The Boulder Peak Olympic Triathlon has long been known as one of the most respected non-drafting olympic distance races in the U.S; and of course its in Boulder so the competition is always stiff. I was able to put together a complete race and get the overall victory! This was my first overall win since moving from Wisconsin. What it took was a solid swim, crushing the bike, and not blowing up on the run.

Swim:
Our wave was one of the last waves to start so there was quite a bit of waiting around in the AM after transition closed. But it was fun to watch and cheer some of the early starters. After some warm-up in the water it was time for our turn. I made some different equipment choices this race going with my fullAqua Sphere Icon wetsuit and Kaiman goggles. I had a lot of confidence in this gear for the swim which made a big difference after a bad swim in my last race. I found a good group with 2 other swimmers for the first half of the swim while 2 others were about 10s up on us. We had a lot of people to swim through which made drafting the feet a bit tougher. On the return trip to shore the 2 swimmers didn’t sight well and veered off course a bit while I was able to see their mistake. They were swimming strong though and came out just behind me.

21:40

Bike:
The Boulder Peak bike course is notorious for its steep climb up “old stage rd”. Because of this I went with my Shimano C-50 wheels vs. a disc set-up. This proved to again be a good equipment choice as my files show my speed to be as low as 7-8mph up the climb (yeah its steep!). I grinded out the climb in my smallest gear having passed the swim leaders within the first 3 miles of the course. Over the climb you have a speed controlled descent down left hand canyon. Then you have to put it in the big ring for the last 15 miles of all out riding. The Orbea Ordu was riding extremely well and allowing me to stay in my anticipated zone without blowing up. I was also glad to have my Rudy Project Wingspan on saving me valuable seconds (more on this later). I knew I was having a good day on the bike, and knew I had to hammer it to give myself a buffer on the run as I am not a fast 10k runner.

1:01:17, 25.5mph, FASTEST BIKE SPLIT!

Run:
It is a triathlon so the race starts now. Off the bike and into my K-Swiss K-ona’s to get me through the last 6.2 miles. I was hoping to go under 6′ pace for the run, so I was monitoring my TIMEX tap watch closely. I really like using the tap watch when racing as it allows me to check my splits and pacing without searching for small buttons. I started off a bit slow with sluggish legs but was feeling in a good groove by mile 2. This is generally par for me as I find my legs gaining steam after 2-3 miles or so. I was a able to drop the pace to 5:55 for the last 3 miles, feeling good. With it being a wave start I knew I had to push it all the way to the finish line. I gave my legs all the punishment they could handle :).

37:06, 5:59 pace
One of my best triathlon 10k run splits.

Overall: 2:01:19, 1ST OVERALL AMATEUR!!

I eked out the win by 2 seconds! Good thing I had great equipment from my sponsors allowing me to save every valuable second across the race. I was happy with my effort- feeling I left it all out on the course. Great motivation for KONA!!!