Bear Lake Brawl Race Report

Bear Lake Brawl: 3rd place; 4:21.90.9

Attempting a 70.3 race is never something to take lightly. Attempting a 70.3 race at 6,000ft above sea level in a pandemic, with only 2 weeks heads up is uncharted territory.

Lara Gruden (ITU specialist on left), Me (right). Masks on because #2020.

Like most of my competitors, I learned that the Professional Triathlete Organization (PTO) would be providing a $20,000 professional prize purse for the Bear Lake Brawl Triathlon on September 19, 2020 at Bear Lake in St. Charles, Idaho only 2-ish weeks prior. Making a quick decision to race is not my norm, but the race location seemed really unique.

The Bear Lake Brawl Triathlon is held at Bear Lake Hot Springs on the Idaho side of Bear Lake. Bear Lake is often called the Caribbean of the Rockies due to its incredibly blue water set in high in the mountains.

It did NOT look like this one race day.

Joe Coles, Bear Lake Brawl Triathlon race director stated, “It is a joy to be able to hold our event in this climate when so many races have been cancelled. Our team has worked tirelessly to provide athletes with the opportunity to race and it will be great to see the professionals join their age grouper colleagues and unite for a fantastic race. We are thankful for the PTO Professionals and the support of the PTO to help add a professional field at Bear Lake. I am sure the pros will enjoy the Brawl.”

Little did Joe know at the time that we would be brawling against Mother Nature more than each other on race day.

“Attempting a 70.3 race is never something to take lightly.”

Physically, I was unsure how my body would respond to the altitude. Macungie, PA is at a mere 400ft above sea level. Racing at 6,000ft would be a huge wild card for me. But my coaches were confident that this was a great low-stress opportunity to see how it goes.

I knew my training had been going well, perhaps not race-shape well, but well enough to give the race a crack after determining what would be needed to travel safely.

Psychologically, I had my doubts. It had been 9 months since my last race. Getting out of touch with the pain experienced in a race brought up a lot of nerves. I wondered if I had it in me to hurt and maybe struggle. How would I react to the pain? Could I get my mind on board to dig deep? Would I have the courage to really race?

Lead up

The week before the race was just about getting in some triathlon specific sets, namely bricks. I completed a 56 mile bike (3,600ft of gain; 227 watts in 2:49:49) followed by a run off (4.5 miles at 6:47 avg pace and 150 HR) that gave me a great boost of confidence. My swimming had been going really well all summer and I felt great in the water. I threw on my wetsuit for a handful of swims before traveling 2 days out from the race. I knew there would be some great competition and I was excited to just get back on a start line. There was just one thing that I couldn’t have prepared for…the weather.

Swim – 31:32.6; 2nd fastest female

Race morning started with extremely high winds, 40-degree temps, and threats of more severe weather.

The swim buoys, originally placed at 5am, were floating away and the race was delayed in order to assess the situation. When the Sherriff announced the swim conditions as unsafe, Joe the race director pivoted and created a 2-buoy course, closer to shore. We would complete 3 loops.

All athletes would start in a Time Trial fashion; 10 seconds between athletes. We had determined our starting position prior to the race and I would be starting last. I waited for the women in front to begin their swim. I was focused swimming through as many girls as possible before T1.

The water was incredibly rough. Between the extreme chop, swell, and a mass of athletes swimming relatively small loops – it was insane. However, I was pleased to exit the water in 3rd place – with the top 2 girls in eye sight (remember, I started over a minute behind the lead female). My plan to swim through the field worked and I was looking forward to getting out on the road.

Bike – 56 miles, 2:13.29; 3rd fastest female

Once I made it through transition, I focused on catching the two girls ahead. By mile 9.5 I had passed them both, enjoying the relatively flat roads and slight tailwind. I typically train with power but knew I had to adjust my ranges based on altitude. I focused on maintaining a good aero tuck position and keeping a steady effort level as much as possible. The air temps were still in the mid 40’s and I could feel the dexterity in my hands starting to go. After 40 mins, Skye (currently ranked 10th in the World Rankings) comes by me, and I use her as a visual aide to stay focused.

Then, it started to rain.

And not a little rain, but a full-blown storm. The wind picked up even more and gripping the bars in 20mph cross winds took some faith since I couldn’t feel my hands anymore. There is nothing quite like riding 25mph into driving rain in 40-degree temps with a wicked cross wind on roads still open to traffic.

I used some breathing techniques to keep me focused and warm my core while I chipped away at the miles. I knew Skye was just ahead and foolishly forgot about anyone behind me when Danielle passed around mile 52. That was a bit of a wake-up call and I kept with her until T2.

Run – 13.12 miles, 1:33.25; 3rd fastest female

With no dexterity in my freezing hands, I struggled getting my helmet off and really struggled to get my run shoes on. I was looking forward to the run, hoping it would allow me to warm up a bit.

Based on my training, I was aiming to hold around a 6:30-6:35 pace per mile. When my first mile split showed me around 6:45 pace, I knew I’d have to shift my expectations. The first 6 miles went pretty ok, but then altitude really starting to show itself. When I flipped for the last 6 miles home, I knew Skye and Danielle were out of reach. However, 4th place was about 7 mins back. As long as I didn’t totally implode, I’d have 3rd locked in. Even then, it took a lot of will to keep me going. The last 6 miles were into a steady headwind and I just kept getting colder. I couldn’t hold down any nutrition and my body was fighting me.

There would be nothing to gain from trying to be a hero on the run, so I shut down the effort, walked when needed, and just got myself to the finish line – happy with 3rd place.

I cannot remember a race that was more painful to finish in my life.

This day was all about staying focused on what was needed to just keep moving forward. I think many of us can relate to that statement during this time.

While I’ll be keeping my eyes open for other potential races, I’m enjoying a little rest before getting back to training for a personal goal of running a sub-3 hour marathon in a few months.