Jordanelle Course Review

I was asked by a reader to go in to a little more depth about the course on my Jordanelle Olympic Distance Triathlon, so here goes. :)



The swim wonderful! They had the Olympic distance men start at 9:00 a.m. and the Olympic women & Olympic relay start at 9:05 and lastly the sprint at 9:30 a.m. They had all the boueys set up and everything. For the Olympic distance, you had to do 2 laps around all 3 boueys, for the Sprint distance you only had to do 1 lap. They had plenty of boats and canoes out on the water in case somebody needed help, etc. The only downer about the swim was after you rounded the first bouey, as you were sighting heading towards the second bouey, the sun was SO bright and right in your eyes, I had a hard time sighting the second bouey. However, thankfully, there was a HUGE boat sitting out by the second bouey that I was able to sight with instead.

The bike was harder than I expected. I drove the route the day before, so I knew what I was getting in to. Normally, the route wouldn't be that hard for me. We had to bike a total of 25 miles. The first 12 miles of the bike were on what they call a "false flat". It looked flat, but it wasn't. It was between a 1 - 2% uphill grade. It was an open course, however, there wasn't alot of traffic. One of the downers of the bike course was the turn around wasn't well marked. Thankfully someone who had already reached the turn around point hollered out to me that I was coming close to the turn around point. All the turn around point was, was spray paint on the road saying 13 miles, turn around. I personally would have liked it if they had a barricade with a sign or a volunteer there saying ok, turn around here. Once you reached the turn around point, it was all downhill except for 2 hills you had to climb. The first hill I would say was maybe 4 - 5% incline and the second hill was maybe a 3% incline. Those second hill wasn't hard to climb at all and the first hill was easier to climb than I thought it would be. Especially with how fatigued I was already feeling. We only had to go through 2 major intersections on the bike and police officers and volunteers were present at both intersections to give us a right of way. That was very nice. The only other hill on the course was a 10% decend and that was towards the end of the course. Going down this hill you can practically almost coast the rest of the way in to transition. If you can't coast, you can pedal easy. :) I wish my speedometer was working when I went down this hill so I knew how fast I was going. They said alot of people go upwards of 40 mph down that hill. I know my personal trainer, who was also competing in the race, was going 55 mph down that hill.

The run was ALOT harder than I expected. I don't think the run would have been hard if I would have eaten on the bike (see my previous post about the Jordanelle Triathlon). I didn't know what the run route was until I started it. The majority of the run was a trail run. If you did the sprint distance triathlon, you only had to do 1 lap on the run, if you did the Olympic distance, you had to do 2 laps. About the first 1 1/2 miles of the run, it was on pavement and then you were on a trail until about the last 1/2 mile of the run. They did have water aid stations at every mile on the run, so that was really nice. We were basically running through campsites at Jordanelle. I don't really know how else to describe it. There was only 2 hills on the run and one was on pavement and one was on a trail. I've never been good at trail running, so the second hill was harder than the first. There was also part of the run that was a really narrow trail. If you're good at trail running, you'll do fine on this course. I was very impressed with how well marked the run course was. They did a great job.

TriUtah put this race on and they've got to be the best race organizers. I was very impressed with how well organized this race was. I will definitely continue to support TriUtah and do their races.

Race 4 of 4 - Jordanelle Olympic Distance Triathlon

Yesterday was my first Olympic distance triathlon. I picked this triathlon because it was later in the year and I would have plenty of time to train for it and get plenty of open water swimming practice in.

Well, before the race, I had only had 2 chances to go open water swimming. I wasn't feeling to confident about the swim. BJ, my personal trainer, had given me plenty of tips and told me about the race course, etc. I was about as prepared as I was going to be.

Transition opened at 6:30 a.m., so I wanted to be there bright and early to get a good transition spot. Little did I know is that they assigned you a transition spot, so hell, I could've slept a good extra 1 - 1 1/2 hrs. I was pretty bummed.

I had to actually bike from where we parked down to the transition area, which was about 4 miles. I got to go down a REALLY steep hill. Everybody was saying you can go upwards of 40-50 mph going down this hill, so I was kind of excited to see how fast I was going to be going down this hill on my way to transition to set everything up, but my computer on my bike wasn't working. :( Boo.

