Graniteman Clearwater Olympic 2017

Graniteman Clearwater Olympic Race Report

July 08, 2017

After a long hike to the swim, I got in a quick warm up and headed to the start.  I was in Heat 2.  As we got underway, it was a mostly clean start. I had mostly clear water to the first turn. There were 4 of us that took off from the group right away.  By the first turn, we were in the previous wave &  fighting through traffic.  By the midway point, I was starting to regret my wetsuit.  I was getting warm!  I hit the shore running and feeling good.

T1 was uneventful and I was able to slide out with the 2nd fastest transition for the day!

As I headed out on the bike, there was a head wind on the out leg.  I struggled to get my heart rate back under control and was frustrated with my speed (or lack thereof).   When we took the first tun, it got better.  On the return leg, I was hauling.  I got a little shook up when I took a rock kicked up by a passing car, but once I figured out what had hit me and that I was fine, it was all good.   Lap 2 mirrored lap 1.  This was my best bike on this course by far!

 T2 was mostly clean, but had some issues with people loitering in the transition zone.

Photo courtesy of Kyle Kreamer

As I headed out on the run, my legs felt great! The trail had 2 way traffic with those headed back to the finish.  Thankfully I was only seeing yellow wristbands for the sprint!!!  At 2 miles, I saw the first Olympic athlete on their return trip By mile 3, I wasn’t quite feeling “right.”  After the aid station at mile 4, I began to realize how hot it was and that I had a salty crust on my skin and my stomach started to slosh.  Shoot!  I was behind the eight ball!  I took a couple licks of BASE Salt as I was coming into the last aid station.  As I looked at my watch, I knew I needed to push hard to stay on pace. A final push into the finish and I was done!  I missed my course PR by 20 seconds! So close, but not today.

A top 10 Swim, Top 15 bike, 2 top 5 transition times, 4th place in my Age Group, 18th Overall Male, and 22nd Overall still is not a bad day!

LAMS Clearwater Ambassadors
AKA: Me with the Sprint Champion