Ogden Valley Triathlon Results

Well, last Saturday, I went up with Stacey to Pineview Reservoir for the Ogden Valley Triathlon. I was a little nervous, but surprisingly not as nervous as I thought I would be. The first wave started at 10:00 AM, but my wave (the very last one) didn't start until 10:34:40. At 10:20, I ate the first of 3 energy gels, then went down into the water, over to the side of the start to get used to the water temperature, practice some deep breaths. Then, at about 10:30, I went up to the starting line. The horn sounded at 10:34:40 and off I went. Now, if you have been reading any of my previous posts, you will know that the swim leg is my worst leg and I was most nervous about that. Anyway, there were 3 buoys, and we had to go around all three of them. About halfway to the first one, I thought, "Man, this buoy is farther than it looks." Anyway, after I made it to the first buoy, I was feeling pretty comfortable in the water. The long straight swim past the second buoy and to the third was by far the best portion of the swim for me. After rounding the third buoy, I started heading back to the shore. Every 4 or 5 strokes, I would look up to make sure I was still on target. It didn't look like the shore was getting any closer. That last bit of the swim was the most difficult. Anyway, I finally got out of the water, and started running up the ramp. I glanced at my watch and saw that I did the swim in 26 minutes. I was pleased with that time. During practice in a pool, I was able to do 1000 yards in 20 minutes, so I knew that I wouldn't be that fast. In my wave, I came in ahead of 4 of the men in my wave (There were a total of 15 men in my wave).

The transition went well, I quickly took off my wetsuit, slipped on my cycling shoes, and took off. The bike was my favorite leg, as I was able to get a decent speed, and I was flying by people left and right. I probably passed about 20-25 people on the bike, while not being passed once. The course was somewhat up and down, but no one hill that was really bad. About a mile from completing the bike, I had my mouth open and a huge bug flew in. I'm not sure what it was, but it almost went straight down my throat without even swallowing. I was able to cough it up and spit it out, though. Pretty gross. In just the bike leg, I came in 8th, which I am happy with, but could have done better. I passed 1 guy in my division, so I was in 10th overall.

The run started out somewhat difficult as my legs were getting used to running. But after a while, I was able to pick up the speed and get in my groove. I was very anxious for the first water station at the 1-mile marker. I had eaten the last of my energy gels, and while they may be fine for giving you energy, they are horrible for quenching any thirst. :) My mouth was so sticky, that I was very glad to get some water to rinse it out. Anyway, the second mile was by far my best, because just after the second mile, we had to turn around and then run on a hiking trail. It turned into a cross-country race through the woods. I REALLY did not like that. The trail was narrow, so passing was difficult, and it was very up and down. Not a good last 2 miles. That said, I am not too displeased with my run, because the only person that passed me was a guy that was on a relay team, so he didn't swim or bike. In just the run leg, I came in 5th, which surprised me, I didn't think that I had done that well. I ended up passing 2 more men in my division, so my end result was 8th place in the Clydesdale 39 & Under division.

Here are my official times:

Swim (1K) - 26:23
T1 - 4:31
Bike (15.2 Miles) - 47:26
T2 - 1:24
Run (4 Miles) - 38:52

Total - 1:58:37

The way they did this race was an equalizer format, which meant the corresponding women to our division started 22 minutes ahead of us, and then they ended up taking 22 minutes off of their time. It was kind of weird, but if you count the women (getting a 22 minute head start), I took 15th.

It was a fun race, well organized, and I think I will have to try some another triathlon or two next year.

Stacey took some pictures during the triathlon. She was able to get a couple of Gordon and Cathi who did it with me. They are all located here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/GridleyFamily/OgdenValleyTriathlon