Finally 8:30 a.m. came and I ate my sports beans. I'm getting increasingly nervous because the event I was most scared of was the swim. I had to swim 1 mile. 8:55 a.m. came and I was in my wetsuit nice and good and decided to get in the water to warm up. I was surrounded by others that were doing their first Olympic distance so I was still panicing on the inside, but it was nice to know I wasn't in this alone.

Then...the gun went off. I started out slow on my swim and the first bouey was easy to spot. I felt like I was doing really good. I rounded the first bouey and started sighting for the 2nd bouey. That was more difficult because the sun was right in your face. I ended up just sighting with a big boat that was out there by the bouey 'cause I couldn't see the bouey. Then I finally got there and headed to the 3rd bouey to start my 2nd round of swimming. I had to do 2 laps of this swim to swim 1 mile. The first lap went really well and most of the 2nd lap went really well. When it finally came time to swim in to shore I thought I'd never get there! I kept sighting and it seemed like it was always the same distance away. You know those endless pools? I felt like I was swimming in one of those.

Finally I made it to the boat ramp and I saw people running up the boat ramp, well that just wasn't an option for me. My legs felt like jello, my arms hurt, I knew right then the bike was going to be rough.



So, I was in the transition area and I'm trying to go as fast as I can, but my body is just already tired. I'm screwed! I finally get my shoes on, helmet on, etc. and I'm heading out of transition to start a 25 mile bike ride.



The bike route is what they call a "false flat". It looks like it is flat, but it's a 1 - 2% uphill grade. The first half of the bike was dreadful. I was just praying I would get to the turn around point. I mean God and everybody was passing me on the bike. I was starting to have a panic attack on the bike because of how terrible I was doing on the bike, therefore I started hyperventilating on the bike. This wasn't good. Everybody passing me had kind words of encouragement, but it was still rough.

I think at one point on the bike I saw BJ stopped off at the side of the road cheering me on and that pushed me further. That made me dig a little deeper and push harder. Once I finally got to the turn around point, everything was good though. It was all downhill from here.

On the bike though, I made a stupid, very stupid, mistake. I didn't eat anything. I had a packet of sports beans taped to my bike, but I kept looking down at them and I saw was salt. They are very salty, which is good, which helps you drink more, etc., but all I wanted was water. So, I never ate them. I just sipped a little bit of my Powerade and drank all my water.

I finally got back to transition and there was at least 2 people behind me on the bike, so I knew I wasn't last, but I wasn't doing as well as I wanted.

I headed out on the run of 5.7 miles and I was just done. My legs were done. They felt like jello. I was really discouraged. The whole run was like a giant panic attack and I kept hyperventilating on the run too. I walked a good portion of the run just cause I couldn't do it.

I came walking/running in from my first lap and I'm bawling and my dad is there ringing the cowbell telling me not to give up. Then as I'm heading out, I'm thoroughly embarrassed because I'm one of the last people out on the course. I see my personal trainer and his wife there cheering me on telling me not to be embarrassed. This is my first Olympic distance tri, I can keep doing it.



I walked almost all of the 2nd lap of the run. I was so far behind from everyone else, I could have easily cheated. I mean, there wasn't anybody at the last water station. That's how far behind I was. BUT...I knew my conscious would get to me so I kept on with the whole 5.7 miles.

Somehow I managed to run the last 1/2 mile of the race and run in to the finish.



My personal trainer and my dad met me at the finish line. I stood and talked with my personal trainer for a little bit. We briefly talked about what I did well and what I didn't do well on the race. We're gonna get together in a few days and go over it in more detail.



I drank a TON of water on my run because it was hot and I was afraid of getting dehydrated. Well, shortly after this picture was taken, BJ and his wife left and I promptly walked over and barfed up every ounce of water I drank. It was rough. I wondered when I was going to stop barfing. I ended up seeing the medical tent people and took some electrolyte pills.

Finally I was feeling well enough to walk down to transition and grab my bike and walk back up to the bus to go up to the car.

