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Louis and the Shark Attack Super Sprint


I am in love with Utah in the summer and fall.

I promised myself I would lay low for a couple of weeks after Vineman but then Louis - my German brother from another mother and Flagstaff riding buddy - announced that he was coming into town the day I was getting back from California. He was bringing his bike and planning on riding in the mountains with me. And as you know, I am a sucker for that kind of thing. So I told him I was game as long as he was going to be easy on me! And I gave him my Vineman prize - a gigantic wine bottle - as a bribe. It worked. Mostly. 

not a bad view

We rode all the mountains and hills we could find in those few days and were loving it! Thank you for riding bikes with me and being such a great friend, Louis! 

these views never get old 

The Alpine loop is one of my all-time favorite rides. And I have ridden my bike in quite a few awesome places including Germany, Italy, and France. You should plan a trip to Utah Valley, bring your bike, and ride the loop! 

Not a bad place to be a triathlete. 

And if you have time, go hike/run to the top of Mount Timpanogos. Or you could do the Alpine-Loop-Emerald-Lake-Triathlon that Karl and I invented in 2013. Lots of options! If you need more, contact me! 

Mount Timpanogos in all its majesty. 

When I found out that TriUtah is putting on a Super Sprint triathlon this fall I was absolutely STOKED and signed up right away! I haven't done as many local races as I would like up here this year but this was one I didn't want to miss! The timing was great and the venue only 20 minutes from my house at my favorite local reservoir. Score! 

Springville reservoir - a gorgeous spot

In a Super Sprint you do a very short triathlon and when you are done YOU DO IT AGAIN. It's essentially a swim-bike-run-swim-bike-run. Doesn't that sound SO FUN?!? I guess I've been in the sport long enough (almost 20 years) that anything new excites the heck out of me.  Thank you, TriUtah, for giving this format a try! 

sprinting out of the water

It was a time trial start with a racer going off every 10 seconds. I was near the front with Amanda, who I have been friends with and racing locally for over a decade and who is a very speedy swimmer. I started right in front of her and tried hard not to have her catch me on the first swim already! Well, it was close. We came out of the water together! 

fast transitions are KEY

This was an all-out race from start to finish. The distances were super short: 2x (150m swim, 5 mile bike, 1.5 mile run) which makes the race super INTENSE. There is no time to mess around or even catch your breath. If you're not hurting and thinking you're going to die, you need to go harder. That kind of racing. VERY different from Ironman and also VERY fun. 


It's painful to try to get this Diesel moving FAST and FASTER. I do a fair amount of interval training but there is nothing like a race where the whole family is watching to REALLY make me dig deep. The best thing is: It's over so quickly! I can do ANYTHING for an hour! At least that's what I kept telling myself. And it worked. 



It was great fun and I will be back next year!
  Thank you to Dan and the TriUtah team for making the possible and to all of the other racers out there who made this such a fun morning! 




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