This race has long been one of my favorite early season triathlons. It's a quirky race for sure. The swim is held Friday night, the bike and run are in Lewiston Idaho Saturday morning. Name another race where a 19 hour T1 is considered a good split.
In an effort to give back to our local community's early triathlon season and to support a great race put on by some great people, Team TriFusion has stepped up to sponsor a swim right here in Spokane.
The last time I was in the water was Sunday, November 19th for Ironman Arizona. I haven't been swimming at all and that's "by design". After a conscious effort to take some time away after IMAZ, my training has been light this Spring. Under the direction of my Doctor, I am to work on my bike and run first. Using those two disciplines to start building a base for the season, the swim will come last. Because of this I had some reservations about signing up for this race.
I got into the pool for a 500 yard swim with the encouragement and some light ribbing from teammates. I knew it would be a challenge. You can't take that kind of time away from the pool, show up to give an all out effort and think it's going to go well. It went as expected. I was out of the water in 35th place...You get what you pay for.
T1 - My favorite T1 in all of racing.
After helping with the timing and recording of other swimmers, we cleaned up and headed to dinner. Eight friends and teammates had a great Mexican meal where I was sure to order a single adult beverage only so I could claim I had a beer in T1.
The following morning Bootsy and I were up and on our way to Lewiston by 6:30 a.m. We arrived in time to find a good spot in transition and time for a quick warm up.
The race was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. but keeping in the low key nature of the race, it started shortly after the top of the hour. And in keeping with the quirky nature of the race itself, the participants line up at the far end of transition and after the gun fires you stand around waiting for the clock to hit your swim time. So if your swim time was 7 minutes 30 seconds you waited at the start line until the clock shows 0:7:30 and off you go. The gun fired and we all just stood around, some of us posing for pictures.
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| Photo by Fiona Dobbins |
As we stood waiting for our individual times to appear on the race clock a few jabs began to fly. Kellee was first to throw the gauntlet which landed squarely at my feet. Just something friends do in an effort to push each other to make sure they are prepared and willing to give their all. She quipped how she would out split me on the bike. Kellee is a world class athlete, qualifying and racing Boston, she has out split me on the bike in other events. At Ironman Coeur d'Alene this past summer I wasn't in her time zone off the bike. The guys quickly picked up on it and the challenge was on.
This race features a 13 mile bike course which takes you 6.5 mile straight up Tammany Creek Grade on an out and back course which naturally comes 6.5 mile straight back down. I settled in quickly and found a good rhythm. Do to my level of fitness (or lack there of) the obvious plan was to race on feel. I would error on the side of over riding in hopes of taking back more time on the bike then I would give up on the run. Never a solid race plan by any means but I knew my run wouldn't be strong whatever the case. I was having some luck moving through the field and when I came upon Kellee my intention was not to lift my effort or rhythm. Passing just off her left shoulder I gave her a "jump on my wheel". Missing my wheel she did lift her effort to match mine. This is another thing I love about small races and triathlon as a whole, pushing each other in an effort to get their very best.
When I hit the turnaround at the midway point, Kellee was standing right on top of me. I knew she would get me in the run but I was glad I could help pull a friend along on the bike. Turning for the bottom I pushed hard knowing gravity never takes a day off and my oversized frame would need to rely heavily on that. I got off the bike 10th overall.
Bootsy had elected not to race but was kind enough to travel with me. She was standing just out of T2 as I began the run. As I started out I wondered if I were "running" at all. After the race Bootsy confirmed my doubts asking "How was your run? You looked like you were struggling out of T2". Never able to settle into a good rhythm, I used heart rate to control or push my effort, not worrying about pace. Shortly after the turnaround Kellee returned the favor with a quick hand slap of recognition as she passed with a "come on let's run this in together". The only thing I could do was to utter "Go get yours Girl" or I'm all in and there is nothing I can do to match that pace.
I came to this race with some reservation but it didn't disappoint. The Snake River Tri proved fun as always in its own quirky way. I enjoyed spending time with friends and teammates, pushing each other, supporting each other, ribbing each other. I finished second in my age group well behind a teammate who had turned himself inside out in an effort to test his fitness. This guy left it all out there, tromboning what was left of his breakfast just past the finish line. Whether a fellow competitor finishes 10 minutes ahead of me or 20 minutes behind, pushing themselves hard enough to leave the remainder of their breakfast on the sidewalk always leaves me asking if I did enough. Did I leave it all out there? Next time can I go harder, push myself further?
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| Photo by Tom Reisenauer |
After returning to Spokane, Bootsy and I had some lunch and a quick nap before heading down to a local brewery to hear a long time friend play some music and to celebrate a birthday. Bootsy convinced me to ride the mountain bikes down. She thought it would be a good idea to spin out the legs that had tightened up from a sprint effort. This proved to be a great idea and a reminder that we don't do enough of this. With the weather changing for the better I hope we continue to take the opportunity to do more of this kind of thing. It proved to be a great day all around I must say.
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| Music and a birthday at the Iron Goat |