Weird thing is...while I was sitting there taking the electroylte pills, I heard my name called over the loud speaker. I didn't find out until I got home that I placed 2nd in my division!!! Now...only 2 of us registered in that division, but I placed!!! My final time was 3:49:00 (I don't remember the seconds). I came in 123rd over all and there were I believe around 200 people who did the Olympic distance.

I know my biggest mistake was not eating anything on the bike. I needed to refuel on the bike to have energy to get through the run. I can't wait to do another Olympic distance triathlon to see how well I do when I eat something on the bike, you know? Looking back now, I find it interesting that my best event in this race was the one I was most scared of...the swim. I just can't express how STUPID I feel for not eating anything on the bike. I knew I should have and my gut was telling me I should, but I just didn't want to. It wasn't that I didn't want to consume calories, that wasn't bothering me, I just was craving water and nothing else.

Here's one last picture. My personal trainer on the run portion of the race. Yes, he took 1st place overall. He's a machine.

Upcoming Olympic Tri

As it shows on my little ticker time line, I have my first Olympic distance triathlon coming up on August 20th. I'm scared out of my mind!!!

Well, I was on Twitter and came in contact with a guy that used to live in Utah and now lives in Texas. He had posted that he just registered for the Echo Olympic Distance Triathlon. We got talking and I told him that I was getting ready for my first Olympic tri up at Jordanelle and he mentioned that he'd done that triathlon before. I sent him my email and he sent me notes about the course of the triathlon.

All I have to say is HOLY CRAP!!! If I wasn't scared before, I sure as hell am scared now. Below is the email he sent me. I will bold my thoughts of what I was thinking through the email. Now take in to consideration I've ALWAYS been terrified of open water and this will be my first open water swim that I haven't had any practice with.

"Ara,

Just took a look at the course map and it is the same as I ran a couple of years ago. This is a great race, but has a couple of twists that I wasn't prepared for, so here goes...

Swim...triutah likes to use the words "wave start" in all of their descriptions, but usually there aren't enough participants in the Oly distance to necessitate a wave start...mass start is the rigth description. Unless the water is low enough, which I'm sure it's not based on this year's weather, you will be treading water when the horn blows. HOLY SHIT!!! I know how to tread water, but my heart race goes up & I'm usually panicing while treading water. Not a big deal, but some people get in too early and tread for 15 minutes. 15 minutes out, get in, warm-up by swimming 5 to 10 minutes & leave yourself 5 minutes or less to tread. If you start all the way in the back you don't have to tread, but you add time to your race because you have to swim 50 to 100 yards to get to the starting buoys. I don't care. I'll add the freakin' time to my race.

The water will be cool, but not cold. Still plan on a wetsuit. OWS is intimidating, but the wetsuit keeps you buoyant, there are plenty of kyacks, and you know you can go the distance. Thank God for the kayaks. Long, strong, gliding strokes with big breaths-in AND BIG BREATHS OUT! Too many people start to breath really shallow and short when they get anxious in the OW. This causes your HR to spike, form to go to hell, and can actually cause other issues. Roll, breath, and feel like you're blowing your brains out your nose the first 5 minutes or so. LMAO!!! Pretty soon you'll settle into your pool breathing and the rest is history.

Bike...it's all uphill the first 12 miles. HOLY SHIT!!! Uphill 12 miles? Hills are my nemesis! I'm freakin' screwed! You're climbing out of the park, you flatten out and drop a bit, but then from mile 2 through 12 it is literally one, long, steady climb. I would so much rather have a short steep hill than a long gradual hill. God help me! Hope you're hitting your hills! I haven't been, but I sure will now! Not sure where you live, but I was living in Layton and had great long inclines heading North that were very simulations. Steep hill climbs are good, but for this one, find a road that just keeps going up. You'll love most of your descent, but remember it isn't steep so you're still going to have to pedal to really get some good speed. About mile 18 or so you're going to hit a short, steep hill that sucks! You already climbed 12, you've been pedaling another 6 on the descent & now you've got to bust it up a hill. The reward is a 40 to 50 mph descent on you're way back into the park. 40-50 mph?!?! I get scared going 25!!! After the descent it is kind of a rolling flat.

