Tiger Tri...grrr

Doesn't get much smoother than that
Photo by Greg Gallagher

If you have not read Jessi’s blog, then this will all seem new. Jessi and I often talk about a race afterwards which we have similar experiences at, and then we post that in our blogs. This would be another race that we had similar experiences. So I will summarize my experience.

Photo by Greg Gallagher

Tiger Tri has been around for about 20 years…a tad less. It was first founded on the Ironman platform in its distance. Not being an Ironman, but a ¼ Ironman. Though that distance never really took of (there are still some races out there that maintain that distance though), they decided to change it to resemble more of an Oly distance race this year, or at least that is what I was hearing. But ultimately it was to be a .6 mile swim, 24 mile bike, and 8k (4.97 mile) run. So, not exactly an Oly distance race…close, but not really. The bike portion is pretty fast since it is a point to point and starts at a substantially higher elevation. But don’t let that fool you, there are still hills. Tiger Tri starts at top of Tiger Pass and is a well done race with its own flavor. But it is a race that makes it very difficult to compare ANY times to…even prior years since they changed the distances this year, and will be changed again next year too.

Photo by Greg Gallagher

Photo by Greg Gallagher

My beautiful wife before the swim start
Photo by Greg Gallagher

This year the race started at a different location on the lake, but the swim was essentially the same. Since the daily temps have been so warm, the lake temp was quite nice this year. I would think about 72 degrees. As I warmed up, I appreciated the placid feel of the lake. Not a single boat on it. The only ripples were created by the swimmers. You could actually see dust particles on the water…now that is calm. They started the men 10 minutes ahead of the women/teams. Not too sure why 10 minutes, 1 or 2 should suffice, so I knew I would be able to see Jessi well before she finished the run. I enjoy being able to cheer her on and this would give me even more of a buffer. The gun went off and the race was on. I could see people on both sides of me swimming hard, but I eventually got a little ahead and I think they tucked in behind me. To be honest, I don’t enjoy drafting people. I know there is an advantage, but I would rather have open, smooth water to be comfortable in. Whenever I draft someone, it seem chaotic and you are constantly wondering if they are going straight, you lose their feet, hit their feet, etc. I enjoy leading the swim, even if I am not in the lead :) As I made the last turn of the .6 mile swim I found myself looking straight into the sun. I had no clue where the finish arch was. Small rant here, does anyone remember the days when there was a lead kayak? Where the kayak would guide the lead swimmer so that the rest of the field would follow what would be the “right direction?” That used to be the "standard." Now you never see it except for in IM events. At Tiger there was a kayak that stayed around me…sometimes in front, sometimes on the side. But I never knew if I was supposed to follow it…so I didn’t. Anyway, I exited the water and made a dash to T1 while I took off my B70 Helix.

Jessi coming out of the swim
Photo by Greg Gallagher

Photo by Greg Gallagher

Coming in from the swim
Photo by Greg Gallagher

I was in and out of T1 and on to my ever loyal Trek TTX. I got out on the road and got my feet into my shoes and the bike was on. I have been using my new Bontrager Tri shoes and absolutely love the comfort of them as well as the stiffness. Maybe my old Sidis were worn out. I was working hard on the bike and just found that my power was slightly sub par. I stuck with my plan and pressed on, but things just did not feel as comfortable as they normally do on the bike. I always ride with the feeling that someone is about 10 seconds behind, so when I do not feel like I am riding well, that 10 seconds goes to 5 seconds and screws with my mind. This is a very fast course. At times I was going in the low 40s (yes, mph) and still pedaling. But there were also times when you are going 10 mph up hills. So it really has it all. I was watching my distance and was just hoping to get closer and closer to the 24 mile mark which would mean the end. I came into T2, and being the first person, experienced some rather chaotic service. A little confusion, you could tell some of the volunteers did not know what to “really” expect. But they did a good job and got me my T2 bag and took my bike. Nice service really.

I bounced out of T2 and was off on to the run. The run is 2 laps on a gravel cart path. Due to construction they had to make some changes so they said it was 4.5 miles (though after mapping it, and multiple Garmin reports, it was just over 4.8 miles, and based on the times, that seems more accurate). The terrain is not very hilly, but there are some short hills that are VERY steep that just take it out of your legs. So you are constantly changing stride and intensity. I found myself looking forward to the long straights. Once I started the 2nd lap, I did not know if there was anyone close behind. I felt horrible on this run for some reason. Might have been the mile markers that told me I was running so friggin’ slow, or the heat, or just feeling like crap. Regardless, it was one of those runs that felt like ‘everyone’ was going to pass you. I made the final turn to head towards the finish and cruised on in.

Just trying to get it done
Photo by Greg Gallagher

Jessi on the run
Photo by Greg Gallagher

A win is a win, but since I am not paid for winning, or make a living off it, my rewards for racing are accomplishing things that show that I am improving as an athlete. I measure most of that on data…time, speed, power, heart rate, mile times, etc. The swim was faster than I have gone there before, so that was good. My power on the bike was higher than I did back in 2007, but a different course and 2 years ago. The run was a disappointment, but after I had discovered that the distance was not accurate (based on what I was able to discover, I did not “wheel” the course, so I still could be wrong), I feel a little better about it, but still felt horrible and it was only 4.8 miles. So what was the deal? I will have to look at my training and make some adjustments in it I would suspect. So no matter what place you get, we all have a race within that we have as well. And for me, that is the one I am trying to win.

All my prize money :)
Photo by Greg Gallagher

Just could not take our eyes off our prize
Photo by Greg Gallagher

It was a fun day with some great people. Thanks to the Huskinsons for volunteering to run an aid station and for the many cheers, and I would suspect the “signs” too? That was really cool. Wish we would have seen them at the awards/finish. That was so neat that they took their Saturday to support the athletes and a race…that was 90 miles away. Also, thanks to Greg for taking pics once again. You only are seeing a handful of the 350 he took…and they all look this good. It’s always fun to travel with a fun group of people. Makes meals fun, post race activities memorable, and decreases the stress most of the time…other than Nate moving at negative 10 mph all the time :). Congrats to Nat for having another great race on a course that she remembered loving, and still does. You are just getting faster and faster. Congrats to all the Tri Fusion people (racing and non racing) that came up. It was neat to see all of you in transition and out on the course. Nice to see Lyndsay S. go up there as a mere 15 year old and get 3rd overall. Very cool. And of course Jessi, who did not have things go all that well, still was able to fight for the overall win and have new information about herself in a race that she can glean some knowledge from to become even a better athlete. You did amazing! Way to push ‘til the end and not give up. Thanks to Ben for keeping me honest the whole time. Never really knew where you were, but knew you were somewhere :)

Keep winning ‘your’ races.