Jordanelle Triathlon

Near the end of July when I was doing all my riding. Barry Miller at work mentioned that he was doing the Jordanelle Triathlon this year. We got to talking and put together an ARB team to compete against him. Darren did the mile swim, I did the 25 mile bike and Tom did the 5.2 mile run.

This was kinda fun. It was held Saturday 25 August and took a big chunk of the day. It was very cold when we got to Francis. I was glad I brought a sweatshirt. There was much standing around waiting for the start. But, I entertained myself chatting with the other Olympic Relay cyclists.

By the time Darren got to the transition after the swim I was the only one in that group left who hadn't started yet. I did manage to pass five of the relay riders on my leg because we came in fifth overall and there wasn't anyone on the run who was significantly faster than Tom. The ride was tough. The route had a slight incline on the way out. They say on a TT that you should hold back a little for the first third or so. But, knowing it was a slight downhill on the way back I felt I should push about as hard as I could. Still, I didn't want to blow up.

I managed to keep my average heart rate quite close to my maximum. I maxed out at 173 and the average was 167 for the whole race and 169 for the first half. There was one rider who I was behind for several miles trying to catch and pass. It was a 56 year old woman. So I gave her some praise and encouragement when I did pass her. I did the ride at a 20.8 mph pace which was second overall for the Men's Olympic Relay. I averaged 24.66 MPH for the second half. Results are here.

The shuttle system after the race was really backed up with a long line. So, I rode my bike back into Francis to get the car. There was one climb on this route that I wasn't looking forward to. Many people were riding back. But, most of them walked their bikes up the hill.

I saw the Buckwalters, Scotty Johnston, and Bishop Workman who was there cheering on a son and son in law. Maybe we will do this next year. I hope to have a TT bike by then.