Xterra Montana Triathlon

This past weekend my buddy Chris became my "wingman" due to Abbie not really wanting to drive another 14 hours over a weekend. We left Friday and stayed the weekend in Bozeman Montana which is a fun town which reminds me a lot of Jackson Hole. Saturday Chris and I test rode the mountain bike section which was a lot of fun wrapping around a crystal clear lake in Hyalite Canyon.

I have never done a triathlon back-to-back before which made me a little nervous of not having enough recovery time from Colorado, but my legs felt great.

Sunday we drove up the canyon and the car read 36 degrees outside. Inside I was freaking out a little due to my body not having much insulation :) but I did bring a neoprene swim cap which previously helped me stay warm in Moab back in May.

The swim was two laps and we had to get out during our first lap and jump back into the water which was nice to get out of the mid-50 degree water. I felt real solid in my second lap, I followed someones stream and I was already at the dock running up to jump on my bike.

I had a quick transistion jumping onto my bike and heading towards the forest. The bike ride had quick technical climbs with a bunch of roots which made it hard to get into a groove passing people. By the time I saw my buddy Chris he yelled at me and said, "your in the top 20 keep moving." The second part of the trail led up by the damn and climbed around 1000 feet and turned on a loose downhill. I saw Chris again and he yelled, "your in 12th place keep pushing it." That helped me stay motivated during my second lap and by the time I reached the run I was in the top 10.

As I made the transistion I quickly ran into the forest and within the first 2 miles I could feel my toes. I had a few people pass me that were moving pretty fast, but I tried to focus on my first lap and keep a consistent pace. During my second lap I felt my pace speeding up a little bit trying to catch up to the people who passed me on my 1st lap. I kept moving forward and I finished 4th in my age group and 22nd overall. I finally broke under an hour on my run which was my main goal of the day. I can see my training paying off, I felt real solid during the whole race. Thanks Chris for being my "wingman" this weekend and taking pictures.