Pumpkinman Triathlon - October 15, 2011

Our Family is Loyal--L Helps E With Her Bike Before the Race
(This may be my favorite pic from the event)

One year ago, I was racing in the Pumpkinman Triathlon.  I've been wanting to blog it for a year now.  But I haven't felt like I had the time to do it right.  Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good.  So since the 2012 race is tomorrow, I figure that there's no time like the present to get this post up!  :-)

First, though, here is a little video recap of the day, set to some pretty good tunes.  Props go to my brother L for putting this together.  You can read his (brief, but timely) recap here:

The race for me got off to a bad start.  I had to drop off my run stuff at T2 and so I was late to the starting line.  The parking for the race is along the shore of Lake Mead and the parking lot is littered with little tiny thorns that could easily puncture a tire.  That makes getting your bike set up a little tricky.

I managed to get into my wetsuit as I scrambled toward the finish line, but as I went to put my goggles on, disaster struck!  My goggle straps broke!!  Somehow, I had a flash of inspiration to tie a knot in them and it worked.  Then I got the race director to let me start with the next wave and the crisis was (mostly) averted.

That water is cold!

Because I didn't start in the same wave with L. and S., I was behind them getting out of the water.

The first transition (aka T1) is always tricky.  Usually, you're pretty cold and your arm muscles are fatigued because you've been windmilling your way through the water for the past 30+ minutes.

So during T1, you have to use your fine muscle skills to get dressed and get on the bike and it can be a bit tricky.

My transition was trickier than normal because I had chosen to do the bike and run portions in costume--dressed as a skeleton. I was proud of my costume.  Heck, I felt like it took a lot of time and energy to come up with and make, but I had on my normal tri pants, then black tights from ankles to wrists, then the black polyester skeleton costume.

It was a lot of black fabric and it wasn't exactly Nike Dri Fit material if you know what I mean.  Still, I thought that the costume looked great and I was pumped to wear it.

(I actually would win a prize following the race for the Best Costume and my picture is still on the web site for the race.  Though it was not not lost on me that my "cover boy" moment came with me wearing a mask to cover my face!  :-)

The bike portion went fairly well.  I caught up to L.about 8-10 miles in or so.  I think he was surprised to see me pass him.  I gave him a couple quick tips as I rode past and I think it really helped him.  His pace the second half of the race was a lot faster than the first half.

At about Mile 18 or 19,  I passed a milestone.  This is the part where you begin a significant uphill climb from Lake Mead up to Boulder City.  You go up about 1300 feet or so in only 5 miles and it is challenging.  The year before, I had almost puked at this point.  I was glad to be able to get past this part and was thrilled that I felt a lot stronger this year.  I love seeing my improvement in these races from year to year.

All those layers made me very hot!

The bike portion can be exhilarating, especially when you get a little downhill and a cool breeze.  The last half mile of Pumpkinman before Transition 2 (T2) is a downhill coast and it feels great after the five mile climb!  (A really, really brutal climb!)

Next up was the run.  I feel like the run is the worst part of this race.  You basically run through the streets of Boulder City and end up on a road to nowhere.  It's just you, the competitors, hot asphalt, and bleak desert for miles around!  Plus, I've heard a rumor that the run is actually slightly longer than a 10k, which makes more of a mental challenge.

This gives you a good view of my costume--from the front and the back

I got a few comments about my costume during the bike portion, but I got way more during the run.  A few people called me "Skeletor."  A lot of people said, "Great Costume."  Quite a few asked me if I was "hot."

Ummm, yeah!  Thanks Captain Obvious!  I'm in 3 layers of polyester and spandex and it's 95 degrees and there is no shade.  (Not to mention the mask that I had to wear as well!)  It was like being in a frickin' oven to wear that costume!!  But I was committed to it and I've long felt that if you're going to do something, you need to do it right.  "Go Big or Go Home!" as a wise person once phrased it.  ;-)

So I just decided to endure it.  I can endure a lot of things, but this was a challenge.  My time for the first half of the 10k was 28 minutes.  That's actually a pretty decent time.  But during the second half, the wheels came off the bus....My split for the second half of the race was 40 minutes!  Yikes!  Let's just say that I was probably pretty dehydrated and lucky that I was still ambulatory by the end of the race,

As I neared the end, I got my favorite comment of the day on my costume.  One of the other competitors told me: "Sexy bones" as I passed by.  What's interesting about triathlons is that they write your age right there on your leg, so I knew exactly how old she was.  And even though she was a little bit older than me, she was definitely pretty cute.  I was glad I had my mask on so that nobody could see whether I blushed!

Triumphant!

As you can see in the video above, I hit that final turn and I felt like I just launched myself toward the finish line!  I felt like I was sprinting so fast.  After watching the video, I'm thinking--not so much!  It definitely felt faster than it looked!

All in all, it was a really fun race and I'm glad it's become somewhat of a minor family tradition.  I have to give some props to some of my other family members who competed (and to Ray Ray who drove down from Provo to cheer us all on!!):

Brother-in-Law T:

T gets the Polar Bear Award for doing the swim without a wetsuit!

 T. did the Sprint distance (shorter than the Olympic) with my sister E.  I think that this was his first triathlon ever, but he did great!

E:

The Bike Ride Has Some Spectacular Views

L:

L. had the best pit crew at the race.  His wife and cute little miracle baby both came to cheer him on!

S:

S. had the best overall time.

Results:

Here are the results from the race:

• E - Swim: 17:26 (2:20 rate); Bike: 1:04:29 (11.5 mph); Run: 32:08 (10:22/mile); Total: 2:00:19 (Sprint Distance)
• T - Swim: 17:00 (2:16 rate); Bike: 1:27:04 (8.5 mph); Run: 35:41 (11:31/mile); Total: 2:26:10 (Sprint Distance)

• S - Swim: 28:48 (1:56 rate); Bike: 1:47:40 (13.8 mph); Run: 59:06 (9:32/mile); Total: 3:21:34 (Olympic Distance)
• L - Swim: 36:29 (2:26 rate); Bike: 1:43:47 (14.3 mph); Run: 58:14 (9:24/mile); Total: 3:24:58 (Olympic Distance)
• G - Swim: 32:47 (2:12 rate); Bike: 1:38:53 (15.0 mph); Run: 1:07:15 (10:51/mile); Total: 3:26:20 (Olympic Distance)

I'm still ticked that L. and S. beat me.  And especially that L. beat me by literally 82 seconds!

The Plan for 2012:

The plan for this year is the same as always...get a better time than last year!  The only problem is that I have no right to a better time because I haven't put in the preparation that I should have.  Still, I think it will be fun and I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Check back in year to see how I do in the race tomorrow!  :p