Brief Summer Recap #3

This recap is for all the races I've done so far this summer. There have been a fair amount, so I'll keep it short for each. The Florida 1/2 Ironman was covered earlier, too, so I left it out of this post.

Saratoga Springs Tri:

This race was all about friends and introducing some of them to the great sport of triathlon. Jason, my friend and groupmate from BYU, as well as future roommate, competed in his first triathlon. Plus, he brought a bunch of friends from his ward that were also doing their first.

Quite the gang of first-timers, eh?

The swim was great and I was feeling pumped coming out of the water. I was having a good bike until my spare tube fell down into my rear cassette and became ridiculously entangled. I ripped the tube to shreds (~4-6" each piece) until I got the whole tube out, and that took a solid 8 minutes.

I scrambled back on my bike and pedaled with angry-man energy. I felt like I was flying, I had so much adrenaline going. My run was really good and I made up some time, but I still finished far back from how I'd have done without the spare tube debacle. My buddy from swim class, Jameson, tore up the course, as usual, and Jason and his ward friends had a great time. Even with a rough day on the bike, I felt good about the whole experience.

Navajo Hogan 5K (4th of July):
I try to do a 5K every 4th of July, and my friend Carol Cabanillas introduced me to this one a few years ago. This was the second time I've done this race, and I had a pretty good run this time. Not super-fast, but I just paced myself off of the second guy and then out-kicked him in the last 1/4 mile. It's always a good feeling to be in the top 3, especially when the parents come to watch.

Yay for first place medals!

CUCIL 5K:
Kaitlyn, Marlayne, and I decided to do a small 5K down in Utah County, and we had a lot of fun with it. We got lost trying to find the place, so we didn't even really warm up -- though it's doubtful we would have if we'd been early :) Strange to run an out and back course that's perfectly flat and almost no turns. It just felt funny.

Telos Utah Valley Tri:
Instead of doing the Utah Summer Games Tri, I decided to stay close to home and try out a triathlon in its first year. There were a few hiccups with the race coordination, planning, and course, but it was still a fun race. I took first place in my age group for the Sprint distance (a first for me), and Jameson took first place overall for the Olympic distance. So it was a good day.

Xango Echo Tri:
The bike course obliterated me. It chewed me up and spit me out. I was cramping before the turnaround point and it didn't get any better on the run. On the positive side, it was my first time ever doing this race and I saw some friends there that I hadn't seen in years.

With Devan and Jameson, who rocked the Olympic distance.