So far so good...

Thankfully up to this point I haven't had any problems with my bike during a race. Of course I've really only done one race, so I'm sure it's bound to happen at some point, but not yet! Today though while out for a short 16 mile ride, I'm going downhill, and fast, through an intersection that has some cracks in the roadway and all of the sudden I hear an unmistakable "PSSSSSSSSS..." I pull over and sure enough, my back tire is quickly losing its air!! I have never had an opportunity to change a flat on the side of the rode (I have changed them in my garage thankfully), so I pull out my tools and get to work. The one thing I had a problem with, was my CO2 inflator, since I had never used it before, but I soon figured that out and was back on the road in no time "flat". :) All in all, I would say it was good practice for when it inevitably will happen during a triathlon or some other big biking event.

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So I completed another race yesterday. This was a toughie!! The Summer Roundup 12k is part of Colorado Springs Triple Crown of running which includes a 10 mile run through Garden of the Gods and the half marathon ascent of Pikes Peak. This race may not sound as grueling as the other two longer ones, but it is extremely tough in its own right. 12k equates to just less than 7.5 miles and the first half of the race requires ascending 1200 feet. Now that also means that the second half has that much descending, but after running the first half uphill, running downhill is very stressful on your legs, or rather, was very stressful on MY legs! There were some people that I know had they taken a spill going back down, they would have ended up in the hospital. I opted to do what I could to keep my speed under control which meant that heading back down the hill I got passed more than when I was going up the hill. My finishing time was 1:12:28 which put me right in the middle of the men’s field. Currently, my legs are killing me, along with a couple of blisters on my feet. I imagine they are more from the second half of the race, than the first. In time all that will heal as well, and now it is time to get ready for my next triathlon coming up in a few weeks.

After the race I went up to the Beaver Tail Triathlon (which is put on by the board of the Pikes Peak Triathlon Club) to help out with course direction and to take some pictures. It was a beautiful venue for an Xterra type Triathlon. Below are some pictures I took during the race. As you can see the racers had to deal with water during all three segments of the race, not just the swim!!