Echo Triathlon, A Tradition of Excellence

Echo has been a popular race for athletes from beginners to pros for years as evidenced by their strong 12 year run. TriUtah did not disappoint this year and put on another great race!

Because this race is a local favorite, I was not surprised that many of my teammates would be racing, as well as other familiar faces. I've raced Echo once before and I knew mostly what to expect. Coalville is a small charming town with that "everybody knows your name" kind of feel. There aren't many lodging options and the one Holliday Inn becomes overrun with triathletes. With a 60-90 minute commute from SLC or Utah county, many athletes drive up the morning of, but I enjoy being there the night before.

Friday evening McKenzie, Amber, Laura and I drove up and went straight to packet pick up. I was shocked to see Echo reservoir so low! The swim start of three years ago was now all dry land. After meeting Dan, the race director, he took us over to the swim start and showed us the 1/4 mile hike down to the lake. Sometimes hosting a triathlon during a drought requires creativity and innovation. To TriUtah's credit, they created a separate timing for the run from the lake to T1 so everyone could have accurate swim and T1 times. I look at these little add ons as an extra adventure.

That night as we were in our hotel room setting up our stuff, we worried about how cold the temperatures were forecasting for the 7am swim start, low 50's and chance of scattered thunderstorms. Usually Echo is a very hot race, especially by the time you hit the run. Now we were contemplating warm racing gear. I tried not to worry about the weather or the fact that I'd forgotten my race nutrition, and tried to get some sleep on the less than comfortable hotel sofa bed, still very excited for race day.

The 5am wakeup felt like 5 minutes after I managed to get to sleep. The other girls were racing olympic distance and had to leave an hour earlier than me. Because you can't drive to the race venue, (the park cannot accommodate the vehicles), athletes are required to park in a separate area a few miles away and bike to transition. Busses are provided for spectators. We biked from our hotel to the race site. The morning was cool, but not too cold and the cloud cover ended up providing excellent racing conditions!

The olympic and sprint racers were an hour apart from each other so I was able to meet up with Cherry and we cheered on the olympic racers as they entered transition looking more than a little tired from their extra little hike from the lake to transition. Soon I was in the water ready to take off. During the first leg of my swim, I looked up to sight and saw most of the athletes walking through the water. Huh? We were so far out in the lake and it was still so shallow you could walk. It was a funny thing to see. I decided it was still probably a little faster to actually swim so I put my head down and tried to navigate through all the bodies. My swim time was pretty average, 15 minutes. Improvements could be made.

The bike course is deceptively challenging. The scenery is beautiful, but if you enjoy it too much you might hit a pothole in the road. There are lots of rolling hills and not a lot of time to catch your breath. The bike is my strongest leg and I'm usually trying to get as far ahead of the runners as possible. I've had some problems with cramping lately and have backed off a little on the bike to accommodate my legs for the run. There were a lot of new racers on the course that day and a LOT of penalties being handed out by race officials for illegal passing, drafting, and probably for riding in the middle of the road because I saw a lot of that. I love riding my bike and wish I could wish I could do an olympic distance bike with a sprint distance swim and run.  My time was decent, I'd still like to get faster on those up hills.

This year, I enjoyed the run because it stayed cool! It was a smooth trail that was mostly flat. By the time I hit mile two, this tiny gal in a USC uniform zoomed past me like a blur. I could briefly notice her calf telling me she was in my age group and I knew I wasn't catching her. I am consistently a negative split runner, my second have of the run is faster than the first. I tried to pick up my pace and sprinted the last 100 meters to the finish line.

TriUtah knows how to take care of their athletes post race! I find that what sets a good race apart from a great race are the details. After crossing the finish line and catching my breath, several tubs were filled with ice water and little red towels to wipe down your body and cool off. There were plenty of beverages, and the food was amazing! There was a buffet of oatmeal and little cakes, and fruit, bread, and a vendor handing out servings of protein powder. They even had a massage therapist giving chair massages. I was enjoying congratulating the other athletes and chatting with my teammates. I hadn't even gone over to check the results. I finally decided to look and was happy to have placed second in my age division. The finisher medals were great, and my second place finish medal was even bigger and they both can be used as belt buckles...YEE HAW!

Was my swim fast? No. Was my bike fast? Hmm maybe a little, but nothing elite. Was my run fast? No. But did I have a huge smile on my face when I crossed the finish line? YES! My mantra for triathlon this season has been "there's a time and a season." I love this sport and if I get too caught up in worrying about my race times or feeling regrets it robs me of a valuable experience. If you know me, you know I'm very competitive by nature and who doesn't love to perform well? I've just learned that sometime our lives or our bodies do not allow us to train the way we would like, or perform the way we demand and I have to accept that and celebrate what I can do, or focus on changes I can make. I believe a sport should empower you and make you feel better about yourself, not worse. I'm grateful for a body that allows me to be active and do the things I love. As I've watched friends battle physical limitations they have no control over, I know I'm blessed.

Thank you to TriUtah for keeping the tradition of a great race at Echo and for your standard of excellence in racing. Thank you to the many sponsors that make competing in this sport fun and possible; TriEdge, Kestrel, Head Swimming, (I LOVE my Head wetsuit and goggles) Flexr Sports, GU, T3, Coach Keena, (Keena you are kind, understanding, and so much fun!) 3B Yoga (ashtanga yoga puts the zen back in my life), Switch Eyewear, BEARPAW (love you, love you, love you) and Velo Ink (I love personalizing my bike). And to all the people in my life that encourage and support me and laugh at my inappropriate jokes (you know who you are) I love you and thank you!