all training and having Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (poor circulation causing aches and a very cold hand in the winter). Some people are allergic to broken collar bones and I happen to be one of them.

I was relieved from work early Saturday, and was able to head to the race with Amanda, resting on the way. Secretly, I hoped for the usual top competition, but, Tim Swanson spoiled the mood and told me Roger Thompson was racing Chelan Man. Joe Byers (two-time defending champion and course record holder) was not signed up. Ben Greenfield (two-time Tiger participant and Tri-Northwest’s #1 ranked half Iron and overall triathlete in 2007) was not signed up either. If I can’t race them, then I can compete against the six times they’ve posted in the last three years. Although they’re faster, this course suits my strengths, so I was going for the record. The short swim suits my speed and lack of range. The bike is downhill, making the distance less of a factor and the aerodynamics and roll-out numbers on my bike a bigger factor. Suspension and aerodynamics make a Softride FasTT7 the best choice for this course. The run was long and tough, which suits me well. My only concern was a knee injury from doing my first speed work run of the year on Tuesday. Yeah, I know. It was stupid and greedy and that’s what I get.

I got there so early that I had plenty of time to ham it up, flex for the cameras and (gasp) actually talk to people! Amanda always gives me a courtesy laugh.

We arrived at 6 AM! If you’ve ever had the pleasure of working nights wearing heavy military combat gear and showing up to race with 15 to 20 minutes to the start, then you’ve got my 2008. I had more time than I knew what to do with. My hope was to race Phaedra’s bib (#2), my favorite number and a nice gesture since she couldn’t race. Like usual, my request for an elite number was denied. I’m always told they reserved the numbers for the faster triathletes. Do they think world cup racers are coming? On my way back to the car, I passed none other than the amiable Joe Byers. It looks like the #1 bib, reserved for the defending champ, was racing. It’s good news, but made me nervous. He hasn’t been racing, but he’s a great talent and has likely trained for Tiger (his favorite race). Next, I saw Ben unpacking his gear. I thought he’d show, but wasn’t on the final list. I was both disappointed and relieved that Roger wouldn’t be toeing the line.

The race started without a hitch. I pulled ahead of the pack to the safety of open water. I had no idea where Joe was, but managed to pull ahead of Ben. A swimmer off to the left was cruising a bit faster, so I started to make my way over. He kept drifting left, so I never caught his feet. I made the first turn in 2nd with someone on my feet. Whoever it was did an excellent job of drafting without pissing me off, both things I find impressive. The second leg was more of the same. One section was really shallow. I had to resist the temptation to do some dolphin dives, knowing forward progress off the bottom is illegal. About 50m after rounding the 2nd turn and heading for shore, I was passed. I was glad to have help, even if for just a little bit. The guy made an inadvertent turn and I swam over his legs, inhaled water and picked my head up to check if I had turned. I was heading for the exit, but noticed the guy looking back. At first I thought “sorry man, but you swerved to the right,” but quickly noticed it was Ben. So much for a small lead.

My cap is already off and I'm trying to get that suit off before I got out of the water. Show me the way to T1 Ben! He forgot his wetsuit last year and seems to be much faster with it on. Ken Collins isn't far behind.

I sucked on the exit and lost time like usual. My 13:24 was slightly faster than my goal. After a hard swim, running uphill while trying to contort myself and remove a wetsuit as fast as possible isn’t as fun as eating ice cream. Ben exited 4 seconds ahead, but Joe was first in 13:07! All racks were on the outside of the run path, but mine was on the turn. I’d have 14m more distance in transition than the first rack, equaling 3 seconds at my pace, which is why I wanted low bib number. Every second counts! I felt like I was literally tearing that Orca Apex off my body. It came off quickly, but somehow I ended up covered in dirt. Did someone see me rolling on the dirt? Throw the gear in the transition bag, don the helmet, grab the bike and run like a demon on judgment day. My T1 was 1:04, good for the fastest split of the day by 21 faster than Joe’s and 22 faster than Ben’s.

I can't seem to find my zipper cord. When my eyes are down like that, my mind is racing faster than I am. I'm also watching my step. Ken is nearing the exit, as stated in the above picture caption.

I fumbled a bit while putting my shoes on mid-ride, but no more than usual. My goal was to make the turn with a few seconds to relax before getting passed. I got there in 6 minutes and had a 12 second lead on Ben with Joe trailing and the speedy Ken Collins up next. They say there’s safety in numbers. I take that literally in racing. I did math to figure things out based on my 1:04 bike goal. By dividing the 12 seconds by the time it takes me to get passed and I can figure how far behind I’ll be at T2. 28 minutes into the ride, 22 minutes after the time check, I was passed very quickly. Normally that would be intimidating, but that pass would have happened long ago if he was holding that pace. At just over ½ second/minute to that point, he’d get to T2 less than 20 seconds ahead of me. I was hoping for less than 2 minutes and needed less than 3 minutes, so life was good.

Normally I don't bring out all the good stuff, but this time I did. I have my race wheels on and am wearing my USA Speedo Fastskin for better aerodynamics. The Softride really is an unfair advantage ... just check with USA cycling. Triathlon has brought about most bike technology growth in the last two decades.