Depending on your cycling skills and how you choose to attack you'll tired legs or no legs. Choose wisely 'cuz the run has some fun surprises.

Run...Same climb out of the park as your bike. Not steep, but steady through the first 1.25 miles, then you turn right and climb some more up the highway. About 1.5 in you jump off the highway and it becomes a trail run for the next 1 to 1.5 miles. Not a big fan of trail running. I didn't realize it was trails and hand't done any trails runs. I enjoyed the softer impact, but my footing was all over the place causing my quads to really burn on the second loop. There are a lot of turns and short climbs on this part. You're doing an Oly so you get to do it twice. Yay me!

Just before mile 2 you come off the natural trails and hit boarded trails, sidewalks, etc. that have a lot of little turns. Makes it hard to get into a good pace and just cruise. Be sure to yell out if you're passing someone because there isn't a lot of room.

It says it on the website, but I just didn't pay attention that the Oly run is actually 5.7 miles not 6.2. Thank God! I can handle running .5 miles less. If you're assuming 6.2 then you're pacing will be off causing you to either run slower or faster than you had planned...hopefully faster since you have .5 mi less to go.

The short sprint to the finish is on grass, but as always there isn't a lot of room after the finish line. Be prepared to possibly charlie-horse if you've killed it because they stop you pretty quick to grab your timing chip. Pretty sure I won't kill it.

Weather...it will get pretty hot by the time you're off your bike. Hydrate good the night before and take in some electrolytes on the bike and run. I shall have a water bottle full of water & one full of gatorade. Plus my energy beans. Very little shade on the run course and none from about 15 miles in on the bike.

Aid stations...plan to carry a small water bottle to supplement the two stations on the run course. First at mile 1 and then one more on the trail portion that is really only feasible to hit on the way out to the trails not on your way back. This might have been adjusted now, but if I was to do it again I'd have my handheld with me, not for nutrition, but for cold water here and there.

Venue...pretty cool venue, but if you have friends or family coming it kind of sucks. There is not parking in the park. You have to get dropped off outside of the park and then ride in (buckle your helmet!). Well that bites! You could also park up at the church and have fun with the big hill as well. Friends and family park at a church a couple of miles out. There is a shuttle provided for them. Sucky part is after the race. They take the shuttle and you either walk or ride your bike out of the park to meet them at the front gate. Gee, isn't that just dandy! I've already swam 1 mile, biked 25 and run 5.7, now I get to ride to my car. Yippee!!! Just one more 1.25 miles for the day.

Sorry for the lengthiness. No worries. Thank God you provided me with this info. Hope that gives you some good thought and insight. I really liked the race and think TriUtah does a great job with all of their races. Sure we'll be chatting over twitter or otherwise between now and then, but still...GOOD LUCK!!!

later,

greg"

Oh dear God, I feel screwed! So, I'm now taking my bike out and doing hills. Now that I know I can climb one of the steepest hills in my area, I think I'll be ok with the bike & run, it's still just the scariest thing I've ever done! Lord help me!

Olympic Distance Triathlon

Yesterday I signed up to do my first Olympic distance triathlon! Wahoo!!! I'm SO excited, yet I'm scared out of my pants. This is also my first open water triathlon too.

This triathlon will be at Jordanelle Reservoir here in Utah on August 20th. So, at least I have time to prepare for it. I'm now a member of Northern Utah Triathletes (NUTs) and they have open water clinics when the weather gets warmer, so that'll help me out too.



For those that aren't too familiar, The only triathlons I've ever done are sprint distance triathlons and most of them have been in the order of run/bike/swim.

With the sprint distance triathlons, you have to:
Run: 3.2 miles
Bike: 10-12 miles
Swim: 0.5 miles

An Olympic distance triathlon, you have to:
Swim: 0.93 miles
Bike: 24.86 miles
Run: 6.2 miles.

I know I can do it because I know I've run a 10k before, I swim 0.93 miles almost every day and I've rode my bike 50 miles before, it just makes me super nervous. But, I'm super excited too. Yay!