Fat tire race report

Yesterday I got a little dirty in the first annual Fat Tire Triathlon, put on by Without Limits Productions in Fort Collins. Lance Panigutti and his crew did a fantastic job. The course was tough, but not overly technical. Some good Xterra athletes came out of the woodwork, and I was stoked to finish up 2nd place. I have been in crunch mode the last couple weeks in gearing up for the Duathlon World Champs, September 26th in North Carolina, and this last week was no exception. Speed work has been minimal, but the aerobic engine is really coming around. The race got my legs into that "uncomfortable" gear, and I was happy to have a pretty good swim- coming out of the water in 4th place. Still so pumped on my USA Triathlon Revolt wetsuit-- every time I get in it I am blown away at how much faster I go with some quality buoyancy. The bike course was really fun; two 6 mi loops, very flowing singletrack-- definitely had to watch the speed going into a couple corners, but there were some blazing fast sections. The photochromic Rudy Project Noyz were perfect for the overcast morning. The run was the most difficult leg- 2mi uphill, 1mi traverse, and 1.8mi back down, 4.8 total. More technical than the bike trail, the footing required 100% attention. The Avia Bolts handled the rocky stuff well, and have been surprisingly durable, still feeling supportive after almost 90 race miles. Caught the guy in 2^nd place on the last 1/2 mile- and made up a little ground on the leader, but being a MTB stud he had a huge cushion starting the last leg. One more training push this week before Muskoka 70.3 on September 13. My first trip north of the border....aye? Awesome!!