Race Report: Mountain Man Triathlon

As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, I’ve done a few short triathlons in the past, but they’re not really my bag (and I tend to injure myself while doing them).  While I was sitting in the office one day, it dawned on me that Coach (real name: Luis), who also happens to sit next to me at work, is a great swimmer (he’s a great athlete all around, but he’s a fantastic swimmer), and our boss Eric is a solid biker (both on road and on trail).  If we added their skills to my mediocre level running ability, we had ourselves a triathlon relay team!  We bounced the idea around and settled on the ½ iron distance relay option for the Mountain Man triathlon, calling ourselves “Team S.O.B.” for our roots in the School of Business at UoPX.

Tri weekend started out with a bit of a nasty surprise for the Olsen household.  On Friday morning, Chris went for a pool swim with our buddy Jake and after just 50 yards or so, had to stop what he was doing due to severe back pain.  I received this set of texts as I was driving to work:

Can you feel the sadness through the phone?

Although Chris was still playing around with the idea of competing (he was registered to run the entire Olympic distance event – he did the full ½ iron distance tri two years ago), the pain he continued to feel through the next few days convinced him otherwise.  By the time we headed up to Flagstaff on Saturday around lunchtime, he was well settled into the idea of serving as a tri spectator for the first time (although his back prevented him from playing sherpa – lucky for him).  Luis headed over to our house and hopped in the car with us, and after a brief stop at Jake and Keeli’s, we officially started our caravan northward.

Killing some of the drive time

in the best way possible

We hit Flag around 2:30 or so and met up with Jake’s brother Matt and his wife Lindsey at packet pick up for the race, held at race HQ at Upper Lake Mary (Jake and Matt each completed the full Olympic distance tri).  Luis and I also met up with Eric, who was already in Flag, having already spent a few days hanging out in the cooler temps.

The bike survived the ride!

No melted tires this time…

Jake and Matt

See the family resemblance?

After grabbing our packets and race swag (yes, Chris still claimed his – those were some pretty expensive water bottles, I tell ya), we headed to check in at our hotel, the Baymont Inn and Suites on Milton Road.  We relaxed in the room a bit, and Chris took advantage of his non-competitor status to enjoy a brew:

We also spent a bit of time at the pool before meeting the Keeler Kontingent (if the stupid Kardashians can spell all their words with K’s, the Keelers can too) for some hangout time before dinner.

Sitting at the pool in long sleeves and shorts.

That’s pretty much Flagstaff in a nutshell.

The whole Baymont gang met up with Eric, his wife Laura, and their little dude Harvey for dinner at Mamma Luisa’s Italian Restaurant.  Overall, the Mamma Luisa’s verdict was somewhat mixed; my dinner was great but others didn’t seem to be so lucky.  For example, Chris’ chicken marsala was just okay, and several members of our table didn’t finish their dinners.  Chris and I split a slice of tiramisu for dessert which was not only delicious but also served as a vehicle to impress Jake on how quickly Chris and I could gobble up said slice (we’ve been practicing for this moment all our lives).  After dinner, it was back to the Baymont and to sleep.

On race morning, the alarm went off bright and early (well, early – the sun wasn’t up yet), so I geared up and headed down to the hotel’s lobby to use their toaster and obtain some hot water for some instant chai tea I’d brought along with me.  The toaster worked fine, but the hot water wasn’t ready, as the manager on duty was busy brewing coffee using the carafe machine in the backroom.  When I inquired about the hot water, I was told how it would be ready in around 8 minutes and that he was sorry it wasn’t done yet, but “most guests aren’t up this early. [meaningful pause and glance] Especially on the weekends.” 

We collected our gear, hopped in the car, and we were off on our way back to Lake Mary.  Upon arriving at the race site, we parked the car (after running it over a massive bump that seemed to threaten to tear out the entire exhaust system, ahem, Chris) and headed into transition.  We brought along our new canopy with us, excited to have a chance to test it out before we brought it into the wilds of McDowell Mountain for Ragnar Trail. 

Seems to work well!

We found Eric and got his bike set up in transition (along with dropping Luis’ gear there), then it was time for body marking.

Feeling like 1/3 of a real triathlete!

Next, we headed to the finish of the swim, where we met up with Keeli and Lindsey, ready to spectate after wishing their gentlemen a good race.

Smiles!

Early morning squinty selfie,

with bonus selfie shadow.

Puppy‘tocks!

Luis came flying out of the water (setting a personal best for himself at this distance by one full minute), and we told him where to find Eric and hand off the timing chip.

