Closing out the Season: Ogden Valley Race Report

Yesterday I raced the Ogden Valley Triathlon, my sixth and final triathlon of the 2013 season. This race was a unique distance, in between a sprint and olympic, with a 1000 meter swim, 15+ mile bike and a 4 mile run. Driving to the race I recognized some of the roads from Ragnar up near Snowbasin ski resort, bringing back some good memories. As a side note, the XTERRA national championship will also be held in this area next week. Heavy rain and storms had come through in the days before the race, and were also in the forecast for the day. That said, pulling up to the race site the weather was looking perfect.

I arrived at Pineview Reservoir with plenty of time to spare, got ready and chatted with some people around me before making my way to the water. After being plagued by shoulder issues at two recent races (Echo and Jordanelle) I wanted to get a lengthy warm up in. I'm always surprised that more people don't do this... even 15 minutes before there were only 1-2 other people in the water with me. It's almost like people stand around in transition looking at each other, waiting for others to lead the way. 

The gun went off (well actually the cowbells went off) to signify the start, and I could tell right away that my warm up was worth it. I felt stronger than past races and was able to close hard  as opposed to hanging on for dear life like my last race at Jordanelle. This was obviously in part due to a shorter distance (1000 meters vs. 1500 meters in my last four races) but I think the longer warm up helped as well.

Swim 19:40   47th / 237 

There was a short but steep run up some wooden steps and a dirt trail to T1, causing my heart rate to rise as I attempted to jog the thing. I hustled through transition as usual before mounting my trusty steed.

The bike was one loop around the reservoir, which turns out to be 15 miles and change. Being a short ride I attempted to hammer right away, but found it difficult to catch my breath in the first couple miles. I kept pushing and eventually was able to settle into a groove. It was largely a solo ride, with only uber-elite David Warden and one other guy passing me from later waves... from my efforts I only caught two people as well.

In the closing miles I was rockin out to this song in my head

Bike 41:21   38th / 237
21+ mph
avg hr 164

The run was 4 miles, with the first 1.5 or so on the main road before turning off onto trails. I didn't have a chance to preview the course beforehand, and while a fun course, it was a lot more difficult than I expected. The trails twisted and turned with lots of little ups and downs, making it hard to get into a good rhythm. On top of that, rains from the past couple days made the single track sections soft and muddy. When you're pushing hard, it's natural to let your body tense up, which is counter-productive. It takes some practice, but it's better to try to "relax" even when your legs and lungs are yelling at you. I kept repeating in my mind "relax and go, relax and go" over and over as a little mantra. Like the bike, this was largely a solo effort due in part to being in the first wave. I was passed and passed others 2x each, none of which being someone in my age group.

a flat, friendly section of the trail

29:22   17th / 237
7:13 pace
avg hr 173

Overall time was 1:34:16 for this unique distance, placing 25th / 237 and 4th / 27 in my age group. 

I was happy with the race, and commemorated closing out my 2013 season with some pizza and ice cream. I've got a team bike relay (next week) and a half marathon (October) still on the schedule, but I'm looking forward to taking a few weeks to regroup before setting some monster goals for 2014. In the meantime, the blog's not going anywhere... in fact, stay tuned for two great interviews currently in the works!