Mountain Man Race Report

We traveled up to Flagstaff on Saturday morning for the 25th annual Mountain Man Triathlon. We checked into our hotel... which was awesome! (Little America) The rooms were big and comfy and had free wi-fi. And it doesn't hurt that it's surrounded by pine trees. It rained a little bit as we pulled into the expo to pick up our race packets. We didn't hang out long and headed back to order pizza before hitting the racks at about 7 pm.



Sunday morning the alarm went off early. We hit transition about an hour before my wave was set to start. I got all my gear set up and still had plenty of time to move the car which I stuck in a sand pit while parking. Oops. Thankfully Dan knew a little something about "rocking" the car since he's from Wisconsin and is used to driving on ice. We were out of the sand pit in no time and back onto actual pavement. One less thing for me to stress about during my 6 hour slog.



Back to the race... the morning was cool and clear. Perfect for racing. I donned my wetsuit and did a quick warm-up... mostly cause I needed to pee and didn't want to wait for race start. I took off when the gun sounded and was quickly out in the lake seemingly alone. Mountain Man is not a large triathlon. There were 128 finishers... though I know there were definitely drop-outs. I saw a group of no more than half dozen swimmers in front of me and I was several minutes back from them. And I didn't see another swimmer until I turned around the last buoy and was sighting back toward the course. I felt good swimming but the current was strong in the lake which slowed me down a lot. I was 6 minutes off my last half-IM swim. I meandered through transition. Yawn. I was totally unmotivated to push myself and was using the excuse that this was just a short training day. I got out of the wetsuit and into my bike shoes and was off.



Out on the road I found myself once again... alone. I tooled along playing with the gears on E'ly and enjoying the smooth ride. She was awesome! I LOVE my new bike! A few people passed me about 10 miles into the ride and then I was alone again. I found myself cursing the road on the loop around Mormon Lake as there were huge cracks in the road about every 15 feet. Every time I hit one it would interrupt my pedal stroke and jar my neck. I threatened to just ride it back into transition after the first loop. Not happy. And then coming off of the first loop there's a screaming downhill. Fastest mile I've ever tracked on the bike. Unfortunaly the ONLY aid station was ill-placed at the bottom of the hill and I flew by my chance for water at 33 mph. No warning signs. No other riders within sight to see them slowing down. No chance. So at mile 25 on the bike... I'm completely out of water. Hmmm. What to do. Never had this happen before. And without water, I can't take in my calories. Hmmm. I continued into the second loop rationalizing that I could do another 1 1/2 hours and could drop at T2 if I was bonking at that point. So I am just enjoying my second loop of the bike, thinking I'm going to be dropping out of the race (are you sensing a theme yet?). I moo at the cows when I bike past. I play with my gearing some more and test out what happens when I get out of my saddle to tackle some of the hills (I never do this. I am very much a seated climber, rationalizing that I need to keep my HR below threshold). At around mile 40 I catch up with another biker that I've been playing cat and mouse with for a while. We chit chat a little and he tells me he just got stung by a bee. I tell him I've been out of water for 15 miles. He hands me a water bottle from his collection, telling me he has plenty. I'm so thankful at this point and I start guzzling it. I start taking in nutrition again. And despite the crossswinds heading back to T2, I feel OK.



Once again I meander through transition. And this time I'm pissed. I was so mad about the lack of water on the course. I mean, come on. We live in the fucking desert state and you put one water station at the bottom of the biggest hill? WTF? And, I'm convinced I'm in last place cause I haven't seen another rider in at least an hour. I take off out of T2 and scream at Dan (who is watching from across the road) that I need water. He hands me his water bottle and I down about half the liter before I take off down the road. Within a mile we start switchbacking up a mountain. Still no aid station. I get to about 1 1/2 miles in and am seriously ready to drop out. I guess I'm a spoiled baby who is used to having water at every mile. I was carrying my calories... but once again without water I can't take it. Just then two friends in a van pull up with a gallon jug of water. Dan had sent them to find me. I pitched my nutrition and let them fill my bottle with water. Mmmmmmm. Never tasted so good. I was good to go. They drove ahead about a half mile to take some pics. I think they wanted to document that I did actually smile once that day.



Refreshed, I continued up the mountain. The first water station was at 3 miles.... at the TOP of the climb. I had emptied my bottle so I refilled it at the station and took in some gatorade. Heading back down the hill I began to see other runners. I guess I wasn't last. By the time I hit the bottom of the hill I am feeling good. In a rhythm. I'm beginning to sense that the training I've done for IM is paying off and 13 miles is going to feel like a walk in the park. I barely pay attention to my computer when it beeps each mile. I continue to fill my water bottle and drink some gatorade which (praise God) didn't upset my stomach. The turn around point was just past 8 miles. With 5 to go, I was in the home stretch. Then I could see everyone behind me. I was feeling good and had only been passed once so far. I was picking people off left and right. It was a hard day. It was hot. Windy. Hilly. And I think we were at elevation though it wasn't bothering me. I was so happy to finally be feeling good on the run. I love to run. It's who I am. I may not be fast, but I need to run. I have been so tired of racing triathlon only to have dead legs by the time the run comes around. Today, I felt great on the run. Finally. Dan came out and found me on the course with about 2 1/2 miles to go. He offered me water and said he'd see me at the finish line. I picked off a few more people in those last couple of miles and finished strong.



After the race we raced back to the hotel so I could shower before our check-out time. I was in a better mood at that point though neither of us were looking forward to the drive home. We grabbed some lunch and hit the road. I finished 3rd in my age group and 7th female overall. Not bad for a day when I had the WORST attitude toward racing. I'm glad my perspective turned around on the run. I hate to be negative toward something that I love. And I wouldn't do triathlon if I didn't love it. It's just been a long week....