From: walker@mishi.metaphor.com (John Walker)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.triathlon
Subject: World's Toughest Triathlon
Date: 1 Sep 92 15:34:14 GMT
Organization: Metaphor Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA

World's Toughest Triathlon - Saturday, August 29
2 mile Swim, 100 mile bike, 18.6 mile run
Tri-Fed USA National Ultra Distance Championship
14 Amateur Ironman Qualification slots (12 + 2 lottery slots for finishers)

Suzanne Roat has already posted her review of this race. I was
a little further back in the pack and had different goals in the
race, so I thought I would post a different perspective.

Results (from what I wrote down at the awards ceremony)
-------                         
Women:
1) Rebecca Jones            10:28:51
2) Suzanne Roat             10:32:27  *** Congratulations, Suzanne!!! ***
3) Danielle Ballangie (sp?) 11:09:56
Men:
1) David Turner              8:21:xx (defending champion)
2) Scott Miller              8:26:31 (4th in 1991)
3) Charlie Cox               8:53:36 (3rd last year also)

David Turner set a new course record this year, despite the bike 
course being a couple miles longer than in the past. (Although
the swim was a little shorter)

In addition to being the 3rd overall finisher, Charlie Cox was 
the first master to complete the course. He is 40 years old. Wow!

The oldest finisher was 69 years old. 

The cold, wet weather forced more participants than usual to drop 
out this year.

The Course
--- ------
The difficulty with this triathlon stems not only from the distances, 
but also from the course conditions. The swim is held in the cold 
waters (~66F) of Lake Tahoe at an elevation of over 6200 feet. The bike 
course climbs 8400 feet, tackling Monitor Pass (elev 8310), both sides of
Luther Pass (elev 7740), and Emigrant Trail.  Emigrant Trail is tough
because it is about an 8% grade and usually has a strong headwind.
Finally, the run takes a couple miles of trails that are more suitable 
to mountain goats than people (including a scramble down a dry waterfall), 
and a couple of steep climbs (1000ft in a mile for the first, 700ft in 
just under a mile for the second).

To make up for the toughness of the course, they have tons of
volunteers to help out.  At the awards ceremony, race director Charlie
Lincoln announced that there were over 1800 volunteers, including
165 massage therapists (and only ~200 competitors). They had just about 
anything you wanted at the aid stations, including what looked like 
some fantastic home baked chocolate chip cookies at the top of the 
first big climb on the run (I was tempted to just stop there, so I 
could eat those cookies. A friend who dropped out at that aid station 
due to hypothermia confirmed that the cookies were very good).

This year's race 
---- ------ ----

Sunny California?  Anyone who bet on that was in for a big surprise
in this race.  The thunderstorms began at the outdoor pre-race meeting
the afternoon before the race.  Race day dawned sunny, but there were
still enough clouds around that I was leery of the weather. Two
years ago, I finished the swim with hypothermia and had to spend 
30 minutes in the "hot room" before getting on my bike. Last
year, I got very bad back spasms near the end of the bike ride
and had to drop out because I could hardly walk (I spent 2+ hours
in the medical tent with a couple chiropractors before I could walk 
again).  Given my previous two results and my relative lack of training
this year (compared to the last two), my only real goal was to finish
this race without any real problems. My race plan was to take it easy 
and try to keep my pulse in the mid 150's or lower the entire race.

I started the swim very easily. While others may have sprinted into
the water, I walked.  I eventually got my stroke going
smooth, relaxed, and strong and ended up having a very nice 
swim. I finished it in under 49 minutes, leading the first large
pack of swimmers for the last 20 minutes (I got many thanks for
pulling them).

I completely changed out of my swimsuit and into cycling shorts
and a jersey for the bike ride. Despite the sunshine at the moment,
I still shoved tights, arm warmers, glove liners, and a windbreaker
into my jersey pockets in case we got a repeat of the previous
day's thunderstorms. I ate and drank lots, and took the time
to add and remove layers of clothing when I first felt the
need. The trip out over Luther Pass was uneventful for me. Climbing 
up to Monitor Pass was more difficult than I remembered it from the 
Death Ride. By the time I reached the top, it had sprinkled on me a 
little bit and I was tired. So I ate some food and put on my tights 
before going back down. I took it easy on the downhill, only 
hitting 50 mph. 

As I headed back towards Emigrant Trail, I heard lots of thunder 
rumbling in the distance but it never rained on me. As I turned 
to go up Emigrant Trail, I was still feeling strong. For once, 
there was very little headwind on Emigrant Trail, but I could see 
lots of lightning ahead in Woodfords Canyon. Fortunately, when I 
reached Woodfords Canyon and the climb back up Luther Pass, the
storm had already moved through and the helicopters were out
dropping stuff on some of the fires started by the lightning.
The climb was tough, but at the relaxed pace I had been riding
all day, it wasn't too bad. Just before I reached the top of
Luther Pass, it suddenly got much colder. I stopped at the
top and added my jacket to the arm warmers and tights I was
already wearing. On the descent, there was ice on the edges
of the road from the hail that had just come down in that area.
I was very thankful of my jacket at that time. (I heard that
Monitor Pass got even more hail than Luther did).

Back in the transition, I changed out of my wet cycling clothes
and into some dry running clothes. I dug a long sleeved thermax
shirt out of my transition bag to wear instead of my singlet
and I set out on the run at a blistering 10 minute per mile pace.
As we left the roads and entered what I would best describe
as deer trails, my pace dropped considerably. The first long
climb up to Angorra Ridge goes up 1000 feet in 1 mile. The highest
heart rates I encountered on the entire run were while WALKING
up this hill. The reward for this was a gentle 2 mile downhill,
which is immediately followed by a 700 foot climb straight up
another mountain. The downhill after this second climb was a
lot steeper than the first one. Perhaps if I had been fresh, I
might have enjoyed running down this skinny, steep trail, but
in my condition, I was happy just to make it down without
killing myself. 

The next couple miles were on dirt fire roads and rolled up and 
down. I struggled onward, walking and running the uphills and 
running the flats and downhills. My pace seemed to be fluctuating 
around 14-15 minutes per mile. At mile 13, having finished all the 
real hills, I felt quite confident that I would be able to finish 
the race, but did not think I would break 12 hours. At mile 14, I 
computed that I would need to average about 13 minute miles for 
the remaining 4.6 miles in order to break 12 hours. I finished 
mile 15 in 12 minutes, which gave me hope of breaking 12 hours. The 
next three miles were all done in 10 minutes. I was now on the main 
road down to the finish line feeling strong and with a very good 
chance of breaking 11:50. It felt really great to be able to turn 
the last corner sprinting for the finish line. My time was 11:48:51.

The next day, I picked up my finisher's shirt and medal and got a 
nice surprise at the awards ceremony: they called my race number for one 
of the two lottery Ironman Qualifier slots. Knowing how strong I felt 
at the finish of this race, there was no doubt in my mind about 
whether I was going to accept this invitation to compete in the 
Hawaii Ironman.  I am now frantically trying to arrange flights 
and accommodations....  I'll report on my attempts to finish that
race when I get back.

					-- John


-- 
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John Walker                Metaphor Computer Systems
walker@metaphor.com        Mountain View, CA
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Newsgroups: rec.sport.triathlon