Emmett Triathlon

The nickname "Most Excellent" aptly describes my first triathlon of the year this past weekend.

This was my first triathlon as a Boise resident last year, when I finished 6th overall and somehow was able to not only win my age group (a rarity for me) but also win the prime for fastest overall run (a once in a lifetime rarity for me). At any rate, I knew the competition would be tougher this year, especially with my lack of time on the bike. But I knew my run fitness was quite good and I hadn't lost too much in the swim, so I thought a good race was quite possible.

My good buddy Brett from Portland, OR was in town for work this weekend and he was able to squeak in registration in the last hour. We headed up to Emmett (about 35 minutes north of Boise), parked at T2 (separate transition zones) and used the eight miles to T1 as a nice bike warm up. The air temperature was probably in the low 70s with threatening clouds, a bit warmer than last year. It did rain on us briefly, an unusual occurrence in SE Idaho for August. A brief wait for all of the buses to arrive, and we were off with a cannon shot!

I found clear water pretty quickly and used some random toes to guide me to the turn around. Water temp was quite nice, probably low to mid 70s, enough for a wetsuit, but there was no chance of overheating. I kept a nice, steady stroke on the last half of the slightly downstream portion and was able to finish in about 22:30 for the 1500m. Slightly faster than last year, but I think it may have been just a tad short.

Onto the bike, with a slow transition out of the wetsuit, when those insulating properties tend to conspire against me. This is by a good margin my weakest leg, so I just tried not to look too foolish for the nearly 25 mile ride. I expect folks to pass me, except on the uphills when I tend to be disproportionately strong compared to the flats and downs. The course is pretty flat with a couple of little climbs and a net downhill into downtown Emmett. Again, slightly faster than last year with a 1:08, or about a 22 mph average.

Now the run, where I tend to gain ground. The course is about as flat as you can get, but it is exposed with precious little shade and two laps around the Gem County sports complex, so the warm temps made for some slow times. I started out feeling a bit tired with the first couple miles around 6:15 or so. Fortunately I was able to hold that pace for the 10K and finish in about 39 minutes for a total time in the high 2:13s.

The kicker: I went from 6th overall last year to 16th this year with a faster time. I still managed to win my age group, though I would have been out of the top three in both the one ahead and the one behind. I felt like I had a good race, but most importantly I had fun. I feel like my desire to compete in triathlons has diminished over the years (15 years total since my first), but I get to racing and the familiar feelings return. There's one in Twin Falls next month which I am giving strong consideration to...