5430 Long Course Results - PASS!!

For all of you that have been eagerly awaiting a race recap from the 5430 Long Course in Boulder, here it is: I had fun. So based on my goals for the event, I passed. Yes, it was the slowest half-Ironman I've had in years. Yes, the altitude affected me more than normal, so every time I tried to increase my effort I felt like my lungs would explode. Yes, I think I was more dehydrated than I've ever been in my life (first time I've considered asking for an IV at the finish). And yes, Ryan, my Ironman protege, beat me by 7 minutes (nice job, Ryno!). But I had fun, and that was the goal.

It's really hard not to have fun when you're training or racing in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is where triathletes go when they die. The really good ones live there already. For example, Chrissie Wellington was in the race, among many other outstanding pros. The reigning men's Ironman World Champion, Craig Alexander, was also there, but not racing. I saw him training during the race. About eight miles into the bike course, I looked over and saw him RUNNING. Yes, running down the bike course on highway 36. And I was only eight miles in, so I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating yet. You hardly ever see pros of that quality in Rockwall, Texas. And by "hardly ever" I, of course, mean "never." Since I'm not going to Kona, that's the only time this year I'll get to race/train on the same roads as the reigning men's and women's Ironman World Champions. At least I did it once this year. Pretty cool.


I took the above picture while walking around at the race site the day before the race. This is the view that you have about 500 meters from the finish. Like I said, it's hard not to have fun when this is the scenery. The bike course is even better.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Arkansas to join some fellow Tri-Prosoapers (and my sister) at the DeGray Lake Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. Then next week, I'm racing in Rockwall at the annual Tri-Rock (another sprint). That will be three races in three states in three weeks. Should be fun. And fast. Like I said in my last post, time to get fast.