I felt strong, so I went with him. I like to keep track of my competition and bleed the psychological life out of them. Bikers need a lead starting the run. Since it’s hard to see more than 30 seconds back while riding and around 1:30 when leaving T2, you need a mid-run time check to know if you’re safe. The runner knows the gap in T2. Being a runner and keeping someone in sight, is how I like to race if I’m able. USAT requires a 7m gap. Anything less is drafting. Like drafting in the swim (allegedly 30% easier) or drafting on the run into a strong wind, riding near, but outside the draft zone is smart racing. Normally I ride at 10m, but to keep tension low, I followed at 1.5 to 2 seconds. FYI, at 27 MPH, that’s 18m to 24m, which averages three times the required distance.
Zooming past T1 around 4.25 to 4.5 miles in, still in first. It's a cool and blurry pic with Amanda in T1. I included it because people keep asking me about allegedly following too closely after mile 2. There's nobody chasing in the pic before (approaching T1) and nobody ahead in this pic, so I must have been doing fine on my own.

I marked every move and could go harder if I needed. It became evident that I was going to hang on until T2. As we made a bend overlooking the outskirts of Colville, I had a repressed memory from my grandmother’s funeral come back. I remembered standing there, decked out in full service dress, crying my eyes out as I tried to come to terms with the weight (physically and emotionally) of the casket in my gloved hands. I was afraid I would collapse under the pressure. I wasn’t exactly the picture of strength people have of service men in uniform, but that was my moment and nothing else mattered. I know I joke about crying mid race, but I almost burst into tears just thinking about it. When I managed to snap out of it, Ben had a huge gap. I needed to get my mind on something else, so I gave chase and closed to 4 seconds heading into T2. My ride time was 1:03:59 … one second better than my goal! Only Ben outsplit me with a 1:03:38.

When I went up to get the award, Amanda heard a couple people behind her say "(person 1) What's that guy on? (person 2) I don't know, but he looks STRONG!" I'll tell you what I'm on: Cinnamon Bears!

T2 went well (2nd fastest) and I was able to leave with a 3 second lead. Steve Anderson had the fastest T2 outsplitting me by 2 seconds (grrr!). I forgot to synch my Zoots, which would be a problem on a course of uneven and rough terrain. I stopped, tugged the laces and was on my way. My knee injury reared its ugly head as my left leg nearly buckled a few times. I needed to run a 41:03 to go under 2 hours and figured I could go 38 flat, so I had time to settle in and figure this out. My lead grew slowly, but I knew Joe started the run around 3 minutes back. I was running well enough to not get caught, but kept him in mind. After lap one, my leg was holding, but I couldn’t afford to pick it up much. At mile 4, I still had time to go sub 2. Taking risks to win is acceptable. Taking risks from the lead could cost me the race and make my injury worse, so I cruised. After turning off the two-loop course for the finish leg, I wondered if I went the wrong way. Without people, signs or flags, I thought I’d end up lost in the hills. That’s the curse of leading, but they did send me the right way. When I made it to the track, the smell reminded me of my 200m and 400m days in HS and college track. All races should end on a track. I resisted the urge to test the legs and cruised on in with a run time of 41:42 (5th on the day). It was good enough for an overall time of 2:00:38. It would be a new course record by 57 seconds and a 1:24 lead on 2nd. Not bad considering my run trouble. Next year I race for free, but wonder if I can break the curse and finally get a top 20 number.

Lori, Greg and Natalie. Lori's lookin good. Greg is going to be the fastest biker in the club. He tells me he has a Trek TTX 9.9 while Roger only has a 9.5. It's a simple conclusion, he just needs to build it up (it's for sale for anyone interested). You can tell Natalie's an athlete from the watch on her wrist.

Following the race, Lori saved the day and gave Ben, Amanda and me a ride to our cars. That would have been a long bike ride. Amanda told her story of coming in #2 female overall to Vicki Scates. I was a bad conversationalist as I kept drifting off. Sleeping is great and I’ve made it a goal to get more of it … as long as it doesn’t cut into my racing too much. It was great to see Lori. She was a major reason for the trip. It had been too long and I dedicated my race and record to her. We hung out at awards, then had ice cream at one of her local hangouts. It was great to hear about Tim and Steve’s rivalry. Greg Gallagher and I are both extremely competitive, addicted to high tech bike gear and sugar. I like my sugar in the form of cinnamon bears. They make me as strong as a bear! Oh, and thanks to Natalie, one of the blog stalkers here, for offering to let me borrow her car to transport a few of the racers back to their car at the end of the race. I think she was mentioning that she had the same knee problem I have. If you’re reading this, or anyone else has any ideas, then please share. It hurts to walk, but not to run on a nice paved trail. It looks like I’ll have to confine myself to the treadmill for a while. I'm sure it will be better before Tiger 2009. Perhaps I'll see you there. Sub 2 will happen. For now, go read Amanda's blog. There's a link here and many of you didn't know she has started blogging too.