Race Report - 3/16/2014 - Bartlett Lake Olympic Triathlon

Location: Rio Verde, AZ
Race Type: Triathlon
Distance: 1500 meter swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run
Participants: 85
Overall Place: 23rd
Age Group Place: 4th
Time: 3:01:08.  Swim: 31:09, Bike: 1:39:24, Run: 50:35

I signed up for this triathlon a few months ago. It was the first triathlon on my calendar for the year and I hadn't been training well after the two marathons in January and the beginning of March. 

The olympic distance event was billed as the hardest triathlon course in Arizona due to the extreme amount of elevation change in both the bike and the run. My GPS unit logged 3,110 feet on the bike and 942 feet on the run. 

Packet Pickup

I picked up my packet the day before at Landis Cyclery. Landis is one of the oldest bike shops in Arizona and has multiple locations around the valley. 

There was a pretty good line for pickup and it took about 15 minutes as everyone had to sign a waiver and USAT form. The plus side was that the tech shirt was nice and there were plenty of goodies in the swag bag (2 water bottles, chapstick, etc.)

As I was leaving I noticed a pile of bike boxes that appeared to be going to recycling. I hit up an employee and he allowed my to grab one. Never hurts to have a spare box and I'll probably use it for travel to Syracuse in June. 

Pre-Race 

The location of the race, if you hadn't guessed by the title, was at Bartlett Lake. It was an hour and forty five minute drive with the last 45 minutes through beautiful desert landscapes. I had never been up that way so was looking forward to the experience. 

The transition area was not very busy when I arrived. 

I was able to pick up a spot at the end of the rack. As you may have noticed I brought the road instead of the triathlon bike. I figured that with the hill climbing it would be much more comfortable on the road bike. 

Having set up my transition area I was ready to find the bathroom and get my body marked up with my race number.

The Swim

The swim was a standing water start with a 500 meter buoy layout. The olympic distance triathletes were required to make three loops.

The race included a sprint and would be followed by olympic distance swimmers. The race organizers highly recommended wetsuits as the lake temperature was a chilly 60 degrees. Everyone waded into the water around 7:45 and the sprint distance participants started at 7:50. Three minutes later I was swimming with my fellow olympic distance racers. It was cold! My hands and face were freezing but they were second in my mind as I was pushing through the group of people trying to get through a fairly narrow set of buoys that would start the race. Due to the course length it was fairly chaotic through the entire swim. 

I kept the pace easy and finished in about 30 minutes. The beach was rocky so I had laid out my sandals at the start/finish. I slipped these on and jogged the quarter mile to the transition with the timing mat mid way in between.

Transition 1

Uneventful. I slipped on my socks, shoes, helmet, and bib belt and almost hopped on my bike. Not sure what I was thinking as there is no riding in the transition area. 

The Bike

The bike course was an out and back that was to be repeated twice.

I knew that there would be a lot of climbing and I definitely wasn't disappointed. The ascent started immediately out of transition. There were times when I was struggling to push nine miles per hour but I still managed to pass about 40 people over the course. 

I was pleased that nobody was able to pass me on the climbs but there were two brave souls that passed me on the downhills. I have to admit that I was a bit timid on the descent due to wind and higher speeds than I was accustomed to. At one point I hit 40 miles per hour and a strong gust pushed me around the road. After that I tapped the breaks and kept my speeds in the 30mph range. 

My nutrition went well as I had brought two bottles of Mike's Mix sport drink and a packet of Clif shot bloks for the ride. I finished a bottle and a serving of shot bloks during each climb and focused on staying alive for the descent. 

Transition 2

Another uneventful transition. Slipped off the bike shoes, slipped on the running shoes and tossed on the beanie I like to wear when running. Grabbed another shot bloks and headed out. 

The Run

The run course was a single out and back with a water station at miles 1.2, 3.1, and 5. 

The run followed the bike course for the first half mile. The climbing was steep during that time but increased again when we separated from the bike course. 

I was feeling pretty good and started feeling really good around mile two. Over the course of the run I was able to pass another six or seven people. While tough, I enjoyed the course. It was nice knowing that I could push myself on the uphill and could recover a bit on the down.

Near the end I still had plenty of energy and I picked up the pace for the last descent. I passed another runner and finished strong.

Race Recap

This was a well organized event with plenty of volunteers. I'd participated in one other race by the organizers, Tri Family Racing, and they do a good job. I look forward to doing this one again next year and moving up in the ranks.

(need to learn to smile for selfies...)