Coach, coming in hot!
(he's on our left)
Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

Eric headed out on the bike to begin his grueling 56 mile trek over a bunch of hills and at some serious elevation. 

Eric, heading out for his ride

Coach’s swim is over - 

time to dry out the wetsuit.

We saw Matt and Jake come in from the swim, and they both took to their bikes, albeit with a bit of drama. 

Jake wasn’t planning on going too hard in this race,

so he conserved energy by walking up the ramp

and back into transition.

This is the face I got when I yelled, 

“hustle it up, Keeler, this is a race!”

at him.  He’s not impressed.Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

Matt, upon arriving in transition after his swim, looked around and couldn’t find his bike shoes; after exchanging some words with Coach and Lindsey (who convinced him to keep going and not quit), he set out on the bike wearing his running shoes – not ideal, particularly on this course.  Initially, we thought another competitor mistook Matt’s shoes for his own, but we came to the conclusion that theft was actually more likely.  Although triathletes are generally a little aggro, most of them aren’t thieves, so this was rather disheartening.  A bit later, Lindsey and Keeli came to join us under the canopy for a rest, stating, “guess what we found in the car!”  Thankfully, Matt’s shoes had been located, and we no longer had to think the worst of our co-athletes.  Also, maybe Matt should think about making himself a laminated transition area checklist for race morning.  Just sayin’.

After all our gentlemen were on their bikes, we had a few hours to kill until my run started, so we hung out under the canopy.  Laura and Harvey joined us…

…and Coach showed off the silt he’d gained after his swim in the lake.

Remember, this is INSIDE a zipped up tri suit

which was INSIDE a zipped up wetsuit.

Yummy.Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

I also amused myself taking pictures of the nearby nature:

Thistle!

Meanwhile, Eric keeps on biking…

Matt and Jake finished their rides and both headed out on the run course, to complete the 10K and close out their days.

Jake, heading out of transition and onto the run course...

...but not before a quick potty break.Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

After seeing Matt finish strong (it must have been the extra time he gained in T2 since he didn’t have to change his shoes – hee!), I did a quick warm up jog, then geared up and headed into transition, to wait with the other relay runners waiting for their bikers to appear.  Thankfully, this was located under a tent, as the day was quickly growing warm (by Flagstaff standards, at least – it was 30 degrees warmer at our house this entire time – 117 this weekend).  All of us joked around, comparing war stories and getting ready to head out for our leg of the relay, a half marathon.

Matt finishing strong.

Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

Eric came biking in, and after handing off the chip and a quick high-five, I took off for my run.  During this time, Jake finished as well, so I had a full contingent of well-wishers ready to send me off at our canopy.  Thanks, guys!

Jake, so done with this race.Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

Here I go!Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

The Jacobson family, reunited.
Harvey says, "you did good, Dad!"Photo courtesy of Keeli Keeler.

I didn’t have a plan on PR’ing on this run, since I knew the elevation and temperature would be a factor.  Additionally, there’s a steep hill that runs for about a mile at mile 2 of the course, so I knew I couldn’t push too hard, since I’d need to save some gas in the tank for the remaining 8-9 miles after I got back onto flat(ish) land.  I started out decently strong and powerwalked up the hill, jogging when I hit flat sections of road.  So far, I was on pace to meet my rough goal of 2 hours.

As I was only doing the relay section of the run, my legs were much fresher than the poor souls who had already swum a mile and biked 56 earlier that day, and I began to pass some of my fellow athletes.  Since I knew this run would probably be a struggle (particularly toward the end), I mentally started tallying up my “kills” (runners that I passed), as this was giving me incentive to keep going.  Most folks were kind, and we exchanged greetings; when you’re involved in that kind of suffer-fest, most people get into the “we’re all in this together” mentality, and there’s a lot of “stay strong,” “you got this,” “looking good” types of comments.  Not everyone, however.

