Following the Viking Man
By 10:00am it was hard to believe that the beautiful day for the Viking Man Triathlon started with thunder, lightening, and rain. Shortly before Tony started the 1500 meter swim, the sun burned through the clouds and lit up the fields of sugar beets near the banks of snake river.
After a nice swim warm-up period, race officials briefed the athletes prior to the 7:45am start. To take advantage of the river current, many athletes headed out toward the middle of the river and found it surprisingly shallow, allowing many of them to touch bottom when standing. Tony's advice for the best swim is to go out just deep enough to avoid the thick grass/moss near the shore while still catching the edge of the central current. This approach must have worked for Tony because he had a solid swim, finishing near the front of the pack.
As usual Tony flew on the bike section - positioning him in sixth place overall. Tony describes the bike course as "flat as a pancake and pretty fast". The road surface was a little rough but not as bad as a fresh chip and seal. Traffic control was well managed by the local police officers and the bike portion was well officiated by USAT. Flat tires were abundant and we assume goat head thorns were to blame.
Both T1 (Transition 01 -- Swim to Bike) and T2 (Transition 02 -- Bike to Run) were located in the same area making for easy set up and a smooth exit. The first third of the run takes participants through neighborhood streets and eventually leads them to an out-and-back section of open farmland before returning back through the neighborhoods and to the finish, located in the Heyburn RV park (the same park where T1 and T2 are set up). Tony had a great run and held off a hoard of younger athletes to take 7th overall and 2nd in his age group.
The Viking Man completes Tony's goal to do seven consecutive triathlons in seven weeks (which actually turned out to be eight weeks). This challenge resulted in several top ten overall wins and age group placing in almost every race. Tony enjoyed the fun approach to his race circuit this summer and felt that the series of shorter distances helped improve his overall speed. His races included the following: Boise 70.3, Rigby Lake, Blackfoot Pride Days, Great Snake, XTerra Boise, Emmet's Most Excellent Triathlon, Rexburg Rush, and Viking Man. Placing 2nd in his age group at the Boise Xterra qualified Tony to go to the Xterra National Championships at Snowbasin UT on September 21st, so he will be trading his aero-helmet for his mountain bike and his racing flats for trail shoes for the next few weeks of training.
Viking Man Overview
By 10:00am it was hard to believe that the beautiful day for the Viking Man Triathlon started with thunder, lightening, and rain. Shortly before Tony started the 1500 meter swim, the sun burned through the clouds and lit up the fields of sugar beets near the banks of snake river.
After a nice swim warm-up period, race officials briefed the athletes prior to the 7:45am start. To take advantage of the river current, many athletes headed out toward the middle of the river and found it surprisingly shallow, allowing many of them to touch bottom when standing. Tony's advice for the best swim is to go out just deep enough to avoid the thick grass/moss near the shore while still catching the edge of the central current. This approach must have worked for Tony because he had a solid swim, finishing near the front of the pack.
As usual Tony flew on the bike section - positioning him in sixth place overall. Tony describes the bike course as "flat as a pancake and pretty fast". The road surface was a little rough but not as bad as a fresh chip and seal. Traffic control was well managed by the local police officers and the bike portion was well officiated by USAT. Flat tires were abundant and we assume goat head thorns were to blame.
Both T1 (Transition 01 -- Swim to Bike) and T2 (Transition 02 -- Bike to Run) were located in the same area making for easy set up and a smooth exit. The first third of the run takes participants through neighborhood streets and eventually leads them to an out-and-back section of open farmland before returning back through the neighborhoods and to the finish, located in the Heyburn RV park (the same park where T1 and T2 are set up). Tony had a great run and held off a hoard of younger athletes to take 7th overall and 2nd in his age group.
The Viking Man completes Tony's goal to do seven consecutive triathlons in seven weeks (which actually turned out to be eight weeks). This challenge resulted in several top ten overall wins and age group placing in almost every race. Tony enjoyed the fun approach to his race circuit this summer and felt that the series of shorter distances helped improve his overall speed. His races included the following: Boise 70.3, Rigby Lake, Blackfoot Pride Days, Great Snake, XTerra Boise, Emmet's Most Excellent Triathlon, Rexburg Rush, and Viking Man. Placing 2nd in his age group at the Boise Xterra qualified Tony to go to the Xterra National Championships at Snowbasin UT on September 21st, so he will be trading his aero-helmet for his mountain bike and his racing flats for trail shoes for the next few weeks of training.
Viking Man Overview
- Well organized and officiated
- Fast course with current aided swim and flat bike and run courses
- Transitions located in the same area
- Awards ceremony was less organized and time consuming
- Goat head thorns caused many flats
- Temperatures started to climb by the start of the run
Contributed by: Lana Grover
Photographs are not to be reused or redistributed without permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment