Millerton Lake Triathlon 2010

Millerton Lake Triathlon 2010

The Milleron Lake Triathlon is special to me in so many ways. First, this is the triathlon I did on my wedding day two years ago. What a day that was. Second, one of the craziest triathlons I have done was the first time I competed at Millerton in 2007. It was cold and rainy and definitely a tough day to compete. So this triathlon definitely has a special place in my heart. Plus, Faron and Heleen Reed do an outstanding job of organizing this race. They make everyone there feel great and their is a friendly atmoshphere exuded throughout.

Onto the race report:

I woke up at 4:30 am to a text message from my good friend Josh Hickey saying "Why do you tri? Because it makes me alive." So that was a great way to start the morning. We met at CFA at 5:30 am to carpool over to fresno. It was Josh, Ken, Carol, Mark, Mike, Aaron and our supporters Landon, Jesse, Jaime and my wife Stephanie. We got into Millerton Lake at 7:00 am. As the sun was rising, we knew it was going to be a spectalular day. We arrived to the transition area and it was crowded already. I immediately took my bike off my truck and found a spot on the first bike rack (Thanks Faron for this spot). Once 7:20 came, I hopped on my bike for a short 18 minute warm-up. This got my blood flowing and erased any nerves that had settled during the drive up. The warm-up for a sprint triathlon is so important. You must trust your training and know that the warm-up is crucial for a better performance. Once I was done with the bike warm-up, I put on my running shoes and did a 6 minute jog with some surges. This definitely helped and I was ready. I put on my wetsuit, which is probably the hardest thing of the triathlon, and headed down to the lake. I was able to swim a bit before the start.

3....2....1 and it was time. My first event of the year was now going. The swim was not as chaotic as last year. I settled towards the outside and did not get caught up in the thick of the craziness. I just focused on long and powerful strokes. I tried keeping it smooth. No need to get out of my comfort zone on the swim. I knew I could make it up on my transitions and bike and run portions. Before you knew it I was out of the water running up the ramp to my bike. I immediately took my wetsuit off and quickly mounted my bike. I was passed by 4 guys on the bike. I still need to improve my bike fitness to make it a strength of mine. But I held steady and was able to hold strong for the last 6 miles. Once I saw the transition area I took my feet out of my shoes and made a very fast transition to the run. I saw one of the guys that passed me on the bike and I passed him within the first mile of the run. The run always goes by quick at Millerton. The first 1.2 miles is on a trail with some tough climbs. Once you are off the trails it is a 1 mile downhill road finish. I had the 3rd place guy in sites but I ran out of real estate to catch him.

I was really happy with my overall performance. My goal was to break 1 hour and my time was 58:11 so I had a fast race. I took 4th overall and was 1st in my age group.

Now it is time to get ready for Wildflower Long Course!