It’s the off-season and late enough that I’ve given some thought to the races I want to do next year. The overarching theme on all them is “shorter.” Without question my most satisfying race was the Ironman, but my most enjoyable race was the Colorado Triathlon Olympic distance in early June. Not quite as intense as a sprint but not so long and drawn out as a half, this seems to be a distance that agrees with me.
With that in mind, I’ve got the following penciled in for next year.
I may come to regret this, but it still holds some nostalgic value for me and really still is a good tune-up for what’s to come. I’m also curious to see the new bike course that began last year. It’s not an A race or even a B so that means I can just go enjoy racing again.
I really had a good time at the first Olympic version and second overall event last year. Boulder reservoir is a good venue and the bike course is challenging without being too hard to early. I had a pretty tough time on the run last year, but it was mostly a good hurt and I did go faster on that leg than I had in previous Oly’s.
Here’s the exception the “shorter” rule. However, this is a ride not a race so breaks for food, porta-potties and just some rest are all okay. I was fairly intimidated by this when I did it in 2014 but it ended up being one of my favorite events. The tours through the old mountain towns and the challenges of climbing 10,000 feet all appeal to me again. It’s also dirt cheap!
4. Boulder Peak Triathlon – July 9
I already have a paid entry into this race since the entire event was cancelled last year on the count of fire. A recent trip through Left Hand Canyon revealed that it is all torn up so I’m not sure if the bike course from the bottom of Olde Stage Road back out to Highway 36 will be ready or not. I’ll assume it is and that the giant hill will be waiting for me. I had one of my best races ever on this one so it holds pleasant memories for me.
5. Boulder Sunset Triathlon (Olympic) – August 26
This is a maybe for the time being. I’d like to do it but thinking about a race like this 10 months out is kind of difficult—unlike my decision to re-attempt Ironman Boulder in 2015. My guess is that ending my season in early July will feel too early and I’ll be glad to have this one on the docket. Time will tell.
Five events are the most I’ve done in many years and part of me is a little leery about doing that. What’s more, there is only a two week span between each of the first three and that concerns me some as well. However, there are no back-to-back events and it may ultimately be that I drop the Summer Open off the front.
As I said, these are penciled in. The permanent ink won’t be applied until sometime after the end of the year.
For now, I’m working on trying to find some offseason training motivation and be in somewhat decent shape before the start of the new season of training, which, believe it or not, is just two months away!
Thanks for reading!
