The Rage Triathlon

Last Saturday I competed in the Rage 1/2 Ironman in Las Vegas. This race was toughest freaking race ever. I am fairly certain that I will not do this race again. It was tough and very poorly run and it just frustrated me beyond belief.

I arrived in Vegas on Wednesday morning with my bike in tow going through the Airport and The Palazzo in a suit. It got a lot of reaction from my co-workers. I think many of them thought it was funny that I would come to Vegas to do a triathlon when you had an opportunity to eat and drink as much as you want. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were filled with meetings so I was having a tough time resting. I didn't even get a chance to test my bike after I put it back together. On Friday, I ducked out a little early to go pick up my packet with Norma and Vigil. After we left packet pick-up we headed over to the race course to take a look at what we were up against. I have to say this did not get me excited. All I saw were mountains and hills. This made me a little nervous because I have done very little hill work. We park down near transition and walk up to the lake. The swim buoys were already out so we could see the swim course. It was hard to tell how cold the water was but the sign on the Ranger booth said 59 degrees when we arrived. This is much colder than I was hoping for. After we checked out the water we drove the bike course. Holy Shit!!! It was climb after climb. It just seemed unfair. I knew I would make it but my main concern was being able to run after. After we drove the course it was back into to town for some burgers and some shut eye.

Saturday 3am came early. I got up and ate my Capn' Crunch as I do before every race. I was real nervous and I was having a difficult time eating. After I ate I packed up and headed down to the car. It was funny going through the casino at 4am with my bike watching all the drunk chicks with no shoes on stagger along with a drink in their hand. Those who could remember probably thought I was strange. I mean how could someone go to Sin City and not be out all night partying. Anyway we packed up and headed out to Lake Mead. When we got there it was really cold out and I wasn't dressed for it. I set up my transition area and then sat in the car to stay warm. Around 5:50 am I put on my wetsuit and two swim caps and headed down to the chilly water. I think the water at this point was 58 according to another athlete so I was freaking a little bit. Once in the water I think my heart stopped. It felt like I was going to die. It was cold! I tried to do a little warm-up swim but it was tough. I stood in the back of the rest of the racers waiting for 6:10 am and the start of the race. The horn went off right time and we were off. I swam with my head out of the water for a few meters before putting my face down. It felt like pins and needles in my face. It was still a little dark out and I was having a difficult time seeing so my sighting left something to be desired. I kept swinging out far to the right on several parts of the swim and I was getting frustrated. The swim was already listed 1.60 miles so adding extra distance was not helpful. As I made the final turn towards the swim exit I ran into the first wave of the Sprint Group. Those idiots were all over the place. They kept grabbing my legs and I think I kicked one. As I was fighting the crowd I started to get cramps in both of my calves I was already having trouble with dry climate and I didn't need this. As I exited the swim I ran to my bike gathered myself and then the real fun began. Right as you exit transition you have a climb on the bike. I put my chain on the small ring and started make the climb out to the main road. I had to get off my saddle and when I did the chain stated jumping and slipping. It wouldn't stay in gear. I was pissed because I didn't test my bike and now I was paying for it. This is a rookie mistake not something a coach should do. I got to the top of the hill and the main road and started down. My bike was OK but the chain would still slip when I was climbing. It was just one climb and another and another. It was brutal. I didn't know if I would make it. I would be going 4 mph on one side of a hill and 40 mph on the other side. As I was riding along I noticed there were no timing mats along the way. This comes into play later on. So I'm chugging along its tough but I'm surviving and at mile 45 or so there is a kid near a Ranger station taking down numbers. This is how they got around the timing mats. The problem was they did this in a stupid place. As we were riding back there is a place at mile 50 where you can cut across the street and take 6 miles off the bike which a lot of people were doing. Fucking cheaters. I continued on up to top of the toughest hill with my quads cramping and burning and turned around at mile 53 to head back into transition. 3:03 for the bike. Not bad considering the course. One other note on the bike. I never let one person pass me. I was pretty happy about that. I took the longest T2 time ever at over 4 minutes. I was hurting and needed a minute before I ran 13 miles. I got out on the run feeling OK but tired. The run was a combination of trails and asphalt. Right before I hit mile 1 I got a bad cramp in my left hamstring. I thought great first the calves, then quads and the the hamstrings. I thought this is Bullshit! I tried to stretch it out but couldn't. I said the hell with it and ran anyway. I needed to finish this race and I wasn't letting anything stop me. The first 3 miles weren't too bad but right at mile 3 you could see what was ahead. You had to run up a hill which at this point looked like the side of a mountain. Actually I think was the side of a mountain. This part of the run was tough. The incline was brutal and the road was covered with big rocks. I motored up but was fading fast. As I ran to the turnaround it stayed flat for the most part. Along the run course there were several tunnels where builders of Hoover Dam would transport their materials through as they were building the Dam. This was great because it gave you some relief from the heat. This also where I saw runners ahead of me who I passed on the bike earlier. I was very frustrated by this. I just hate cheaters. Right before the turnaround you had to run down two long hills. One you were at the bottom you did a U-Turn and then it was back up the hills. I had to walk part of these hills I just had no strength left. I continued on just trying to finish. I knew I was close when I saw that very rocky hill I climbed earlier. It was down the hill and the rest I knew would be flat. As I rounded the final corner of the race the announcer gave me a shout out and then I ran as fast I could to the finish line. At the finish I got my medal which was much different than some of the other finishers. It was apparently a previous years medal. So the Sprint, Olympic and the cheaters received nice new medals and a lot of the 1/2 Iron finishers received old medals. To make matters worse they closed the massage tent down right after I finished. If I had a dog it probably would be run over. I came out a little Broken, Beat and Scarred but I finished. I won't do this race again but it was good training for IM Cozumel.

This week I'm back at it but doing light work. I need to work on a few things before Buffalo Springs in June. Next up however is the Silverlake Sprint in Pearland. This won't be nearly as difficult as Rage.

I want to thank Vigil for driving us around. It was a big help. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks!

Later Dudes!