As I neared the top of the hill, around mile 3, the road flattened out and changed to dirt track as we passed through a camping area.  The gentleman directly in front of me, who was roughly my age and seemed to be in good shape, would jog for a bit, then slow down to a walk.  Once we hit the turnaround point, I jogged up beside him; he looked to the side at me and then sped up to meet my pace.  Kidding, I said, “what, you can’t stand to be chicked?” (the racing term for when a dude gets passed by a lady).  He went, “heck no!” in a not very friendly manner, and continued to essentially race me for another 400 meters or so; eventually, not being able to keep my pace, he started making excuses about how we was doing this race as a training run, and he had to stay in heart rate zone 2 so he could torch the last 9 miles of the race, and this was really a level C race for him since he was shooting for good finishes at all these other future races that he listed off in quick succession for my benefit.  I acted impressed, reassuring him that I was just doing the run part of the relay, and I’m sure he would pass me again later in the run (IMPORTANT NOTE – HE DID NOT), and I headed off.  Determined to get in the last word, he shouted at my back, “be sure not to go down the hill too fast!  Don’t want to trash your quads!”  I thanked him for his concern and headed out.  A$$hat.  Side note – once I finished the race with my teammates, we collected our medals, broke down the canopy, used the restroom, took pictures, packed up the car, and headed out.  I was telling Chris and Luis this story as we were driving back to the hotel, and right at that moment, we passed this dude STILL on the run course.  I was like, “and it was that guy right there.  Yup, the guy still running.  Yup, that guy.”  Heh.

On the road up the mountain

Coming down off the hill, I took a right on Lake Mary Road and headed toward town, through a series of rolling, smaller hills.  Eventually, we hit the course turnaround point, and I was escorted across the road by a crossing guard who stopped traffic for me.  The scenery on the way back was absolutely stunning; although we ran out and back on Lake Mary Road, the run back was on the same side as the lake itself, and it was gorgeous.  I kept my eyes peeled for wildlife and saw a few chipmunks and sparrows, darting in and out of the sunflowers that grew wild near the side of the road.  I also saw vultures, thankfully eating fish down by the lakeshore and not circling above me. 

We expected the weather to top out at the low 80s for the day, but it ended up being a bit hotter than that, climbing to 86 or so during the later stages of my run.  Although we had occasional cloud cover and a slight breeze (headwind in both directions – always), it was hot, and the temperature and elevation together were kicking my butt.  In addition to wearing my Fuel Belt, I stopped at almost every aid station for cups of water, both to drink and dump down the back of my head/running shirt.  I saw my goal of 2 hours become unrealistic, so I reevaluated to 2:10, and then had to let go of that as well.  What really keeps you going at times like this are the sights you see along the way, the volunteers (which were stellar), and your fellow athletes.  I eventually passed 11 runners and was “killed” myself by 3 others, and with the exception of the rage fueled monkey I mentioned earlier, everyone was completely lovely. 

One gentleman heard me coming (I’m not a quiet runner) and turned around about 100 feet ahead of me.  When I reached him, I kidded, “did you hear me huffing and puffing?”  He said no, but that if I wore Hokas (a shoe that sponsored his triathlon team, judging by the kit he was wearing), he wouldn’t hear me at all.  “We’re all quiet in Hokas!” he added as I jogged away.  In addition, since I’d bonded with my fellow relay runners, we all saluted and hollered at each other each time we passed on the opposite side of the roadway.  One lady who was racing with an all-female team gave me a virtual high-five across the road, and I was more than happy to return it with gusto (as much gusto as I had at the time).  Random spectators complemented me on my running shirt, my super bright shoes, and my tattoo.

The elements eventually got to me, and I had to stop jogging and resort to powerwalking for small stretches within the last few miles.  I started repeating the number of miles to go to myself out loud, just to give myself something to stay motivated.  With only half a mile to go, my body couldn’t take jogging anymore, and I started to walk, passing a spectator who had already finished his race.  Encouraging, he yelled out, “come on!  You can jog for half a mile!”  I answered him, jokingly, “you’d think so, wouldn’t you?”  We both chuckled, and I started to jog again, more than ready to be done.

Finally, I hauled my rear across the finish line, grabbing Luis and Eric to cross the finish line with me (being chased adorably by Harvey – our unofficial 4^th man), and notched an official half marathon time of 2:13:25, according to the timing chip on my ankle.  Not my best time, but certainly not my worst, and overall, I enjoyed testing myself against the elements of the run.

Coming in hot and sweaty!

The three of us crossing the finish line,

the gentlemen kindly allowing me to cross first.
Seriously, look at how red I am...

As I mentioned earlier, we broke camp and packed up the cars, but before we all headed home, we grabbed a team picture:

Team S.O.B for the win!

Well, not really the win.  We finished 4^th out of 4 coed relay teams, and 6^th out of 7 for all relay teams at our distance.  Luis was the fastest swimmer out of all relay swimmers in the distance, which was outstanding, and our official time was 5:55:37.  Overall, it was a wonderful race in a lovely place, and it was awesome to spend the day hanging out with friends and earning pizza and beer for dinner.

Later!

Amy